Can I get my breastfeeding mojo back?

[Ilovethedoctor]

Hi,

I have three DCs youngest is 6 months old.

I had to stop breastfeeding the middle DC at 8 months as I had to start a course of treatment.

I then planned to breastfeed any other DC for the recommended two years. Beautiful visions of lots of milk and breast content baby.

About 8 weeks before baby arrived my DH lost his job and has been out of work til now, about 8 months. Is working again but at much less pay for same hours, sigh.

Cue lots of stress and poor diet. I managed to breastfeed (DS2) successfully for about 4 months. Since then there has been solids and lots of formula as he just wasn't being satisfied by the breast alone.

My DS2 weighs 10kg at 6 months so I know he needs lots of nourishment.

I'm trying to do all the right thing re more milk but it seems to be vanishing. DS2 will eagerly suck but seems only content BFing in the middle of the night where it could possibly just be comfort sucking. I definately wouldn't have enough milk to satisfy a proper morning or night feed.

Is this BLW? How many feeds should I be able to give via the breast a day for a 6months, 10kg baby?

Can I get it back?

I can't remember what my DTs were having at 6 months, I think 4 or 5 feeds a day (breastfed), but I do know that they really took to BLW and by 8 months were on 3 or 4 feeds a day (am, 3pm and before bed, DT1 used to feed in the night once too) by 9 months were down to just morning and evening feeds.

The milk is vanishing because of all the formula. If you want to feed for a while, you need to cut down the formula he is getting gradually (say by a couple of oz a day) and offer the breast more. Your supply will respond quite quickly to increased demand.

Thanks barmbrack.

Yes, I think barmbrack is right.

The diet thing, the stress thing - neither has any real impact on bf. Frequent feeding drives supply. It's good he is happy to comfort suck as this makes it easier to bf more frequently (prob a lot more frequently to build up, and then you can cut down once you have a good, established supply).

Hope this helps.

Tiktok - thanks for that. V surprised that stress, diet have little impact on supply but what you say makes sense.

It's also encouraging as I don't see myself being stress free any time soon!

I was feeding frequently but from about 4 months I just couldn't seem to satisfy him. Cue introduction of formula and solids. I will take the advice and hopefully I will still be breastfeeding in months to come.

With the housework that three kids create, stopping to BF seems like a terrible indulgence sometimes. Although it is a priority for me so must be done.

Thanks.

P.s I don't seem to have a let down reflex anymore is this normal and will I ever feel full and heavy again or is that only for mothers in the first few months of breastfeeding?

ilove - the research is very clear on the fact that diet and stress have little or no impact on bf. Babies do go through periods when they need to feed more often - if this is responded to with formula and solids (instead of simply accepting the more frequent feeding) then breastfeeding is undermined, sometimes a lot.

Breastfeeding - feeding your child and nurturing him - can never be 'a terrible indulgence'. Where has that idea come from? You know it's rubbish as you recognise bf as a priority....working out how this notion has got into you will help you 'banish' it, I think :)

Very obvious let down is often more a feature of the early weeks; it's very common for the feeling of it to fade. Some women never feel it anyway. Fullness and heaviness is also normal in early bf, but much less common later, when 'overproduction' ceases, when fat in the breasts becomes swapped for milk making and storing tissue, when everything 'settles down'.

Hope you go on to bf for as long as you want to :)

Tiktok - thanks for your response. Yes Yes to the terrible indulgence thing. Think I am just adjusting to life with 3 DCs. Breastfeeding is nicest optimum for me lying down with bub so feels indulgent.
But I will be doing it.

Thanks.