Urgent Advice Needed, think I need to fully formula feed.

[juliewoolie]

Please please help am on the verge of fully formula feeding.

DS 19 wks

Birth weight 8lb 3oz

Current weight 13lb 14oz

Birth centile 50

Settled at 25 centile

Current centile nearly 9

Fully breast fed apart from 1 formula feed as dream feed, always had 1 formula either at bedtime or as dream feed.

Daily feeding schedule

7am
11am
3pm
5pm
6.45pm bedtime feed (boob ,expressed or formula)
10.30pm dream feed (formula)

I also express every eve around 10pm.

He has been sleeping through for several weeks after his dream feed.

Thanks for sticking with me so far wanted to get past the facts.

So this last week he has been really fussing on one side if he has not settled have swapped him to the other side where he has finished his feed.

The past few days he has been getting increasingly fractious on both sides arching his back screaming blue murder as someone kindly told me today and just not settling to his feed. Eventually throws himself off me and refuses any more.

My worry is he is not gaining weight.

Also is it that I am not producing enough milk. When I tried to express last night I got nothing atall. Is he struggling because there is nothing coming out? But in the morning both boobs feel really full and the breastpads I have worn overnight are soaked.

He is having plenty very wet nappies inc dirty ones, he is smiley and happy reaching and exceeding all developmental milestones.

Is this just a phrase could it be teeth he has for several weeks been dribbling like crazy and chewing on anything within reach?

Thankyou thankyou thankyou for reading this far, am at the end of my tether and really dont want to fully formula feed but very worried about his weight and my supply.

if you want to continue bf you really need to offer it more often perhaps express in morn if thats when you fullest hoping tiktok or someone more knowledgable will come and help keep your chin up x

Growth spurt, a huge one normally at this stage hence the reason some people think solids is the answer it's not

Go with thr flow, feed as often as he wants. It will pass I promise. You sound like you are doing fab, no need for formula at all xxx

my advice would be to feed more often
I dint think your supply is a problem
all 3 of my girls did this at about this age and it was their teeth and it did pass
please do what you feel isright for you but I thik you could ride this out
he wont lose loads of weight very quickly
your suppply isn't dwindling or anything, maybe you didn't get much when you tried to express becasue you are tense and worried about the whole thing
if you dont want to stop bf then dont
offer more regularly and treat him for his teeth
ashton and parsons powders are good also teething gels just before you offer him the breast

hope someone more qualified comes along soon
mears and tiktok are the ones you need
chin up
xxx

Second the ashton powders, worked great for dd4 and ds1

some people find expressing ineffective

it is no indicator of the amount of milk you are producing

I wouldn't give up; I've never set too much store by centiles

Don't worry about the expressing amounts. Almost always no milk when expressing does not equal no milk. It equals no letdown - not the same thing at all. Your body is geared to let milk down to your baby, not a plastic funnel so it's harder.

I offer him the breast all the time.

Cant express in the morning as he feeds off of both boobs. He never used to feed off of both this too is very recent.

Dont think it is a growth spurt as he does not want to feed more often I bring the breast to him max of every 4 hours but if he is looking I always offer boob.

Will try the teething gel and will get ashtons powders - is boots the place for these.

yes you can get them in boots he might be filling himself up in morning of he taking both sides! i never got much from expressing not even oz hth

Cant express in the morning as he feeds off of both boobs. He never used to feed off of both this too is very recent.

He sounds like he is taking more at each feed rather than increasing the amount of feeds he has. You are following his lead exactly as you need to

Any chemist should do Aston powders, tesco's do them as well in their pharmacy.

Ds1 seemed to teeth forever, from about 15 weeks he was exactly as you describe the teeth didn't arrive until 26 weeks

julie, sounds like you're doing well but could perhaps be useful to talk this through with someone. Try one of these, the volunteers are brilliant and very knowledgable.

Breastfeeding Network Supporterline 0870 900 8787

NCT Breastfeeding Line 0870 444 8708

La Leche League Helpline 0845 120 2918

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers Hotline 08444 122 949

Thanks everyone.

I did wonder if it was teeth.

I will persevere with the expressing as I like to have some in reserve for the freezer.

Am going to give the local sure start a ring tom to find out when the next breastfeeding advice thing is.

Am also going to take fenugreek supplements and see if that helps.

Thanks for the help last night have been giving him teething gel before feeding which is helping.