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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

one b/f per day - supply dwindling - is it all over?

16 replies

bossykate · 18/03/2005 15:12

hello everyone

since returning to work 3 wks ago dd has been on one b/f per day in the morning. my breasts don't feel full in the morning at all, and while i think she is getting something, the duration of her feeds is decreasing and she seems to get frustrated at the breast. i have come to the conclusion my milk supply is failing.

so wise mumsnetters, what now? it is not feasible for me to express at work and my schedule is such that i can't guarantee being home in time to give her her evening feed. is one feed per day just too little to sustain my milk supply? should i carry on but top her up with formula?

any thoughts advice, please?

thank you all very much.

OP posts:

beansprout · 18/03/2005 15:13

Could you feed both in the morning and the evening?

Original poster

bossykate · 18/03/2005 15:15

no, beansprout, i'm not usually home in time.

OP posts:

Pamina3 · 18/03/2005 15:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LIZS · 18/03/2005 15:20

Could you express before bed to give you a bit more stimulation for a while - I found I got most, quickest by expressing then than at any other time.

Original poster

bossykate · 18/03/2005 16:36

thank you ladies.

have to say i am not thrilled at the thought of expressing in the pm, since i am not currently finding time to do things like making lunch and having a shower that i said i would to save (a) money and (b) time in the morning.

if it is the only way though, hmmm...

i suppose it depends how much i want to keep on b/f...

OP posts:

LIZS · 18/03/2005 17:01

What do you do at weekends - could you do more feeds to restimulate ?

TracyK · 18/03/2005 18:21

I was expressing am and pm before bed as ds was biting me. I was only getting 2 oz at a time - but i thought that was better than nothing for him. but it is a pain the a*

Prufrock · 18/03/2005 20:56

Sorry to confirm your fears bk, but having succesfully bf am and pm for 3 months, I found that as soon as I cut down to just feeding in the evenings dd demanded bottles instead within a few days.
I think topping up with formula would just hasten the end of bf tbh. Is there any way you could change her routine (she's on solids now isn't she) so that she maybe has a sleep in the afternoon, then tea, and has her last bf and straight to sleep at a time that you can usually be at home? (though I do know taht if you've had to stay late at work the last thing you want to come home to is a grumpy baby demanding a feed)

Original poster

bossykate · 19/03/2005 21:46

thank you everyone for your advice, it is much appreciated

there is some scope for me to change my routine at the moment - although it would not be indefinite - so i will discuss with dh (it will involve him doing a bit more in the morning, so i can go in earlier, and therefore leave earlier) and see what we can do.

tbh - there is a large part of me thinking i have really done my best with this and perhaps its time to have done. it would be so different if i didn't have to work - hey ho

OP posts:

dinny · 19/03/2005 21:51

hey, BK, you are back. what happened to SQ then?

am planning to look round your EP soon - ours IS being sold and lots of excellent staff have already left. you still happy with it?

Original poster

bossykate · 19/03/2005 22:01

oh i just changed back to bk on a whim!

yes we are still v. happy - dd started there a few weeks ago and has settled in v. well.

sorry i didn't get back to you on the sale thing. they sold two out of four branches - i hadn't even realised they had four branches - going to concentrate on clapham and putney now i think.

sorry to hear you have had disruption. good luck with finding a new place.

OP posts:

dinny · 19/03/2005 22:19

much prefer it, fwiw!

I never knew about the Putney one either. May put dd and ds in Clapham, depending on what the new owner is like in Tooting. So much bad feeling at ours at the mo

Original poster

bossykate · 21/03/2005 12:32

i have reluctantly decided that the only feasible option for us right now is to discontinue b/f

i have done my best, but can't see how we can realistically continue.

thanks for all the replies.

OP posts:

Marina · 21/03/2005 12:35

bk Sorry, I missed this. I couldn't have contributed anything helpful anyway I think. But however she is fed she is quite simply gorgeous, and you are not looking so bad yourself

dinosaur · 21/03/2005 12:36

bossykate

I'm just about managing to keep going, with feeding DS3 early in the morning and in the evening and expressing during the day at work. But expressing is such a pain and my milk supply is definitely less than it was.

Yes, if only we didn't have to work eh?

Prufrock · 21/03/2005 20:11

I'm sorry you've had to stop before you really wanted to bk - but you should feel very proud of having breastfed her for nearly 7 months.

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