anyone got experience using a supplementer?

[hormonalmum]

My last resort is using a supplementer. This is my third dc and dd2 now nearly 5 weeks. I have seen the supplementer and it has been suggested in my case.

I have had a program from my lactation consultant which I have been following for 2 weeks. In that time dd has put on 4oz in week one, and 2.5oz in week 2. She is not yet back to birth weight.

I am expressing as much as possible as part of my programme but I barely get any milk to top dd up with.
Therefore if I do use the supplementer it is going to be mainly formula that I top her up with.
I (well dh has as I cannot yet bring myself to) have given dd formula on about 3 occassions in a bid to get her to settle. dd2 seems happier when she has had more milk and thus I know she needs it.

I mix fed dc 1 and 2 from about 2.5 - 3 weeks old until they were between 5 and 7 months. This was due to "failure to thrive".

How easy is it to use the supplementer?
Is it time consuming? I have 2 other children to consider and currently spend all my time bf and feel I am neglecting them.
Can it help with increasing milk supply as has been suggested?

Thanks in advance

Hi Hormonalmum,
sorry you are having problems.
My DS didn't reach birthweight till 6 weeks and then lost a lot of weight about a month later.

Anyway, I did use a supplementer with ebm and the weight gain was good.

Initially it's a bit fiddly to use and I only used it in the privacy of my own home.
I think it does help with milk supply as the baby is sucking on your breast at the same time. They also get that extra incentive to suck at the breast because of the additional formula/ebm that they get. There are different size tubes to use too, so you can regulate how quickly the extra milk flows to them.

i also tried fenugreek to boost supply. It was hard work though and like you I had two other DS's around. I was never that great at expressing, but the amount I got did improve over time. Sometimes I would feed on one side and express on the other.

Any chance you can wangle a morning in bed with dd and just do lots of skin to skin and feeding? Tricky, I know- but could dh take your other two off for a bit?

Sorry, gone off on a bit of a tangent here...DS is 7 months now, doing blw with him and he's still small but lovely and chubby and very smiley! (and back on a centile line, well just about!)

If you need to know anything else about the supplementer, just come back to me.
Good luck

Crikey - thanks for the post. I have one on order and it should be with me on Monday. I have a few questions....

I think there are 3 tubes - which one would you recommend using to begin with?
How does the sterilising work?
How long did it take for your DS to get used to the supplementer?
Did you notice he was more content after introducing this?
Did you use formula as well as ebm?
How long did it take for you to get used to it yourself?
Did you use it at a set feed? Say every morning - would this be the best thing to do?

thanks - didnt realised I had so many questions.

I have been drinking fennel as well as taking domperidone. Although I have since heard fennel is not as good as fenugreek.

Dh has been brilliant and often lets me stay in bed with dd2 when he isnt working to try and help me increase supply in that way.

Hi again,
-I only used the middle tube.
-I'm not sure that I sterilised it tbh. I think I just washed out with very hot soapy water and air dried.

• It only took DS a couple of times to get used to it.
• I think he was more content. He sucked his fingers less ( I was interpreting this as self soothing when in fact it was a hunger cue)

-I used formula a couple of times and then used ebm. -Once I had got it all set up correctly (the sleep deprived brain made it seem more complicated than it should be), I got used to it very quickly.

• The lactation consultant suggested that I used it at every feed, but in reality I think I used it two or three times a day. This was usually a morning feed, one in the afternoon and one at around 10.30pm ish.

After a couple months, I no longer felt that I needed to use it (and this was what the consultant had expected).

I took the fenugreek tablets.

Sounds like you are doing everything you can, great that you have a supportive dh.

Any other clues for slow weight gain? I'm guessing that your lc has checked the latch, mentioned about swapping breasts during a feed etc.

Anyway, see how you get on from Monday, I'm sure things will get better soon.

Thanks Crikey - I was wondering whether to even try it but your experience has suggested it is worth a go at least.

Latch has been checked, dd2 has in the main, a good latch but obviously when she gets little/ no milk can slip slightly.
I am switch nursing and doing breast compressions during feeding. In addition to expressing and the domperidone.
DD has lots of wet nappies, dirty ones average one or two every third day.
The supplementer is my last resort - I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago about dd2 being my last baby and I was desperate to bf her.
Thank you again for sharing your experience.

Yes, definitely worth giving it a go.

You've obviously been doing everything you can, so sorry if it seemed I was trying to teach you to suck eggs!

As long as you are happy that your dd is healthy, maybe it's just a case that she is going for the slow and steady route.

Hi there

I've just weaned my DD from the supplementer after 4 weeks of use. It was a bit of a PITA but it did the job and I'm glad I stuck with it.

I've put some answers to your questions below, but a few other tips I've picked up are:

• get the bottle ready and attached before you need it otherwise you are running round with a crying baby

-tape the tube to you close to the nipple otherwise it moves

• remember your nipples elongate when they feed so allow for that when you tape on the tube - you want it to protrude a few mms over the end of your nipple

• I offered the non-suplementer breast first, switched to the other side, but kept the tube clamped until DD showed signs of slowing down and then released the clamp to make sure she got as much milk from me as poss, and also make sure that she was uckign from me for as long as poss to stimulate my supply

• it is possible to feed in public if you really have to - you slip off to loo and postion the bottle under your top, tape the tube and then cover yourself up - no-one notices. But it is a bit of a pain.

Here are the answers to the questions you asked:

I think there are 3 tubes - which one would you recommend using to begin with? I WOULD BE TEMPTED TO USE THE SMALLEST ONE TO BEGIN WITH. YOUR LO IS SO LITTLE THAT SHE SHOULDN'T NEED A FASTER FLOW AND WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO WEAN HER OFF. OBVIOUSLY IF IT SEEMS LIKE TOO HARD WORK FOR HER MOVE UP A SIZE. I STARTED WITH THE MIDDLE TUBE (AS MY DD HAD NIPPLE CONFUSION AND WAS USED TO FASTER FLOW OF BOTTLES) AND THEN MOVED DOWN TO SMALLEST ONE.

How does the sterilising work? THE INSTRUCTIONS TELL YOU TO STERILISE ONCE A DAY. SO AFTER EACH FEED I SCRUBBED BOTTLE WITH HOT SOAPY WATER, SQUEEZED THAT THROUGH THE TUBES AND THEN DID THE SAME WITH CLEAN WATER.

How long did it take for your DS to get used to the supplementer? SHE WAS FINE WITH IT THE FIRST TIME I USED IT. SHE WAS A BIT OLDER THAT YOUR DD - 10 WEEKS - BUT DIDN'T REALLY BAT AN EYELID

Did you notice he was more content after introducing this? YES - SHE HAD BEEN FUSSING ON THE BREAST AFTER A MINUTE OR TWO AND IMMEDIATELY STOPPED DOING THAT

Did you use formula as well as ebm? YES. A GOOD TIP I GOT WAS TO MIX EBM AND FORMULA AS IT MAKES THE FORMULA EASIER TO DIGEST

How long did it take for you to get used to it yourself? AFTER 4 OR 5 DAYS I'D GOT IN TO A ROUTINE WITH IT, BUT SUGGEST YOU START WHEN THERE'S SOMEONE AROUND TO HELP UNTIL YOU GET COORDINATED WITH IT

Did you use it at a set feed? Say every morning - would this be the best thing to do? I HAD TO USE MINE AT EVERY FEED, BUT THIS WAS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. I'D SUGGEST DOING IT FOR SET FEEDS SO THAT SHE IS STILL USED TO BEING BF'D WITHOUT IT AT OTHER FEEDS. IF YOU CAN AVOID USING IT AT NIGHT IT'LL BE EASIER FOR YOU.

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

Good luck!

Crikey - I didnt explain my thorough experience in my original post so no need to explain your in depth replies. I appreciate them.

Rebeccacad - thank you for the reply. It is good of you to give your advice and experience.

My supplementer arrived today and so I have had a go earlier. dd was ok with the supplementer on one breast but not the other. I think this was more my fault as I got the tubing a bit too long and it kept slipping for poor dd. I see that your tip was to tape the tube nearer the nipple - will try that tomorrow.

I used the middle tube but I think you are right, the smaller one may be best.
Will try that.

I do not get much milk when I express so I am wary about mixing formula and ebm for dd in case it gets wasted. I am neurotic that not a drop is wasted so could not bear to mix and then some get wasted if dd did not have the extra.

I think it is fiddly but will persevere.

Will pop back if I have any more questions.
Thanks to both for your help
xx

I know what you mean about wasting expressed milk. I'm also not good at expressing and just spilled my night's work much to my horror.

Glad it went well - it does get less fiddle-y and do get in touch if you need any one to talk to about the joys of the supplementer.

well done you supplementing ladies, i thought it was the instrument from hell and couldn't cope with it at all.

Great that you've started out well hormonalmum.

Glad to have helped - pop back and tell us how the weight gain goes won't you.

I am just popping back to say dd now weighs nearly 9lb after using the supplementer for 2 weeks. So she has averaged 1/2 pound per week with 2 supplemented feeds per day.
She seems a little more content but I am personally fed up of the cord around my neck!

I am still expressing quite a bit so have a small stock in the freezer as I am still paranoid that some will get wasted in the supplementer if dd does not manage it all.

I am unsure of my feelings of long term use. How long did anyone else use it for?

Hey hormonalmum that sounds like great progress. Good news on the weight gain! .

I think I kept using the supplementer for about 6 weeks and then just found that it became too much of a faff and things had started to work well without it.

Is it the defrosted bm that you are worried about wasting? Not sure how long it does keep once defrosted, but I'm sure someone here will know.

thank you for your encouragement. It is a faff but I will persevere. I just wish it was all ebm that I was giving her and not formula. Someone suggested telling myself that the formula was medicine and am giving it her to help make her better. On good days, that works, but others I still feel like a failure
Thankfully I am now getting less "feeling like a failure" days

i am freezing the ebm in 1oz's and so less likely to waste. You only make a mistake once when it comes to the precious (lacking in my case) white stuff.

Ah Hoochie, thanks for giving me a bit of perspective. It isnt easy and I aliken it to the worst of both but if it benefits dd, I should take more comfort in knowing that.

Hi hormonalmum - came on to talk about the supplementer but you've already been using it longer than I managed it for!

Wrt increasing your milk supply, have you tried more milk plus? Of all the supplements I tried (and I tried lots) it was by far the most effective.