Urgentish, please!

[Beesmummy]

Sorry, but could anyone help me -- I have a v v hungry baby (on a growth spurt?) age 8 weeks and I think I have no milk left in me, she has been feeding all day. Just realised I don't have any formula left either (have so far in her life given her three bottles using ready made Aptamil First).
Could I give her Aptamil Follow On which I have for my toddler - it says from 6 months, but is that really strict? Or alternatively I have an opened carton of Aptamil First in the fridge, but I opened it about five days ago and just haven't got around to throwing it away - it is probably too old, no?
Or should I just let her yell for a few hours and try again later... !!
thanks heaps for any advice.

Hi, try posting in Breastfeed section but I think neither of the first 2 options is ok; I think the "keep on trying" option is the one.

I hated that empty feeling which makes you doubt yourself. I would sometimes go from one breast to the other and back again and feel there was nothing there but it does increase your milk.

My sympathies.

Pop her back on the breast

Your breasts are never empty, and sucking will stimulate more milk production. 8 weeks is classic growth spurt time

5 days is too old, and folow on might give her tummy ache?

I am no expert but could not let you go unanswered

I would not give the follow on or the 5 day old carton to an 8 week old, personally. Got any local Mum friends who might be able to lend you some? Letting her yell is easier said than done.

I agree with boysarelikedogs.

Latch her back on and let her suckle as much as she wants.

Go with it, she will settle back down soon.

Can you not give her some (boiled) water which might give you some time for breasts to refill?

'kay, will do. thanks! That is kind of what I thought, but was just really hoping to find an easy way out!! Interesting that 8 weeks is prime growth spurt time, she has been just so hungry yesterday and today, v unlike her.
Back to the boob it is, looks like another looooong night.
thanks masses.

i weould just feed her still. your breasts produce milk constantly. if she is having a growth spurt then they NEED to be told that she needs more milk so that they make more milk!

just keep feeding. it's tiring, i know.

have something lovely to eat and a nice big drink and try to rest as much as you can too

And will try boiled water too, thanks!

agree with all the keep feeding advice. also, make sure you are eating and drinking plenty (great excuse for cake imo!) and resting as much as possible. i really struggled with low milk supply with ds1 as i refused to rest even when he slept but was much stricter with myself with ds2 (so going to bed with him at any opportunity that someone was here to play with ds1) and i have found that i have had so much more milk. good luck for tonight and remember this will pass very quickly!

if she has been feeding a LOT i would try to eek out the gaps a bit...let 3 hours go by

i know this may sound mean but you have to get her properly hungry so that she will get a full long feed and get the hind milk...

if she 'snacks' she will just keep getting watery foremilk and this will not saitiate her as much and exhaust you

she may cry but bide your time - ime getting into more of a routine makes for more successful feeding - less exhausted mummy and better weight gain

hth

Don't give boiled water - your baby is asking for milk because she needs milk. There is no such thing as an empty breast - there is always something there. Breasts needing 'time to refill' is a myth.

Giving water or formula will disrupt the supply and demand basis on which milk production works - the less milk is removed from your breasts, the less your breasts wil produce. This can to lead to a vicious circle of supply problems.

8 Weeks is indeed classic growth sput time, sit it out if you can and feed as much as she needs. In a couple of days your breasts will 'catch up' and start producing more milk to meet her needs.

Good luck

Paula surely she needs to go with demand from baby, her body (breasts) will respond by making more milk the more that the baby is fed; by 'eking out' the feeds she will be producing less milk.

I'm not convinved that an 8 week old needs boiled water, feeding is the answer.

Hoping for an expert to come and help here

Foremilk/hindmilk is a bit of a myth too

Breasts do not make two different sorts of milk with two different fat contents. It is just that the less milk is in the breast at any given time, the higher the fat content.

Look here, it explains it well

I disagree with Paula.

Have a look at this mn'ers fan blog for some excellent information.

Great minds anarchyaunt

'Tis very good isn't it?

Beesmummy - really, don't worry about foremilk/hindmilk, or boiled water either. Let her feed and be assured she will be getting milk from you, and that she will be stimulating more milk production.

having pumped milk for 6 children for a year each i can assure you milk does have different types

watery bluish foremilk

thick creamy hindmilk

The separation is simply the fat in the milk rising to the surface, not a different type of milk.

myself and my hvs over past 17 years beg to differ bald

okeydoke

Nope. Its all the same milk.

It may separate, and so appear to be different types of milk.

"A woman's breast really only makes one type of milk, the higher-fat milk that we typically think of as hindmilk. As milk is produced in the breast, the fat globules in the milk tend to stick to each other and to the walls of the alveoli (where the milk is made). Between feedings, milk collects in mom's breasts and gradually moves out toward the nipple, leaving more and more of the fat "stuck" further back in the milk ducts. The more time between feedings, the lower the fat content of the foremilk available to baby at the beginning of the feeding.

Once the let-down (or Milk Ejection Reflex/MER) is triggered (by baby's nursing, pumping, etc.), the milk is squeezed down the ducts until it becomes accessible to the baby. Milk production is not faster during letdown - the flow is simply faster. There are several let-downs per feed, although most mothers only sense the first one.

As the breast starts to empty, the fat globules begin to dislodge and move down the ducts (let-down facilitates this process). So the further into the feed, the higher the fat content of the milk, as more and more fat globules are forced out. The end result is that the milk gradually increases in fat as the feeding progresses."

From Kellymom

Your breasts fill as the baby demands, so if you latch your baby your breasts will produce more.

The fore/hind milk theory is rubbish, I had a fab hv who had done studies on it.

I hated the empty feeling and sometimes felt that my breasts were empty. I felt like I should give formula because my dd was starving and I was scared I wasn't producing enough. I was wrong and thankfully had good advice from people who knew what they were talking about. If you suppliment with formula, it will effect your supply, simple as that.

probably way too late to mention this now but make sure you keep rehydrating YOURSELF. Drink lots and lots of water to help your boobs make more milk.

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