don't know what to do

[Nicole0896]

hi, I've never posted on here and I'm just looking for some advice.

So my LB is nearly 19weeks old and is currently on expressed breast milk, my supply has been up and down since birth and I take medication to try increase this. My LB can only have normal formula every so often (about twice a week) due to it making him poorly and the doctor prescribed formula for him but he would just not drink this.

I did want to wait till 6months to wean but my supply is slow running out and I don't know what else to do as my baby still needs to feed and I'm really struggling. My HV said to keep expressing and not to give more formula but she doesn't understand that I'm really struggling?

And advice would be great as I don't know weather to try weaning or what to do

Even after weaning starts they still get most of their calories from milk until around 9months old, if not a year. So early weaning won’t help sorry.

Keep trying alternatives. Maybe mix the new formula from the doctor with your expressed milk, increasing the amount of formula each time? He may object to two different tastes in one day but a gradually changing taste is easier to disguise. Start with 10% formula and work up

To increase your supply have you tried “cluster feeding” but expressing? Breastfed babies have growth spurts where they feed every hour or two for a few days, it’s totally draining but when I was expressing for months I did this to keep my supply up.

There are other prescription formulas. You could ask your GP to try a different one. Also make it clear to your health visitor how desperate things are getting for you. You need proper support. As PP said even when weaning they get most of their calories and nutrition from milk so it won't really help you. DS has been weaning for a few weeks and his milk requirements haven't really changed at all yet.

www.laleche.org.uk/

Are great. Loads of very detailed advice on all sorts of topics, and a helpline, for support, too.

Have you had support from a lactation adviser? Not all health visitors are that helpful, sadly. I know provision varies, but maybe worth asking what's available in your area?

As PP say I think you need support from a breastfeeding advisor or lactation consultant. The best thing for your supply would really be to slowly work on getting your baby back onto the breast, probably with nipple shields to mimic the bottle. You could even use a supplemental nursing system so your baby gets milk quickly and doesn't get frustrated at the breast after getting used to the bottle. Your baby is likely to stimulate your breasts much better than your pump.

Hi, i would like to thank you all for your advice,

I have tried mixing little amounts of the prescribed formula with my breast milk but he still won't take it, I really don't want to wean early so I am going to get to my GP again and try get a different formula that he might drink. He had 2 normal formulas in the space of 2 days and im just hoping he doesn't end up unwell again.

I have a lot of support regarding trying to get him to latch and every so often he will latch for a few minutes but most of the time he will just cry at the breast so I have been pumping since he was 2 days old. I had a lot of trouble in hospital and a midwife decide to feed him from a bottle then when I explained I was trying to breastfeed she did it again at his next feed so it had been really difficult.
Also cluster feeding doesn't work anymore, I have tried it the last 2weeks and if I cluster feed every hour or 2 I only get about 1 or 2oz which I need roughly 5-7oz every 3hours so its a real hard one for me.

Thank you again for all your advice, im going to keep away from weaning early and just try and get my GP and HV to support me more and find a solution that works best for my LB.