Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Butternut, both my kids have been big (the Emperor was flat out huge) and both did the dream feed thing. Actually, the Magician, who is way way smaller, has fewer overnight feedings (usually < 3 a night) than E ever did until he was over one.

If your doctor is only concerned because of sleep issues and its not a problem for you-- I think i'd try not to stress about it overmuch.

Well, my partner tried giving her a bottle of formula after the pumped milk she usually gets while I'm at work and she wouldn't drink it. Stinky faces all the way. I guess we will try a different kind? I'm not sure how to fit in formula with continued breastfeeding so I think I'm going to meet with my LC next week to sort this out.

The way we did formula supplementation:

When nursing, we'd nurse first and then give a bottle of formula. I have also heard to give the bottle first if the baby is flipping out hungry and not able to latch because of it, but we never had to do that and I'd be worried about the baby filling up on formula and then not wanting to nurse.

When feeding expressed milk, we'd mix formula into the milk and give them together - this particularly made sense because I'd usually only get 1-2 oz. a day when pumping, so not enough to really fill a whole bottle. Some babies won't take a second bottle when their hunger has been mostly sated, even if they would otherwise have drunk more if their first bottle contained more. It also helps mitigate the different taste. My SIL did the same when she decided to wean to formula from exclusive pumping. How much pumped milk does she get at a feeding?

If you're not already, make sure to bottle feed in a way that supports breastfeeding - NOT lying down, but with the baby sitting up on your knee (propped up by one arm) and the bottle as close to level as possible so she has to work a little for it, and using a nipple with a slow flow.

I'm sure you've already heard all the stuff about "nursing vacations," have explored herbal supplements and foods that are galactologues, and possibly pumping schedules on top of nursing to help your supply if it's a supply issue. The book "Making More Milk" is really good. There are also two drugs that are commonly prescribed for supply - one of which is easily available in the US, but can cause anxiety issues, and the other which you can only get from compounding pharmacies. Might be something to explore with your LC if you're really dealing with supply issues, to help you move past formula supplementing. I have totally been through everything in terms of working on my supply (alas, mostly useless in my case, but a real education that I am happy to share). I think reffinej has also been through tons of stuff on the same front, with seeming success.

Butternut, your baby sleeps way better than both of mine did at that age. Beetroot was an okay sleeper, but never napped during the day. Raygold would have a nap during the day, but never slept more than 2 hours straight (usually less) for the first, maybe 18 months of his life and wouldn't even stay in bed for more than 9 hours at night until recently.
If your kid is 6 months, you'll probably be starting solids soon. I honestly would not bother to introduce formula. Your doctor said her small size not harming her and if his concern is sleep and sleep is not your concern, why bother with the formula? As far as I'm concerned, it seems unnecessary in your case and is just an added expense and hassle.

Well, I met with the lactation consultant and did a weighed feeding. She thought everything seemed good, meaning she's getting enough breast milk for the amount of times we nurse a day. The LC thought it was weird that our doctor didn't want to do a weight check in a month to see if things are better so I may schedule that to put my mind at ease. She also said I could go ahead and supplement to beef her up but she didn't think that was necessary. I don't want to beef her up unless being small is harmful. Anyway, I'm relieved to get confirmation that my supply is enough but still worried enough that I'm thinking about it all the time.

I also might get my thyroid checked per the LC's recommendation.

What good news! I don't see why you would need to beef her up if she is healthy and happy (mind you, for a while, I was sneaking in a little extra olive oil when I fed my kids). I would totally sign up for a weight check-in if you think you would feel better.

Refresh my memory -- is this your first baby? I remember wondering if Beety was getting enough colostrum when I first had him (my milk didn't come in for, like, 5 days and he was on the boob constantly), but the midwives were coming every other day and weighing him and saying it was okay.

Well, she's not a newborn. She's almost seven months and thriving. It's just that she's. Even dropping percentiles on the weight chart. I think the weight check is a good idea. She's really increased her solids lately so I hope that helps.

Good luck Butternut and Babynut! I hope the weighings give you some comfort that she is growing and thriving. Totally unscientific, but having met her, I can say that she is off the charts in cuteness. That is one gorgeous and perfect baby you have there!

Butternut, let us know how it goes! I had a friend in a similar situation who did supplement with formula (and eventually switched completely) but her little boy was (besides being very small) really, really fussy and crabby even at 6 months. Once he started getting enough to eat, it was startling how much his personality changed and how his growth took off. It doesn't sound like this is the case for you guys - baby sounds happy and healthy - but there are those times it really does make a difference. For what it's worth, both of my kids dropped from 50% to 5% around 9 months, which coincided with more solids/more movement/less nursing and they are both healthy and on track developmentally (if still a bit on the small side). You sound like you're staying on top of it - it's one of those things that's probably no big deal, but it's always good to get some more information.

Malka dropped from 75% to 50% between 6 and 9 months. Solids are less calorie and nutrient dense than breast milk or formula and that's when most babies start moving a lot, so it's a normal time to drop percentages. Hopefully BabyNut will figure out that solids thing faster than Malka has. If you're doing purees, you could also try adding pumped milk to the puree to bump up the calories/nutrition.

Awwww. Thanks tofulish. You're so sweet to say that. I think she's amazing. Thanks everyone for the support. It's good to have a place to share some of the first-time-parent worries.

We went for a weigh-in today and good news! She gained a whole pound in two weeks and moved up several percentiles. Yay! I haven't been supplementing with formula so BLW is going well an nursing must be on track. I'm so relieved.

Hurrah! We've been thinking of you, and its so nice to hear good news! Yay BBNut <3 <3 <3 !

Yay Butternut!!!!