Regarding Feeding problem

Dear SSSMagic,

There is something called as Breast Assisted feeding i.e giving formula milk to the baby once or twice in a day. I started my baby on formula milk, a bottle once a day so that he is accustomed to the taste of formula milk. Giving formula milk is a personal choice. Its important that your baby gets proper feeds.

1. Try to feed your milk to the baby frequently (every 2 -3 hours). This will help her to latch on to the breasts.

2. Breastfeeding should be pain free, ask your doctor to prescribe you cream for sore nipple.

3.

Consumption of milk does not produce milk.

Try these,

1. Make broken wheat khichadi and have it with mixing little milk. If you like milk and daliya combination then have it. A bowl in morning and evening.

2. Soak 1 tsp of methi seeds in water for few hours, drink the water and eat the seeds. This is an excellent lactation agent.

3. Have papaya.

4. Oats also aids milk production.

I have made use of the above ingredients and never had a complain about milk supply.

And on the last note, My husband is a formula fed baby and he did his masters and phd from IIT. So formula fed babies are active and smart but nothing beats mothers milk. So probably you can try to feed her as much as you can and if she still is hungry then you can assist the feeding with formula milk. The most important thing for the growth of the baby is that she should get proper amount of milk to satisfy her hunger and growth spurts so that she gains proper weight and height.

My friend had very less milk supply and for her there was no option then to formula feed the baby, so whatever milk she used to produce she used add it in the formula milk bottle. Her son practically grew in front of my eyes and I meet him every weekend, he is now 4 years old, he is very active, good in sports and studies.

All the best.

regards

 

Hi Sssmagic

congrats. As others said mother's milk is gud for the baby. u need to keep pumping ur milk in intervals of 2 hours then
only the production will increase. Give ur milk first and then formula milk.
U can try nipcare cream for the soreness. and gently rub ur nipples with breastmilk.
Ask the doctor to help u while nursing cause position is very important while nursing.

All the best. don't lose hope

 

Hi Sssmagic

congrats. As others said mother's milk is gud for the baby. u need to keep pumping ur milk in intervals of 2 hours then
only the production will increase. Give ur milk first and then formula milk.
U can try nipcare cream for the soreness. and gently rub ur nipples with breastmilk.
Ask the doctor to help u while nursing cause position is very important while nursing.
Drink plenty of water.

All the best. don't lose hope

 

I am well aware of the differences between mother's milk and formula. I know her struggle well, though, and I also know that formula is better than nothing when milk is not enough or not available. Certainly better than letting the baby go hungry (not that I think any mother would let her baby go hungry if she had a way to feed them). In that light, in comparison to nothing, formula IS a decent substitute.

Many women, including myself, have suggested things to help her, from increasing milk production to formula supplementing and several things in between. In that last post, I provided an answer for her question of how formula fed babies fared. In my experience and that of other moms I know, our formula fed babies turn out just as healthy and active as their breastfed counterparts.

I would, and did, advise her to breastfeed first and to continue as long as possible (any milk is better than none), but I have known many women who were unable to nurse their babies and had to switch to formula as a supplement or only feeding option. Myself included. I don't see why we have to throw all this guilt on moms who have no choice but to offer formula in addition to or instead of breastmilk when they are unable to breastfeed, for whatever reason. A lot of breastfeeding advocates are all too quick to tell moms, especially first time moms, that formula is evil and that they are bad parents for using it.

I had to switch to formula for my eldest child. I am certain that if I had been told that formula was always bad and had been given all that guilt for giving my baby formula, even though I was not capable of giving him breastmilk when I desperately wanted to, I would have had a far more difficult time emotionally with the whole thing. SSSMagic is already struggling emotionally with this problem. I didn't want to layer additional guilt on her if she has to supplement with formula.

 

s magic,
Have you tried meeting a lactation consultant or a breastfeeding counselor? please google these terms and find out a good consultant. there is a lot of in-person help that these professionals can give you. i understand that internet and forums are a great support, but nothing beats face-to-face consultations. i myself have counseled many mom's and find that some issues are best dealt with in-person.
all the best

 

Sorry to say but formula IS a decent substitute. What can one do if they have low milk supply? Formula is a decent substitute.

 

Smagic...Ahhh, congrats honey. baby is here?!! So happy for you.

I can think of a few suggestions.

1. D NOT use any pull techniques to nipples. It will lead to pain; start lanolin based cream to prevent dry/cracked nipples.

2. Get some lanolin based nursing pads. That will sooth your nipple.

3. You need to consult a lactation consultant. That will be immensely helpful as they will show you exactly how to hold the baby and how to help them latch.

4. Buy a decent breast pump. Massage your breast and pump as and when you can.

5. My mom gave me white bread soaked in warm milk and that helped in increase in milk supply. Garlic helps too.

6. No, you cannot substitute anything else other than milk for a baby this young. Supplement with formula, as I am sure you have started doing now.

7. Mine was a low birth weight baby and according to her doctor, I had to supplement her with formula. For every 20 ml breast milk she had, I have to give 8-10 ml of formula. I could measure it because I used to pump aong with feeding directly.

8. When you have low milk supply, its perfectly fine to formula feed. do not let any idiot tell you that formula is no good and guilt you into thinking that you are not an adequate mom. Yes, breast milk is the best for the baby but what can you do if you dont have supply? So...dont feel guilty.

9. lastly, from 4th month onwards my DD is exclusively formula fed. She is active, healthy and a happy kid.

10. Formula feeding is a personal choice; nothing wrong if you totally feel uncomfortable with breast feeding and want to shift to formula.

 

Dear Smagic,
You are taking a lot of effort to breastfeed your baby, please go ahead and meet a lactation consultant or a breastfeeding counselor. In your case, there may be issues only they can figure out.
Now that you are supplementing with formula, try to meet someone at the earliest. The earlier the problem is resolved the better.
I would also encourage you to search on research on benefits of breastfeeding for mom and baby and comparison studies between formula fed babies and breastfed babies.
You can also visit the LLL India page on FB and get in touch with Yasmin. She will really help you. And you can post your query there, mothers there are more supportive of breastfeeding.
Please also see my next post.

 

Looking at some replies, it seems that this thread is biased and is moving towards advocating formula feeding instead of encouraging breastfeeding.
First, please note that the mother is having a supply issue. She has not run out of milk and so there are many chances that her supply will be re-established once she gets proper guidance and support in the form of a professional lactation consultant or breastfeeding counselor. Why make her comfortable with formula? In what way is this helping her? Are you just trying to make her 'feel better' by saying that formula is as good as breastmilk? Is that how you make her feel less guilty?

I am a qualified medical professional and a certified childbirth educator. I am associated with gynecologists and hospitals where I give breastfeeding support and also teach breastfeeding classes. This is being encouraged and respected in all the above settings.

Instead of encouraging the mother to find support to breastfeed, I find that arguments are cropping up in favour of formula. Please note that this mother had her baby before the due date and that the baby was in intensive care. Such babies and moms may find breastfeeding difficult and will greatly benefit from professional help. If any member comes out with a medical issue, would you suggest from personal experience or would you refer her to a specialist? Why is it that with a breastfeeding issue, formula is suggested and even supported when the mother can really benefit from encouragement to establish successful breastfeeding, especially when she can lactate?

When there are mothers who have had nil milk supply who can breastfeed successfully for more than a year after getting professional support, and when mothers with adopted children can breastfeed their babies(when they have never had any biological children), what is preventing this mother from seeking professional help and feeding her baby breastmilk? Why tell her that formula is OK?

I shall not be posting in this thread anymore as I previously mentioned it seems to be biased.
All the best to Smagic. I hope to see you exclusively breastfeed your baby very soon.