Dear Kathleen,

I need help!! I struggled to breastfeed my now 10 month old. After 3 months of struggle we made it and he has been breastfeeding beautifully. I work long hours and pump at work but have had a great supply. I just returned from a 5 day trip where I pumped and dumped and during that time my milk supply went from 24 oz a day to less then 15. Now my baby latches but cries after about 5 min on each side. He calms with expressed milk in a bottle. What do I do now to increase my supply back? I wanted to make it to a year and am heartbroken that I may have to stop sooner!! Help!!

Desperately yours,

Heartbroken for Milk

Hi there Heartbroken for Milk,

So sorry about your difficulty.  There are several things you can do.  First of all, I would make sure that you are using the best possible pump, like a Hygeia. If you don’t have a strong pump, you might consider either getting one or renting a clinical grade pump, like a Symphony, or an Ameda Platinum.  I would be sure that between pumpings and nursings that your breasts are being drained at least 7 times each 24 hours.  Having your breasts emptied less than this will keep your supply at the level it is at now.  The other thing I would suggest is More Milk Plus from Motherlove Herbals.  If you go to their website, you may be able to find a local distributor or order it directly from Motherlove.  This herbal product contains fenugreek and three other milk stimulating herbs.  Keep in mind that teas are a weak form of any herb and may not help much.  For a a short while you may also want to nurse before offering solids and once your supply increases, you can offer solids first, but again try to keep the number of nursings remain at a minimum of seven per 24 hours.  If your baby wakes in the night, welcome those nursings for now.

Best wishes too you!

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

My 10 month old bit me and I yelped, which made her cry. That was 6 days ago and since then she’s completely refused to nurse. She was exclusively breastfed before introducing solids and has never had formula. She won’t take a bottle and will only drink water from a sippy cup. I tried offering expressed breastmilk in an open cup but she wouldn’t have it. I’ve been mixing express breastmilk into her food but that’s all she’s been having. My supply is going and I can only pump a few oz a day. I’ve tried nursing her asleep, warm baths, skin-to-skin, everything, but she still refuses. Everything I’ve read says 10 months is too early to wean and that nursing strikes are temporary, but every day I feel more hopeless. I offer every couple of hours. She has three meals a day. I’m worried she’s missing out on essential nutrition, and even if I had to give formula I don’t know how I’d get it into her. I miss breastfeeding so much, I just want it back. 

Thank you for your help,

Not Ready to Wean

Dear Not Ready to Wean,

Tough situation!  At this point, be sure that you are expressing milk at least 7 times each 24 hours with an excellent pump to keep your production high.  You are certainly been doing the right things with co-bathing and lots of skin to skin.  I would offer your milk with an ordinary cup rather than a sippy cup with your guidance and see if she prefers that over the sippy cup.  I would also suggests seeing if she will nurse while asleep or very sleepy maybe while you lie down together in a darkened room.  Final words, hang in there.  Nursing strikes usually end as suddenly as they begin!

Good luck!

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

My son is 8 1/2 months and exclusively breast fed, and the last couple months has a side preference when he wants to relax or fall asleep. He has 6 teeth and is still in the teething process. My problem is, he bit his preferred nipple 3 times in 24 hours, drawing blood the first couple times. Now, I am trying to give it some time to heal, but he has a total meltdown when I don’t let him nurse on that side! 

Any suggestions to help him through this while I attempt to heal would be much appreciated! 

Sincerely,

Wounded Nipple

Dear Wounded,

I hope that you are expressing your milk very often with an excellent pump, at least 7 times each 24 hours.  I would also suggest feeding on that side using other positions that irritate the wounded nipple less, like “football” hold or having him straddle your thigh and then come onto the breast.  If the nipple is open after 5 days, it may then be time for an antibiotic as bites can easily become infected and then not only are they slow to heal, but you can also develop mastitis.  There are other healing remedies like Motherlove’s Nipple Cream which you may be able to find if you visist Motherlove’s website.  It contains several healing herbs and can work quickly unless there is already bacteria in the wound.  Also, you may want to learn more about biting.  If you visit my website, Kathlenhggins.com, I have a blog about “biting”.  This needs to stop!

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

I still breastfeed my just 2 year old and am 15 weeks pregnant. Breastfeeding is now VERY painful contributed by a very poor latch I think (there are teeth marks left behind on my nipples). It is no longer pleasant for me and I find myself feeling anger and resentment during feeding. The problem is my toddler is not ready to stop, she feeds on waking and before sleeps so it in entrenched in those routines. No amount of distraction, food or drink offerings or cuddles can stop endless sobbing and clawing at me. I’m at a loss.  

Thank you, 

Unpleasant Breastfeeding

Hi Unpleasant Breastfeeding,

There are a few things you can try.  First of all it is very common for nipples to be tender during pregnancy.  They may improve as your pregnancy continues.  With that and the marks from your toddlers teeth, it is no surprise that you are suffering through nursings!  There is nothing that can be done about your pregnancy nipple soreness, but you can help the problem with your toddler’s latch. Because the baby’s mouth tends to drag down the breast tissue, it may be important to lift her upwards by using a pillow and lifting your breast upward.    Experiment with other nursing positions to see which positions are more comfortable and which  avoid letting her chin rest on her chest, trying to get her head tilted back a little more.  Try and offer your breast with the nipple pointing downward and wait for a wide open mouth before latching. Feel free to use lanolin after nursings.

With all that being said, if you are still wanting to stop nursing, you can do that too! If you are only nursing in the morning and just before sleep, you and your partner can both help out.  She really is mostly weaned at this point!

For now, I would suggest tackling just one nursing at a time.  When she wakes, start of new routine of an early breakfast and some sort of play or other activity. Without telling her  “No”, let her know you are “saving the milk” until nap time, using whatever words she understands. Think of all the things she loves to do and substitute any of those things, Once you have that morning one gone, pick another, maybe the nighttime or nap time nursing. One the week-end, or in the evening, let your partner work his magic, with you out of sight.  Go take a walk. Perhaps Dad can help her off to sleep at night by making a new routine, like reading a book and rocking him for awhile.   A bath, a story and more rocking can certainly be a new way to distract her and soon you will have weaned. On the other hand, maybe one nursing a day is pleasant for the both of you.

See how changing the latch works. Move slowly on this, taking the nursings out just one at a time over a period of time until you are feeling better and she is adjusting.

Best wishes!

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

I have a soon to be 5 months old infant who is breastfed since birth and the biggest challenge is his weight, he only weighs less than 13 lbs and his birth weight was 6 lbs 12 oz. I’ve fed him every 2 hours and now sometimes 3 hrs to 4. When I pump I only produced 2 oz total from both breasts which the pediatrician isn’t happy and is very concerned that he’s probably not getting enough milk.  He spit up a lot, lots of urinations and some common bowel movements but his doctor isn’t satisfied and we keep having to go back for a weekly or biweekly weight check and now the doctor wants me to start giving him rice cereal now which I’d rather wait til he is 6 months old so I dont know what to do.  I don’t want to do formula. This is my 4th child and my 3rd child to breastfeed.  With my last 2 children I breastfed and did produced good amount of milk but this time I’m not sure if I’m producing enough milk which is very discouraging for me.  I took fenugreek for 3 months but I wished I had known I should have taken blessed thistle along with fenugreek.  Any suggestion on how I can increase my milk supply? Could it be his latch?  It still hurts when he latches on and sucks on my nipples.  I’m trying to stay positive but I feet like a failure that my baby is probably not getting enough milk from me because of his very low weight for his age.  With my other two nurslings I had a wonderful lactation consultant but that was 7 years ago and we have moved, I don’t even know how to find a good consultant.  Please help!

Yours truly,

Worried but hopeful

Hi Worried,

It’s understandable that you are worried, when I plot out your baby on the World Health Organizations Breastfed Infant Growth Charts, which you can find on line, I see that we was born on the 15th %tile and he seems to now be on the 3rd %tile.  I think you can offer him more calories without having to resort to formula.  I don’t know when you are pumping in relation to a nursing, so that doesn’t help me much.  Your baby needs more milk which has more calories, so I agree that cereal is not the answer.

I would suggest a few things.  First of all, you need to aim for 7-8 nursings each 24 hours. I would not allow the baby to go without nursing for 3-4 hours.  Watch for early hunger cues, like finger sucking and offer your breast whenever you notice this.  If your baby uses a pacifier, I would put it away.  Welcome night time feedings as mothers produce more milk in the night time.  If he sleeps through the night, I would wake him before you go to bed, or even wake him after five hours of sleep.  During the day and evening, I would try and double pump after most of these nursings for 5-10 minutes and offer him that milk after the next nursing.  This milk will be very high in calories and help him gain more weight.  While not knowing what pump you have, be sure that it is a good one, like a Medela or Hygeia or you could even rent a clinical grade pump for awhile if you have doubts about the pump you are using.  If your nipples are larger than a penny, be sure to use a larger sized flange, like a size 27mm.

Next, I would add a strong herbal galactagogue, like More Milk Plus from Motherlove Herbals.  If you go to their website, you may be able to find a local distributor or order it directly from Motherlove.  It contains, fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, and two other milk stimulating herbs.  It usually takes 48-72 hours to kick in.  A second herb you can add is GoLacta.  Go to their website for ordering information, Using both of these together can really boost your supply.  At this point, I would like to see a daily weight gain of 1/2 ounce per day.  That is normal for this age.

If your periods have already resumed, you may see that your supply lessens between the time you ovulate and when your period resumes.  If that is the case, you can take 1000 mgms of Calcium and 500 mgms of magnesium every day until your period starts.  I am assuming that you are not on any estrogen containing birth control which definitely lessens milk supply,

If your baby is spitting up, that suggests reflux to me which can cause some babies to limit their nursings.  I would avoid any of the following the following foods and beverages; these include chocolate, all citrus fruits and their juices (including strawberry, pineapple and kiwi), the gassy veggies like onion (onion powder), garlic (garlic powder), peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.  It may be your baby is reacting to the foods you’re eating, eliminating the most likely culprits first and then testing them by adding them back one at a time could help you figure out if one of these are the cause.  If this baby has the same Daddy as the others, and they had colic symptoms, you might also consider a trial off of all cow milk products for a short while to see if that helps with the spitting up.  Cow milk products can be an allergen which runs in certain families.

Lastly, if you want to find a lactation consultant, go to ILCA.org and scroll down to “Find a Lactation Consultant”, enter your info and some name should pop up.  If you have private insurance, they should cover the cost.

Best wishes to you and your baby!

Kathleen