Expert: Sally Wendkos Olds - 7/27/2008

Question
Hello! My son was 8 lb 4 oz when born. He was born tongue tied, but still latches well (as has been confirmed by a lactation consultant.) He developed Jaundice, and at 1 week old had dropped down to 7 lb 10 oz. He was treated for jaundice, and they had me meet with a lactation consultant. My supply was very low, and they recommended supplementing. We did, a little bit. There were a lot of problems, no confidence in my part, and there were times he acted very hungry and fussy as he was nursing, acting as if he was starving and being "snatchy". He was also nursing almost constantly. At his 1 month appointment, he weighed 9 lbs even.
After that appiontment, I cut back the formula almost all together and started taking Fenugreek. My supply seemed to be doing much better and I would often go a week in between supplementation. I also heard that those seemingly starving spells were just his natural fussy period, and since he'd sleep well after them and was having a very good number of wet and poopy diapers a day, I assumed that he was actually getting enough to eat. He was happy and content between nursings, which was still pretty frequently.
He just had his 2 month appointment, and, while he's growing length and head size and is developing normally, he only weighs 9lb 11 oz. I was so sure we were doing very well with the breastfeeding!
My doctor told us (again) that he needs supplementation and isn't getting enough to eat. She suggested nursing him first on both sides, and then offering him a bottle afterwards. We don't want to starve our baby, so we've been taking her advice.
It's been almost a week now, and I notice that my breasts aren't as full as they used to be, and he is taking more formula at each meal. I don't want to make my supply worse! What can I do to catch my supply up to his demand? Was I wrong when I thought all was going well, or is his weight gain normal? I looked it up online and it looks as if his weight gain isn't following the curve of average breastfed baby growth...I am so confused by all of the information out there....please help!
Thank you!
Anita

Answer
Dear Anita,

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you have been having, and commend you for being so persistent!

To build your supply of milk, you might try pumping between feedings to stimulate your breasts. Also, I'm attaching an excerpt from my book (see below) with other suggestions for improving milk production. I hope some of these help. Also, I will consult Dr. Marks and if she has any further thoughts, I'll send you a follow-up message.

Did anyone ever suggest a frenulotomy for your baby's tongue-tie? I'm wondering what your pediatrician says about that.

Good luck!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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Ways to Build Up Your Milk Production
New mothers sometimes fear that they won’t have enough milk to feed their babies. They hear stories about other women who “didn’t have enough milk,” and they worry that they might be in this category. But when you look closely at the situations of these other women, the problem can almost always be ascribed to lack of information, lack of encouragement, or faulty nursing technique by either mother or baby. You need to tell yourself that millions of other women nurse their babies, and you can, too. Following one or more of the suggestions below should increase your milk supply within a few days.
• Nurse your baby more frequently for several days, using both breasts at each feeding. This is the single best way to enhance your flow of milk.
• Wake your baby, if necessary, to feed him more often.
* Pump or express milk between feedings. But don’t get discouraged if your pumping yields as little as half an ounce of breast milk. Your baby is almost certainly getting more than this. Even the best pump is less effective than a vigorously nursing baby. (More about pumping in Chapters 16 and 17.)
• See a lactation specialist if your baby is not suckling well or nurses only a few minutes at a time.
• Cut back on your schedule. Do less. Rest more. Nap at least once a day, more often if you can manage it. Ask someone else to help with marketing, cooking simple meals (or getting take-out food), and doing basic laundry. Most people like to help a new mother, so take advantage of this willingness now. You can always reciprocate later on.
* Even though everyone wants to see the new baby, ask visitors not to come for several days -- or even weeks -- unless they’re people who will wait on you, not expect you to entertain them. Let your answering machine take phone calls – which you can return later when you’re not so tired. Well-meaning family and friends can wear out the new mom.
• If you can, take an occasional day or two off from work or from other obligations (by, for example, having someone come in to care for your other children) so that you can focus only on nursing your baby.
• Check your diet. Are you eating enough? Are you eating the right foods? Are you drinking enough fluids? Some women find that eating or drinking more seems to produce more milk. Keeping a glass of water or juice near the spot where you nurse is a good idea. You don’t need to drink any more than you need to meet your thirst, but some nursing moms find that they are thirstier than usual.
• Make a special effort to relax, as suggested in the box on page tk. Of course, this is hard when you’re concerned that your baby isn’t getting enough milk—but the more you can relax, the more milk your baby is likely to receive.
• Develop a few affirmations that you can repeat to yourself, such as: “I am a bounteous supplier of milk for my baby”; “I am doing the best thing I can as a mother”; “My baby is growing fit and healthy from my milk”; “My milk is my baby’s perfect food.”
* Visualize your baby at a little older age, looking well fed and  happy.
* Galactogogues: Virtually every culture in the world has recommended certain foods or substances to nursing mothers, in the belief that they help to make milk. In China, nursing mothers have been urged to eat “a mixture of pork fat and red gram (a type of bean), cuttlefish soup, shrimps’ heads in wine, and a special sweet wine made from glutinous rice, given together with the larvae of the blow-fly.” In India, it’s garlic, tamarind, and cottonseed; in France, powdered fennel; and in Nepal, chicken soup, buffalo milk, butter, and rice. In the U.S. vitamin B complex, brewer’s yeast, and the herbs fenugreek (also called fenugeek) and blessed thistle are sometimes recommended, as is the controversial prescription drug domperidone, which has not been approved for any use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (See Chapter 10 and the Websites Appendix for more about drugs and lactation.)
  Cheston M. Berlin, Jr., M.D., a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology who has an interest in drugs and lactation, has concluded that the effects of such potions may be largely psychological. The mother thinks that a certain substance will increase her milk supply, so she relaxes and has a good let-down reflex, thus “proving” its value.

As we have stated, though, the best way to build up your milk supply isn’t what you eat. It’s what—and how much—and how often—your baby eats. The cutting edge research of Dr. Peter E. Hartmann’s Australian team (discussed in Chapter 3) has  confirmed what many breastfeeding experts have known for years: that emptying the breast is the best stimulus to milk production. The more often you nurse your baby and the more vigorously she nurses, the more milk you’re likely to have.
• Believe in yourself and trust your body.

Note: Do not offer your baby formula while you’re building up your milk supply. A few ounces soon turn into a full bottle, which soon turns into several bottles, until you find that you’re producing even less milk. If your baby is drinking from a bottle, he is not stimulating your breasts and thus not doing the most effective thing that will increase your supply of milk. In most cases, a breastfed baby should not be offered a bottle until nursing is well established—by at least six weeks of age.
  The only exception to this is if your baby’s doctor (not your friends or relatives!) feels that he absolutely needs a supplement. Your doctor may be worried if your baby is sick, dehydrated, so small that his health is endangered, or if he is not gaining enough weight. Any one of these conditions may leave him without enough energy to nurse vigorously and thereby stimulate your milk production. If you do supplement with formula, you might try offering the bottle first before nursing him. Christina Smillie, M.D., a pediatrician and board-certified lactation consultant, recommends this reversal of the usual order of breast-followed-by-supplement so that the baby’s immediate hunger will be satisfied and that he will receive necessary nourishment – but that he will get his final sense of satiety from breast milk, and associate this good feeling with his mother. Another way of supplementing is to use a nursing supplementer, a device that lets your baby suckle at your breast (thus stimulating your milk production) while at the same time receiving formula (see page tk for a description).
  Once breastfeeding is well established, you may want to give your baby an occasional bottle of breast milk or formula. Ideally, you should wait until your baby is six months old to feed anything besides your good breast milk  (see Chapters 11, 12, and 17).