Expert: ruth kraft - 5/21/2009

Question
Hi Ruth,
My baby is 3 and half months old. I was never able to breastfeed her exclusively since she was a preemie and a very sleepy baby. As a newborn she used to feed only 5 minutes and then go to sleep and wake up after 3-4 hours. It was hard to wake her up and feed her as she used to feed only 2 mins if woken up from her sleep. And being too tired, I didnt pump at nights every 2 hours, though I used to pump during the day. So I guess my breastmilk was never really established. I've always had to supplement her with formula atleast once a day but now that she is growing up, her feeding habits are still the same. She feeds only abt 5 mins and then has no interest for about 2-3 hours. Plus she has started sleeping through the night now. Sometimes she sleeps by 8.00 pm and wakes up in the morning around 6.00 or 7.00 am for a short feed and goes back to sleep.
Due to this, I think my milk is very less and not enough for her, specially in the evenings she cries and cries even after breastfeeding and then I supplement her with formula. I know its too late but is there any way to bring up my supply again. I feel too lazy to pump and wash the parts every 2 hours. I would love feeding her directly every 2 hours but she never feeds for more than 2-5 mins which is why I had the supply issue in the first place. Shoudl I be waking her up at night since its a long gap, almost about 12 hours without feeding.
Pls advise. I dont want her to be totally dependent on formula as she grows big.
Thanks

Answer
You can try taking fenugreek and mothers milk tea to increase the supply, however, those wont matter if you arent going to stimulate the breasts to produce the milk. You need to feed every 2 hours, if the baby wont nurse , then your only other option would  be to pump. its not too late to increase your supply, but you have to do the work upfront to be able to get the long term benefits of exclusivly nursing.

If your baby isnt gaining weight well or you want to increase her supply by her nursing, then yes, I would wake her so she would nurse more often.  its hard with a preemie and takes alot of diligence at first but its very possible!

good luck!