https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 05 Apr 2026 17:12:18 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723938 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 13:00:22 +0000 Silva 2723938@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LCTBQE: oh man, finally. i can't believe there was an easy solution. Hallelujah. I was like death warmed over. We kept trying sleep training but it just wouldn't take.</p> <p>@Smurfette: both my kids have been big eaters. My daughter was always pretty small, smaller than he has been, so I am wondering if maybe he hadn't started out so big the growth curve thing would look differently (more like my daughters). He is obviously hungry though, the dramatic change in sleep is enough evidence for me!!</p> <p>@ShootingStar: thanks for sharing your experience! I think once I have a plan I will feel better- for now we are going to offer a bottle of he still seems hungry after nursing and solids. And then the one at bedtime because... sleep is good </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723905 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:31:00 +0000 ShootingStar 2723905@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went through this exact thing. Ever since I stopped extra pumps (used to do before going to sleep and then after first feed) my supply started tanking. I personally chose to stop BFing for a bunch of reasons - huge affect on her sleep, I didn't want the hassle of figuring out how to supplement, and I was too worried about her being hungry all the time. </p> <p>But if BFing is important to you, then I think you can absolutely keep doing it, it just depends on what lengths you want to go to. You could:</p> <p>- Try supplements<br /> - Use an SNS system<br /> - BF then offer a bottle immediately after<br /> - BF only at certain point of the day, like morning and night. I know you want to tank him up for the night, but he made need less once he's eating more throughout the day and once he's doing a solid dinner of real food.</p> <p>Whatever you choose, don't feel guilty. I felt a lot of guilt with DS because I dried up around 7 months and I blamed it on myself and I figured if I had made different choices I could've made it come back and I decided not to. But it turns out, my body did the exact same thing this time, under completely different circumstances.</p> <p>Breastmilk is great, and nursing is a wonderful experience. But all your baby cares about is getting fed. There will be times when we can't treat each of our children exactly the same. We do the best we can for them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723904 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:30:56 +0000 Smurfette 2723904@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: Does he eat more solids then she did? Maybe that is why your supply took a hit? And girl give all the formula you can at night, if that means you both get more sleep! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723886 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 10:53:41 +0000 LCTBQE 2723886@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No advice but just wanted to echo what others have said: don't feel bad! You're providing for him and giving him full-time love and nourishment, no matter if it comes from the tap or a bottle. He got the benefit of breastmilk just the same as your girl for a long time (and the most important time). And YAY for longer blocks of sleep :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723866 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 10:23:57 +0000 Silva 2723866@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T.H.O.U.: yeah, it's hard because his growth curve has been in a steady decline since birth. The dramatic change in sleep makes it pretty obvious he was hungry over night. But maybe we can keep it at just a nighttime bottle </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723839 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 09:23:47 +0000 snowjewelz 2723839@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: Don't know if you're open to taking supplements? I had low supply with my first so I was pro-active and ordered these supplements to try. I haven't taken them long enough to really know if it's helping, but maybe that can help? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723838 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 09:23:03 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2723838@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For whatever reason my supply from my first born to my second born was way less and unfortunately my third child its even less. Now a lot of this has to do with being less diligent about pumping, not letting baby nurse on demand as much and for as long. </p> <p>Definitely check his weight but I think right now is a hard time with growth curves depending on their activity and solids intake. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723817 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 09:12:36 +0000 Silva 2723817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: thanks :/<br /> I don't even feel bad about the formula, it's more that I feel guilty I can't give him what I gave my daughter... in soooo many ways. Second baby guilt or somethibg </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723798 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 08:52:51 +0000 Smurfette 2723798@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No experience but I just wanted to say you did nothing wrong. DO NOT feel guilty at all!! Hugs friend. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/diminishing-supply-with-older-baby-formula-supplementation#post-2723761 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 07:42:21 +0000 Silva 2723761@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In the past month my supply has been dropping. I work one day a week and went from producing 9-10oz to barely 3 all day. My son has continued to wake up every two hours and seems hungry when he does. He also nurses this frequently during the day. We do BLW but he is a pretty voracious eater of solid foods.<br /> We decided to try a bottle of formula before bed, thinking it might help with sleep. He ate dinner, nursed, and then sucked down two ounces of formula. This happened again the next night with no change in sleep. Night three he took four ounces and then slept for 7 hours, and only woke up one other time all night.<br /> That's become his new pattern.<br /> I brought him to my husbands pediatric office and did a weighted feed- he got 1 ounce of breast milk. He hasn't lost any weight since his six month check but he was only up by a few ounces and had dropped nearly 25% or so (hard to say because of different scales, etc)</p> <p>I'm calling his doctor today, mainly so we can develop a plan and get an official weight on his chart so that we can monitor progress by his 9 month check.</p> <p>Yesterday he took two, 2 ounce bottles during the day (always following nursing- if he still seemed fussy, was banging on my chest in frustration, etc) and two ounces before bed</p> <p>This was never an issue with my daughter who weaned herself at 26 months. I had a super easy breastfeeding experience with her. I really want to ensure that I can continue to nurse my son, even if it's not his primary source of nutrition for a lot longer.</p> <p>So- advice? Anyone with a similar experience? How do I make sure he keeps nursing?<br /> I'm not interested in medication or extra pumping at this point, but I am feeling pretty guilty like I must have done something wrong since this wasn't a problem for my daughter :/ </p>