I switched my baby girl from breastmilk to formula only to have her drop from the 50 percentile to the 3rd. So after trying several formulas with no luck, and then being fired from my doctor's office for refusing to buy a very expensive prescription that I could not afford and insurance won't pay for, we placed her on donor breastmilk. I am trying to relactate but having no luck. Anyone else been through this? Any advice?
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@Kcrzn89: Have you tried any of these tips?
http://www.hellobee.com/2011/09/28/increasing-your-milk-supply/ -
I went through relactation. In the end, the time it took to do it wasn't worth it for me. Spending a 1/4 of my life tied to a pump was outrageous when I could be spending that time with her. My daughter did fine on formula though, so it was a different situation for us.
For me, I took fenugreek and drank tons of Mother's Milk Tea. I pumped for 20 minutes every 2 hours, even at night. I was to a point where I was producing milk, but only enough for one bottle a day. Make sure to do breast massages during pumping and hand express afterwards. I drank tons of water.
What was the situation with your daughter? Is she allergic to regular formula? Will she just not eat it? Is there a prescription formula your insurance will cover?
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@zippylef: My insurance won't cover ANY formulas at all, but will cover Human Milk Fortifier. After everything we tried, I am not even sure it is worth trying to go find one that will work. She is not allergic at all to formula. She just grows at a very slow pace on it. She will eat it but not as often or as much as she should. I am eating oatmeal every day 2-3 times a day. It is my breakfast and snacks all day. I am slowly increasing my water intake. I have cut almost all caffeine out. I am taking fenugreek. I smell like durn pancakes. LOL. I have wanted to try mother's milk tea and some of the supplements from GNC made to increase. I am going to make some lactation cookies later and probably spend most of my evening pumping once she goes to bed.
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I did. At 5 weeks old DS was FTT because he was still under his birth weight. I tried everything I could to get a greater supply and up my calories so it would have a higher fat content (I'm a vegetarian and wasn't really eating much postpartum). I ended supplementing with formula and taking domperidone to up my supply. We've been steady ever since but DS is 10 months old and still 10th percentile for weight. He's super tall though and doing great.
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@Kcrzn89: You have to pump regularly. It needs to be like clockwork. EVERY 2 hours. Not just during the day, not just at night. Every 2 hours. Your body has to realize there is a regular demand for milk before it will produce it. You can also try nursing with an SNS, which is a small tube that you tape to your breast and it feeds supplementing breastmilk or formula to the baby while they nurse from you. It can take weeks or even months to see any progress with relactation.
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@zippylef: We do nurse with a SNS. I have been doing this for the past 3 months. My LC said not to pump all day long but to feed her at the breast as much as possible and pump a few times a day and more often at night. She is eating about every 2 hours sometimes less.
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@Kcrzn89: See if you can get someone to prescribe domperidone for you. It works much better than fenugreek. Some docs might have called our daughter FTT, but luckily our doc recognizes that she is just destined to be in the <5%ile in all aspects.
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@Mrs. Jacks: Are you in the US? Someone else mentioned this to me locally and I was told it had to be imported that it was not available here. I've been taking Reglan.
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@Kcrzn89: You can buy domperidone online. I've heard that it is more successful than Reglan, without the side effects. I thought about doing it.
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@zippylef: Where do you purchase from online? I do not want to purchase something and end up scammed because it wasn't a real company. (Has happened a couple times in the past on other purchases from outside the US.)
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I am sorry to hear you have having so many struggles. My son was FTT at 6 months old due to food intolerances. He dropped from the 50th percentile to the 0.5 percentile. We did the expensive formula for a bit but I never stopped breastfeeding. Since about 11 months old he has been improving a lot. He has gained a pound a month. He is now in the percentiles. You can do it.
How old is your baby? Is she close enough to starting solids? That could help a ton if she is refusing the formula.
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@Kcrzn89: Unfortunately, I don't know.
I'm in the UK, so it's readily available here. I do know it can be gotten online. I just don't know where.
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I'm sorry you are going through this : /
My son is not FTT, but was born in the 1st percentile and at 5.5 months remains there but is perfectly happy and healthy.
Do you feel she is not doing well? Can she start solids yet?
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My friend @obxwife took Domperidone and said it helped soooo much. I would definitely look into that to help your supply. I'm so sorry you're going through this. I also hope you can find a more sympathetic pediatrician!!
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@Kcrzn89: I'm in the US, but you can get it from Canada. I've seen a couple of pro-breastfeeding lactation certified pediatricians with either a stash or prescribing... You should look into the options with it.
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None of the pediatricians here use or recommend.
I feel that she has enough wets/dirty diapers, she meets or exceeds all milestones, and eats as much if not more then she should. She has very long arms and legs but it just smaller then most 6 months olds. I think she looks healthy though. But every time I go to the dr I am told she is not doing as well as needed. I can't change pedis again either. The other office fired us and this is the only other option. They will fire you for not listening to them here. And when one dr fires you the whole office will refuse to see you.
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Im so sorry. Here is some information
http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/meds/prescript_galactagogue/
On May 28, 2006, a US Federal Judge ruled that the FDA cannot prohibit compounding pharmacies from filling prescriptions issued by US doctors. **This means it is absolutely legal for a US physician to write a presciption for domperidone and for a US compounding pharmacy to fill it.**
http://www.lowmilksupply.org/domperidone-safe.shtml -
Try pumping after you nurse, especially in the morning. You won't get much at first, but it stimulate your body to produce more milk. Also try lactation cookies, but make sure you are using lots of brewers yeast (some recipes call for more brewers yeast than others). Also drink TONS of water - shoot for 100 ounces a day.
You can do it!! Try not to stress, everything will be okay and the stress doesn't help with milk production.
I'm in the UK, so it's readily available here. I do know it can be gotten online. I just don't know where.
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