Hellobee Boards

Have you discussed the possibility of pumping and adding the neocate to the pumped breastmilk. I work in NICU and we frequently fortify pumped milk to increase the calories the baby receives. You would pump after each breastfeed ideally, and then that would increase your supply and give you breastmilk to fortify (you would need to get the fortification recipe from your doctor, because it is different than when you add extra calories to the formula). Looking at your schedule, you could also start pumping in the middle of the night (between 11pm and 7am feeds) to increase supply and give you more pumped milk to fortify.

You're a great mom because you already know exactly what is going on, so don't let anyone discount you (especially yourself)!

Another way to get some more calories into your son via solid food is to add a glug of olive oil to the savory foods, my son loves it!

What kind of solids are you doing? Can you tell by his poo if he's digesting them? I agree with Looch, maybe try adding some olive oil to get in more calories with his solids.

Do you nurse in the mornings at all before or after solids?
Also, even if you add more bottles of formula, it doesn't mean you have to nurse less. Offer the breast first then top it off with formula.

First off I'm sorry you have to deal with this. Our son has FPIES and after many months of guessing which foods were an issue, I have decided to go on a total elimination diet in order to continue breast feeding. I've been on TED since the new year and am currently eating 6 foods. DS currently only has 1 safe food, but we are working on the second. The entire time we have not needed to supplement with formula and while NeoCate or EleCare are our options, it looks like, based on his triggers, that they will be an issue for him, so I have decided to continue to breast feed as long as possible (I will most likely switch to exclusively pumping after 1 year).

Ok sorry for the background, but just wanted to let you know where I was coming from here...We do not have the same calorie issue, so I can't help you much there (DS is in the ~85th percentile despite a basically BM only diet), but I can help you with the supply...

I can't take any of the supplements or eat oatmeal, etc since the pose a problem, so what really worked for me was increasing feedings or increasing the pumping. I still pump in the middle of the night (when DS doesn't want to night nurse) and that always helps. I notice a huge difference the next day if I would for some reason miss that pump. I also add pumps whenever possible if I feel my supply is suffering. When I made the switch to only eating a few foods, I noticed a decrease in supply and adding more oil/fat in the form of olive/canola oil really helped! I also ate this product called Coconut Manna. It is AMAZING! I noticed a huge increase in supply right after consuming, but the coconut proved to be a problem for use (cause blood in stools) so I had to cut it out. I also eat quinoa ALL the time and I feel that it does help my supply. It's also a great all around food in terms of nutrients.

I know that isn't exactly what your looking for, but I hope that helps. I know what it's like for people to say things like "why don't you just put him on formula", but you as a mom know that what your doing for your LO is best. Good luck and your not alone!