My MB wants to solely breastfeed but isn't producing enough milk
![[Post New]](/nanny-forum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| Hi all so my MB just bad baby number 2 about 7 weeks... Of course in the beginning breastfeeding goes well and baby doesn't really need that much.. However he is getting bigger and when I bottle feed he drinks a solid 5 oz... Even after she nurses he screams for 20 min and when I suggest topping him off with formula he literally guzzles 4 oz and then sleeps. . I'm a mom and breastfed for 17 months so I know how important it is and you just want that bond.... but I don't think it's fair to keep putting the baby on the breast in his not getting satisfied. When I have him all day while she is running errands our schedule is every 4 hours because I know how much he is getting from a bottle but when she's home he's eating almost every hour and it's because he's not getting enough. Can I explain this to her without offending her because even when she does pop she's only getting about 3 oz and that's with both breasts. And of course if she gives him a bottle at night he will have long stretches of sleep as opposed to waking up all the time. Has any other mom struggled with this if so what did you do and how can I help her. I don't want her to feel like a failure of course |
Anonymous
|
Just keep gently reminding her that a fed baby is best. And keep giving him bottles.
Poor little guy. |
Anonymous
| Looks like she needs consultation with a lactation specialist. Did she have the same problem with the first child? |
Anonymous
| Babies go through a stage where they cluster feed. It seems like they are in the breast 24/7 and starving. Sometimes it leads people to believe they aren’t producing enough. If baby is gaining weight well and otherwise ok I would wait a bit. Baby just might be going through a cluster feed phase. |
Anonymous
|
1. She should see a lactation consultant to make a plan (whether to try to increase supple or to settle on an approach for supplementing).
2. She is aware of you supplementing with a bottle and on board with it, right? I’m fully in the “fed is best” camp, but she’s the mom here, so I’m hoping you’re not doing any of this supplementing without her knowledge. If she would like to work on the goal of increasing supply, everyone needs to be on the same page about the plan, and figuring out how to support. Bottle supplementing could undermine her efforts if not part of a plan. |
Anonymous
No, if the nanny neglects to feed the child who is screaming in hunger, that is neglect... |
Anonymous
I would never supplement without letting her know secondly she's gone for most of the day and if she isn't pumping how else is he supposed to eat so yes she knows that he is on formula. What I'm saying is when she is home she nurses him for 45 minutes but 10 minutes later he will devour a 4oz bottle because he's screaming from still being hungry which means 45 minutes of him nursing he probably was not getting any milk or sucking hard to get a couple of ounces because even when she pumps she is only getting 1 or 2 oz of milk the only time she gets more than that is if it's been 6 hours since she's breastfed then she'll get 5 oz |
Anonymous
| All I would mention to her is seeing a good lactation consultant. And keep giving him bottles. Chances are, without real intervention and schedule changes, the baby will force weaning by simply refusing to nurse. |
Anonymous
|
This sounds like cluster feeding. I had a baby who ate every hour all night long. Stay out of it, OP. The baby is fine.
You have experience with your baby but babies can vary a lot in their feeding patterns. |
Anonymous
Sorry, but no. If the baby is feeding for 45 minutes, crying, then sucking down 4oz 10 minutes later, that means he’s not getting enough. Babies do cluster feed, but this is not cluster feeding. Can you talk to the husband? She’s clearly not producing enough milk. |
Anonymous
Cluster feeding is when they eat frequently for a short amount of time. Eating every hour all night is not cluster feeding. It’s likely you had low supply. Unless a growth spurt, no Abby needs to eat every hour unless they’re not getting enough, or using you for comfort. |
Anonymous
My baby ate a lot at night, super often, and then had a few bottles during the day. He was a super fat, always 99% for weight and height baby. He was a cluster feeder. OP should keep doing what she is doing (feeding formula with MB's permission after breastmilk during the day) but should stay out of it other wise. |
Anonymous
|
I'm confused--she is gone all day but isn't pumping while she's gone? That's likely a huge part of her supply issue. You can sometimes pull that off with a much older baby, but with a newborn she needs to either be nursing or pumping if he's having a bottle--even if she's not producing much milk, she's not going to start producing more if she doesn't either nurse or pump to stimulate production.
Agreed that she should see a lactation consultant if she is committed to continuing, though. |
Anonymous
| Part of what you can do to help is to support mom with keeping her calories/water intake up for the day. When I am working with a nursing mom, I will make oatmeal bars or “cookies” and pack those and fresh cut fruit for her to snack on while she is pumping at work. I also will bring her a full glass of water every time ahe nurses at home and pack a few big water bottles along with her pump kit to take to work. That way she always has something to eat and drink whenever she is pumping. It can be really hard for moms who are working full time and pumping to stay on top of healthy snacks and hydration but it makes a big difference with nursing. |
Anonymous
I'll stay out of it when the baby isn't crying for 2 hours straight..... Or on the weekend when I'm not there. The baby isn't cluster feeding he's hungry because agaim after he takes a bottle he doesn't make a peep for 4 hours, he's happy cooing and sleeping well |