Growth Rate vs Milk Consumption

[Linda Tang]

I'm currently doing both breast & bottle feeding as my breastmilk supply is still low. Are there guidelines as to when one should increase the quantity of a formula feed?

Per guidelines & instructions, i'm feeding my child 60ml from the bottle. If its deemed insufficient for her, I'll feed her regularly based on the 60ml guideline.

When should i increase it to 70ml or 80ml? are there guidelines as to how much milk a child should consume based on their growth rate?

Cheers. Linda

[Linda Tang]

Hi Sinead & Lisha,

Thanks for the pointers.

To answer Sinead's question, doing a combination is actually advised by the lactation consultant if the milk supply is really too little. At the hospital where I delivered, the nurses were also doing that too. Their gauge is based on time - 10 mins minimal at each breast. However, after looking at the links you provided, I can see that is not an indicator for benchmarking.

Linda

[Lisha]

Hi linda, I hope you don't mind me contributing a little something from my own experience :)

I had an OB gyne who was a big advocate of breastfeeding. Before i even delivered my baby, she told not to buy bottles to avoid the temptation of switching to bottlefeeding when the breastfeeding gets off to a rough start--and i guess almost everybody encounters challenges in the beginning: the baby doesnt know how to suck, your milk hasn't "arrived" yet.. As Sinead said, the way to establish your milk suppply is to let your baby suck as often as possible. and in the beginning, it would seem like you're breastfeeding her round the clock--like every other hour! Your baby's barely 2 weeks old and if, you'd really like to breastfeed exclusively, now would be a good time to eliminate the bottle so that you can establish your milk supply to a level that would meet her needs. Babies have their own instinct too.. sometime in the next couple of weeks, you might find that all she'd wana do is suck on you! I read that they actually do this when undergoing a growth spurt and so they're trying to increase your milk by spending more time sucking. so don't get shocked if suddenly she wants to stay at your breast for what seems like forever! I had these episodes with my son, so it's quite normal :)

i breastfed my son exclusively for 6 weeks only coz i had to get back to work. But i manage to pump at the office, so until now, 10 months later, we still get to breastfeed at nights, and I think it's one of the best things about being a mom.

I hope it all works out :)

[Sinead]

Hi Linda... I'm interested as to who advised you to supplement breasteeds with formula? This will only diminish your milk supply because your milk is made on demand. In order to increase your supply you need to breastfeed more often, particularly during the early hours of the morning when your prolactin (the milk making hormone) levels are at a peak. If your baby is sleeping you need to lift her and put her on the breast. She will most likely begin to feed and if she doesn't you can try to stimulate her a little by rubbing her back, feet or hands gently. Alternatively you can express although this will mean getting up etc etc and it really is much easier to just breastfeed...

I can't say how much formula you should be giving her as you really should be avoiding giving her any formula at all. There are some medications and natural remedies that can increase your milk production if feeding more often doesn't help things along. See the following articles on my website for more information:
Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?

Increasing Breastmilk

Cabbage Leaves, Herbs and Lecithin Have a look at the section on this page entitled "Herbs".

I really hope these articles help as substituting breastfeeds with formula is the reason many mothers end up quitting prematurely as their babies find it easier to suck from a bottle than a nipple. There are actually two different sucking actions involved and your baby can end up refusing the breast completely - sorry, I'm not trying to scare you but just trying to make you see that formula is not the answer to your question!!! :) Let me know how you get on... it can take up to 6 weeks for your supply to settle down but in most cases new mothers have an oversupply rather than too little breastmilk and that is why frequent feeding is so important.

Sinead