Proud to say that I successfully and EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed my Darling through the difficult journey of 16months, we're still going strong. It's my mission to help other mommies who's fighting the batter too. Recently found out from two friends who just gave birth, are supplementing infant formula to their babies. Reason being is they don't have 'enough' milk.
It made me feel like I'm so helpless when coming to see all those commercial infant formulas making their way through to the families which were breastfeeding well initially. It's like all the effort goes to waste.
It made me feel like I'm so helpless when coming to see all those commercial infant formulas making their way through to the families which were breastfeeding well initially. It's like all the effort goes to waste.
Most new moms struggle to make it past the first few weeks and many stop breastfeeding long before they even reach their personal goals. How is that possible when the majority of breastfeeding problems (95%) are easily prevented and fully resolvable with the right help?
Chances are your baby is going through a growth spurt in the first few weeks, which last about 7-10 days. During this period, your baby will nurse more often than usual (sometimes as often as every hour) and often act fussier than usual. It also often takes a toll on a newly gave birth and exhausted mommy (that's when they give in to infant formulas!). Hang on in there!
What is the best way to handle a growth spurt?
Follow your child’s lead. Baby will automatically get more milk by nursing more frequently, and your milk supply will increase due to the increased nursing. Supplementing (and/or scheduling feeds) interferes with the natural supply and demand of milk production and will prevent your body from getting the message to make more milk during the growth spurt. In that way, after the growth spurt your supply stays the same while your baby's intake increased. No wonder you don't have enough milk!
Each ounce of infant formula you supplementing = each ounce of your milk supply reduced.
Understand what your little one is doing to your body and you'll be happy you followed his guidance and be able to meet his need.
Understand what your little one is doing to your body and you'll be happy you followed his guidance and be able to meet his need.
Be Strong.
Cheers,
Sweet Pea Mom
xoxoxo
