[freesiangel]

I am in a state of panic right now! We had to travel last weekend for DH's dads retirement party and then we went camping for a day after that (camper camping, not tent camping). I brought my pump with, but for some reason Xander seemed to *get it* and started nursing really well, so I primarily nursed him those two days. I did, however, still pump twice a day to get any milk he may have missed (I usually pump 4 times a day and he only nurses a few times). We got home and he was still nursing great. I even tested my output by giving him a bottle of pumped milk every few days so I could pump and make sure I was getting the same amount of milk out. I was and I was so excited!! My baby finally, after 8 1/2 months, figured this whole nursing thing out! Well, the next day he decided to nurse like crap again. I was still pumping twice a day to get the extra. Then after another day I got a plugged milk duct (which suuuucked), so I literally spent the entire day either nursing or pumping every hour! After a full day of that I finally got the clog out... The next day I decided that Xander just didn't want to nurse good and decided to go back to pumping 4 times a day and just nursing him a handful of times. Well, I'm not getting nearly as much milk as I was TWO DAYS earlier! Not just a tiny drop, but like 2 ounces less in the morning and up to an ounce less the other 3 times I pump. That's 5 ounces a day! ONE full bottle!! I could cry!! How could my supply drop that sharply in TWO DAYS! And it's not like I was just nursing him and not pumping, I was nursing him a ton and still pumping twice a day! I've been trying to get my supply back up for a few days by pumping more, but so far it isn't increasing. I have no idea what I'm going to do if it doesn't go up. We were finally able to stop supplementing 2-4 oz of formula a day because he's eating so well on solids and didn't need it, but if my supply stays this low I'm going to have to. In fact, I might even need to switch to bottle of formula and nursing him when he'll actually nurse because my pump motor has one foot in the grave. It keeps making weird noises and then turning off sometimes. I've been using this pump for 6 months straight and I use it a lot, but I'm still peeved. It was $210! That's not a small amount of money and I expected to get more than 6 months use out of it!! If it dies I don't think we'll be buying another one. I dunno. Something I have to think about... I don't want to switch to formula, but at the same time I hate pumping so much that there are times I could literally break down into tears at the thought of having to pump. I just don't know what to do. Do I still pump and hate every second of it and lose 2+ hours a day to pumping that I could be spending with Xander and my DH? Or do I take the easy way out and go with formula. I have nothing against formula, I guess I just always wanted to nurse. Well, I'm not nursing! Or I barely am. He'll nurse in the morning and comfort nurse a little bit throughout the day, but that's all he wants it for - comfort. He hardly eats anything... So yeah, I don't know what to do. Hopefully my pump holds out for a little longer so I can make a decision.

This whole situation just makes me so sad. I don't understand why Xander could never get the hang of nursing. He knows HOW, he does, he's shown me time and time again. I think he just prefers the ease of a bottle, so he rejects eating from the breast because it takes too long or too much work or whatever. I have read so many books and web sites and talked to so many people about this and nothing has worked. He's stubborn. He can do it correctly, he just chooses not to eat. Then he loses weight. He's already a small guy, I don't need him falling off the charts again (what happened before when I finally bought the pump to get him more food).

This just shouldn't be so hard. It shouldn't! This is nature!! I am a SAHM and have done everything in my power to get breast feeding to work! Almost 9 months now I've been doing this. We've been hermits and never go anywhere because I don't want to have to go somewhere and pump 4 times a day! It was bad enough when people would visit and I'd have to tell them I had to pump and then get a ton of questions. It just sucked. Then the one time we finally decide to go somewhere THIS HAPPENS! UGH! We're supposed to go on a mini-vacation to WI in a few weeks and I have no idea how that's going to work. I am just frantic.

I'm sorry this got so long. I am just so stressed out about this and I am not the type of person to get stressed out! So if I'm in freak-out mode then it's for a good reason. *sigh* Thanks for reading. Just needed to vent.

[freesiangel]

Well, my pump officially died this morning. I guess I hurt its feelings or something. It's no longer under warranty, so yeah. I think we're just going to start supplementing with formula. I'll still nurse Xander as much as I can and I have a hand pump that I'll use if he doesn't nurse too great some days, but I won't get much from that. Oh well, at least he's eating a lot of solids and I shouldn't have to supplement too much. I'm guessing around 8-10 oz per day? He does at the very least nurse good first thing in the morning because he's hungry and there's plenty of milk to be had, then I can usually get him to get me to let down once on each side for the other feedings. It's after that point that he gets lazy...

*sigh*

[midnight_starr]

((HUGS)) Sorry you guys are having a rough time... That sucks that your pump died..

[greeneyes]

What kind of pump do you have? I ask because I've been shopping for breastpumps for a few weeks now and I've seen all kinds of motors on eBay for cheap, just a thought. Also, you may think about contacting the manufacturer about replacing the motor or selling you one for cheap. If you are just outside your warranty, they may still honor it or work with you. Six months is not the normal life of a good pump.

I'm not sure if this is what happened for you, but in my personal breastfeeding experience, the better my kids were at nursing the less I could pump. My body knew the difference between a suckling baby and a pump and I would never produce as much pumping as I would nursing. When I was working outside the house and pumping more frequently than nursing, I would pump a ton. As soon as I stayed home and nursed more, I would barely get anything with my pump.

I realize this doesn't help your supply issue (especially if Zander is a lazy nurser, Lily was too and it was SO frustrating), but hopefully it will at least shed some light on what is going on.

[**jessie**]

I'm so sorry Lauren. I am an EP'er (no bf'ing whatsoever, he never got it) so I know how hard it is. It sucks the pump is no longer under warranty. I would still call the Medela hotline and complain. I hear their customer service reps are very very good and might do something for you.

If you want to keep pumping, then I would look around on Craigslist. I got my PIS Advanced for $85 off of Craigslist and it is perfect. You already have the accessories from your last pump, so you wouldn't need those.

I have been trudging through supply issues, as well. My supply sucks a big fat one right now. I had a huge oversupply at one point, but my boobs did not take well to dropped pump sessions. I pump 4x/day now and get about 15-18 oz. He consumes 20 oz per day, so over the past 2 weeks he gets 1 bottle formula per day. Personally, I have pretty much decided to wean at 9 months (next week). I'm going back to work in a couple weeks and it has just gotten to be too much. I take solace in the fact that 9 months is MUCH longer than the average and he doesn't even take in too much milk anymore since he loves his solids so much.

[..Penelope..]

I just wanted to say I am SO sorry that it has been so hard for you Big

[*krista*]

First of all, 8 1/2 months of breastmilk is WONDERFUL! If you stop now you shouldn't beat yourself up at all. You've worked hard and done great.

That being said, you know what I've noticed increases my supply a lot? Beer. So long as I stay hydrated since we all know that it can dehydrate you. I had one beer the other night and I almost doubled my output in the next day or two. I don't think the kind of beer matters, but on the slim chance it does I was drinking a Lithuanian beer called Svyturys Ekstra. You should be able to find it at Specs (that is a nation wide chain and not a southern only chain I am thinking/hoping). The only other thing I tried was oatmeal, which didn't work for me. Also, maybe it was the pump giving out, not your supply going down?

Also, I know when Charlotte is being a lazy nurser it really helps her out if I pump the other side while she is nursing. Maybe you could get a cheap single pump and try that out? It is also a little bit less time consuming than pumping and bottle feeding, and you get to spend the time with the baby which is a plus. My Medela Swing pump cost me about $100 brand new on ebay and it does a really great job for me.

[Mars]

Reaching 8 1/2 months is great! I'm sorry about the trouble now and the pump. I never really testing this out but I found that it always seem like the days I drank loads of water, my supply increased.

I hope it picks back up. (((HUGS)))

[greeneyes]

Originally Posted by *krista*

That being said, you know what I've noticed increases my supply a lot? Beer. So long as I stay hydrated since we all know that it can dehydrate you. I had one beer the other night and I almost doubled my output in the next day or two. I don't think the kind of beer matters, but on the slim chance it does I was drinking a Lithuanian beer called Svyturys Ekstra. You should be able to find it at Specs (that is a nation wide chain and not a southern only chain I am thinking/hoping). The only other thing I tried was oatmeal, which didn't work for me. Also, maybe it was the pump giving out, not your supply going down?

It's the hops. You can get hops in capsule form, thereby skipping the alcohol that will make it's way into your breastmilk. The other benefit to hops is that it naturally relaxes you which makes letdown easier. This is what I used, I found it at my local health store: Buy Nature's Way - Hops Flowers - 100 Capsules at LuckyVitamin.com.

Fenugreek and Goat's Rue are also known to help boost supply, but keep in mind that Goat's Rue may permanently increase breast tissue.

[bittersweet]

Originally Posted by greeneyes

Fenugreek and Goat's Rue are also known to help boost supply, but keep in mind that Goat's Rue may permanently increase breast tissue.

Um...yes, please!!

Lauren, sorry this has been such a PIA. But you've done so so great pumping this long. I would considering any breastmilk you are able to give awesome, even if you are only nursing once a day. Sometimes our bodies (and babies) just don't cooperate. Know that you are wonderful mommy and you've done everything you can to provide him with the best possible nutrition.

[**Jenn**]

Originally Posted by bittersweet

Um...yes, please!!

Lauren, sorry this has been such a PIA. But you've done so so great pumping this long. I would considering any breastmilk you are able to give awesome, even if you are only nursing once a day. Sometimes our bodies (and babies) just don't cooperate. Know that you are wonderful mommy and you've done everything you can to provide him with the best possible nutrition.

100% agree!!! I could never pump enough so you have done an amazing job with it! If you really want to continue pumping though you could get a used one but if not, just nursing him when he wants a couple times a day is still fantastic!

[freesiangel]

Xander still nurses, so he will still get some breast milk until he's at least a year old. He just won't get all breast milk and I've come to terms with that. It's going to take some experimenting over the next few weeks to see what works best, but for now the *plan* is to nurse him first thing in the morning, mid morning, lunch, mid-afternoon, and before bed. Then if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, which is rare, I'll nurse him then too. He nurses good first thing in the morning and I've always fed him then, so I know he'll get plenty then... He also gets solids three times a day and we're introducing meats now, so that'll help. Then at lunch he will get a sippy cup with either pumped milk, formula, or a mixture of the two. I still have a manual pump and am able to get 3-4 oz a day pumped with that... I think (hope) that one 5-6 oz cup per day will be enough extra. If he's not nursing very well some days and needs more, then I'll also give him a bottle of formula and/or pumped milk before bed. It will probably vary from day to day because he does have some good days where he'll nurse good enough, but then he'll have a craptastic day where he'll hardly eat anything... I am praying that he'll do well enough to keep me producing milk. I'm sure he will, just probably not as much milk as I was producing before. Hopefully he won't rebel or something. lol. I guess we'll see.

I think I was just in total panic mode when I wrote this original post. I do feel a lot better now, especially after I accepted giving him some formula (after my supply of frozen milk runs out). It was just such a shock to me.

Thanks for all the support!

[**Jenn**]

That sounds like a great plan! I'm glad you're happier with everything now

[soImarriedAnerd]

Sounds like you have a plan.
You are doing wonderful! I just thought you should know that.