She's doing fairly well on solid foods. She eats rice cereal here and there. Sometimes she just doesn't have an interest, but she usually eats it. Her favorites seem to be apples and sweet potatoes mixed with the rice cereal. She does okay with puffs and she's able to eat them whole.
Here are our problems however: Karsie will NOT take a bottle. We're really not sure what to do with that other than keep trying here and there. Usually this wouldn't be a problem if she nursed real well, but we've run into a supply problem. Michelle is running out. Karsie likes to nurse and would do it more, but Michelle really just doesn't have enough any more to compensate for Karsie's bottle issues. This is normal around this time for many moms, but usually this accompanies good solid food eating as well. We want to wean her off of her G-Tube, but we need to see how much she gets from oral feeding, and with her not taking a bottle and Michelle's milk supply low, that's really hard to do.
Any suggestions on beefing up milk supply or tricks to get a kid to take a bottle?
We know eventually she'll make it up in solid food eating and that will take the place of the milk, but it would make it a little easier (quicker too) to supplement with milk now.
Thanks.
The only thing I know for sure is the more you pump/feed, the more milk you will have. When you start, after feeding Karsie you might only get an ounce or 2, but, if you keep at it (if you can find the time) your body will make more and more milk. Oh and drinking LOTS of water helps too. Also, there is NOTHING wrong with supplementing with formula, especially since she's already getting the benefits from the breast milk. Just check with your doc on which formula might be best if you try this route, and maybe if you can afford it try different bottle/nipple combinations until you find one Karsie like. Finally, as far as food goes, my child was insanely stubborn, but perservence paid off. I did cereals, followed by "sweet vegetables," followed by fruits, then other vegy's and then finally started adding in the meats. Also, maybe try different times of the day to try and find when she is most interested. Or, in our case, my son is home with me all day, so he really did better eating from a spoon when Daddy fed him because he wanted his attention, so maybe you can try that too. I'm certainly no expert, but I hope maybe something out of all this might help. Good Luck. :)
ReplyDeleteyou could try using a supplemental nursing system. basically it is a little tube taped to the breast with the milk in a bottle hanging from the shoulder. as baby nurses she pulls milk from a bottle through the tube. i knew an adoptive mom that wanted to bond with baby through nursing that nursed her baby for a year this way using formula!
ReplyDeleteI am not a mom yet, but one of my friend's said her son never has taken a bottle. He would however take a sippy cup just fine! It's like he bypassed the whole "bottle" stage. Maybe she would take formula out of a sippy instead of breast? That way you could still measure how much she is getting and monitor feeding amounts. :) Just a suggestion!
ReplyDelete~Heather
Fenugreek really does work to stimulate your milk supply. But your sweat will smell like maple syrup.
ReplyDeleteWould she drink the milk out of a cup? Maybe if she got to hold it?
My son hated that rice cereal. Not surprising, given that it tastes terrible. Obviously, Karsie has gastro-issues, so the advice might be different, but our ped said that there's no reason you have to give rice cereal first, and no reason to keep feeding it if they hate it. You might have better luck with other foods. James also eats way more when he is the one to cram it into his mouth. Some early things that worked well were bananas cut into sticks, toast strips, and cheese strips.
i second the fenugreek suggestion! i began taking it as a supplement 4 months ago once i began starting a weight loss program just in case my supply decreased. oh my goodness, does it ever work! yes, you will smell slightly like maple syrup, but there are worse things you could smell like :)
ReplyDeleteanother natural way to up your supply is to eat oatmeal. i always notice a difference when i have oatmeal for breakfast.
hope that helps!
I also have heard the fenugreek helps, but I definitely didn't need it. I always "on-demand" fed so until recently I haven't noticed a supply decrease. Even if you don't think you are getting enough into her, it will help increase your milk supply, so just let her suck. Make sure you are staying well-hydrated.
ReplyDeleteJameson never took a bottle, but began drinking out of a sippy cup at 6 months. I used the Nuby, he loved them, then he liked the Aventi for awhile. Now he drinks out of a regular glass.
I was going to suggest the cup too. My daughter was not good with the regular sippy cups that are supposed to be the "starters" - she did better with the straw cups. A regular straw is great too - just not leak proof!
ReplyDeleteAfter her little flu issue, her feedings got drastically reduced, right? Just a couple days after her hospitalization she was still way under what she normally gets and feeling it. She was very hungry and that is when she took the bottle...in under 5 minutes!!! I say reduce the feeding tube because I don't believe her aversion is to the bottle. I believe she doesn't bother with what she doesn't have to bother with. The instinct for her to feed by mouth is there and she's a very smart girl. I say we try it together! You know who I am. =)
ReplyDeleteOatmeal, oatmeal, oatmeal! If you don't care for it plain make oatmeal cookies.
ReplyDeleteI vote for not pushing the bottle. None of my three ever had a bottle. When it was time for something other than breastmilk we went to the straw sippy cups. It only took a few days of practice before they mastered the straw. They didn't have the urge to turn it up like bottle babies did.
About your milk supply...I noticed after my son had been on solid food a couple of months that my milk supply really changed. Instead of making a surplus all the time, I started making it more "on demand" so there is always enough when he needs to nurse, but I don't ever feel "full" like I used to. He is almost 14 months old now and still nursing. So it could be Michelle's milk is just being made more efficiently, not that the supply is running out. Does Karsie seem to be getting enough?
ReplyDeleteFor the bottles, I haven't used one in about 6 months, only sippy cups. I started at first with the valve out and tipped it into his mouth very slowly until he got the concept, and then I put the valve in. Good luck!
My milk supply practically stopped around 7/8 months no matter how much water, nursing etc...sometimes it just happens and some people can nurse for 2 yrs!!! I just cleaned out all of our bottles(there are many different kinds) so if you want them let me know and you can try them out to see if Karsie will take them before you go out and buy a bunch of different ones. I also agree with the "anonymous" person that said she will eat if she is hungry! Good luck...Cory :)
ReplyDeleteI too had the same problem with a baby who liked nursing, but HATED the bottle. I did use a sippy cup with a straw (which she like sometimes) but I also started using the Adiri natural nurser bottle. While she never really loved using this bottle, it was the one that I found that was the most similar to nursing. (although I found that it leeks horribly- and is kinda pricy) But it was the ONLY bottle she would take. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI see that someone already suggested fenugreek. My supply started to taper around month 7 or 8 with my second child and the pediatrician recommended it. The dose is a LOT... it was like 8 or 12 capsules a day. I smelled like maple syrup, which drove me nuts but my husband kinda liked it. So I'll second, or third, the fenugreek. I found it online at PuritainsPride.com for a good price. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried a bottle nipple with a larger opening where the milk comes out? The Dr. Brown bottles, sold at babies r us, have four differnt size nipples based on your child's age.
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law has a 5 month old who HAD to take a bottle for their 10th anniversary trip and ONLY liked mom. Usually, they had others give it to her, and eventually it worked. They did things like let Esther face outward to look around while sticking the bottle in, and let her pull the bottle to her mouth herself.
ReplyDeleteI "fourth" the fenugreek. I hope that's the "tea" you are trying. My husband called me his little maple syrup girl. It doubled my tiny supply, and did the same for a friend of mine.
For the record, the Playtex PREMIUM (drop in) Nurser system seemed closer to breast shape for us. Playtex Vent Aire leaked.