>Hi All,
>
> I have a client who has a tremendously fluctuating milk supply. I told
>her I would post here today for possble insights. This is one of those
>whose supply is "all over the place". You'll understand that by the end of
>this posting.
>
>G1 P1, vag delivery, uncomlicated, 6#15oz.
>sleepy baby, not gaining well.
>mom starts fenugreek/blessed thistle and rents scale to do pre and post
>feedings. (advice from someone else)
I'm coming at this from the viewpoint of someone who deals with
mainly non-clinical situations, and I am assuming this baby is
basically healthy and well. But my eyebrows shoot up at this very
first intervention.
A baby who is sleepy and not gaining well? The mother does not need
to be messing about with two different herbs and an in-home scale and
weighing. First thing to do with a sleepy slow gainer is to get
mother and baby together, feeding, with someone observing at least
one feed all the way through. The usual cause of slow gaining is not
enough milk getting into the baby - that's usually easily fixed with
more feeding, day and night, using both breasts at least. Maybe
breast compression if the baby is too sleepy.
>Mom calls me when baby is 5 wks old and very fussy. Gaining well. But
>eating 5-6 oz every 3-4 hours! (now 9#) Mom pumps off 15 oz(!) after am
>feeding.
!!!! That's crazy, sorry - what is the mother thinking??....pumping
this amount is going to send her supply sky rocketing. And why is she
feeding with a bottle (am assuming she is doing this, otherwise she
would not know how much the baby is taking. So that's more
expressing, more over-stimulation, more fuss, more messing about.....)
>* obviously oversupply! AND reflux, as baby refluxed several times in my
>clinic whenever placed semi reclining. Note to doctor, baby started on
>zantac.
So this baby is now *medicated* because of the mother's super-stim of
her supply :(
Sounds as if you have worked hard to try and get some normalising
behaviour in here, Linda!
Ther rest of your post describes a complicated, changing and
disorganised regime of pumping, herbs, more meds for the baby (!),
feeding and scalding ebm....yikes!
How about just going back to basics and feeding the baby direct from
the breast, responsively and unlimitedly, for about two weeks
consistently, and see if things calm down a bit?
Mother thinks the baby is ill - I see the baby is thought to have
diarrhoea and is going to be investigated by a GI specialist. More
intervention. More head scratching. More tests. :( :(
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
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