Dear Friends:
    I worked with a mother whose baby was spitting up after every feed,
growing very quickly, having green stools, and being fussy during feeds. Over
the course of our counseling relationship, the mother reduced her supply by
keeping to one side for 3-4 feeds, and eliminated soy from her diet. Both
measures relieved this baby and his stool color changed from green to yellow.
    The changes were short lived. The baby's fussiness increased again,
although his stools stayed gulden's mustard color with sufficient amount. He
was now happy at breast, although two hours after his feeds, he would be
screaming. Nearly a month after the mother reduced her supply, he went to the
pediatric visit and was found to have lost weight.
    Needless to say, the mother and I were stunned and devastated by this
turn of events. She resumed her old nursing pattern, her supply increased,
and so did his weight gain. And so did his spitting up, but the mother said
that she considered that insignificant in view of his weight.
    The mother was distressed with me, for the advice that I had given
resulted in her baby's loosing weight. I have worked to keep doors open with
her and called her today to ask what recommendations she would make so that I
could learn from her.
    I did feel that the recommendation to keep to one side for 3-4 feeds,
while monitoring the baby's output were in line with current practice. I have
recommended this before, and never had a baby loose weight.
    She felt that if a mother's supply was turned down, that the baby's
weight should be monitored more frequently. She said that the amount of milk
that would be sufficient at 8 weeks might not be enough at 12 or 16 weeks.
She had no other ideas. (She is pretty sophisticated: a PhD chemist, a
nursing mothers' counselor,  and happily breastfed her first child for a
year.)
    Has anybody ever encountered such a situation? For how long after
reducing an oversupply should a baby's weight be closely monitored?
    Warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI
craniosacral therapy practitioner; childbirth educator
Elkins Park (a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; northeastern USA)
supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative

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