There is nothing worse than the thought of leaving your baby hungry and when mums are breastfeeding, it is even harder to establish just how much milk your baby has had, and if you are offering a top up, how much more your baby needs to feel full and satisfied.
It is important to remember that babies do cry for reasons other than hunger and being able to differentiate between the cries is invaluable when trying to cut down the amount of milk your baby receives as a top up. If you are breastfeeding and having to top your baby up, these are a few guide lines to follow to make the transition to exclusive breastfeeding less stressful.
- Have your baby weighed regularly, on the same set of scales. You want to see that your baby is gaining 20g-30g each day. If your baby is gaining more than this, you can start to decrease the amount of top ups slowly, keeping an eye on weight gain to ensure this does not decrease.
- Ensure that you are using both breasts effectively at each feed. You want your baby to work hard at the breast and finish the breast, as this will ensure that your milk production is maintained and that your baby is not relying on top ups to fill up. If your baby is sleepy, compress the breast to increase milk flow, switch nurse by feeding from alternate breasts during the feed for 10mins at a time, and use a nappy change to wake baby if he or she is very sleepy.
- Feed more frequently. If a baby needs 500ml in a day and you struggle to express 50ml, feed more frequently. By feeding 10times a day, your baby will still get the 500ml he or she needs, and your supply will be sufficient. If you try to only feed 5 times a day, your baby will take the 50ml you produce, but will then become reliant on having 50ml of formula at each feed too. This will make it harder to drop or cut back on top ups.
- Remember, the more formula top up your baby takes at each feed, the less hungry he or she will be and this will push your breastfeeds further apart. The less your baby feeds, the less you produce, so you will start to see your milk dwindle and your baby become more reliant on formula. If you can see this happening, you need to spend one day, just breastfeeding and only offer a top up as a last resort, when your baby is really unhappy and you simply can’t feed anymore. This will increase your supply and help your baby re-establish breastfeeding as a primary source of food and nutrition.
It is tough going but it will pay off and once you are breastfeeding without any top ups, you will look back at all the hard work you put into getting breastfeeding right, and you will feel proud, empowered and absolutely fantastic!
Tags: formula, increasing milk supply, low milk supply, tips, top ups