I had an appointment this morning with a lactation consultant out of Maynard – her name is Michelle Stolow and she was extremely nice and very knowledgeable about breastfeeding – highly recommend her if you live in the Acton area.
Noah was still sleeping when she arrived at 8AM this morning so she took down a lot of my health information and we did some paperwork first. When Noah arose shortly thereafter, she asked to weigh him naked except for a clean diaper. He weighed 11 lbs 9.1 oz which is 3 oz more than he weighed at Friday’s appointment! Assuming both her and the doctor’s office readings are accurate, that is 1 oz gain per day, which she told us is very good. The only thing I did differently since Friday was feed him more often during the day. If he was getting 6-7 feeds per day before, now he is getting 8-9. Dr. Cohen told us he’d like to see a 0.5 oz gain per day so if Noah is really gaining an ounce a day that is fantastic news.
I nursed Noah from the left side first (the one that doesn’t produce as much milk) and then Michelle weighed him after to see how much he took in – it was only 0.2 oz. Then I switched him over to the right side (his preferred side) and when he was done Michelle weighed him again to find out how much he took in – it was 3.4 oz. Then she asked me to go ahead and try him again on the left side and this time do compressions to help the milk get out. She weighed him again after that and he had taken in 0.2 oz more. I did the same on the right with the compressions, she weighed him, but he didn’t take in any more milk. Total transferred to Noah at this feeding was 3.8 oz which she said is very typical of breastfed babies. Michelle then asked me to pump both sides to find out if there was any milk left. She informed me that I was using the wrong size breast pump shield and went out to her car to get me new bigger ones (and even disinfected in the microwave!). I was able to pump out 1.75 oz more milk which means that she is not too concerned about my supply and she felt that Noah was taking what he wanted to take. She explained that if we offered a bottle (of expressed milk or formula or mix) to Noah after he nursed he would generally drink it because 1) the nipple stimulates the sucking reflux, and 2) it’s there and it’s easier/quicker to drink than nursing. She said that it certainly is not a good indicator that he is still hungry (which is the opposite of what our pediatrician said).
She advised that foods with high fiber, such as oatmeal, drinking plenty of water (at least 1/2 gallon per day) and cooking with fennel and fenugreek will help to increase milk supply. I have to eat 500 extra calories per day (more than during pregnancy at 400 calories!). Foods and medications that lower milk supply are peppermint, sage, parsley, decongestants and hormonal birth control. She recommends that I take an herbal supplement called More Milk Plus (which contains fenugreek, blessed thistle, fennel and nettle) and also take Goat’s Rue. There is a health food store called Debra’s Natural Gourmet in West Concord which I am going to try out once the hurricane ends! Michelle rents baby scales for $2.50 per day or $50 for the month. We’re thinking about going ahead and renting the scale for a month in order to determine that Noah is actually gaining weight.
Although Pete is still of the impression that we should add formula and solids to Noah’s diet (in addition to being concerned about Noah’s growth, Pete wants to be able to give ME a break more often), I asked him to give me until the end of this week with strictly nursing the baby more frequently. We will check his weight again on Friday to find out if Noah is still gaining consistently. If he still isn’t gaining properly, we will revisit with Michelle and work out a better plan (if that includes introducing solids and/or formula then so be it). My goal from day one has been to exclusively breastfeed Noah for the first 5-6 months. At that point, we can start solids and I will continue, if my current situation allows, to nurse until 1 year or until Noah weans himself. However, if that goal cannot be met due to Noah’s slow weight gain then obviously I will do what’s best for my child in the end. I know that formula isn’t poison and that Pete thrived on it as a baby himself, but I’d just like to do it the old-fashioned way if I can. After all, what did the cave women do before formula?? Being able to feed Noah by myself is such a huge responsibility, but it’s actually the times during the day that I look forward to the most.
I feel much so better after meeting with Michelle and creating a plan of attack…I just hope Noah continues to gain like he has and Pete soon feels comfortable with this plan!
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