Friday, April 11, 2014

Operation: Increase Milk Supply and Solids/Decrease Donor Milk is in effect!

Baby  J is now 6 months old, and we have started  adding solid foods. At first, my plan was just to use solid foods  for fun and learning how to eat, but recently, donor milk has been a bit harder to come by, so, under the guidance of dear friend (who also happens to be an IBCLC),  I am attempting to increase his solid food intake  and decrease his donor milk intake (He will not take formula.). I have also decided, despite my  prior promise to myself to just let my milk supply be what it would be, to attempt to increase my milk supply with some galactogogues.

Day 1:
3 tablets of brewer's yeast, two tablets of leptaden (an aryurvedic medicine I though gave me a slight boost with Lola.) with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Goat's rue should be arriving tonight!

Nurse Baby J,  then  offer solids: (Sweet potato  mixed with coconut oil, banana and applesauce), offer water after bath.
Nurse again, and then offer 50ml of  donor milk in the SNS.
Nap.
Nurse Baby J, offer solids: avocado mixed with banana. Offer water after his bath.
Nurse frequently. Offer donor milk when he is obviously not satisfied with nursing and water.. (Disclaimer:  We're not talking about a lot of water, here.  He had maybe 3 ounces all day.)

All told, he had about 8 ounces of donor milk yesterday, about half his normal daily intake. Probably could have been even less, but I skipped a solid food dinner for him because he'd already had two baths that day and I was just done bending over and wrestling a slippery baby. :)

Baby J seems quite happy with the new arrangement. He really loves to eat food. I'm feeling a little sad and, as usual, inadequate because I know how awesome breast milk is and had hoped it would comprise the bulk of his diet for his first year. But, I can't control what I can't control, but what I can control is making sure he is eating quality, whole foods to make up for the lack of breast milk.
Just doing the best I can in this kind of situation.






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