Still have some hope

[upstategirl]

So my ds was nursing and getting fomula till my supply was up. He was losing too much weight. I had to go with the bottle as during the day I didn't have any help to feed him with a tube. So, just as my supply was doing good, ds decides to not want to be at the breast. He would go on and start getting very fussy and start crying. So, I switched to all formula. I'm thinking about buying a pump. I have one but, it's seven years old and was not the top of the line medela one. I haven't dried up yet so I still have some hope. Though I know I'm pushing my luck. My other two boys started on breast then switched to all formula because of issues. Though this time I just feel really guilty about it and sad. If you pump how much do you get at a time? I think for me it's just trying to find the time. Ds hardly ever goes down for a nap. I have to wear him for him to go down during the day. He goes down great at night but, I need to pump more then just at night. Maybe I'll try him at the breast again. It's just hard to handle when he doesn't want to be there.

[tibeca]

Find a good Lactation Consultant and/or LLL Leader to help you. Hope is never completely lost.

[Br2me]

look into la lecha league...LLL...they are wonderful resources..
as far as how much you can get by pumping...

every women is different...but some get a couple onces and some can fill a whole bottle at one setting...i was a EPer for 8months with dd2 I could get a full bottle plus some at each pumping session...but i pumped at least once every 3 hours...i treated it as if baby was nursing...if baby wanted a bottle as soon a baby was done drinking..i would pump another one...if baby ate again in 2 hr.s i pumped again...I did this to try to keep my supply up at what i thought a reg. bfing baby would do...babies go through growth spurts all the time where they want to nurse more often and i wanted my body to be able to keep up with the baby's needs...

some women only nurse at night(once home from work) and can keep a supply up pretty good and for awhile...sooo maybe if you pump several times at night you could keep a good supply but morethan likely still have to give some formula...

one thing my LC told me was to keep this in mind when pumping/nursing...

every 2 hours to build supply
every 3 hours to keep supply
every 4 hrs. to decrease supply

so if i wanted to keep my supple steady and a the right level for baby I pumped every 3 hours...sometimes 2 hrs. to build it during a growth spurt