not enough milk and a very upset baby

[thechestnutmare]

My baby girl is three and a half months old. During the past couple weeks she's gradually become rather panicy during breastfeeding -- she will pant a high pitched sort of squeal until I'm ready for her to latch on, and she has no patience for my milk to even let down. She will pull back and cry the high pitched cry 5+ times before the milk comes down. As soon as she has me almost empty she will repeat the latch on-pull back and cry thing. I feed her on both sides, but when it's over and she can't get anything else I sit her up and she will cry and cry until I give her a pacifier. I've been suspicious that she wasn't getting enough milk after giving her a bottle of formula after I fed her and she downed 2 ounces without a pause. I have tried feeding her every hour and a half for a few days with no success. For the past week I have been feeding her every two hours, except at night when it's every four hours. Well, last night she slept through and when she woke me up in the morning I fed her and put her back down. Normally she either goes back to sleep or lays in her bed and makes happy sounds. Well, this time she cried, and when I gave her her pacifier she kept crying while sucking on it. After a few minutes she spit it out to cry, and when I gave it back to her cry became angry and she refused to take it. I tried feeding her again but she could hardly even latch on without that angry cry interrupting her. Finally, after screaming inconsolably for 20+ minutes I made her a bottle of formula. She gulped it down and went to sleep. I'm assuming that what milk I had just didn't fill her empty belly after that long night.

I thought that she was going through an impatient stage, but it's been almost three weeks and it's only getting worse. The only tips for increasing milk supply I've seen is nursing frequently, but I've been doing this for the past two weeks with no results. Do I just need to start supplementing formula?

I can't handle my baby crying like this. I always end up crying too. Please help. :(

[wright1212]

There is more than increase feedings, and more causes. 1. i had that problem at 3 mos since it was when i started birth control. 2. she could be in a growing spell 3. if you have been sick or tired you can be having less milk.
sooooo....
1. if you want for a few days follow up w/ formula
2. pump after each feeding, even if you only get 1-2oz after 20 min. by doing this it will increase your milk
3. if your on b.c. ask about switching to low dose or a hormonal supplement
good luck

[puddin_pops_mama]

I only have one piece of advice to add to Ginger's great post. I've been taking Fenugreek (herbal supplement), and it's increased my milk supply greatly. Just be careful if you're allergic to peanuts, since Fenugreek is in the same family as peanuts.

[The Loud]

Here's more info on fenugreek:
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html
Feeding her formula will make her nurse less, which will decrease your supply. If she isn't nursing enough to increase your supply, pumping between feedings might help.

The fact that she drank 2 ounces out of a bottle isn't proof that she wanted two ounces. Bottles flow faster than breasts, so if, say, she only wanted an ounce, she might have gulped two ounces before she even realized it. When we eat too fast, we can fill ourselves uncomfortably full before we know it. Here's more info about bottle-feeding a breastfed baby:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html

[Lindsey73]

My cousins baby wasnt satisfied with her milk so she put her on soy formula and does great now. At first she had to put cereal in it becuz it was too thin. I think oatmeal increases milk supply. And for me drinking plenty of plain water helped a lot. Make sure you are eating and drinking enough. I supplemented with one or two bottles a day because I couldnt keep up with the demands because i was very ill during my pregnancy and my boy did fine. I also gave him cereal by spoon at two months because he was so hungry. Cereal in the bottle didnt seem to do much for him. I started with a teaspoon and just saw how much he ate and increased it after a week or so. I also heard that pumping both breasts at once can help more milk be produced. There are also natural supplements that can be taken to increase the milk supply. Blessed thistle, alfalfa, and calcium and protein foods can all help.