Well, first find out if she actually wants to exclusively breastfeed. If she wants to feed some BF and some formula, then wish her luck and talk about anything else.

If she wants to exclusively FF, then she can probably just cut back on the amount of formula offered after each feeding and then let the baby nurse again however frequently he wants, for as long as he wants on each side. As said above, nurse on Side A until full, burp, then offer Side B, and if he wants it — awesome. And if he doesn’t want it — wait until he’s hungry and then offer Side B.

If she’s having low supply issues, she could also try pumping after the feeding in order to boost her supply.

I’ve heard that oatmeal helps moms make more milk. Also heard that about dark beer, but I don’t know that I’d recommend beer (although you know….don’t Germans make the best beer in the world? Maybe someone there would know about that.)

But tell her overall to ditch the clock and follow the baby’s cues. The same way she doesn’t time her own feedings (“Sorry! Five minutes — lunch is over!”) the baby doesn’t need timed feedings either. or at least, the timing should be an upper boundary rather than a lower boundary: “Try to nurse him *at least* every four hours and *at least* ten minutes per side” but not “Stop him at ten minutes and then when he’s still hungry, sabotage your milk supply.” :-b

I’m sorry she’s going through this. So unnecessary.

First things first: find out if she actually wants to exclusively breastfeed. If she wants to feed some BF and some formula, then wish her luck and talk about anything else.

If she wants to exclusively FF, then she can probably just cut back on the amount of formula offered after each feeding and then let the baby nurse again however frequently he wants, for as long as he wants on each side. As said above, nurse on Side A until full, burp, then offer Side B, and if he wants it — awesome. And if he doesn’t want it — wait until he’s hungry and then offer Side B.

If she’s having low supply issues, she could also try pumping after the feeding in order to boost her supply.

I’ve heard that oatmeal helps moms make more milk. Also heard that about dark beer, but I don’t know that I’d recommend beer (although you know….isn’t Germany famous for the best beer in the world? Maybe someone there would know about that.)

But tell her overall to ditch the clock and follow the baby’s cues. The same way she doesn’t time her own feedings (“Sorry! Five minutes — lunch is over!”) the baby doesn’t need timed feedings either. or at least, the timing should be an upper boundary rather than a lower boundary: “Try to nurse him *at least* every four hours and *at least* ten minutes per side” but not “Stop him at ten minutes and then when he’s still hungry, sabotage your milk supply.” :-b

I’m sorry she’s going through this. So unnecessary.

First things first: find out if she actually wants to exclusively breastfeed. If she wants to feed some breastmilk and some bottled milk, then wish her luck and talk about anything else.

If she wants to exclusively breastfeed, then she can probably just cut back on the amount of formula offered after each feeding and then let the baby nurse again however frequently he wants, for as long as he wants on each side. As said above, nurse on Side A until full, burp, then offer Side B, and if he wants it — awesome. And if he doesn’t want it — wait until he’s hungry and then offer Side B.

If she’s having low supply issues, she could also try pumping after the feeding in order to boost her supply.

I’ve heard that oatmeal helps moms make more milk. Also heard that about dark beer, but I don’t know that I’d recommend beer (although you know….isn’t Germany famous for the best beer in the world? Maybe someone there would know about that.)

But tell her overall to ditch the clock and follow the baby’s cues. The same way she doesn’t time her own feedings (“Sorry! Five minutes — lunch is over!”) the baby doesn’t need timed feedings either. or at least, the timing should be an upper boundary rather than a lower boundary: “Try to nurse him at least every four hours and at least ten minutes per side” but not “Stop him at ten minutes and then when he’s still hungry, sabotage your milk supply.” :-b

I’m sorry she’s going through this. So unnecessary.

First things first: find out if she actually wants to exclusively breastfeed. If she wants to feed some breastmilk and some bottled milk, then wish her luck and change the subject.

If she wants to exclusively breastfeed, then she can probably cut back on the amount of formula offered after each feeding and let the baby nurse again however frequently he wants, for as long as he wants on each side. As said above, nurse on Side A until full, burp, then offer Side B, and if he wants it — awesome. Next time, start on Side B.

If she’s having low supply issues, she could also try pumping after the feeding in order to boost her supply.

I’ve heard that oatmeal helps moms make more milk.

But tell her overall to forget the clock and follow the baby’s cues. The same way she doesn’t time her own feedings (“Sorry! Five minutes — lunch is over!”) the baby doesn’t need timed feedings either. Or at least, the timing should be an upper boundary rather than a lower boundary: “Try to nurse him at least every four hours and at least ten minutes per side” but not “Stop him at ten minutes and then when he’s still hungry, sabotage your milk supply.”

I’m sorry she’s going through this.

First things first: does she want to exclusively breastfeed? If she wants to feed some breastmilk and some bottled milk, then wish her luck and change the subject.

If she wants to exclusively breastfeed, then she can probably cut back on the amount of formula offered after each feeding and let the baby nurse however frequently he wants, for as long as he wants on each side. As said above, nurse on Side A until full, burp, then offer Side B, and if he wants it — awesome. Next time, start on Side B.

If she’s having low supply issues, she could also try pumping after the feeding in order to boost her supply.

I’ve heard oatmeal helps moms make more milk.

But tell her overall to forget the clock and follow the baby’s cues. She doesn’t say about herself, “Whoops! Five minutes — lunch is over!” and the same way, the baby doesn’t need timed feedings either.

I’m sorry she’s going through this.

First things first: does she want to exclusively breastfeed? If she wants to feed some breastmilk and some bottled milk, then wish her luck and change the subject.

If she wants to exclusively breastfeed, then she can probably cut back on the amount of formula offered after each feeding and let the baby nurse however frequently he wants, for as long as he wants on each side.

If she’s having low supply issues, she could also try pumping after the feeding in order to boost her supply.

I’ve heard oatmeal helps moms make more milk. But I think the most important is to tell her overall to forget the clock and follow the baby’s cues.

I’m sorry she’s going through this.

If this appears ten times, I’m sorry. I keep trying different variations to get rid of whatever trigger word is tripping moderation. I hope this is giving the site owner a serious headache because it certainly is giving me one.

Make sure your friend really wants to exclusively breastfeed, and then if she does, offer suggestions. If she’s happy with a mixed feeding routine, then let it go. That’s her decision.

If she wants to lose the bottles, then suggest she cut back gradually and offer feedings whenever the baby appears hungry, as much as he’ll take. Lose the clock. If she needs to, pump after feedings to boost her supply.

For milk-producing foods, I’ve heard good things about oatmeal.

I’m sorry she got such lousy advice.

Mother’s milk tea, oatmeal, flax seed, and fenugreek all help with milk production. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the “24 hour breastfeeding fix”, if that is an option. Good luck!

The biggest thing to do is throw out the formula! I fell into that booby trap with my first child. “You don’t produce enough, give her formula.” When she was about 3 or 4 months, I got fed up and threw all the formula and bottles away. We survived without a problem. Turns out that when given the chance, I make plenty of milk. Her two younger brothers never got a drop of formula.

If this appears twelve times, I’m sorry. I keep trying different variations to get rid of whatever trigger word is tripping moderation. I hope this is giving the site owner a serious headache because it certainly is giving me one.

Make sure your friend really wants to exclusively breastfeed, and then if she does, offer suggestions. If she’s happy with a mixed feeding routine, then let it go. That’s her decision.

If she wants to lose the bottles, then suggest she cut back gradually and offer feedings whenever the baby appears hungry, as much as he’ll take. Lose the clock. If she needs to, pump after feedings to boost her supply.

For milk-producing foods, I’ve heard good things about oatmeal.

I’m sorry she got such lousy advice.

Loads of skin to skin contact. Cuddle up in bed and just nurse nurse nurse! Drink loads of water and be patient.

Damn booby traps piss me off! I’ve just decided to go back to school & get my RN and be a LC in a clinical setting to help mamas from being subjected to this kind of crap. It’ll take me years, but in that time I will get several years as an LLL leader under my belt & can get my IBCLC. Requierments done as well.

I just went through this. She should feed a bottle first, then have the child nurse after to comfort. That way baby learns that breast = satisfaction. After she feeds, pump. This way she can slowly eliminate formula and build her supply. She should feed the baby any expressed milk she has before formula. Then start slowly decreasing the amount of bottled milk (bm or formula) at each feed – like decrease 1/2 oz every few days. It works!!! Also, hand expression is incredibly important to building supply. It is exhausting but it helps. Oatmeal is also good for building mama’s milk.

Tell her when she does this he will seem very hungry and upset because he will be. But her body will respond to his frequent/constant nursing and make more milk.

Find your local Hebamme quickly. They know a lot about breastfeeding and can take a look at the issues your friend is facing. That must be some backwards hospital! My family is in Germany and their hospitals pushed breastfeeding big time!
The sooner you can help your friend, the better. She might end up having to pump after each feed to encourage the body to make more milk. At any rate, get someone knowledgeable now. Hebammen are usually paid for by the Krankenkasse. Or find someone here: http://www.lalecheliga.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=401&Itemid=93

Ditto the skin to skin. If she can take a nursing vacation, great. Just get in bed, her and baby, with nothing but a diaper for baby and underwear for mom. Stay as long as you can. Have other people make food, do housework, etc. I fully understand that it’s no easy feat for some people, but it works very well.

Also, you have to do it for as long as possible. A cousin told me the nursing vacation didn’t work for her at all, and she gave up after 6 hours. That’s not a nursing vacation!