Yay! I love this new forum!

Bethy is 14.5 months old and is b'fed. Because she's not growing in height or gaining well, the feeding specialist and GI want to get a better idea of her intake of solids and fluids. The solids are easy; however, the fluids are not. (See all my long-winded posts in the Help! and Updates forums...) Bethy can drink through a cup; however, will NOT take breastmilk or any other milk preparation from a cup or from a straw (she'll suck down water like it's going out of style, but I was told that this is a no-no, as it fills her tummy and has no nutrients). I am also having great difficulty pumping enough milk to keep a bird alive...

Does anyone have any experience with this? I am offering the cup at all meals and it's available throughout the day. No dice.

Help!

The only time I can get Parker to drink milk is first thing in the morning- as soon as he wakes up (before breaskfast). I believe he wakes with a sore throat (usually screaming) and he will drink 8 ounces. This is it except a few sips of water through the day. I also flavour the milk with sustagen- it is chocolate flavour and also it has vitamins and nutrients and added cals- was approved by the GI.
Good luck in the search for drinking- just a question are her nappies very wet during the day when you breastfeed as compared to now? Also do you think that she got a lot of milk from you towards the end or do you think it was more of a comfort thing?

Eli is 3 1/2 now but I could never pump either with all 3 of my boys, very frustrating.

Good luck in the search for drinking- just a question are her nappies very wet during the day when you breastfeed as compared to now? Also do you think that she got a lot of milk from you towards the end or do you think it was more of a comfort thing?

Rachel--her first diaper of the day (after being in it all night long) is very wet; however, during the day, they're not as wet as they used to be.

She still nurses ferociously once in the night and again before each nap and bedtime...I always assumed she was getting plenty. :doh: It never occurred to me that I might not be producing as much.

The NP feels she's well hydrated and told me to stop giving her water. I understand that it takes kids awhile to get used to something new, but I'm so concerned about her caloric intake. *sigh* She shows no signs of wanting to wean. If we'd let her, B would happily nurse morning, noon and night in lieu of eating or taking a sippy cup. :-(

Oh for transitioning from breast to cup. I have tried all kinds of stuff with all of mine but eventually what always won out was, they drank from it when they were ready too. All at different times. I quit cold turkey with my first and lets just say it wasn't pretty and he was hungry for a few days, but I didn't do that again.

Mary, when she feeds the best from you is the best time to try and add a cup or bottle. In a perfect world we would add the cup when you are adding it and they would drink- but I have had no success with this for both my children. maybe because they were b/f for so long and in such a routine, I basically swapped b/f for bottle.

I understand that you may not want to use a bottle at this time though. Have you ever heard of a supply line. It is like a feeding tube that attach's to your breast, near the nipple and as she feeds the tube goes in her mouth but not far. As she feeds you syringe formula through the tube so that she gets the breast milk and is tricked into getting the formula as well. I have had to do this for both my boys to get my supply up- but it will give you a pretty accurate way of seeing how much milk she is getting (beside the breast milk). It sounds hard but it isn't too bad, the good thing is that she tries to feed- so I think this would work for you!
Good luck

I haven't a clue on this one...but I'm sure I'll need tha tadvice soon!

Rachel--
I'm not sure I've heard of a supply line, but it sounds like an interesting idea...

Where would I get something like that? Would I order it through LLL or a pharmacy?

I'm really not quite ready to wean her and I wonder if she picks up on this...we have been offering the cup at every meal, as others have suggested, as well as all day long. She just won't drink from it.

I wish she'd just give up and gain some weight so I wouldn't have to worry about supplementing! :smt022

http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/pdfs/Starter_SNS%20Ins.pdf

http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/pdfs/SNS_Ins_3-langIns.pdf

Mary I just looked it up at www.medela.com (http://www.medela.com)

It is called a starter SNS or just a SNS. If the above website doesn't get you there go to the medela website. then medela products, then specialty feeding devices and then sns products.
Then click on sns or sns starter instructions.

I think this would work good for Bethany as you have said she does want to suck. If you dont want to purchase this, I just used to use a line (like what goes down the babys throat ) and syringe milk to through the top. I would tape the line to my breast so it was it was no longer than the nipple and as they latch on they get the line in their mouth and as you syringe the milk they drink it.

Look at the website, it looks like it has pretty good instructions.

Thank you, Rachel!! As soon as my sickie goes down for a nap, I'll be sure to take a look.

I really hope this is something that will work for us. At the rate we're going, I'm afraid I'll be fighting Bethy to take the cup until she's 12 (and still weighs/measures the same she does now...) :smt036

My first wasn't interested in going from breast to milk in a cup either. At somepoint, I tried adding Ovaltine to the whole milk and she was sold, which has the added benefit of extra calories and vitamins. Of course then she wouldn't drink anything but chocolate milk, but after 6 months we were gradually able to phase out the chocolate.

Another thought I have is have you tried offering milk in a cup at various temperatures? She might be used to or even prefer milk at body temp, or she may even like warm milk.

My last question on the sippy cup is have you tried removing the plug so that she doesn't have to work too hard to get a sip. If you try this, I would recommend sitting right with her at a table until she realizes how to handle a quick flow.

As for pumping breastmilk, my personal experience is that it can be very frustrating unless you are using a hospital grade double pump (which you can rent or buy). If you are and want tips on how to use it to increase your supply, let me know.

Good luck.

Those are good ideas! We tried removing the plug and it helped us, also the chocolate flavor helped as well, or whatever flavor works for your chlid.:smt047

:doh: :doh: :doh: NEVER thought about removing the plug!! She is taking Nutramigen now, as we're off milk and soy...it tastes and smells something reminiscent of dog food, so some sort of non-dairy/soy flavoring might help. (I think I heard one mom say maple syrup...?)

Thank you for the offer to help with pumping info. I was using the Medela Pump In Style (had it since she was born) and I really HATE it!! Could never get the suction right, had to sit forward in an uncomfortable position to keep the milk going into the bottle, etc. Thank goodness she never wanted the bottle!. *lol*

I'm going to try removing the plug and flavoring the Nutramigen. If we get nowhere with that, I'll go back to the pumping drawing board and will certainly come knocking on your door for help!
:iconbigg: :iconbigg: :iconbigg:

Is the SNS like the hazelbaker finger feeder?

Is the SNS like the hazelbaker finger feeder?


??? I have no idea. :oops:

Yep it is similar- I have had to finger feed as well! The difference is with the finger feeder you tape the tube to your finger, with the SNS you tape it to your breast and then they feed and get the milk through the tube as well