Breastfeeding and Supplementation

Photo courtesy of
Sugar Snap Photography

I was bound and determined to breastfeed Lydia. After not-so-great experiences with Esther and Abigail, I armed myself with as much knowledge as I could and attended La Leche League meetings. Then Lydia came and we were, seemingly, doing great! You can read more about my plan of action and our first mishaps here. At her 10 day appointment, she had lost a pound. Her doctor was optimistic, though. She was doing everything else she should be, just lost a little weight. We'd recheck in a week. Same weight. We'd recheck in a week. Gained an ounce. So at three and a half weeks, she was still 15 ounces below her birth weight. Although her doctor remained optimistic and supportive, I felt like we needed to add a little something to her diet. I wasn't comfortable with her loss. My concerns were supported by my lactation consultant and my midwife. My midwife reminded me that my first priority needs to be feeding my baby, no matter what that looks like.

My husband and I were pretty against using formula. Esther and Abigail had both been on formula which resulted in CONSTANT spitting up, no matter what we tried. Abigail was also extremely fussy until we switched her to raw goat's milk (another post for another time!) We also have some nutritional concerns - you may have recently read an article about the flora being different between breast milk and formula, which protects infants from illness and disease. This is just one concern among many. Our big girls are totally fine and healthy after drinking formula, but why continue to do the same thing when you've found a new solution?

Abigail loving on Lydia
Photo courtesy of
Sugar Snap Photography

Which brings me to my point. We're supplementing with human milk. I'm blessed enough to have a sweet friend who is well educated in the realm of milk sharing. She started to gather donated milk when she got pregnant as her milk dried up for her current little nursling. She schooled me on the informal banks as well as proper storage and preparation. She shared her struggles with having to drive a good distance for a tiny little stash to get them through a day or two as well as the amazing donors who had provided an abundance. Then, the unthinkable happened: she offered me 200 oz of the milk she had worked so hard for! So after we found out that Lydia had only gained an ounce, we went over to her house to collect. I was overwhelmed! I just couldn't believe her kindness! The same day, I got an offer from another friend who's baby is a few days younger than Lydia offering to pump for her! Again, absolutely blown away!


While I was discouraged at first, I keep reminding myself that the most important thing is that I feed my baby - just as my midwife said. I'm blessed beyond belief that God has provided two wonderful mothers who are so willing to donate to Lydia. It is important to me to keep her at breast for as long as she wants to be, so I've ordered a Lact-Aid Nursing Trainer System that should be arriving any day now. We've been supplementing her with bottles of her donor milk in the mean time. So, we stared nursing during World Breastfeeding Week and started supplementing during World Milksharing Week!! I'm excited to see her gain some weight!