I think there was a similar thread here but I cant find it so here it goes.
My daughter is MA about 9 weeks old now and I breast and bottle feed her.I used to give her one bottle feed at night before putting her down to bed.
For the last week or so I have started to notice that she is sometimes cranky after I feed her myself so I have to give her bottle feeds during the day time too.
For how long did you guys breast feed..??
My mom was able to do so for her kids,not more than 5-6 months.
I go to other parenting forums etc and read about women very successfully doing so for about a year and that kinda makes me feel bad 
I do understand every woman is different but are there any tried and tested totkas,tricks or tips to successfully breast feed and not let the supply diminish too soon…help..!!
Re: Another breastfeeding question
chips, I'll reply as soon as I can write out a response in detail. It'll be okay!
Just a quick tip, women produce less milk in the evenings, but it has higher fat content. Babies often cluster feed in the evenings. It doesn't mean you're not making enough, just that your baby wants to feed more often.
Re: Another breastfeeding question
you are right over there that every woman is different ! I know someone who bf her son for more than 3 years ............which is even not islamically correct yet she was getting milk. Similarly I have a colleague whose daughter will turn 2 this year and she is still breast feeding her. On the other hand if you see my case I could only breast feed my daughter for 1 month but I had several issues. One thing that really affects milk production is your mental stress , it directly hits your milk production and it's a fact. I was under going major stress after my baby's birth and it was one of the factors which caused my breast milk to dry off. That's why women are encouraged to think positive and be happy after baby's birth.
The best way to increase supply is to eat good , have loads of liquid , don't take stress , directly breast feed your baby instead of expressing (as ONLY expressing w/o breast feeding reduces the milk supply gradually) . Milk supply is driven by demand , the more the demand the more it's production .
Re: Another breastfeeding question
Sahar...sure whenever you get a chance.I will wait...:)
Diamond...I am not stressing about about anything.AH all is well...diet etc etc too...I am not expressing,I feed her directly and feeding on demand.
Thanks for your replies...:)
Any other experiences and advice will really be appreciated...:)
Re: Another breastfeeding question
chew zeera that's what everyone told me to do ..........I did but didn't work on me may be it would work on you.
Re: Another breastfeeding question
i breast fed my 1st child for 14 months and am now feeding my new baby who is MashaAllah 3 weeks old.
if you use a bottle more than the breast then your supply will slowly start to go down, because the babies suction on the breast is what lets your body know how much your baby needs and will make enough accordingly. the less she breast feeds the less you will start producing.
if you find she is cranky after a feed, burp her, change her nappy, leave her to lie down for a minute or two and then put her back on the breast again, see if more breast milk helps to calm her crankiness.
do you have problems with getting her to burp after a breast feed?
Re: Another breastfeeding question
Your supply won't go down if you keep breastfeeding, unless there's a specific issue, like another pregnancy or illness or something. Otherwise, the more your nurse, the more you'll make.
Now I felt like I had supply issues in the beginning. Lots of reasons for that (preterm birth, c-section, pcos, milk did not come in till day 5, etc), so I would let baby try to nurse for like 20 minutes, and then hand her off to get the bottle from papa, nani, dadi, etc. It sort of became a routine, and I didn't change, even when my milk came in and she learned to latch better because I just didn't believe I'd ever make enough to satisfy her, and when offered more, she almost always took it. And she seemed fussy, so I assumed that she was hungry.
Looking back I know that a lot of that fussiness was sleepiness actually. And a desire to cuddle. Many babies want to stay on their mama even when they are not actually hungry, because they are able to feel cozy and comfortable. Another reason for the fussiness was reflux. She's had reflux since the beginning, spits up often -- even hours after a feeding. She needs to burp A LOT. The discomfort from the reflux was pretty bad at the beginning. We mistook it for gas, but I think a lot of the times it was reflux. She still has it, but it's not as painful for her. And she's mashAllah growing fine, so no need for treatment. Hopefully she'll grow out of it.
If you are concerned about supply like I was/am, I KNOW four things that helped me:
1. Increase fluid intake -- water, juices, etc.
2. Eat oatmeal regularly (I have a bowl in the morning, and sometimes crave more in the middle of the day). I make mine with milk, not water.
3. Sleep. It is easier said than done with a new baby, but the more I relaxed, rested, and slept, the better I was able to feed her.
4. Nurse more frequently -- try every two hours rather than three.
I did drink those Mother's Milk teas for a while, a few times a day. I'm not sure if they helped or not, but they did not hurt. Methi (fenugreek) seeds are supposed to be AMAZING at helping increase milk production, so give it a try. I had them in the special tea and also started using them more in my cooking, but have not gone out of my way to eat them. They come in pill form too if you want. Saunf (fennel) is supposed to help with milk let down, so that may be worth trying as well.
Just remember fussy does not necessary equal hungry.
We started the pacifier after a while, and sometimes she takes it and uses it to fall asleep. Most often, she rejects it, which I guess it's good, but it definitely is a nice break when she'll take it.
By the way, I do still supplement with a bottle (formula or pumped milk) in the evenings. During the day I nurse and feed her cereal, now that she's old enough.
one of my sis's breastfed her child up to 2 years, mashallah. she fully breastfed baby upto 6 months. after that solids and water were introduced. sis continued breastfeeding. when baby was 13 mnths old she started baby on cow's milk + continued her own. but she had so much milk mashallah, not completely sure why but she had a good diet. she never drunk soft drinks and ate those huge sainsbury's green leafy salad packs daily. and she always drank a glass of water/ juice/ milk with each feed.
my other sis b/c of her work routine she mixed breastfeeding with bottle when baby was 3-4 months old. she found it so hard. this reduced her milk supply, baby would get upset during feeds - most prob' b/c he wasn't getting enough, so she had to give up on breastfeeding completely. but she also found bottle feeding a huge relief. every mom is different though.
Chips, you dont need to feel bad AT ALL. Breastfeeding is one of the hardest thing to get a hang of,serioulsy, with my first I thought it was harder than the labour process itself.... but once you do, its sooo easy.
I could not bf my first, maybe the first month and a half, tops. He was bottle fed, a healthy and a happy baby mA. But I always felt really guilty about it.
My second, I nursed for a year alhumd. I cut him off a few days short of his birthday , hehe.
The trick is, dont get frustarated, if she gets cranky , or if she is still hunry, keep her on your breast. I know people have a million other things to do, but let everything go, and just feed her whenever she wants. It might take a few weeks more, but this will establish your supply.
As babies get older, they get more efficient at nursing, they are done and full in a much shorter time.
Also
oatmeal
almonds
oatmeal
almonds
and water water water.
Seriously, you'll probably force her to feed after this :) Good luck!
ETA: Oh , and I also made sure my second would take at least one bottle a day, so he wouldn't completely reject it when I wanted to stop nursing.
Re: Another breastfeeding question
^ Yeah, that's why I've kept the bottle up. She has one in the early evening and one before bedtime (hubby gives her that after the bath, while I pump).
Re: Another breastfeeding question
thanks for the detailed replies and tips.I will try the herbal stuff and oatmeal,although I just dont like it…
I am feeding her every 2-3 hrs for as long as she wants ,most of the times.
I have read about fenugreek and might try it…
SAHAR…silly stuff…where will I buy this mother’s milk tea…??
and secondly did you use the fenugreek capsules or just fenugreek seeds in your cooking…??
Re: Another breastfeeding question
chips....my first one gave me nightmares for breastfeeding...he wouldn't latch on...it was my first time n i knew zilch about this. but for other three i breastfed them full 2 years each. Alhamdulillah. One tip...drink plenty...make it a habit to drink something yourself while nursing...plus add roasted white cumin to your diet. i even added it in my cup of milk ...i'm crazy abt zeera anyways.
And my younger three never had a bottle...i gave weaned them on sippy cups for a while n then direct cups/glass etc. I'm glad i never had to have those bottles at my place except for the first one of course. And his poor health made me too strict abt decision of nursing for the rest of three....
one more thing...recite 'ya-Mateen' while nursing. InshaAllah it will help.
Re: Another breastfeeding question
Chips, I'm not sure where you're located. In th US it's available Inorganuc grocery stores. You can also order from amazon. I only used the seeds, but it's worth talking to your doc about the capsules. Are you sure you have supply issues?