I was wondering if anyone had any information or advice about breastfeeding/breast milk production and supply as a T1.
Despite my best efforts, I am not getting much milk out for my baby and was wondering if there was a connection with my body not producing any insulin. From what I have read, insulin is one of the hormones that affects breast milk production.
The hospital lactation consultant I spoke to was not very helpful. She basically suggested 'working harder' by pumping a minimum of 10 times a day and 'hourly pumping if you can manage it'.
I can't seem to find any other useful information online about T1 moms and breast milk production so would love to hear from anyone who has any prior experience with this or who is aware of any useful sources of information. Thank you!
If the insulin does what it does without regard to BG control or whatever, perhaps you could achieve your goal by eating more and taking more insulin? I recall MrsAcidRock being told "you're still eating for two!" 13 years ago...
I struggled to make enough milk with my first son. I've never heard of a connection with insulin production and milk production but that doesn't make much sense to me! I would NOT STRESS OUT ABOUT PUMPING so much! That's not great advice. However, some pumping may help bring in your milk and build up your body's demand for it. Get a GOOD pump, try Craigslist if you can't afford the expensive ones brand new. You can also try supplements like "mothers milk" and "brewers yeast". Those did seem to help me a little. Drink LOTS of water. That will help you a lot too. And, if your blood sugar goes low while pumping, drink gatorade. I liked that as well. If you've given it a good effort for a few weeks and you aren't seeing any improvement, it's okay to use formula. Formula fed babies are just fine!
Good luck to you!
Try posting your question to the "Oh Baby!" group (still on TuD, just a specialized group.) You'll probably get more answers from T1 moms. There are a bunch who seem to follow that discussion pretty closely.
I am not diabetic (my son has T1) so I am not really able to answer your question regarding type I and breastfeeding; however, I would like to take this opportunity to let you know how wonderful breastfeeding your child is. I breastfeed my son until I was 28 weeks pregnant with my daughter and then I breastfed her until she was just about 4 years old. Breastfeeding fulltime takes a huge amount of commitment (I also worked fulltime). I would get up and breastfeed my son during the night and then go out in the livingroom setup the pump and pump from the other side so that I would have enough milk for the next day. Both of my children were strictly breastfed babies. I would pump during the day as well as breastfeed them during my lunch hour at work. All I can say is try everything you can, because breastfeeding is a true joy. I wish you all the luck and hope that you have success. May God bless you and your family!
I breast fed two babies (they are now 18 and 20) and did not have any problems relating to diabetes. I had a little trouble getting them to latch on properly but once we all got the hang of it everything went well. You might want to check that they are latching on correctly. That could be one of the reasons things aren't working. If they don't latch on correctly it can be quite painful for the mother and the let-down reflex may not take place as it should. There are many other things that could cause nursing to go awry before I would worry about insulin having an effect on it. Also, I STRESS, be patient. Successful breast feeding doesn't happen over night. It takes time and patience, just like everything else that's meaningful in life. Try to relax and don't give up. You'll make it.
I don't know of any relation between insulin or diabetes and breast feeding. There is a relation between hypothyroidism and breast feeding instead, because it affect some hormones needed for milk production.
