Goats Milk???

I don't know anything about the goat's milk either. But when I lost my milk supply after a tragedy (I was still pumping for triplets in the NICU), my doctor prescribed Reglan. I was a milk-producing machine after taking that! It really works and I believe it is very safe because two of my triplets were prescribed to take it too (for other benefits).

Good Luck!

www.thosecrazybeans.blogspot.com

Good job using your own milk exclusively for this long! You should feel proud. It can be so hard when the milk runs out. Goat's milk is not recommended, especially for a baby so young. His brain needs just the right amount of fat (and other things) that are not found in goat's or cow's milk; formula is the closest thing you'll find. Actually, horse and dolphin milk come pretty close! :)

I'd encourage you to feed your baby formula *while* you work on your supply. You've tried many OTC remedies. Two prescriptions available from your doctor are Reglan and Domperidone. With both, you take the full dose strength for 2-3 weeks, then taper the dose over the next 2-3 weeks. (example, 3 pills a day for 3 weeks, 2 pills a day for 1 week, 1 pill a day for 1 week). If you abruptly stop taking the medication, you lose your progress. Also, herbs and medication only work with ferquent nipple stimulation. Your baby needs to be nursing every 2 1/2-3 hours, includnig at night(!) or you need to pump to regain your supply.

A great book that explores medical reasons your supply may be low is <Making More Milk> by West & Marasco. FYI- I'm a lactation cons (IBCLC) and have a little extra time today if you wish to email me directly. Good luck!

Hi Kristi--
When my supply ran low we discovered that it was because my hormones were out of sink--the stuff you are taking will not balance that issue. I took Chaste Tree Berry, also known as vitex herb, to increase prolactin and it helped a bunch. Also, alfalfa is good to support milk supply, as is drinking your weight in ounces of water per day and getting plenty of protein. Oh, and breastfeeding on demand and as long as your little one wants.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Acupuncture on SI1 (small intestine one point on your pinkie finger) will also increase supply (at least it worked for me).

As for goat's milk, I've heard the same as you but don't know much about it.
Good luck!
J.

Hi Kristi,
I am a HUGE fan of goats milk... and any goat dairy products. I also struggle with milk production for my 8 month old (each day I wonder if we will have enough, but somehow we have made it 8 months now!!). For no reason whatsoever I am paranoid about formula being cow milk based. I did a lot of research into goat milk based formula. It does exist, but I don't think in the U.S. - the composition is different than cows milk, and they are quick to point out the deficiencies in it, but not to do a study on the bioavailability of the nutrients in cow vs. goat. I suspect goat is higher. Anyway, my baby will not have anything to do with goat dairy. The taste is too strong for his young palette. So I am saying several things here:

#1, milk and formula are not the same, frmula is fortified & you need that, not milk (of any kind)
#2, goat formula is not available here in the U.S.
#3, the flavor of goat dairy may be too strong for your little one to eat

Perhaps you may want to try a hydrolyzed formula. They are more expensive. Here is a blurb on them:

Hypoallergenic formulas come in three main varieties: partially hydrolyzed, extensively hydrolyzed, and free amino acid-based. Hydrolyzed formulas have had the larger protein chains broken down into shorter, easy-to-digest proteins, while free amino acid-based formulas do not include protein chains at all but rather contain all the basic amino acids. Partially hydrolyzed formulas differ from extensively hydrolyzed formulas in that their protein chains can be longer. Alimentum, Nutramigen, and Pregestimil are among brands of hydrolyzed formulas, while Neocate, Elecare, and Nutramigen AA are amino acid formulas.

Good luck!! And don't give up on the breastfeeding!!

Hi Kristi,
Have you tried essential oils to increase your breast milk?
Dill promotes milk flow in nursing mothers and will support the body in creating higher milk production. Apply to breast daily until milk production meets the needs of baby. A trusted souce for pure oil (with NO fillers) is Forever Green. You can go there and get it or visit this website ###-###-####.myforevergreen.org. Store bought oils have fillers and would recommend using product with fillers for any application let alone this one.

If you are interested in goats milk I would recommend raw goats milk from Dougan Farms, its delcious! Sharron Dougan ###-###-####.She has seen many children experience amazing things on goats milk vs cow milk. My son also, did goats milk after nursing.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me ###-###-####
L.

Just like cow's milk isn't right for babies, because it is "formulated" for babiy cows, goat's milk is formulated for baby goats. It still doesn't have the right balance of sugar, fat, protien and other nutrients for a 4 month old. And the protiens are not as digestible for him.

Baby formula is specific for human babies, with the right balance of all the nutrients and more easily digestible proteins. He's less likely to have allergic issues and other digestive problems. And, really goats milk isn't a whole lot cheaper than formula anyway.

I struggled with supply when nursing my first, and switched to formula when she was about 3 months old. I felt some regret for not nursing her, but I also understood that I wanted to do what was best for her. She has grown up very healthy. Your son will thrive on formula just as well as breast milk. (Yes, it's going to take time for him to adjust. Can you still get a bit of breastmilk to mix with the formula to transition? Even if not, he's not going to starve himself).

I have had breastmilk supply issues from the beginning and I also tried EVERYTHING from herbal tinctures, teas, nutritional support, hospital grade pumping and even domperidone (a prescription drug). In the end nothing boost my supply enough to ever breastfeed exclusively...so its a blessing that you have been able to offer your little one as much milk as you have and I encourage you to keep breastfeeding as long as it feels right as I was told and believe that a little is still priceless for your baby.

That being said I had to supplement from the beginning and I did so in a number of different ways. In addition to breastfeeding I was able to introduce Earth's Best Organic Formula (milk based) and used that along with other breast milk from my very generous milky friends. But I never enjoyed feeding my baby such a processed powdered formula and started researching other ways to supplement. My friend suggested reading the "feeding babies" section of a book called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It was so enlightening and gave me some ease around not being able to make enough milk for my baby. It talks about using either raw cow milk or raw goat milk and MAKE your own baby formula. I then researched the difference between giving a young baby cow versus goat milk and for many reasons decided to go with goat milk.

Now, goat milk alone is not designed to be a supplement and it does need additional nutritients to make it as close to breast milk as possible. But it has been shown to be digested with greater ease than cow's milk without a threat of allergic reaction. For babies under a year it is also suggested that goat milk be watered down as it is a bigger milk than breast milk. There are simple recipes out there that just add a baby vitamin and water, but after reading Nourishing Traditions I loved the recipe, though very extensive and time consuming. It made sense to me to add the nourishing oils and food based supplements to the goat milk. I have used both pastuerized goat milk from the supermarket and raw goat milk from a goat farm I now volunteer at. After my daughter was six months old I did feel comfortable offering the raw milk.

My baby girl has THRIVED on the goat milk formula. I make it fresh everyday and she downs it. She as gone from being labeled "low weight gain" and very petite to being well on the charts and very, very healthy. I feel so good about my decision especially since it came from a lot of thought, research and love.

This has been lengthy, but it has been a challenging road for me and I am so grateful I have found a way to continue to nourish my baby in the most wholesome way possible.

If you would like to talk further I would be happy to. My number is ###-###-####!

much love,
L.

When I was no longer able to nurse, I found my son allergic to soy & milk formulas, however was able to get fresh goat's milk from another mother (on an acreage) & he did wonderfully on it. I've a 16 page doc. of saved info of recipes. Did a bit of digging & found 2 sites for you:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/waphb/

http://westonaprice.org/search-results.html?cx=0065997818...

Likely the best sources of info around 8>)
Best off luck !!!

We had two who had milk supply issues because they didn't latch on right. Goat's milk in such a young one is good, but incredibly constipating. It can have the same effect as cow's milk, too. Our littlest finally took nutramagin. The others upset her stomach too much. I understand trying everything and it not working. I had more than enough with my son who didn't have reflux, but the other two were a struggle! GL! and congratulations!

I too ended up with not enough milk right around 4 months. I know everyone says you *should* be able to make enough, but the fact is many, many women don't (something my pediatrician verified), and you can go crazy trying to up your supply and still not make enough (I've been there, I tried everything, it's just not always fixable, despite what everyone tells you).

I second that you should talk to your pediatrician before trying goat's milk. It's not nutritionally complete.

Two suggestions.

First, you can start introducing solids at 4 months. It's on the early end, but while the recommendation is often to wait till 6 months, it's also not to start before 4 months, so 4 months is old enough. That's how I solved my low-supply issue. A little supplementing with rice cereal, mixed either with water if you have to, or with your own pumped milk.

A second suggestion is to try different formulas. Not sure what you're trying, but many babies can't absorb the milk-based formulas (whey protein is the same as milk protein) or have allergies to the lactose in the milk at that age, so you can either try one where the proteins are broken down (e.g., Infamil Gentlease has broken down proteins and reduced lactose) or you can try soy formula till he's older (I had my son on soy supplement from 4-6.5 months, now he does fine on milk forumla) or there is even a hypoallergenic formula you can try, though it smells nasty. If you went straight to the standard Similac or Infamil, that is likely the problem. They are fairly hard to digest for many babies.

Since he might not like the taste of the formula at first, try mixing the first few bottles with pumped milk (e.g., a few bottles 75% milk, 25% formula, a few 50/50, then 25/75, then 100% forumla).

Good luck!

If you feed him more often your body should make more milk. When you supplement if he is not eating your body does not think he needs as much and will not make as much.

You could pump then feed, as his eating is more efficient than the pump.

A lactation consultant may know of other options where he is not taking the formula.

Enjoy your little one.

S.
Mother to Kai
www.HomeWithKai.info

Hi Kristi,

My son started exclusively on goat milk when he was 4 months, because of a formula allergy, and unfortunatly I could not breast feed. We started off with pasturized but he really did better on raw goat milk that we get from a farm. But since you are just using it as supplimentational I you could use pasturized. Also when he was that small we used to water down the goat milk 1 part water to 2 parts goat milk. There is more protien and sodium in goat milk that can be h*** o* their kidneys, so watering it down fixes that. We also added some vitamins and Omega-3 oils. All of these you can find in liquid form in a health food type store. Anyway our son has been drinking the goat milk for 14 months now and is a very happy and healthy little boy, with out the vomiting and ear aches he was getting for the first 4 months of his life. Oh we also add some powdered probiotics. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Jackie

Not sure on the goat's milk. But for formula my kids would only eat low iron formula. You have to search for it, but some stores DO carry it. Similac is the manufacturer.

I agree with Amy and would encourage you to look at the book "The Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk." It was published only a few months ago and is very current and practical, and helps moms get to the bottom of their reason for low supply and fix it.
You baby is not a goat. . . . Mixing combinations of ingredients seems risky, especially for an infant this young. I am not a fan of artificial baby milk, but perhaps you can offer it very slowly so it doesn't hit his stomach too fast and make him vomit?
Also consider using donor milk--have you checked out milkshare.com (or maybe it's .org)? They have some commercial interests, but you might be able to find someone with extra milk, if you are not adverse to that.
Good for you for all your hard work. You baby is fortunate to have such a devoted and proactive mama. Best wishes!

P.S. IBCLC certification is the highest level of training a lactation consultant can receive. If Amy is offering to walk you through this, I think you should take her up on it and email her. She will be able to help you preserve breastfeeding/your milk supply and offer you medically accurate ideas.

Please talk to your Pediatrician before you give your baby goat's milk. Goat's milk is not adequate for a baby that age.

I used to think I didn't have enough milk either but the lady at the health food stores said that even if you don't feel engorged ever or larger, your body is making the milk. Especially if you are nursing every 3 hours to increse the supply. It is supply and demand. Unless your baby really seems to be starving, you probably are making enough, your breasts have just regulated so they aren't firm or full as much. This worked with all 5 of mine until they were about 12 months with the exception of one but I found out I was 3 months pregnant when she was about 6 months. She seemed hungry so I offered formula that she had never even had and she drank half a bottle. Then I found out I was pregnant and the baby takes most of the nutrients. If your baby doesn't want formula, I bet he is getting enough from you... really.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/1...
On drmercola.com he has recipes for formula made with goats milk. I used the simpler one for a temporary solution while I was in the hospital and needed something for my son. If your using it a lot I would use the more detailed recipe (i.e. the one with the liver), but just read the article and see what you think.
My son had NEVER had anything but breastmilk, when we had to use goats milk and he did really well with it.
HTH,
S.