Hi all! I have a breastfeeding question for those T1 mamas out there, and this seemed like the best forum to ask. I’ve been nursing my now four month old baby girl since birth, and my tactic has been to lower my basal overall. That worked great for a while, but now that DD is going longer periods of time without nursing, and my BGs have gone crazy!
Can anyone tell me how you handled nursing with diabetes? How many carbs did you eat and when (before, during, after nursing)? Also, anyone have supply issues and when did they hit?
The first few months after my son was born my insulin needs were constantly changing.
If you're having lows after breast feeding you might try having a little juice or about 15g of carb right after. I'd often eat a couple of Hershy bliss dark chocolate candies after nursing and they seemed to keep blood sugar steady.
The best advice I ever got about breastfeeding was from a co-worker who told me it doesn't have to be all or nothing. It's okay to breastfeed when you can and use formula at the other times. I know lactation consultants tell you that introducing a bottle makes breat feeding less successful, but I didn't experience that. Most babies are very hungry in the early months when they are growing so fast and can transition between breast and bottle just fine.
Breastfeeding is great to help the pregnancy weight drop off and it's a lot cheaper than formula. =) I nursed for the first month, with my husband giving a bottle of formula at 10pm so I could get a few extra hours of sleep. At 1 month I had a respiratory infection and couldn't nurse a week because of the antibiotics. But even before that my milk supply wasn't great. I tried pumping every time after I fed my son, but it was exhausting and never really helped increase the milk. So early on I got over using formula. At 2 months I remember going to a follow up breastfeeding class at the hospital and the moms who were breastfeeding exclusively looked exhausted and their babies weren't as active or healthy as the others who were doing a mixture of breastmilk and formula. I'm not saying formula is better, just that there are trade offs either way.
After returning back to work at 3 months I pumped several times during the day but still didn't have much supply and gave it up. Instead I would nurse in the morning and then around 6pm when I got home and my son had formula for the other feedings. It worked great for us and my son is a healthy first grader now.
Thanks, Jenna! It's great to get some feedback. So far I haven't had an issue with supply or exhaustion, but I'll keep formula in mind. I really hope to exclusively breastfeed until six months and keep DD away from dairy until one year old (because of allergies and AI diseases that run in the family). The big issue seems to be the wild BGs lately, but I've been working on my basal by starting over and playing the carb needs by ear at this point. Thanks again for the info and support!
One of the most important things I had to learn as a parent was to check blood sugar if I ever felt off and to treat a low immediately, even if it meant ignoring a crying baby for a minute. Unless he was playing with a knife or about to tumble down the stairs, of course. =)