Feel like my body is failing my lil man :(

[LilMiss_91]

My milk supply is slowly dwindling. It all but stopped the other day, but a hot shower and some massage got it going again till I managed to pump 3 & 1/2oz per breast. Today, I've struggled to get 3oz from both together and tonight, 1oz. Hot showers are no longer working, or massage. I'm drinking practically my weight in water and have upped my intake of oatmeal. I wouldn't feel so bad if I had a good supply stored up but I'm down to my last 3 3oz bags. I can't express enough to have to feed him and to store.

I feel like my body is totally failing my LO. I'll be heartbroken if I have to give up breastfeeding altogether :,( I love the bond I have with him and those special "Eli and mummy cuddles". I don't know what to do if my supply is still so low tomorrow I don't think I'll have any choice but to supplement with formula as LO can't keep going on 1oz every 3-4hrs.

Feeling very low tonight

 

[CatherineK]

Are you exclusively pumping or pumping in addition to nursing? I've nursed 3 kids, working full time, and I rarely pump more than 3 oz per breast after many hours. It's so early, your baby would be much more efficient than pump? Relax and take a deep breath, Hun. Stress will cause issues with the pump.

 

[heres2hoping]

I feel you! I am struggling too. My baby is 5 weeks and my milk is not coming in very well. I bf my previous son with no issues, but for some reason I am not producing enough to satisfy him and he is not gaining weight with I am trying everything to ncrease my supply. Mothers milk tea, fenugreek, water, oatmeal, even an evening beer, lol. I broke down and started taking domperidone last Thursday. I noticed an improvement overnight although we are struggling today. I will do anything to continue bfing. I did notice that thinks got drastically worse last week when I started bottle supplementing with formula. I wish you all the best, I know how hard it is and i myself feel like a failure. Hugs

 

[LilMiss_91]

Are you exclusively pumping or pumping in addition to nursing? I've nursed 3 kids, working full time, and I rarely pump more than 3 oz per breast after many hours. It's so early, your baby would be much more efficient than pump? Relax and take a deep breath, Hun. Stress will cause issues with the pump.

At the moment I'm combining bottle and breast because I've had no end of problems since day one and for the last 2wks LO hasn't been gaining anywhere near enough weight just nursing. Since combining he's gained nearly 1lb in a week
Thanks lovely, I am trying to stay calm and relaxed but it gets hard sometimes. Especially as I know OH is concerned LO isn't getting enough food. I think the whole breastfeeding thing worries him a bit as from the first day when LO refused to feed (or to even latch on) he was suggesting bottle feeding him :/ kinda makes me feel I'm not doing enough I guess.

 

[LilMiss_91]

I feel you! I am struggling too. My baby is 5 weeks and my milk is not coming in very well. I bf my previous son with no issues, but for some reason I am not producing enough to satisfy him and he is not gaining weight with I am trying everything to ncrease my supply. Mothers milk tea, fenugreek, water, oatmeal, even an evening beer, lol. I broke down and started taking domperidone last Thursday. I noticed an improvement overnight although we are struggling today. I will do anything to continue bfing. I did notice that thinks got drastically worse last week when I started bottle supplementing with formula. I wish you all the best, I know how hard it is and i myself feel like a failure. Hugs

I'm glad I'm not the only one... at least it means it's relatively normal!
Where can you get the mother's milk tea and fenugreek?
It's such an awful feeling not being able to satisfy them isn't it makes me feel utterly useless. The one thing I'm meant to be able to do and I can't!
Fingers crossed this is just a blip for us both

 

[optimistic1]

Did a doctor tell you he's not gaining enough? How much did he gain in a month? My dds pediatrician said she should be gaining 2 lbs a month. Sometimes pumping is a horrible way to measure the amount of milk your producing.. babies are better at getting the milk out and only being able to get 1 oz isn't that bad some woman can't pump anything at all. Is your lo content after feeds or does he still seem hungry? Is he making wet and dirty diapers? How does his doctor feel about his weight gain?

 

[Angelica]

I feel you! I am struggling too. My baby is 5 weeks and my milk is not coming in very well. I bf my previous son with no issues, but for some reason I am not producing enough to satisfy him and he is not gaining weight with I am trying everything to ncrease my supply. Mothers milk tea, fenugreek, water, oatmeal, even an evening beer, lol. I broke down and started taking domperidone last Thursday. I noticed an improvement overnight although we are struggling today. I will do anything to continue bfing. I did notice that thinks got drastically worse last week when I started bottle supplementing with formula. I wish you all the best, I know how hard it is and i myself feel like a failure. Hugs

Is dompedirone prescribed for nausea?? Will gp's give u that for b/f problems??

 

[heres2hoping]

It is prescribed for gastrointestinal issues and reflux in babies. The side effect is increase in milk supply. So a lot of doctors will prescribe it just for low milk.

You can get Fenugreek at health food/supplement stores or order it online. How are you doing LilMiss?

 

[Angelica]

For those that are combi feeding how are u doing it?
Alternating between feeds or topping up with formula after each feed??
Im finding that even after bf lo is taking same amount of formula as she would without bf??

 

[meli1981]

I agree baby is more efficient than a pump, so just because youre only pumping 1oz doesnt mean baby is only getting that much stick with it,the more you nurse the more youll produce

 

[laodicean]

As much as you don't want to hear this you need to drop the bottle feeds. Your breasts work on a supply and demand basis, and if your baby isn't demanding because he's full from a formula feed, then they see no reason to supply.

Yes, your baby will cluster feed, and seem like he's not getting enough. He will be fussy and constantly wanting more boob. THIS IS NORMAL. Especially if they're having a growth spurt. And within a couple of days your boobs will have taken notice of this and upped their supply.

Pumping is not effective as a baby, and even you're pumping every time you're giving a botttle, the stimulation your breasts receive is not the same as they'd have got from a baby, and the supply will dwindle.

Your LO can't be any more than 5 weeks old - that's way too soon for your supply to have regulated itself and achieved equilibrium. You need a more supportive OH, and more support from local breast feeding groups to encourage you if you want to achieve your goal of breast feeding your baby.

My LO is EBF. It was really hard in the early days, but it does get easier and it wasn't until around 2.5-3 months that I was confident that he was getting what he needed. His weight gain has been slow (took over a month to gain back birth weight), but that is a variant of normal for breast fed babies. He's thriving and had recently started climbing centiles. Don't pay attention to the charts because unless they say otherwise they're based on the weight gain of formula fed babies.

Read this article from Kellymom:
https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/pumping_decrease/

The thing I want to highlight is this paragraph: "It is typical for a mother who is nursing full-time to be able to pump around 1/2 to 2 ounces total (for both breasts) per pumping session. Moms who pump more milk per session may have an oversupply of milk, or may respond better than average to the pump, or may have been able to increase pump output with practice. Many moms think that they should be able to pump 4-8 ounces per pumping session, but even 4 ounces is a rather large pumping output for a mom who is breastfeeding full-time."

So, Stop worrying, put your baby on your breast, drop the bottles, ask your OH to be more supportive in your parenting choices and find yourself a local breastfeeding support group. IN THAT ORDER! Good luck x