Here we go again- supply issues :( UPDATE :)

[Hope83]

Hello Ladies!

I'm back with my beautiful bundle #2
Anna was born October 23rd and is 6 days old now.

She had a great weight at birth (8.4 lbs) but had lost 13% of her weight by Sunday (day 4).

I started bf'ing her right after birth and thought we were doing well but I guess not...

I had the same issues with my ds and was pressured into supplementing at the hospital. It took me 3 months back then to get him off the formula and have him soley on breast milk. I worked very hard to achieve that and ended up nursing him for 22.5 months. Which I'm very proud of!
However like I said it was hard work - pumping, nursing, supplementing using a feeding tube attached to my boob, taking domperidone and fenugreek, etc.

I was determined to never do that again and to just belive in and rely on my body.

Fast forward to Sunday, i had no choice but to start supplementing again. My little girl had lost too much weight, didn't poop and pee enough and was restless and unsettled.
As soon as I added one ounce to her feed, she slept for 3 hours straight.
By doing that (adding 1 ounce at every nursing session), she has gained 160 grams in less than 24 hours. She sleeps better and is much more content.

Anyways I hate the fact that I'm not exlusivley feeding her bm. Besides the fact that using the feeding tube is a pain in the butt, its gonna take me quite a while agian to get her off of it.
I've started pumping to increase supply (not much coming out yet), fenugreek and am waiting to get my prescription for domperidone.

Sorry for the long essay.

I guess I'm just looking for some encouragement, words of wisdom, helpful tips, etc.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the typos...

 

[Hope83]

Nobody?

 

[Zephram]

Hi, I went through the same after my LO was born. I had an emergency c-section and my milk didn't start coming in until a week to ten days after his birth. He lost 12% of his body weight after 4 days and we had to start supplementing him. I spent the next 4 weeks in tears that he wasn't getting enough and I was starving him and feeling like my boobs didn't work. However, I had him completely off the formula supplement by the day before he turned 4 weeks. I took fenugreek and I basically had him on the boob all day. Literally all day. I sat on the couch and he sucked and sucked and sucked and slept whilst sucking and sucked some more. I also pumped anytime I was able to put him down. After about two weeks I started reducing the number of bottles I was giving him and by 3 weeks he was having one teeny bottle a day. By 4 weeks he had a doctors appointment and the doctor said the little amount I was giving him was making no difference so it was okay to stop. We have now just passed the 12 month breastfeeding milestone.

So, I know how you feel! My advice is to take fenugreek, keep that baby on your boob any second you can, and pump whenever she's not on your boob. Don't allow her to sleep long periods as you need the regular nipple stimulation. Get as much help with your older child as you can so you can do this.

How often are you feeding her? Try at least every two hours. Also, don't increase the amount you're supplementing her. Once her weight gain has become steady start dropping the supplement feeds one at a time.

You will be okay! It sounds like you're doing everything right.

 

[Hope83]

Thank You Zephram for your encouraging words!
And massive congratulaions on your achievment!!

How much formula did you give him at first?
So far I nurse every 2-3 hours and she has 1 ounce Formula top up whilst feeding (thru the feeding tube). That adds up to about 9 ounces in 24 Hours.

That seems so much to me and I don't know how I can catch up with her demand.

I have to pump 3-4 times to get 1 ounce of ebm.

I was able to skip one top up today and she settled for 6 hours ( i bf'ed her twice in those 6 hours)

She seems to cluster feed in the evening but I know thats normal to build up the supply.
I obviously don't want to starve her but I think if I give her top ups during those hours, that will hinder my supply build up?!

The nurse will stop by again tomorrow. I'm curious to see her weight.

 

[Calibeachbum]

I had trouble with my ds when he was born. My milk did not fully come in until day 6, so he dropped a lot of weight. He was 6lbs 8oz at birth and went down to 5lbs 9oz. He was addmitted to the hospital for breast milk jaundice. I supplemented with formula for 24 hrs, it helps the bilirubin levels drop quicker. I continued to pump every time he ate. After we were discharged from the hospital, we had a dr appt 2 days later. He had hardly gained any weight.

I met with a LC immediately and was told the following info:
Pump after every feeding for 15 minutes. Take fenugreek 3 pills 3x a day, drink lots of water, nurse on demand and nurse, nurse, nurse. Let LO comfort suck etc. She also said to offer an ounce of expressed milk after each feeding (if you can). This helped me build my supply. It took me about 2 weeks where I no longer needed to suppliment with expressed milk and I am now building a nice freezer stash.
I would be careful about supplementing with formula because it will not help your supply. Good luck and you can do this. It's so hard in the first few weeks getting your supply established etc...

 

[misspriss]

I don't have anything to say to help, but I just want to say you did great with your DS and your are doing excellent with your new little girl. Every bit of breastmilk is great for her, you are doing so well and with your commitment it can only get better.

 

[Hope83]

I had trouble with my ds when he was born. My milk did not fully come in until day 6, so he dropped a lot of weight. He was 6lbs 8oz at birth and went down to 5lbs 9oz. He was addmitted to the hospital for breast milk jaundice. I supplemented with formula for 24 hrs, it helps the bilirubin levels drop quicker. I continued to pump every time he ate. After we were discharged from the hospital, we had a dr appt 2 days later. He had hardly gained any weight.

I met with a LC immediately and was told the following info:
Pump after every feeding for 15 minutes. Take fenugreek 3 pills 3x a day, drink lots of water, nurse on demand and nurse, nurse, nurse. Let LO comfort suck etc. She also said to offer an ounce of expressed milk after each feeding (if you can). This helped me build my supply. It took me about 2 weeks where I no longer needed to suppliment with expressed milk and I am now building a nice freezer stash.
I would be careful about supplementing with formula because it will not help your supply. Good luck and you can do this. It's so hard in the first few weeks getting your supply established etc...

Thank You hun.
I would love to only supplement with ebm but I'm not getting much out from pumping just yet. I'm lucky if I can collect an ounce during the day
When did your output increase?

My health nurse said ( and that was news to me), that its actually not good for lo to comfort suck rather than having proper feeds. Apparently they're using more energy/ burning more calories doing that and that will hinder/ slow down the weight gain.

It does kind of make sense but it goes against the supply/ demand theory

 

[QueenMummyToBe]

Hey my advice would be feed feed feed.. If your lo is draining you of milk then your body will make more & more.. Even when comfort sucking your baby will still be getting little drops of milk. All the sucking/pumping is telling your body to make more & more

I think you are doing a fab job & it is awesome you are willing to try so hard to give her the best start. Keep going, your body will catch up eventually

Xx

 

[Zephram]

You were told not to allow comfort sucking? Really, I thought that was the kind of stimulation your boobs need!

I think I was supplementing 30 mL ( an ounce thereabouts) a few times a day. The key with supplementing is to do it after you feed. So, 15 mins each boob and then use the tube thingy if you're doing that. So she gets filled up on BM before any formula goes near her. And yes, you then need to pump after feeding to make up for any formula she's had.

 

[Zephram]

Oh, I want to add that it doesn't really matter how much you get from pumping after feeding. It's the stimulation you need. I never got much in those days and I still can't pump much tbh! Just do what you can, even ten mins of pumping is awesome. Chin up!

 

[Peppermint25]

When my LO was born by day 5 she had lost 15% of her birth weight due to my milk not coming in at first and then when it did I got engorged and she couldn't latch or feed. We had to take a trip to the special care unit where she was fed by tube formula to get her strength up and put some weight back on. In the mean time I pumped like mad, massaged in the shower, put hot and cold water on them to stimulate production and took fenugreek. I managed to produce some milk to give her via the feeding tube. By day 7 the tube was out of her and I put her to the breast and she fed really well. For the next 5 weeks she seriously fed non stop! I out her to the breast as much as she wanted, which was like every 20 minutes! It was a pain in that I never got anything done and felt like I never left the bed or couch, but it definitely worked to build up my supply and get her weight back up. I exclusively breastfeed her now and she seems to have now steadied herself out to feeding every 2-3 hours and my supply steadied too. So the only advice I have is to try out your LO to the boob as much as you can and try not to supplement as that will affect your supply. Good luck, I'm sure things will get better soon xx

 

[merristems]

It sounds like you have alot of experience on this topic from your previous baby but that doesnt mean this time will be the same. Like the others said keep baby on boob, lots of skin to skin and try not to feel stressed about it. It takes time for supply to build so patience is all I can suggest youre doing great hun dxxx

 

[Calibeachbum]

It took a few weeks until my supply caught up. Anytime you supplement with formula you need to pump so your body knows to produce milk. Keep up the good work, I know it's hard but so worth it! It will get easier with time.

 

[Hope83]

Thank You all Ladies for your encouraging words!

The health nurse was just here and Anna has gained 60 grams/ 2 ounces since Monday. Which is average and the goal according to the nurse.

However, she was obviously only able to gain the weight due to the supplements. So far she has taken an extra 8-9 ounces of Ff in a 24 hours period. Since yesterday I skipped 2 top ups and she only got 7 ounces of top ups. However she now hasn't pooped in almost 24 hours
So I guess I have to slow down with reducing the top ups until my supply is better established

Also, the nurse wasn't happy with the fact that I marked down at least 15 feedings in 24 hours. Apparently that shows that she is not effIcient enough and doesn't allow for proper rest in between feeds ( for me and baby). She says I should avoid comfort sucking as this won't help with the supply since it doesn't fully empty the breast and its burning more energy than it is helpful

 

[goddess25]

Hope 83.

I feel your pain I am now having the same issues for the 3rd time.

This time around I fed all my colostrum..day 4 boobs engorged and leaking milk everywhere (never had this before) baby couldn't latch and suck turned out he had a tongue tie. 3 weeks later he has finally reachex hisbirthweight. We are using mainly formula after what I gI've him. I simply don't make enough...pumping, medication and feeding, feeding etc doesn't help increase supply. No one other than ladies with actual low supply can understand.

I am in the midst of beating myself up again so can't be much help but just know your not alone.

 

[Hope83]

Hope 83.

I feel your pain I am now having the same issues for the 3rd time.

This time around I fed all my colostrum..day 4 boobs engorged and leaking milk everywhere (never had this before) baby couldn't latch and suck turned out he had a tongue tie. 3 weeks later he has finally reachex hisbirthweight. We are using mainly formula after what I gI've him. I simply don't make enough...pumping, medication and feeding, feeding etc doesn't help increase supply. No one other than ladies with actual low supply can understand.

I am in the midst of beating myself up again so can't be much help but just know your not alone.

Huge to you goddess25!
isn't it the most heart breaking feeling to not be able to fully provide milk for your child?

I was starting to think that I was the only one with a real low supply issue.
But please hun, don't beat yourself up. There is nothing we can do about it ( nothing we haven't tried anyways). We are still doing a wonderful job providing some breast milk for our babies and thats the most important point!

What are you doing now? Is his latch better? Did you get the tongue tie corrected? Again big and thanks for understanding!

 

[goddess25]

It is nice to know that there others with a real issue.

We did get his tongue tie fixed..and he can now latch and nurse however as we introduced the bottle he much prefers it. He latches and nurses from me in the day time for the most part but almost always refuses overnight which is incredibly frustrating.

I have no milk at all in my left breast and he refuses to suck that one at all..i am not pumping as i have 2 other kids and its just not realistic for me. Its a matter of time before i have none left.

My first baby i had to supplement almost right away as his weight plummeted..with my second i exclusively breast fed for 12 weeks before needing to supplement. I reckon this time would have been similar if it were not for the tongue tie.

It is heartbreaking and i go through phases of being ok with it and others not so much. I view each nursing session as possibly being the last one. The milk in my right side is pretty poor and I reckon he might only get about an ounce per time if that.

We are doing the best that we can, but each time you just hope its going to be different.

Hoping that you can get yours up a bit. I will keep trying and will keep nursing and hope that I can do it for a few more months but we will see.

 

[Hope83]

I hope things will somehow improve for you goddess and that you can continue to nurse your lo for a lot longer !

My girl has finally pooped again this morning!
She went for almost 40 hours without a poopy diaper and I thought I might have to increase the ff supplements rather than decrease them.

She is also a bit more sleepy it seems. Not sure if that is another reason to be concerned about or not?

Under normal circumstances I would do a happy dance having a baby that likes to sleep but with the constant weight worry, I would rather feed her more often than have her take a nap.

 

[goddess25]

I had the same issues with weight and sleepiness..went with more formula and my little guy is improving on both counts.

We do what we can.

My Lo poops once a day on average anx has since birth.

 

[merristems]

After her meconium poops my lo didnt pooh for 5days it was so worrying. Now shes an every other day kinda girl! Xxx