Milk supply dangerously low - please help!

[cvd16]

Hi,

I am almost 7 weeks postpartum and I am still not making enough milk!

I am not breastfeeding my baby, but I am pumping my milk and giving it to her in a bottle. The reason for this is because I like to see/know how much she is drinking instead of not exactly knowing.

Also, because my baby has thrush and I was advised not to breastfeed her in case of transferring the infection back and forth

Anyway, earlier on, a few weeks ago, I would pump about an ounce on each side (2 ounces total). One time I pumped 2 ounces on each side (4 ounces total!). That was the most I ever pumped... ever.

Ever since my baby was born, I haven't been getting enough sleep, or eating well but I was still able to pump about 1.5 to 2 ounces each time.

NOW... my supply has suddenly dropped. I don't even pump an ounce on each side.. in total I'll get less than an ounce and it's really depressing me!

I've started taking fenugreek and mother's milk tea but it does not seem to help. It's really hard for me to get enough sleep because of the baby and I know I should be eating more, but again, it's hard with the baby and at the same time I think I lost my appetite? Or it's just that I'd rather sleep than eat if I can get it.

Is there anything else I can do?? I know I'm suppose to eat well, sleep well, drink lots of water.. but is there anything else? I just feel really bad and guilty that I'm still not producing enough milk and my baby is only a month old! My goal was to give her breast milk only for a year and I haven't even been able to do that yet. She's mostly on formula but I really want to switch her out.

In the freezer, I have about 5 bags of saved breast milk that I was able to pump from in the past but once I give it to my baby, my supply will be out!! I give it to her once in a while but it's mostly formula that I'm giving her until I can/if I can.. get my milk supply up. Please help!? Thanks for reading.

 

[thexfadingpat]

Unfortunately pumping is not an indicator of your supply. Some people just don't respond to a pump. If you're able to, feeding straight from the beast is best. As long as baby is gaining weight and has wet diapers there's no need to know how much they're getting.

 

[happynewmom1]

I totally agree with the above poster. Your supply might be just fine but your body may just not respond to the pump well. I would also put baby straight on and see how she does.

 

[jessmke]

There's really no reason you need to know how much she is drinking with each feed so long as she seems satisfied after a feed and is having the right number of wet and poppy diapers and is gaining weight appropriately. The best way to maintain your supply is to put baby to breast often, so if I were you I would get rid of the pump and start breastfeeding directly if she will still latch. Your baby will be much better at getting milk from your breast than a pump is so she will get more milk directly from you and you won't have to supplement with as much formula. Eating oatmeal and lactation cookies can also help boost your supply.

There is no reason to stop breastfeeding due to thrush, you both just need to take the medication. I know that doesn't help you now but I thought I would mention it just in case one of you gets thrush again.

I had major oversupply in the first few months of feeding my daughter, when I got a letdown I would practically paint the walls of the room with milk. But if I tried pumping I would only get a couple of ounces. So I agree with the above ladies that pumping isn't a very good indicator of supply, I am one whose body definitely doesn't respond well to a pump.

 

[BunnyN]

I never got much out of a pump either. The best way I found was doing it in a hot bath. You may find pumping more often helps. Even if you don't get much to start with it should signal to your body to make more milk. As the others have said feeding directly would give you the best chance. If you also cut back slightly on the formula the baby will want more breastmilk. If the baby needs more milk it sucks for longer or cluster feeds. It makes you feel like baby is attached to you the entire time sometimes but I always found I had way more milk after. Have you ever BF directly? It's possible at this stage the baby won't take to it well as it is so used to a bottle but it would be wortha try.

 

[1nceUponATime]

Agree with the above posters. Babies are much better at getting the milk than the pump is. Babies are better at stimulating your supply too because they will go to the breast a lot more often than they will take a bottle. My baby went to daycare for the first time the other day and it's her first couple days accepting bottles of pumped milk and she was totally fine with every three hours.... whereas when she's home with me I swear she's on the breast every hour and a half because she just loves it so when she's fussy/gassy/sleepy she goes to the boob and it helps with all those things and also in turn stimulates supply.

If you want to exclusively pump I would suggest massaging your breasts during pumping sessions, maybe that will help? Also make sure you have the right flange sizes ... I have a medela pump and the standard 24mm flanges were too big I opted for the 21mms and they are much better for me. Drink tons of water (like tonssssss even if you aren't thirsty, every time my baby eats I drink two large glasses of water) eat oatmeal, add in extra pumping sessions to stimulate your supply, and be consistent.... you have to pump every time your baby would eat so every 2 hours or so, even at night. Once your sleep improves too, your milk supply might go up... maybe DH can tend to baby while you take a nap?? hope your supply comes up!!

 

[BunnyN]

Honestly I wouldnt worry too much about the sleep thing. If you can get more sleep, great, if not then I'd say you are in the same boat as most of the mothers of newborns in history . There are not many breastfeeding mums out there who actually get plenty of sleep

 

[Uni tsi]

I agree with what everyone else has said - baby will be more efficient than the pump. Regarding the thrush, there are ways to prevent passing it to yourself if precautions are taken. Basically, just treat your nipples along with treating the baby and it should be ok.

If you really want to know how much you're feeding her from the breast, the only way is with a very accurate scale that measures at the tenth of an ounce. Here, they have lactation support groups and one of the draws for attending is that there is such a scale.

 

[noon_child]

If you really want to know how much you're feeding her from the breast, the only way is with a very accurate scale that measures at the tenth of an ounce. Here, they have lactation support groups and one of the draws for attending is that there is such a scale.

These can be reassuring up to a point BUT even if you did know how much she got in a particular feed, how would you know if it was enough or not? Only your baby knows if she wants a quick drink, a full rib sticking feed, some cuddle time or a chance to get away from overstimulation. Some babies want 4oz every 4hrs some want 2oz every hour, some don't yet have a pattern of what they want and of course everything changes during growth spurts.

 

[ke29]

I would say from experience with my youngest theres no right volume. If I give him 3oz he will take it, if I give him 1oz he will take it, both times he's satisfied. Now if I want to express feeds I give him whatever I've double pumped then if he's still not satisfied I breastfeed him until he is.

 

[Zephram]

You don't don't need to know how much breastmilk she's getting as long as she is gaining weight and having lot's of wet and poopy nappies. Breastmilk isn't like formula in that you have to measure it out, breastfeeding allows babies to regulate their own intake, if you let them feed on demand they take as much as they want as often as they want it.

If you're really worried about supply you might like to try to let your baby latch and feed from your breast rather than pumping and giving bottles. That will stimulate your supply far better than anything else you can do.