No colostrum, pls help!!

[river_mommy]

Hi,
I just gave birth 2 days ago and i started to breastfeed right away, or at least i've tried...
first day everything was great, 6 poops, the baby was sleeping well after, but the second night was a nightmare.. is like she wasnt getting anything from my breasts, she was sucking but not getting any colostrum...
Hospital nurses were sure she is getting some, the latch is great, but when I got home today, she was hungry, little dehydrated and I said I will supplement with formula until I will figure it out.
I've tried pumping to see if I have any success...NOTHING, not even a drop !!!!

What can I do?? Continue to pump while I give her formula, hoping my milk will come in, or keep her to my breast no matter what??(she started to refuse the breast, probably because she felt it's empty..)

Does anyone have ANY suggestions? Please help...

 

[A3my]

Hi there, dont worry milk doesnt come in for 3-5 days. The most important thing you can do to get your milk in is to put her to the breast frequently. You will have colustrum there, there isnt much of it so you wouldnt be able to express it.
Your baby probably slept well the first day after the exhaustion of being born but then the next day they realise they are not in the warm comfort of your womb and tend to be much less settled.
So I would suggest not to give her formula, persevere with putting her to the breast (it will be frequent in these early days) and make sure you've got some support, someone who can watch the baby while you nap? Your milk will come in very soon and then she can fill her tummy a bit more. what you are experiencing is normal .

 

[summer rain]

Amy is right, colostrum is nigh on impossible to express. Babies are restless the first few days of life, this whole life is a new experience for them. Also it's only expected for them to have 3 wet nappies in the first 48 hours of life, then starting from day 3 this should start to increase to 5 or 6 a day. You need to keep putting baby to the breast as mentioned and this will stimulate your milk to come in more quickly and there will be more of it when it does.

 

[freckleonear]

Congratulations on your baby. As the others said, colostrum is such amazing stuff that only tiny amounts are needed. Baby's tummy is the size of a tiny marble at this stage anyway. It's difficult to express as it is literally just tiny drops. The best indicator of whether baby is getting enough is wet and dirty nappies. Relax, have plenty of skin-to-skin time with baby and feed on demand.

 

[minties]

That is exactly how things happened with me, it's very normal! That second day/night of constant feeding isn't you having empty breasts, it's the baby helping stimulate your breasts to get the milk to come in.

We thought Thomas was starving and that I had no milk when we took him home as he suckled constantly, and if he wasn't sucking he was crying. But things were fine and normal and he's now 9 weeks old ;-)

Good luck!

 

[lottie-xx]

Totally agree with minties, just wat I was gna say x

 

[Betheney]

Yes exactly what all thw other women say the constant feeding is to stimulateyour breasts into making mulk of you swap this for formula you may not have your milk come in as quickly, Eva would feed for hoyts on day 3and was up every hour that night it was terrible then on the morning of day 4 my mulk was in and she fed for 10 mins then slept for 5 hours

 

[Tacey]

What they all said! If I were you, I'd ditch the formula and just let her feed as often as you can. Your milk will come in in the next couple of days.

 

[BunnyFace]

Congratulations on your LO!
Keep trying hun, she will be getting something! It can take 3-5 days for your milk to come in
Keep putting her to your breast to stimuate the milk, try not to give her the formula as this will confuse your boobies into thinking they dont need to produce much milk. Hang in there hun, my milk took 3/4 days to come in and LO was the same as yours on the second night and now we're still feeding at 9 months !

 

[nanitchi]

My baby just turned 2 weeks and was born at 35+5.. I also struggled the way
You are struggling now. My baby's Dr advised me have her sleep on my chest as
Much as possible to help my milk to come in.
Wear a tank top or vest, dress baby in a light romper, put her on your chest and
Cover with a receiving blanket and then normal bedding - worked like a charm!

 

[discoclare]

^what they all said. It's too early for your milk yet at day 2. Your baby is refusing breast probably because you are offering formula and it's easy for her to get it out of the bottle rather than her working for her colostrum. Keep putting baby to breast, by supplementing you are risking not getting enough stimulation to make enough milk.

It's is really hard to express colostrum. I did 40 mins on a hospital pump on day 2 (DD jaundiced and under UV needed syringe feeding) and I got 7ml (about a quarter of one ounce!). the girl opposite me in bed got nothing. I really wouldn't be expecting to see it out of the pump. Look for wet and dirty nappies instead. Do you have a guide for what should be coming out the other end? Here is one:

https://www.nct.org.uk/info-centre/information/view-44

 

[flubdub]

Exactly the same happened to me. I was sat up all night on the second night crying because there was nothing there. Milk came in on day 3

 

[river_mommy]

Thank you all for your replies!!
I will continue to put her to my breast even for few minutes at the time (she fells asleep ) but I don't want to give up. I am pumping as if she would suck, so I can get my milk sooner, in case she doesnt sucking enough.
No signs of milk so far, but I am hopeful

Thanks for the advice of keeping her skin-to-skin, it really makes a difference.

I will not give up !!

 

[flubdub]

My lo is two weeks old, and you really can count on one hand how many times he has come off the breast since he was born, and I am not exagerating! He really is hungry 24hours a day, so do persevere as the first few weeks are the hardest.

 

[Pixxie]

Its totally normal! Keep going your milk will come soon Try not to give formula though because if baby isnt hungry they wont want to nurse, which will mean you might not get enough stimulation to make enough milk. Lyra was attached to me on the second day and suckled constantly but thats what they are supposed to do The same thing happens when they have a growth spurt at about 3 weeks, dont panic, just trust in your body. Wet/dirty nappies are the best indication of LO getting enough xxx

 

[samface182]

keep at it. your milk will come in soon. don't give her formula hun, i promise it will get better! don't give up!

 

[flubdub]

Hi, hows things now? any better?

 

[dreamwarrior]

colostrum is very small, as if you have no milk at all. that's when you NEED to keep trying to feed her even if you think there's nothing there. because once your milk comes in there's no more colostrum.

 

[river_mommy]

My milk came in but is not too much. I started to take Fenugreek because there were no signs of coming and i had some next day. However, the quantity is not really enough as she is not ok after 1 hour of feeding.
Now the main problem is that she fells asleep while breastfeeding , I've tried keeping her in her diaper only, skin-to-skin, blowing air when she fells asleep, tickle her, she gives me 2-3 sucks, fells asleep again.... I am sure she is getting some, but not enough...
At night my DH gives her some formula (if I am sleeping), but otherwise I keep her to my breast as long as she is hungry...I cannot express myself, I tried pumping and I don't get too much, probably the pump sucks (Avent)

How should I make her stay awake during breastfeedings? (she stays awake if bottlefeeding...)

 

[kaylz]

She probably isn't staying awake on the breast because she isn't hungry enough. If you really want to breastfeed I think you need to consider stopping the formula altogether and giving every feed at the breast until you have established breastfeeding properly.

Provided she has no clinical signs of dehydration then all should be well. How is her fontanelle (soft spot)? - check it's not sunken in. Is she having some wet nappies? Is she yellow/jaundiced at all? Are there orange crystals in her nappy? A few orange crystals are normal but lots could indicate a problem - these are all things that can help you tell whether or not she is coping ok with what you are giving her. She will cry and 'act hungry' for sure, but if her clinical signs are ok then she should have enough reserves on board to cope until your milk comes in properly. Keep up the good work!! Also, tickle the palm of her hand to help keep her awake during feedings - it stimulates a wake reflex