preemie baby and milk supply

[nineena]

Not sure whether this should go in breastfeeding thread but thought it might be better suited here but mods feel free to move it if it should go elsewhere.

Right ive been wanting to breastfeed Ella and so before she was able to take feeds had been expressing every 3hrs and my supply had gone up to about 90-120mls between the 2 breasts per express. Now Ella is currently taking about 55-60mls a feed every 4hrs and she's taking that by cup and so one would presume thats about what she gets from me when she feeds and is satisfied. Now it seems that for the last 2days my milk supply seems to have reduced to be producing 60mls a time now too, is this normal and will it increase as she gets bigger and requires more or am i stuck now at only producing 60 and so she'll end up needing formula too? Also has this happened to anyone else?

xx

 

[katy1310]

Hi

I had Sophie 13 weeks early and expressed for about 10 weeks till she was ready to try breastfeeding. I've been struggling with breastfeeding since we got her home and have ended up expressing to give her that milk by bottle as well because she always seems to be still hungry after feeds. My supply appeared to have gone right down to about 20ml every time but I started taking fenugreek and that's increased it a lot. I'm still expressing every 3 hours and she is getting that with the odd top up of formula but i'm planning to try breastfeeding again now that my supply has increased because I really want to be able to do it.

I have heard that your supply will adjust to meet your baby's demand and that the more they feed, the more you produce...

Sorry this isn't much help!

Good luck

 

[25weeker]

If you need to increase your supply then increasing the number of times you express for a couple of days should help. To get mine up I expressed at least 10 times. I was told it's not the time between expressing that is important but the number of times so was still only expressing once during the night. I know other neonatals say it should be every 3 hours and that works for people as well.

If you are expressing enough to feed her daily then I would say you will have enough milk to breastfeed because babies are much better at producing milk than a pump and when she needs more milk she will work to increase your supply.

I have been breastfeeding for nearly 12 weeks now after expressing for 14 and it is tough at times as they seem permanent stuck to you and you worry you aren't producing enough but this happens with all newborns which is what they really are at discharge. I would recommend in the beginning have some ebm for evenings because that's when they cluster feed.

Drink plenty of water, rest as much as possible, express holding something of your little girl & fenugreek are all tips I had been given to increase my supply.

Hope this helps

 

[Foogirl]

I expressed for 6 weeks and my supply went up and down in that time. The fact you've been able to get that much at least shows you've started off the right way. As has been said, try increasing the number of times you express for a few days.

Also, try to get her onto the breast as soon as possible. Abby was 31 weeks when we first tried and although she didn't do much, my milk production went through the roof!

 

[vermeil]

Hello again!

I`ve been expressing for 9 weeks - aiming for every two hours, but usually every 3, sometimes 4 hours. I find it hard and very time consuming... I have named the milk pump the tyrant ha. I also don`t produce a lot. For each session it`s been very slowly increasing by 5-10ml per week or so. I`m only up to about 50-60 ml per session, and that`s with fenugreek. Baby is receiving 40ml every three hours (via a tube) so I`m still ahead for now. But I`m also worried about my supply. Some days it seems to go down and I worry. Been thinking of asking the doctor a domperidone prescription - we`ll see.

I estimate I`ve expressed my milk over 400 times now

 

[Foogirl]

I estimate I`ve expressed my milk over 400 times now

I was expressing milk right up until she was a year old and could have soya milk. She was fully breastfed but when we started weaning a dairy intolerance meant she could only have rice and stuff made with breastmilk.

I was soooooo pleased to give it up. However, it did mean I had an excuse to sit down at my PC and muck about on here!

 

[paulasdaisy]

Hey everyone!

After being told that my preemie Charlie may be lactose intolerant, EBM was stopped and replaced with Pepti-Junior. Whilst waiting for stool sample results (which took a week), my lactation slowed right down and it came to a stop. I have now been told that Charlie is not lactose intolerant so EBM is being re-introduced.

problem is I am now struggling to get even 10 mls off on the pump!! I am considering Domperidone but I was hoping to get some tips of natural ways to increase lactation.....does anyone have any ideas?? Now my little man can have my EBM again, I am desperate to produce more, he is on 9mls an hour at the moment!!

Thanks

Paula xxx

 

[AP]

Hi Paula,

If you are considering domperidone I would ask a doctor first to see if the would allow it on prescription, it's really really expensive otherwise.
It took a lil bit of a fight for me to get it but I did in the end, and it was the wonder drug, I have to admit, its fab.
However the advice before your post is really good too, so try fenugreek too!

 

[Srrme]

Your supply will adjust to fit your baby's needs. My LO was bottle fed hand-expressed breast milk for two months, but was exclusively breastfed when he finally came home (and still is). In the beginning, I also thought my supply was dropping, but it wasn't, and he's been gaining an ounce every day since he's been home.

If you're still worried, I'd "cluster pump" for a few days to a week - I did this, and pumped every hour, and my milk supply increased dramatically. I was pumping 160-200 ml every 2 1/2 hours after that.

 

[paulasdaisy]

Srrme...........Cluster Pumping....will that hurt lol....I have tried pumping more frequently, every 2 hours but still only getting 20-30 mls, even taking Domperidone (mind you only started that 24 hours ago).....it seems that if I leave it a bit longer I seem to get 40-60 mls off, soooo confused, would love to get 100mls, is that wishful thinking? lol xx

 

[Srrme]

Srrme...........Cluster Pumping....will that hurt lol....I have tried pumping more frequently, every 2 hours but still only getting 20-30 mls, even taking Domperidone (mind you only started that 24 hours ago).....it seems that if I leave it a bit longer I seem to get 40-60 mls off, soooo confused, would love to get 100mls, is that wishful thinking? lol xx

No, it will not hurt. At first, you'll only get a little bit -- when I began cluster pumping, I was getting even less than before -- 30 ml at the most, but then your body starts producing more milk to keep up, and your supply should increase in no time.

 

[25weeker]

I had to cluster pump for about 3 days before I noticed an increase.

In 24hours pumping I never got more than 600ml but went on to breastfeed and still am 13 months later. Babies are much more efficient at getting milk and increasing your supply than a pump will ever be.

I hope the domperidone works for you soon