Supply at 4 weeks

[Katteh]

I'm fretting a bit over whether my supply is adequate enough for my little man so was wondering if anyone could please offer any reassurance! Apologies in advance for the length of this post.

Some background....

My son is 4 weeks old on Monday and so far breastfeeding is going pretty well. He is good at latching but does pull off to a more shallow latch quite a bit of the time. He has a tongue tie but our appointment to get it snippdd isn't for another 4 weeks. Thankfully it doesn't seem to affect his ability to get his tongue out over his lip and I've not had cracked nipples or anything other than mild discomfort.

He is gaining well, was born at 8lb7.5oz, went down to 8lb and last Wednesday he weighed in at 9lb12oz. He has plenty of wet nappies and usually poo's anywhere from 2-4 times a day (decent sized poos, with lots of very small ones in between courtesy of his wind!). He feeds pretty much every 3 hours during the day, and 3-4 hours at night (I try not to let him go more than four hours), I let him finish one side and then he usually has another 10 minutes from the other.

Anyway, I guess my worries stem from the fact I keep hearing people say how much they leak and can pump after each feed at this stage, and I feel like I've got enough to feed my little boy but no spare really! If I pumped after he fed, I'd only get about 1oz between both sides, apart from in the morning when I have more milk and I can get about 2oz between both sides after he has finished. I have a hospital grade double pump which I used with my daughter and is very effective. I never really get particularly full boobs, they're definitely fuller before a feed but the only time I ever get very full is in the night.

In the evenings, sometimes he feeds then wants more an hour later and this leads to him cluster feeding as he can't get much out and he gets frustrated. Feeding on and off with gaps only when he falls asleep can go on for hours, then eventually he falls asleep and stays asleep.

Sorry for such a long rambling post. I think my main question is whether all this is normal, or whether I should do things to try and increase my supply? If so, any recommendations?

Well done if you made it this far!xx

 

[sarahh]

Hi, it sounds to me like you have a normal supply. Your baby has normal nappies and gaining weight. Which are the main indicators.
Some people don't leak very much and others leak a lot it can vary from person to person. So no need to worry there. Breast pumps don't stimulate milk as well as a baby can so how much you can or can't pump isn't an indicator of how much milk you have. Cluster feeding and getting a bit grumpy on the breast in the evening is normal. As baby is building your supply as the 1st 6 weeks are sort of like a giant growth spurt for the baby. The full feeling in breasts does go after a while. I used to be able to feel which one to feed from but now they feel the same so have to use an app to remember which one to feed from next lol.
So no need to worry about your supply you are doing great.

 

[optimistic1]

Sounds normal to me. Not having leaky boobs or super full boobs is a good thing because both are annoying as hell! As long as lo is gaining well,the docs are happy, los happy, and he's making wet diapers then everything is fine. Cluster feeding is normal especially around 3-4 weeks there's a growth spurt around then he's probably trying to build your supply for his growing body. There's a huge growth spurt around 6 weeks and you'll literally want to tear your boobs off and hand them to someone else so they can take over! (Atleast that was what I wanted)

 

[MommyJogger]

That sounds fantastic to me! It's perfectly normal to not be able to pump much of anything after a feed. Lots of women can't even pump before feeds just because they don't respond to even the best of pumps. Both leaking and not leaking are also perfectly normal. Well done, mama!