Supply gone out of nowhere???

[ready4num2]

So my LO hasn't seemed satisfied with her feeds the last week or so and has been feeding less than an hour in between feeds. She will scream until she's fed. I assumed a growth spurt but tonight I've tried feeding her and she just cries while sucking. Nothing seems to be coming out. I tried expressing I tried pumping. Just nothing! She's three weeks tomorrow and we've been doing so good. Why all of a sudden is it gone??? Just not there! I haven't had a supply issue at all and now nothing's coming out. Idk what to do!!

 

[staralfur]

Three weeks is a major growth spurt. Keep feeding! Even if it's every hour, it's normal. Keep an eye on diaper output - as long as she's having a regular number of wet/dirty diapers, she's getting enough.

 

[ready4num2]

She isn't having as many wet diapers and her bowel movements have changed. They went from liquid yellow to green and stringy almost. I really feels she's not getting enough. I almost caved into giving her formula but I tried feeding her again instead.

 

[staralfur]

How many is she having? How long does she feed on each breast?

 

[ready4num2]

Normally she would have a wet diaper and a bowel movement between feeds sometimes more than one. Now she only has a wet diaper every couple feeds it seems. And her last regular bowel movement was Monday, that's when I thought something felt off with my supply. Between both breast she will do normally 25 mins I start with one and at 15 mins I switch her. Now she wants to feed around 40 mins then 20 mins or so later she's ready to feed again. Is this normal? This is my first time breast feeding.

 

[noon_child]

Between both breast she will do normally 25 mins I start with one and at 15 mins I switch her. Now she wants to feed around 40 mins then 20 mins or so later she's ready to feed again. Is this normal? This is my first time breast feeding.

Have you tried letting her tell you when (an if) you need to swap breasts? Breastmilk gets fattier towards the end of a feed on each breast, so if you are swapping her before she gets the fatty milk she may be 1)more hungry and need to feed more frequently 2)have green poo from too much fore milk (the sugar rich watery milk that comes when you first let down).

There not being anything there when you pump and when LO goes to the breast frequently is very normal for a growth spurt, so is the screaming when the milk isn't "immediate" - babies are impatient things! The fore milk is also easier to get than the fatty hind milk and lots of newborns can't be bothered sucking hard to get it out. I had to make sure I repeatedly offered the same breast every time my LO unlatched to ensure she really had finished one breast before swapping to the other.

 

[prettyunicorn]

^I was about to mention the same thing.
In my experience baby that young will sleep off after the first letdown and then you need to wake them up somehow to continue feeding. It took me about an hour per feed (baby was napping in between). I would continue to offer same side for the entire feed. And at that age he would feed every 1-1.5 hours. Basically by the time he finished and i burped/settled him, it was time for next feed. I was lucky to get a bathroom break
One reason for green poop is excessive foremilk. kellymom explains it very well.
Good luck

 

[ready4num2]

Thank you ladies. I didn't know that! I thought I read all there is to know on BF-ing but I never read that anywhere. This is definitely a learning experience. I can't believe I almost caved with a bottle of formula last night. Glad I didn't. My breasts are always fuller in the AM so it's not till the late afternoon/evening that she'll seem to start not being satisfied. Is that normal too?

 

[noon_child]

My breasts are always fuller in the AM so it's not till the late afternoon/evening that she'll seem to start not being satisfied. Is that normal too?

Oh yes very normal - especially during growth spurts. I hated every feed from about 3pm onwards as she was just so grumpy and unsatisfied and going on and off the boob all the time. Cluster feeding would be OK if they just fed - it's all the pulling off, crying, falling asleep then waking back up as soon as you try eating/moving/breathing stuff that I found sooooooooo frustrating!!

 

[ready4num2]

I hope it's just a growth spurt. She fed at 9 and was fine because my breasts were full and she seemed satisfied. Every feed since then has been for 45 mins at a time then 10-15 mins later she's ready to eat again! I feel like nothing is even there she just isn't satisfied after.

 

[prettyunicorn]

This too shall pass. I remember one day sitting in my room from 2pm till 8:30pm! I was so exhausted after that... Little did I know it was going to be daily feature for the week
Just keep yourself hydrated and don't skip meals!
If it works for you try nursing lying down. It helped me relax more

 

[patch2006uk]

Don't think of your breasts as 'full' or 'empty'. They're not bottles. You can't cry more tears than you can produce. You don't 'run out of sweat'. It's the same principle. The flow slows, which is why babies get frustrated, but actually the fat content is higher when your breasts are less full, as the milk is being pulled from deep inside the breast and bringing more fat down with it. The beginning of a feed, when your breasts feel fuller, is actually the watery, thirst quenching milk, that won't necessarily keep them full for long. Your breasts shouldn't feel full ideally - frequent feeds and efficient milk production mean less engorgement.

The reduction in nappies is slightly concerning, along with a reduction in poo. I would personally try and encourage as many feeds as possible. Try staying on one side per hour and offering every time you hear even the slightest squeak. Don't let her go more than 3-4 hours without a feed, including at night. A feed (or several) between 1 and 4am will do wonders for your supply. Evening fussiness is normal - check it's not wind, but basically let her feed as she wishes. It's all to do with building supply. Does she have a dummy? If so, I'd ditch that for now while you're getting sorted.

Keep an eye on those nappies, and if things don't pick up in a couple of days, consider calling professional support - ideally an ibclc, or one of the national breastfeeding advice lines x

 

[Night Flower]

This happened with me and my baby.

She's now 12w and 4 d.

At three weeks she stopped pooping daily. She pooped once every 5-8days for several weeks.

And she seemed always hungry.

We supplement fed her at night and noon. Come to find out this made her colic. She was allergic to formula and thats why she became constipated for several weeks.

The hunger all the time is normal at that age. Its hard to sate them!

 

[Literati_Love]

I agree with everything everyone has said. Her eating so frequently does NOT mean she's not getting enough to eat! My baby also only gives me 10-20 minutes between end of feed and beginning of next. This has gone on her entire life (she is almost 6 weeks). She is in the 98th percentile for weight and just likes to eat a lot. It is tiring but I am sure it will get better.