Supply just not there

[mod19]

So I ended up having an unplanned c section. My waters broke before I was in labor and induction failed. I ended up getting an infection from my waters being broke for so long and not having her. After the section I was allowed the first hour with her but was unable to bf in that hour due to people being in the room that wouldn't leave or giver her to me (whole nother story) and after that was taken to the NICU for the next 8 hours, so after she was born, I wasn't able to even attempt to bf until about 10-11 hours after she was born. I've been leaking colostrum since 14 weeks, a d produced plenty of it after the section as well, but now my supply isn't there. I feed her and she's still hungry. She'll feed for an hour and not be full. When I pump I get very little, maybe 10ml from both breasts. I've started taking fenugreek (well a lactation blend from Gaia) that my manager said should help more than fenugreek alone, and slowly my supply is going up... Slowly! Is there anything else I can do to boost it? I've gone to formula to feed her in the mean time so she's not constantly hungry. Been pumping or having her latch at least every 2-3 hours.

 

[hanni]

Congratulations on your LO!

Going by what I was told during the first week it's normal for baby to be at the breast constantly and for long periods of time during the first few weeks.
Dominic would nurse for 2&3 hours at a time, take a half an hour break and go back at it, even once you're empty they carry on sucking to establish milk supply.
Don't judge it by how much you can express, judge it by how much weight she's gaining. As long as she's on track with her weight she's getting enough (or so my health visitor and midwife told me).

 

[mod19]

Thanks that's really good to know! I didn't realize they would continue to suck after I was empty. I guess I just assumed the supply would just be there. Didn't realize it would need to build up like that.

 

[staralfur]

Yeah the best thing you can do is ditch the formula (assuming she's not losing weight and that she's still peeing/popping normally) and let her feed on demand to build up your supply. The first few weeks my LO literally fed non-stop, she was always on the breast. It will calm down once your supply is established but until then it's all about growth spurts and clusterfeeding!

 

[Loozle]

Yes it's perfectly normal for baby to be constantly on the breast for the first few weeks. It will settle down, the best thing is to just get comfy, have plenty of water to drink, snacks on hand and have something to read or Netflix or something to keep you occupied.

 

[mod19]

About how long will it take for my supply to get established? When I was in the hospital they wouldn't discharge her until I fed her formula because she was dropping weight, which I was always told is normal. She was born at 6lb 12oz and was 6lb 4oz when we left. They kept telling me not everyone's supply is always there and there's no shame in formula feeding. I know there isn't, but it's not what I wanted to do. Even the lactation consultant wasn't impressed by my supply. They kept telling me to pump, but nothing was coming out

 

[staralfur]

My hospital was actually very much pushing formula as well, we struggled a bit with latch and I only had two people try to help me for maybe 5 minutes each time and then they told me we'd have to supplement. I ended up leaving earlier than recommended because I felt like I was getting terrible support from them as far as breastfeeding was concerned.

That doesn't sound like a huge weight loss to me, how is she doing now/when do you get her weighed again?

My supply regulated around 10 weeks. Until then it was one growth spurt after another. It's stressful not knowing how much they're getting when they're feeding constantly, but if the diaper output is normal then you can be sure she's getting enough. I was always stressing over it and my LO's doctor kindly reminded me that their pee/poop has to come from somewhere, so she was obviously getting plenty of milk.

 

[mod19]

I take her in Thursday for her next weight check. Now that I've fed her formula I'm afraid to stop because she's eating so much I want to make sure she's getting enough. We weren't discharged until Wednesday and have had a busy weekend, so starting tonight I'm going to try strictly breastfeeding and see what happens. I'll be alone with nit as many people coming and going and dh daughter won't be here anymore, so I'll be able to feed at will without any interruptions.

 

[noon_child]

! Is there anything else I can do to boost it? I've gone to formula to feed her in the mean time so she's not constantly hungry. Been pumping or having her latch at least every 2-3 hours.

As pumping isn't as efficient as baby sucking, pumping instead of feeding her directly will contribute to the slow gain in your supply. Pumping helps when LO refuses to latch or when used in addition to feeding directly.

So if you can keep LO on you skin to skin all day (or as much as possible) and Everytime she stirs from sleep offer her a feed. If she's not feeding as she seems too sleepy, every 2hrs try to wake her up more by changing her nappy etc. Night hormones are great for milk supply so try feeding her every 2hrs at night too (I know it is ultra demanding but it isn't forever, just till her birth weight is regained - then you can revert to demand feeding).

I know it sounds counter intuitive but you do want her to be hungry often as this will make her feed more frequently which in turn will increase your supply.

 

[caitlyn2009]

I agree with all the above. It is very important for her to be at the breast as much as possible. I struggled with this because I felt like my little one wasn't getting enough, but stuck it out and had a very strong supply, probably because I didn't supplement and he is a comfort nurser. To me that is a good thing especially in the beginning to help bring in your milk.

One thing that helped me to see he wasn't going without was to weigh him and then nurse and then weigh him again. It showed me that even though he would be hungry again in an hour, he was still getting several ounces of milk.

I hope this helps.. You are doing great!

 

[tulip1975]

Your experience at the hospital sounds so frustrating! I was lucky that my hospital tries to maintain some sort of UNICEF breastfeeding designation, so they gave me really good information about how small my baby's stomach would be in the first few days, as well as the cluster feeding experience and what diapers should look like - etc.

Hang in there and just keep feeding on demand. My hospital lets you come back and use a baby scale any time to make sure baby is getting enough breast milk. Maybe your offers something similar?

 

[Beanonorder]

As others have said, you need to watch nappy output and weight gain. I unfortunately don't have a great supply and am currently supplementing with two to three small bottles a day. But I had to - my son lost more than 10% of his birth weight and despite constant feeding didn't start to gain anything at all until I gave some formula. I've been taking fenugreek and blessed thistle and also eating lactation cookies. These have definitely made a difference to my supply.
I do believe it would be possible for me to get to the point of ebf except for two hindrances - I'm still battling with bad nipple pain, despite working on the latch, and my toddler. I just cannot spend all day sitting with him attached to me and ignoring her. I'm still trying though! Bit if you have nothing to stop you then I do believe you can get there.