supply volume?

[gaves99]

Why do I feel like a supply issue or is this just a growth spurt? Is there any way to know? Yesterday she just wasn't content. Ate every 2-3 hours crying like she was starving. My breast is always soft now but not sure if it's since she's eating more or my supply regulating. I wasn't feeling well last night and tried to pump too and didn't even get an oz. Does that mean it's all she's getting too each time? Went into crib at 930 and is just waking at 3. Is that too long to let her go as it will also decrease my supply? She only ate a few minutes for having gone 5 hours! Lots of diapers during the day though...

 

[sheldonsmommy]

Sounds like maybe she's starting to sleep longer stretches and making up her feeds during the day, which is totally normal. Eating every 2-3 hours isn't bad at all (during growth spurts or periods of decreased supply like when my period was about to start he was feeding hourly ), but are you seeing any hunger cues before she starts screaming? If you can see those signs, feed her before she gets angry.

As for the pumping, sometimes when you don't pump often, the amount you get isn't necessarily indicative of how much baby is getting because they are much more efficient than a pump.

Going 6 hours between feeds is fine as long as you continue to nurse on demand for the time she's awake.

 

[gaves99]

Thank you!! She tends to not have a lot of early cue's bc she sleeps a ton and just wakes up hungry and fussy. I feed her on demand so I've been trying to prep myself as her normal schedule is 3 hrs on the dot. I knew she didn't get enough bc she is already awake again on the other side now. The pumping just makes me nervous since a few weeks ago I was able to get 3-4 oz a side about 2 times a day. Now that she's eating so much I don't dare pump knowing she'll want to eat soon. It's hard not being able to know a volume.. her weight gain is so slow that I am.feeling inadequate and don't want to get pressured into supplementing.

 

[sheldonsmommy]

4 ounces from one side is awesome! But it definitely doesn't need to be that much because her tummy is still so tiny. My son's weight gain was slow too, in fact it still is but he's started on solids so I'm hoping he'll fatten up . I had a huge oversupply in the early weeks, and it was around a month or two before it started decreasing, but I was thankful when it did because when they got full they were so sore and I leaked all the time! From then (save odd growth spurt times) I made as much as he needed. It is nerve-wracking to not see what's going in though! Trust the wet and dirty diapers, that's your proof

 

[BigAl]

Supply does regulate around 6 weeks, it does make your breasts feel soft. This might also be why you are able to pump less. 6w is also a typical time for a growth spurt.

As long as you are having plenty of dirty nappies i'm sure all is fine!

 

[JessPape]

Remember a pump will never tell you how much supply you have, a pump will NEVER be as effective as pulling milk from the breast as your baby. The best thing to do, and honesty, is the best. Get the idea of low supply out of your head. Though it happens (and is common online, because people seek for problems online) its actually really rare when you think of women as a full population. As long as your getting lots of wet diapers, and no signs of dehydration and weight gain your good to good!

Everything sounds normal

 

[Maxy1]

As pp's have said, how much you can pump is not indicative of your supply. Pumping is something you need to train your boob for I have found (not really, but in effect). The more often you pump, the more you will respond to it.

With a growth spurt your bubs will want to eat more often and will sleep more (the growth hormone is in its highest concentrations when LO is asleep so this makes sense). The more frequent feeding during the day signals to your body to make more milk to fuel the growth spurt. So in a day or two your body will be up to the task.

If you look at the back of formula packs (if you are so inclined/curious) you will see that the volume the babies have goes up and the frequency goes down as the baby ages - this process just takes a bit longer when breastfeeding because your body needs to adapt to that and so does bubs.

Trust your body and keep feeding on demand, it will all settle down until the next growth spurt.

 

[luna_19]

The 6 week growth spurt is rough, just keep feeding on demand