Worried I won't be able to BF this baby/won't have enough..

[kaylamariee]

Hey ladies.
My daughter is 9 months old, and when she was born I only breastfed her for a month because I didn't have enough and she was constantly feeding.. I wanted to BF longer, but gave up..
I want to BF my next baby but worried the same thing will happen.. Is there anything I can do to increase my milk supply? Or other ideas? (I'm only 12 weeks ATM)

Thanks ladies!

 

[Pielette]

What makes you think you didn't have enough? Was she losing weight or not producing wet/dirty nappies?

 

[brandonsgirl]

I was going to ask the same questions. Our bodies are quite amazing and usually adjust to our babies needs. If you feel you aren't producing enough, you could always pump during feeds etc. Also make sure baby is getting the fatty part of the milk. And im sure there are many other ways, but porridge is meant to help with milk supply too

 

[Lady_Bee]

I have similar fears. I had big problems breastfeeding my first. He ended up getting my pumped milk combined with formula for 4 months, and then only formula.

My second is now 9 days old and though there are no major red flags like there were with my first, he seems content and he has plenty of wet and dirty diapers etc., it is so hard not to worry!

 

[kaylamariee]

I know right! I don't know I just assumed she wasn't getting enough because she was eating about every 20 minutes and I pumped (when my boobs felt full) and there wasn't a lot at all! How do you know baby's getting enough? I'm a young mom, so I was really new to this stuff thanks ladies

 

[Pielette]

If you breastfed for around a month you may have stopped around a major growth spurt, there's one at 3 weeks. They do constantly feed during growth spurts, it's their way of building up your supply so you'll be able to feed a bigger baby with a bigger appetite

If there were no problems like weight loss or dehydration then your supply was most likely fine, so I wouldn't be worrying about supply next time round. Very few women suffer from low supply on its own. What I mean by that is that low supply can occur if baby has a tongue tie for example, or formula has been given here and there meaning that baby's signal to the breast to make more naturally hasn't been received. But low supply on its own is rare.

Pumping is not the best indicator of supply. I can only pump about 2-3oz in one sitting and my LO takes about 7oz in one feed! Baby is much more efficient at getting milk out than a pump.

It's very hard because we don't have a measuring jug on our boobs But if baby seems content, has plenty of wet and dirty nappies and is gaining weight, you have no issues There are growth spurts when baby will feed seemingly constantly for a couple of days, maybe up to a week. Cluster feeding is also very normal, so a couple of hours of being on and off in the evening. My LO cluster fed up until about 3 months old every evening.

It might be worth just reading up on typical breastfed baby behaviour so you know what to expect. I get where you're coming from because when I had my eldest I had no bloody clue and I quit after a few days. Second time around I read everything I could so I knew what to expect and hey presto we're going strong at nearly 9 months

 

[Rachel_C]

It sounds like your boobs and baby were normal to me too, but I know it's hard especially when it's your first. I found things SO much easier with my second - in the time since I had my first I'd spent a lot of time talking to people who BF and talking about BF and working out where I went wrong first time, and I also knew a lot more about babies. It's totally normal for a month old baby to be pretty much constantly on the boob - talking with other BF mums taught me that so I didn't have unrealistic expectations when I had my second. I'd definitely recommend reading a lot in this section so you get a better feel for what's normal

 

[kaylamariee]

Thank you pielette and Rachel! Both your comments were very helpful I will read a lot more into BF this time around, on other sites and this forum.. Thank you so much!