my supply tanked 9 days after birth...help!

MonkeysGirl05

I'm pumping after each feed, taking fenugreek, and drinking water like a mad woman (all on the suggestion of a LC).

Is there hope for a supply rebound?

Any other suggestions?

Last night I had just pumped and DC decided he wanted to feed again. I broke down and gave him a bottle of EBM. I felt so defeated.   

 

mie

Why do you think your supply is low?  I'd say that the best way to increase your supply is to breastfeed first and then if needed, pump after you finish feeding.  

MonkeysGirl05

He is attached to the breast for 30 minutes at a time and they just "feel" empty. Plus, when I pump after feeding, I'm getting very little milk (less than a thimble full).

oh... and he is fussy at the breast. I can just tell... ya know?

cfitz16

Keep putting baby to breast...not pumping (or just pumping.)  Even after you pump, baby can get more from your breast.  Baby can stimulate milk production like no pump.

MrsAmers

There is a growth spurt at 10 days/2 weeks, so this is an important time for your baby to nurse as much as possible and increase your supply.  During growth spurts my breasts never feel as full because baby is drinking so much.  And I usually can't pump as much during growth spurts either.

I would just nurse as much as possible and trust your body.  Not being able to pump anything doesn't mean that your milk is drying up.  And don't be afraid of putting your baby to the breast right after you pumped.  While I was on maternity leave, my son always seemed to wake up hungry 10-15 minutes after I finished pumping.  I nursed him on demand and he did fine.  Sometimes the nursing session would take longer because there wasn't milk "in storage", but your body can continue making milk while you nurse, so there is always a little milk there for your baby.

DallasHorn

MonkeysGirl05:

He is attached to the breast for 30 minutes at a time and they just "feel" empty. Plus, when I pump after feeding, I'm getting very little milk (less than a thimble full).

oh... and he is fussy at the breast. I can just tell... ya know?

Your breast feeling empty is not a sign that you are not producing enough.  Also at 9 days PP, I would not expect you to get much pumping yet. Pumping is a learning skill :-)  It takes time for your body to adjust.  I really suggest you get with an LC and read kellymom.com.  Your baby's tummy is the size of his fist right - so not much can actually be taken in at any 1 feeding; that in addition to BM digesting easy and fast means that baby will eat VERY frequently those first 6 weeks.

So how to judge baby is getting enough - number of feedings and wet diapers. Wet diapers should be 8 - 12/day and feedings should be about 12 per day...and that is from start to start of a feeding.  Thus if you start a feeding at 8 AM and you have baby to the breast for 1 hour, then you should still expect to put baby to breast at 10 AM again.  It does get so much easier than this around the 6-8 week mark. 

 I don't mean to sound harsh, but by giving your baby bottles now, you are setting yourself up for failure - your telling your body that you don't need that milk (unless you are religiously pumping when baby is getting a bottle) AND it's much easier for baby to get milk out of a bottle vs the breast (it's actual work at the breast).

penguingrrl

Ditto the other ladies that it's probably a growth spurt and just because your breasts don't "feel" full doesn't mean you're not producing enough.  I went through a bit of a panic during a growth spurt early on because I no longer felt engorged.

But, don't discount your mother's instinct.  If you're worried you're not producing enough (don't base this on pumping output, though.  Base it on weight gain and diapers), there are a few things to try.  First, drink far more water than you ever thought you needed since it could be that you aren't getting enough fluids.  If all else fails, contact a LC and have them weight your baby before and after.  I ignored signs that there were issues with my older daughter and it turned out she had such weak suction that she wasn't effectively nursing.  Even with the help of two LCs we couldn't get her to suck effectively.  I didn't realize there was a problem until she hadn't gained weight (not a single oz) between weeks 3 and 8!!!   So, if you think there may be a pro blem there may be one that nobody can diagnose without actually seeiing the baby.  I ended up EPing for 6 months, and it was really hard.  I'm  now EBFing #2 and it's so much easier than pumping, so I would recommend looking for help now to prevent having to switch to EPing if there is a problem!

Good luck!

jen5-03

What you can pump is not a good indication of what baby is getting. Babies work better than pumps.

How your boobs work... baby sucks, boob senses demand, boob gives baby some milk it has stored up and boob starts making more milk, baby stops sucking, boobs stop making milk but it takes a little time to get the message through so the boobs store the extra milk that got made.

The key point there is that your boobs are NEVER EMPTY. It might not be gushing out anymore, but it's still there.

For a newborn, 30 minutes isn't all that long. Nursing for 45min or even an hour can happen at times. He may be fussing because your stored milk ran out so now he's getting less reward for all his work sucking, but he's still getting milk.

Pump less, nurse more. Drink and eat a lot.