HELP: Question about when milk comes in....

flygirl4ev

LO and I have had a VERY rough start to BF,  but I am determined to make it work. He is 5 days old today and I don't think my milk has come in (which I'm not surprised because of our rough start of him not nursing enough in the begining (soo sleepy) and latch issues (extremely strong sucker/hungry newborn that pulls on and off the breast in fustration). Anyways, since visiting the pedi, we have decided to supplement (a few sessions to help him get satisfied and gain weight) and have me pump after each of the nursing sessions to allow my nipples to heal. This seems ot be working, however I'm not sure if my milk has come in. I can pump about 1 oz every 2 hrs off both breasts in 30 mins. What are your thoughts? We just started this last night, I really want my milk to come in soon so I can ebf and get him satisfied. Any suggestions or advice on how to do this?

TIA!!!!

madhatter2003

If you are getting anything at all then your milk is 'in'.   A bigger question is will your supply be enough....at this point just keep pumping, pumping, and pumping some more until you can get back to nursing.  5 days in is really early, and you are off to a good start, just hang in there.

bethnease

I think it took about a week for my milk to come in fully. Before that when I would pump it was the yellowish colored colostrum.

ErinNConnorsMom

Your milk is in, and 1 oz pumped every 2 hrs for a newborn sounds good (you're likely making more since babies are better at getting the milk out than a pump is).  This is after you nurse, isn't it?  If so, that's fantastic!  If I were in your shoes, I would actually seek the help of an LC and work on getting your LO off of the bottle to keep your supply up.  Good luck!

J Bean

Your milk is in. My DD was a very sleepy newborn with jaundice, and I got really engorged when my milk came in, so I had to do some pumping very early on, too.  (I would put her on the breast at each feeding to give it a try.  Then DH gave her a "chaser" of pumped milk from a bottle while I pumped.)  After a few days, DD was stronger and better at sucking, and she really got the hang of BF and we had no problems after that.

Here is a great video on Stanford's website about using hand compressions while pumping to increase your supply:

https://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

Good luck with everything!

 

mrs.baum

Always look to diaper output and weight gain to answer supply questions. Pumping is not an accurate means of measuring supply. Also, see a LC if you haven't already.