Breastfeeding

hopeful34

So...it's been 9 days now and i think my milk is getting there but still not quite enough for the babies and i have to supplement w/formula which sucks in my Opinion. The reason i wanted to BF is to avoid having to use formula.

My question is, if you are exclusive pumpers how much milk do you get out of each breast every 2hrs?

I get about 40ml out of each but sometimes less. .  I have been putting the babies on the breast but my little boy has latching issues and my little girl is like a parana and hurts me so much. It's less stressful for me and babies to pump.

Thanks!

MrsB*7*21

A friend of mine has been using a nipple shield to nurse her little guy cause he was like a parana as well.  Definitely worth a try.

jalaiaa

I know it is hard, but do your best to put the babies to breast as much as possible and avoid supplementing, if possible. As long as your babies are gaining weight appropriately and making wet diapers, I'd try not to supplement at all. The more bottles they get, the more difficult it is for them to learn to latch because they get confused and prefer the bottle nipple. Babies are much more efficient at increasing your milk supply than a pump so the more you can nurse the better. Do you have a good LC?.

It is so HARD in the beginning, but if you can get through the first couple of months it is definitely worth it. 

hayatiggs

Try nipple shields! My babies were having latching issues until I got some. They're comfortable and make BF so much easier.

anyalee

Don't give up yet!  I had to supplement at the beginning too.  Do you pump in between feeding?  You should...it'll help get you supply up and you'll have BM to supplement with.  It gets eaiser!  Trust me!!  Have you neet with an LC yet?  Many insurance will cover it...even ones that come out to your house.

sunnybrook.

jalaiaa:

I know it is hard, but do your best to put the babies to breast as much as possible and avoid supplementing, if possible. As long as your babies are gaining weight appropriately and making wet diapers, I'd try not to supplement at all. The more bottles they get, the more difficult it is for them to learn to latch because they get confused and prefer the bottle nipple. Babies are much more efficient at increasing your milk supply than a pump so the more you can nurse the better. Do you have a good LC?.

It is so HARD in the beginning, but if you can get through the first couple of months it is definitely worth it. 

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Giving the babies formula and bottles will make the problem worse and it will continue to go downhill from there.  Put the babies to the breast as much as possible and try to avoid bottles or pacifiers until they figure out BFing. You don't need to pump unless you want to since your milk is already in. Hang in there. The first few weeks were SO hard. Its worth it if you can struggle through this early stage.

E&RMommy

Getting them to the breast is best.  Mine never latched well, so I have EP'ed pretty much from the start.

I kept a log of my output (I know what a nerd) for the first weeks.

At one week PP, I made about 20cc each breast every 2 hours.

At one month PP, I made 40-50 cc left breast and 70-80 cc right breast every 3 hours.

Now at 11 weeks PP, I make 60cc left breast and 90-100 cc right breast every 3 hours.  This is fairly consistent through out the day.  So I make about 24 oz / 24 hours.

Babies are getting about 50% EBM 50% Formula. 

schoolsoutbride

MrsB*7*21:

A friend of mine has been using a nipple shield to nurse her little guy cause he was like a parana as well.  Definitely worth a try.

I'd suggest this too.  In general the pump is going to be less efficient than the babies.  The pain generally gets better after a couple of weeks too.

txdaisygal

I'm LOLing at E&R because I also kept a log at the beginning, especially right after they came home from the NICU.

I didn't get anything (not even colostrum) until about 4 days PP. Those days were SO frustrating...to pump (which hurt) and have nothing to show for it? Ugh. Up to about 1 week PP I got 20-30ml per breast. It gradually increased until at about 1 month pp I was getting about 2 oz/breast. I noticed a pretty significant increase around their due date - I don't know if that was coincidence or something more. Right now, here's my schedule & output. All times are approx.

4:00 a.m. (after their MON wake up to eat) - 4-5 oz/breast

6:30 a.m. - 3 oz/breast

10:30 / 11:00 a.m. - 3 oz/breast

3:00 p.m. - 2.5 - 3 oz/breast

6:30/7:00 p.m. - 2.5 - 3 oz/breast

10:00 p.m. (right before I got to bed) - 2.5 - 3 oz

They get 3 bottles EBM and 2 formula, and eat 25 oz a day each, so I'm producing roughly 30 oz a day BM...not much more because I don't have any sort of "stash". I'm working and usually 2 sessions at work is all I can manage. I wish I could do more, but I'm satisfied with what I"m doing, knowing that any BM is good for them.

AllisonH4

I have 16 week old twins and have been BFing since the beginning.  I suggest a nipple shield for the first week (it helped with my daughter to learn to latch) which should help with soreness.  Use lanolin after ever feeding.  My lactation consultant suggested pumping after every feeding for the first two weeks - for 10-30 minutes - to help quickly increase your milk supply.  It definitely worked for me, and although not fun (get a hands-free bra at simplewishes.com) helped me feel more confident in my supply.  My son refused the breast after the first week, so we gave him a bottle for two weeks until he decided to start breastfeeding again two weeks later.  He was a VERY lazy nurser for a long time so we supplemented with a bottle until he didn't need it anymore (about 10 weeks).  Now we are exclusive breastfeeding.  Takes longer for a feeding but I'm committed to it!

Good luck!