LO is five days old. I EBF'ed for the first 3 days. On night 3, she would nurse incessantly but would not sleep even for a minute and would scream when not latched on to me. I realized she wasnt getting anything, so we gave her some formula and she went right to sleep.
I'm scared to breastfeed now, I want to pump and bottle feed so I can see how much she's getting. I bought a Medela double electric pump, the Pump In Style Advanced.
I'm getting some milk out, but not enough. Definitely more from the right breast than the left. I've been drinking plenty of water and doing warm compresses prior to pumping, just wondering if there's anything else I can do to increase supply? Or is it just a mater of time until my supply increases.I've only had the pump since about 5pm yesterday and I'm attempting to pump about every two to three hours.
Thanks in advance for your advice and I apologize if this is the millionth time this had been asked.
Re: Pumping Advice Needed
If you really want to BF long term, you either need to BF, BF, BF or pump, pump, pump (preferably with a hospital grade pump) during those early days. That incessant nursing LO was doing on day three is what signals your body to bring on the milk, build the milk ducts you will need for the rest of nursing, and establish a good supply. Baby's saliva and the hormones from BF'ing are really key to establish a good supply for the future. While not fun, it's totally normal and actually necessary. It's hard for the first 6 weeks or so and then it gets MUCH easier.
Yes formula will make a very young baby sleep longer because formula digests slower than BM. That doesn't mean anything is wrong with your BM or that LO really wasn't getting enough milk from nursing. I highly recommend visiting an LC, your pedi or a BF'ing support group to do a weighed feeding. That will give you peace of mind that LO really is getting plenty of BM. You could also rent a scale from a durable medical equipment company. Change baby's diaper, weigh baby with just the clean diaper on, feed baby, weigh baby again with the same diaper on (don't change if baby wets or poops). Take the difference in the two weights to see how much baby drank.
If you do decide to pump only, I highly recommend renting a hospital grade pump for the first month or so. This will ensure that you get a good strong suction to signal a good supply to come in. It's normal not to respond really well to the pump at first. Eventually your body will get used to it, and if you pump at approx. the same times each day your supply should increase.
Other things to increase supply -- drink 80-120oz of water a day, eat plenty of healthy calories, eat oatmeal (regular not instant), add flaxseed and or brewer's yeast to cereal or yogurt, don't stress, get as much sleep as you can.
GL mama, it really does get better soon!
I could have written your post last December. On day 6, I was in our doctor's office asking for help, but he wasn't the most helpful (encouraging, but not helpful). On day 10, I met with a lactation consultant and finally got help. I 100% recommend that.
It took a while for my milk to come in - Before I could feed baby enough to make her happy, it was probably around day 14. So, what we did was (at every feeding): nurse as much as she could/would, supplement with breastmilk from a bottle, and then supplement with formula. And, after every feeding, I'd pump for 10 minutes on each side (or 5 minutes after I stopped getting anything - whichever was later), and I'd save that milk for the next time.
At day 14, we were able to drop the formula, but kept supplementing with breastmilk (she was also a little tongue tied, so my pump was more efficient at the beginning than she was). About 4 or 5 weeks, we mostly stopped pumping. We got lucky, and she'd go down for long stretches at night starting at about 5 weeks. When she went down, I'd pump once more in case we had issues the next day (I never stopped that actually and used it to build a freezer stash after we stopped needing it).
I won't lie - It was a lot of work and when we were done with one feeding, it was nearly time for the next. I felt like giving up a lot of times. I can't tell you how many times I told myself that I'd just get through today, and tomorrow I'd switch to formula. Somehow the next day, it always seemed better. And, at 5.5 months, I'm so so so glad that I didn't.
Anyway, good luck, hang in there, and try not to feel too anxious about it.
My story is similar to yours... the night of day 4 my LO refused to nurse, he was jaundice, I flipped out and fed him formula. I continued to do so because I wanted to monitor how much he was eating. Meanwhile, I felt super engorged so had no idea why I couldn't get any milk out from pumping. My midwife said that pumps are terrible at expressing colostrum. My milk didn't end up coming in until day 8. I still EP, but am starting to wean because it is no longer the best option for my family.
EP is HARD. To me, in that first week, I thought it would be way better than working at nursing because I would be able to monitor what he was eating. I had no idea what a toll EP would take on me. This is not to say that it can't be done. Plenty of ladies on this board EP'd for a year. But from someone in a similar situation who is now on the other side, I would strongly advise putting all of your energy into getting a nursing relationship to work instead of moving to EPing.