Beginning to think my milk isn't going to come in :(

MKDee · May 2009

I'm 5 days PP and still not much milk for me (I can express a few drops here and there and my LO will latch on, but he is clearly starving, and he is really beginning to fight every single feeding.) Now his health is being impacted too, so we are supplementing at our pediatrician's direction (he has lost more weight than they like to see and he has pretty bad jaundice- we're also using a biliblanket for a few days to address that).

I was never opposed to supplementing with formula if necessary, but I'm rather disappointed that it looks like I may not be able to breastfeed at all. Everything I find online about milk coming in seems to indicate that it should happen between 2 and 5 days PP. Did it come later than that for anyone here? Looking for a little encouragement...

Caroline&Stephen · May 2009

Mine took 6 days

julia0402 · May 2009

Mine took 6 days but we were separated-- she was in the NICU, so I had to encourage it to come in with a pump rather than my baby (I don't know if that was the reason it took so long). I'd hold out hope till 7 days if I were you.

SummersJuly15 · May 2009

Mine was either the 5th or 6th day - I can't remember exactly - but I thought the same thing......

Jackswife123 · May 2009

Keep feeding him as much as possible. ?Also, pump if you can. ?Don't give up hope!!! ?

On the flipside, don't feel bad if you have to?supplement. ?You need to do what is best for your little guy. ?

Good luck and hang in there.?

tlynnus · May 2009

Mine came in on day 5. Almost had to supplement too, the pedi told me that he was going to give me only one more day before asking me to give some formula.

jll1881 · May 2009

It can take a little while for it to build up. Also, remember that your baby can get more milk than you can by hand or pump expressing. I would recommend meeting with a lactation consultant as soon as you can. If there are latch or suck issues, she may be able to help correct them so you can maximize what you're removing and will thus increase your supply.

Mando91 · May 2009

Mine came in overnight on the 5th night. So, 5th going into 6th day. I woke up in P.A.I.N.

Keep letting her try, she will bring it in.

ATLinApril · May 2009

Second the pp about seeing a lactation consultant, they can offer some suggestions (fenugreek, oatmeal, etc). I nursed and pumped round the clock for 12 days and never produced more than 1 oz a day so breastfeeding wasn't an option for me, I was heartbroken but DD is doing just fine. I hope your milk comes in tonight - good luck!!

stewz · May 2009

Mine took a while too. However, we had a night nurse and her suggestion that worked was....DRINK A BEER. That's right. I drank one when i got home from the hospital and then the next day and low and behold my milk came in the next morning. My pedi said that apparently the yeast in beer does something to bring on your milk. And don't feel bad about ff b/c we had to do it too and it was the best thing b/c my LO has never had nipple confusion and goes from bottle of expressed bmilk to boob with absolutely no troubles what so ever. Good luck and hang in there!

Kris&Amy · May 2009

ATLinApril:
Second the pp about seeing a lactation consultant, they can offer some suggestions (fenugreek, oatmeal, etc). I nursed and pumped round the clock for 12 days and never produced more than 1 oz a day so breastfeeding wasn't an option for me, I was heartbroken but DD is doing just fine. I hope your milk comes in tonight - good luck!!

This is exactly what happened to me. I hope you milk comes in too, good luck!

NicholeeK · May 2009

Well my milk never really came in... I just got drops too, but I kept latching DS on anyway. I took domperidone, fenugreek, blessed thistle, pumped a tonload, ate oatmeal, chugged water to up my supply to a whopping 1/4 of an ounce. It was exhausting but worth it for me. I had DS BF before I gave him his formula because I enjoyed it and it was nice bonding time. It was like he knew that he had to hang out on the boob before getting food. It also kept him calm while I waited for his formula to warm. So you can "BF" like I did if you want. I used to say that DS was 2% BF, 98% FF. DS did stop latching at 8 weeks though.

And it's great that you realize your milk didn't come in. I thought mine did and we had been supplementing with about a 1/2 oz of formula for DS's jaundice, so he wasn't losing weight that quickly or at all and he pretty much starved for like 10 days until I realized he wasn't getting anything from me. I still feel major guilt over it.

GL and I hope your milk comes!

MerrittMac2Be · May 2009

mine took about 8 days - it seemed like forever. nurse the baby for every feeding, then offer a supplement. nurse all the time, both breasts, for at least 15 min on each side. then pump each breast while DH gives the baby an ounce or two. i also suggest oatmeal for breakfast with a cup of mother's milk tea. hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. and i second the PP who suggested a beer. give yourself a little happy hour party around 5pm - it's a natural time for supply to drop anyway. a beer will relax you and the brewer's yeast will stimulate milk production. i think imports have higher yeast - heineken, stella, guiness, etc. good luck - hang in there. my DD took more than 3 weeks to return to birthweight. we are at 15 weeks and still BFing like pros. i was going to quit if it didn't get better - and miraculously at 4 weeks it got better. don't worry if it doesn't work out - a happy, non-stressed-out, rested mommy is the best mommy you can be - breastmilk or formula - whatever it takes. GL & HUGS. Congrats!

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