How long does it take to refill?
DS has had trouble latching and keeping interest at the breast, so I've been pumping to get something in his little tummy. Any time he shows signs of being hungry, I put him to breast. If he doesn't take, I give him a bottle of expressed breast milk and then pump 5 minutes past empty. I even pump after he does latch on, just to make sure I have enough for a bottle later. The problem is that after he's eaten and I've pumped, I only have about an hour before he is hungry again, and I just don't seem to have enough milk to satisfy him. I then give him a bottle but don't have anything to pump, so I've used up my back up bottle and it throws me off for the next feeding.
Is an hour a long enough time period to wait for more milk to come? If so, would pumping for a few minutes before putting him to breast help bring milk to the "surface"? Or is it better to space feeding and pumping out so I am withdrawing milk every hour instead of a massive withdrawal once every two hours?
Re: How long does it take to refill?
I'm with the PPs. For the first month my LO was always at the breast eating. She'd take 45min- an hour to eat, take a brief catnap and then want to eat again. It serves to establish your supply. If I were you I'd cut out the pumping until after a month or so and just put him on the breast everytime he's hungry. We also had latch issues btw, but if they aren't on the breast they can't learn.
If you haven't already, make an appt with a LC who can help with the latch.
At one week old, your LO honestly won't be eating a lot, but will be eating often.
But I really, really, really urge you to keep trying to latch - this is absolutely the most important thing right now, especially with one so young. Do a lot of skin time, nipple stimulation, everything. Go to a LC to get help with the latch, you don't want issues with nipple confusion.
GL!