Milk supply question
My son was born three weeks ago at 27w2d. The doctors and nurses have pushed breastmilk and I was ok with it as it had been my plan all along. I got off to a rough start - the first 5-6 days I didn't realize I should be pumping more often and only got in about 6 pumps a day. When my milk was slow to come in after that, I met with an LC and started pumping 9-11 times a day. I'm on More Milk Plus (combo of fenugreek/blessed thistle and others, 2 pills 3x day) and lactation cookies. I'm drinking whenever I'm thirsty; I don't keep close track but it's got to be at least 80 oz a day. The first two weeks were really stressful for me, but once they started supplementing with formula, I relaxed a lot.
I've tried pumping after kangaroo sessions, looking at pictures, holding his blanket, listening to a recording of his cries, warm compresses, compressions. But I'm still only pumping just under 3 oz a DAY. I'm trying to squeeze in as many naps as possible between pumps, but frankly, it's getting exhausting pumping this much to get so little. And some of the nurses keep grilling me trying to find out why my supply is so low (I hope it's meant with good intentions), but it's frustrating having to explain every shift that I've met with the LC and yes, I'm pumping 8+ times a day and it's still not working.
I've pretty much tried everything short of domperidone. My husband is really uncomfortable with me ordering it online and without some sort of reassurance I'll actually get results I'm hesitant to spend the money (kind of lame, I know, but money's a little tight).
Is there hope that my supply will get better? Has anyone had a success story with getting a better supply once their baby came home? Any other suggestions that my LC might've missed?
Re: Milk supply question
You are doing great working so hard for your LO! You're doing all the right things. Are you doing a MOTN pump? That's when I always got the most milk.
My supply tanked when I brought our baby home (combo of no sleep, not eating, and letting my pumps per day slide) and I've been working hard to bring it back up, but for several weeks I was about where you are... about 3 ounces per day on a good day. I finally gave domperidone a try and it tripled my milk supply, but that happened after over a week of taking it. I understand your husband's qualms about it and I still have those same qualms... but I'm still thankful that it's helped boost my supply.
The only other thing is... you're only three weeks post-partum. Most women see an increase in their supply up through about 12 weeks (I did). I can't remember how much I was pumping three weeks out, but it wasn't much! By the time my baby was 8 weeks old, though, I was pumping 25+ ounces per day (and that was with one boob -- my other one doesn't work because of past surgery). So on one hand, I want to encourage you to hang in there and keep doing what you're doing. On the other hand, if you keep it up a few more weeks and it's still more frustration than it's worth, 1) three ounces/day is still great for a preemie or any baby, because that's still giving your baby antibodies against any sickness you might be exposed to, but at the same time, 2) it's not the end of the world if you decide to quit. I personally decided that even if I only ever produce 2-4 oz./day, I would still keep it up, just for the antibodies alone.
Thank you for sharing! This is what I was hoping to hear. Last night's nurse was the first one to tell me that not going full term meant my body wasn't quite ready to produce (the LC acted like this wasn't an issue). I just wasn't finding anyone who'd had it take more than a couple weeks to get a good supply going, so your story is encouraging. Even one example is enough to give me hope that I could still get this going!
I would've said that right off the bat if I had actually paid attention... I typed up all that yabbery stuff then realized, wait... she's only 3 weeks pp!! You're probably right where you need to be!!
I read on another forum a thread where pumping moms listed their total ounces/day for weeks 1 through 12. You wouldn't believe how puny those first few weeks were even for overproducers! Women don't give birth and then suddenly start flowing 80 ounces/day the next day... it takes time; that's why they say it takes 12 weeks for your supply to become established!
I'd love to see that thread if you remember where it was!
This is not on the bump, so if posting this link is against the rules, mods, please delete.
A few of the earlier posts on it are kind of depressing because they started out high, but you'll see others who started out very low for a few weeks and gradually built up. I wish I'd kept track of this in those early weeks... my baby was only taking in 1ml every 12 hours (yes -- that's 2ml/day, not 2 oz.!) that first week (when he was taking breast milk at all), and my output barely outpaced his input for those first couple of weeks, so I know I was a very slow starter!
https://community.babycenter.com/post/a31909037/weekly_averages_from_week_1-12_data_from_a_lowaverage_producer._please_feel_free_to_add_on
Thanks for sharing! I just added up my sessions from the past few days and I've actually increased by a 1/4 oz since last week. It's small, but between that and the responses here, I'm definitely more encouraged than I was when I posted yesterday!
I just wanted to add that my LC told me to pump at least 8 times a day, but to include a 5-hr stretch of sleep. For me, it really helped. I also pumped for at least 15 minutes, and if I still had milk coming out, I pumped up until 30 minutes.
GL and I'm glad that you are more encouraged! My milk supply also increased, and the peak of it was probably about 4 to 6 weeks after I gave birth.
Me: PCOS DH: Low everything (MFI)
Clomid with TI x 3 2010 BFN
Clomid+IUI+Ovidrel 2010 BFN
IVF w/ICSI #1 2011
9/8/11 Beta #1: 2082!! 9/19/11 Beta#2 34,689!! U/S 9/22/11 HR 127! 11/8/11 HR 150! 12/6/11 HR 136! 12/14/11 HR 139! Born at 26w2d on 2/4/2012! After 83 days in the NICU, Adalyn came home on 4/26/12!
FET 1 3/2013 BFN
FET 2 5/2013 BFN