Breastfeeding

I feel like my milk won't ever come in.

I had my daughter on Monday and am still waiting for my milk to come in.  I had to start supplementing her because she had lost 9 ounces at her first dr. appointment and she was small to begin with. She was so unhappy would only sleep for like 15 minutes then she would be hungry again. Now we are giving her an ounce to two ounces of formula after I try to breast feed her.  I have pumped a few times and I only am making a few teaspoons of milk.  I feel like a failure. this is suppose to be something your body does naturally.  I though that your milk came in around day 3 to 5 and I'm at day 5 with no change.


TTC #1 since June 2013

Me: 24
DH: 26 Very Low Count (only 15 active), Low Testosterone

IVF with ICSI in October
ER - 10-6-13  12 eggs retrieved, 7 fertilized
ET  - 10-11-13
BFP - 10-23-2013
Beta #1 (14dp5dt)- 1122
Beta #2 (17dp5dt) - 3266

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Re: I feel like my milk won't ever come in.

  • Keep it up!  My milk came in between days 5 and 6 for both DDs.  I had to supplement with formula with DD2 early on.  There's nothing wrong with that.  You're not a failure!  I've known a few moms that took a week (or more) for their milk to come in. 
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  • You have gotten good advice but I wanted to offer lots of hugs and encouragement. Keep it up mama, you are doing a great job!
    Baby E born 1/29/2014
    Baby #2 due 8/24/2016

  • One tip I wanted to add was, if your LO doesn't like to stay on your breast because she's not getting much, put formula or pumped milk into a medicine syringe and sneak it into the side of her mouth while she is nursing. This will keep her on your breast and it will keep her nursing longer to signal your body that it needs to make more milk. We had to do this until day 7 when my milk was finally all the way in.
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  • babywinks said:

    1. Congrats on your LO!
    2. You are not a failure. Keep putting baby to breast as your milk may just be slow coming in - some women in this board took over a week for their milk. Do you have a lactation consultant you can see to make sure the baby doesn't have a tongue tie, your latch is good, etc? If so, call ASAP. If not, try to keep up what you are doing and get some support from LaLeche League or elsewhere. I hope your milk comes soon.

    Also there is no shame in supplementing with formula, either now or later - breastfeeding doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. Hang in there.

    110% this!

    You're not a failure! Everyone's body handles pregnancy/birth/post-partum differently. You are doing you're very best, and that makes you a success.

    Take a breath, get lots a skin to skin (and enjoy the cuddles, don't just stress about "oh, I hope this helps my milk to come in!), take pride in all your body has done in growing that little miracle, and know that - no matter what- everything is going to be fine :)
  • Hang in there momma. My milk took 8 days to come in. I'd also try using an SNS (supplemental nursing system), you can supplement while on the breast. My LC gave me one and it really helped. You can also by them from Amazon. Good luck. We supplemented LO with formula for a while, now she's 99% breast fed. You will get there. Don't stress out, as that might not help and enjoy your time with your LO.


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  • casey78 said:

    Hugs, mama. There is no fail in trying to feed your baby. I think others have good advice. 3-5 days Is just an average. Weight loss up to 10% is also in the range of normal (9.6oz on 6lb baby). 


     One more thing: if all checks out with latch and transfer, you might want to check back in with your doctor. Some mamas nave retained bits of placenta that keep milk from coming in.
    I was going to say this. I had retained placenta and finally had a d&c at 4w pp. Good luck - BFing can be really hard at 1st!
    Natural m/c Oct. 2005

    Dx: balanced translocation and LPD

    TTC since Oct 2011

    BPF 02/19/12, EDD 10/31/12, natural m/c 02/28/12 (4w6d)

    IVF (BCPs starting 10/30/12, ER 11/18/12, 5dt of 1 beautiful, healthy embryo 11/23/12)
    BFP 12/02/12, u/s @ 6w,5d showed 2 HBs! Identical twins!!
    Bed rest from 21w-35w due to short cervix, hospital bed rest from 23w-32w due to PTL
    Our rainbows were born 07/19/13 (36w, 5d)

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  • It took forever for mine to come in, keep at it and don't give up! I agree with the excellent advice all have given, and you definitely need a good support system. I think I may have given up without my LC.

    I have low supply and I was never able to stop supplementing, but I kept pumping and eventually my supply did increase from what it was initially. I know it's hard and really emotional, not to mention exhausting. Hang in there! Hugs!
    Me:41, DH:41 Positive for MTHFR mutations- one copy C677T, one copy A1298C. One daughter born on Thanksgiving in 2013. Six losses.
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