Almost ready to give up. help!

kimmcguire30 · March 2015

My DS is almost 3wks now. I'm not producing enough milk for him and been having to supplement with formula. I've been trying everything to boost my supply...mothers milk tea, fenugreek, I've been pumping for 10-15 minutes after every time he nurses. I want nothing more than to breastfeed, but it's become draining to have him nurse, then feed a bottle, then pump every time. I'm discouraged and feel like giving up. He's gaining weight appropriately, but I feel like that's due to my supplementing. I've been seeing a LC and even she agrees that my milk is never any surplus amount. Even when I pump after he feeds, it's only ever like 20ml total from both sides.
I'm lost.

shibelvr4eva · March 2015

It sounds like your LC is helping. Have you done a weighed feeding to know exactly how much he eats from you? Make sure you're drinking a ton of water and eating enough too.

I make lactation cookies which I ate while I was BFing or afterwards. You could try that!

https://www.food.com/recipe/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies-by-noel-trujillo-192346

The beginning is also the hardest time. Your milk my still be coming in too. Hang in there!

Aliki · March 2015

You shouldn't expect to get a lot of milk from pumping after he feeds. I've been nursing for 1 year, and I can't imagine I'd get any milk if I pumped after she nursed. If you think about it, if LO is draining your milk, there should't be much left to pump. The point of pumping for you is not to generate milk, but to convince your breasts that you need to produce more milk.

What was the weighted feed from the LC consult?

How do you know you need to supplement? And how do you know how much to supplement by?

kimmcguire30 · March 2015

He usually takes like 2oz on average from me. Sometimes it's higher and sometimes it's lower. My LC told me I need to supplement because he's not transferring enough when he nurses so I was told to give him more after he's done nursing. I was told to supplement an ounce at a time. So I'll mix an ounce and feed it to him, and if he still tries to root or appears hungry, I do another ounce. It's very rare that I have to supplement a second ounce. His nursing plus the supplemented ounce seem to fill him up and satisfy him.

IrisApricity · March 2015

It sounds like you're doing all the right things, I know this is really frustrating! We've had lots and lots of issues, although not the same as yours and I know it stinks when all you want is to feed your baby!

Keep a food diary and make sure you are eating and drinking plenty. I probably drink 100 oz of water a day and never restrict calories. Lots of high fat healthy foods like avocado, butternut squash, etc. and no junk calories. Other than that, try to increase breast stimulation by never giving pacifiers and trying to nurse for comfort as much as possible. Also you may try other positions as position can change how much milk he can get from you.

I hope this gets better! You're doing a great job by sticking with it this long!

IrisApricity · March 2015

Another thought - how is the latch? And has the baby been looked at for tongue tie? DD had to have an upper lip tie revised at 2 weeks and it helped us a lot. Poor latch would be a reason he is not getting much milk and it would decrease your supply after a week or more.

Designermomma · March 2015

Agree with pp and add maybe try massaging your breasts while feeding/pumping to get more out at a time.
2oz per feeding is about right though. I had to supplement for a time with bottles of formula when I went to the hospital shortly after DS was born and he only drank 2oz at a time from a bottle about every 2 hours. I think there is a growth spurt around 3 weeks where they eat more frequently. He was nursing every 30 minutes. Like I was pretty much nursing all day. The frequency tells your body to produce more milk.

Want a personalized experience?

Almost ready to give up. help!

Re: Almost ready to give up. help!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards