Poor milk supply but DD won’t take a bottle either...

[CoffeeChocolateWine]

My DD is almost 13 weeks old. She is my third child. Breastfeeding didn’t work out with my first child and I breastfed my second for about 12 weeks but it was a struggle and she never seemed happy.

Breastfeeding had been going pretty well with DD but just in the past week or so, I feel like I’m not producing enough (this was a problem the previous 2 times too). She seems like she’s suckling rather than feeding properly, gets frustrated, I can’t express very much whereas I was before, she has gone from sleeping pretty much through the night to waking twice, my breasts never feel full and she generally doesn’t seem satisfied.

I approached breastfeeding with an attitude of if it works out, great; if not, that’s fine too...I’d rather have a happy baby. The problem is that she won’t take a bottle either. She’s not interested no matter who gives the bottle to her...just turns her head or pushes it out with her tongue. She doesn’t like dummies either.

So what do I do? Does anyone have tips to boost milk supply? Or do I keep going with bottle? Do I go cold turkey and only offer bottle until she takes it?

[Aaarrrggghh]

If you're on FB there's lots of great groups that can help you with the things to increase milk supply. Kellymom & La Leche League are good to go to too.

As far as I'm let to believe the overnight feeds are key to milk production in the early days. She could be cluster feeding to get your supply up?

[Wolfiefan]

Gaining weight? Enough wet and dirty nappies? I had a supply problem and those are the signs.

[mouthkisses]

Agree, wet and dirty nappies is your only measure. She might just be going through a fussy stage. Eat loads of porridge and flapjacks and put baby to the breast as often as possible. The best way to get your supply up is getting them to suckle as often as possible. Kellymom website is also good for handholding when you are having wobbles.

[Nutkins24]

Low milk supply is actually very rare. If you have been feeding well for 12 weeks (weight gain/wet dirty nappies) it’s very unlikely that you have it. You can’t really compare her to your other ff babies, she will want to feed more regularly as that stimulates the supply, where as a ff baby will be more on a schedule from day 1. She will have growth spurts where she cluster feeds to create the supply she needs, hopefully they will be short lived (they usually are) as it pretty tough going. Put her to the breast as much as poss and make sure you are feeding at nights as that makes even more milk. You can keep trying the bottle, but I definitely wouldn’t ‘go cold turkey’ as you then run the risk of her becoming dehydrated.

[Nutkins24]

This little doodle is good for a quick check

[CoffeeChocolateWine]

Yes she does have plenty of wet and dirty nappies and last time she was weighed 4 weeks ago she had gained weight. She’s a big girl - 98th centile - and quite hungry so when I see her getting frustrated I just feel like I’m not satisfying her appetite.

The other thing I forgot to mention is that my breasts have gone lopsided. She feeds better from one side than the other. I keep feeding her from the weaker side but she just faffs around - having a suck then letting go over and over until I swap to the other side.

Thanks for the advice so far.

[arbrighton]

It sounds like your supply has settled and perhaps she's getting towards a growth spurt so is putting in an order for some more

What you can express is no sign of how much milk baby can extract.

I am still feeding my 98th centile DS at 14 mo.

[Wolfiefan]

Have you had latch checked?

[susiegrapevine]

What others have said. It does not sound like a lack of supply. Try a new position it may be that baby has grown and you have not moved her position to fit in with that i have seen lots of mothers do this (i am a breastfeeding supporter). Also some babies just prefer one side to the other so thats probably why you have gone lopsided. Don't worry about this either it is perfectly possible just to feed from one side. If your breast tissue also feels softer and your breast don't feel as full this is because your breast tissue changes at around 3 months so it can feel like you are not producing enough. Like others have said expressing is no indication of supply. One of the best ways to help milk production is skin to skin so you top half naked and baby just in a nappy. If its a bit chilly then pop a blanket over both of you. Most importantly don't stress you are doing great.

[CoffeeChocolateWine]

Thanks so much all. I think DD has decided to try and restore some faith and she slept through last night and boobs were definitely quite full this morning!

Are oats meant to be good for milk supply then? I noticed the comment above about eating porridge and flapjack! Had some porridge this morning

[villainousbroodmare]

I'm ebf 3mo twins so they only ever get one side each. Also it's quite normal for the breasts to no longer feel as full at this stage. Keep going

[arbrighton]

No evidence at all on oats I'm afraid!