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Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Infant feeding

Can I still up my milk supply at 9 weeks?

20 replies

Dawn1991 · 22/07/2021 12:40

Long story short my baby had tongue tie at the beginning which impacted my supply and by 2 1/2 weeks DD had lost 10% so I can to supplement with formula, my DD is now 9 weeks and i can barley pump more than 3 oz a day as full supply was never established is it possible to be able to get more or is this it for me? Xx

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Cheesecake53 · 22/07/2021 12:55

I am pretty sure you can - if you pump more, you will produce more, but it may take a little while to kick in.

nameisnotimportant · 22/07/2021 13:03

Absolutely ! Breastfeeding is all based on supply vs demand. So keep putting the baby to the breast regularly, every 2-3 hours and have lots of skin to skin in between. What you pump does not show how much milk you make, it's just how much you can pump. I could never pump more than 50ml but i fully breastfed my baby and she grew fine and was a happy baby. Make sure you are eating and drinking enough, high protein and carbs and plenty of water

Dawn1991 · 22/07/2021 13:14

I got off the phone with the LC and she's said that I won't be able to produce more milk as the supply is established in the first 4 weeks so it's left me in limbo and I'm really upset over it as I want to be able to feed my baby :(

OP posts:

ditalini · 22/07/2021 13:27

That's not something I've ever heard.

The Kellymom website has a good article on how milk production works. I think they'd probably have bothered to mention it if it wasn't possible to increase your milk supply after 4 weeks.
kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basics/milkproduction/

P.S With my second baby, I couldn't express more than a couple of oz which was a shock as I'd been able to fill bottles in minutes with my first, he was still fully bf for the first 6 months - definitely no indicator of how much milk available.

Also, when I returned to work at 6 months, my previously sleeping through the night son decided to revert to newborn 3 hourly overnight feeding schedules (as he turned his nose up at the formula he was meant to be having during the day) and my supply definitely increased dramatically based on that! Which was a pain in the arse.

Hope54321 · 22/07/2021 17:50

@Dawn1991

I got off the phone with the LC and she's said that I won't be able to produce more milk as the supply is established in the first 4 weeks so it's left me in limbo and I'm really upset over it as I want to be able to feed my baby :(

Are you expressing exclusively or putting baby to the breast as well?

TheOrigRights · 22/07/2021 17:58

@Dawn1991

I got off the phone with the LC and she's said that I won't be able to produce more milk as the supply is established in the first 4 weeks so it's left me in limbo and I'm really upset over it as I want to be able to feed my baby :(

I don't think that's right.
Of course your body can produce more milk, otherwise you'd never be able to meet the needs of a growing baby.

Milk production fluctuates hugely - during the day, from day to day etc.

The best thing I advise is to offer the breast as often as possible, and do as much skin to skin as you can.
Make sure you are eating and drinking enough yourself.

Catchmesomezzzzzzz · 22/07/2021 19:26

Your LC is wrong. You can increase supply at any point. I managed to catch my supply up at around 7ish weeks and know others who did so later around 12 weeks. Just keep pumping :)

Dawn1991 · 22/07/2021 21:15

Thanks everyone this has made me feel so much better I sat there crying this afternoon thinking my breastfeeding journey is over with ill try pumping more if anyone has a pumping schedule please pass it my way xx

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KatieKat88 · 22/07/2021 21:20

Is baby breastfeeding as well as having pumped milk OP?

Sh05 · 22/07/2021 21:52

I know a friend whose baby was premature and not gaining weight on just breast milk so she had to supplement with bottle then she slowly switched to just breastfeeding and successfully breastfed exclusively from 3 months to 13 months.
You can definitely up your supply, lots of skin to skin, offer the breast as muchas possible even if you plan to give her the bottle to top her up.
I've said this on many threads but try the silicone pump as you can be feeding from one side and expressing from the other and it costs around £5 from Aldi by Mamia.

Rose5678 · 22/07/2021 22:06

Not sure if there’s scientific proof but it was recommended to me to take fenugreek supplements to increase my supply and it worked!

HelloViroids · 22/07/2021 22:21

Do you use Facebook? If so there’s a group called Breastfeeding Support and Information UK which is sooooo supportive for queries like this. But yes, I think it’s certainly possible!

TheOrigRights · 22/07/2021 22:37

@Rose5678

Not sure if there’s scientific proof but it was recommended to me to take fenugreek supplements to increase my supply and it worked!

I think there is proof and I did the same.

TheOrigRights · 22/07/2021 22:39

Yes there us. Google fenugreek breastfeeding NCBI to get some research papers.

Dawn1991 · 22/07/2021 23:01

I've tried fenugreek but it gave baby really bad wind so I had to stop I drink pukka breastfeeding tea I breastfeed DD as much as I can before and after her bottle but she gets a bit fussy now I feed her on the breast at night as well but I'm loosing a bit of hope I wanted to at least get her to 6 months xx

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nonotmenotI · 22/07/2021 23:46

That's not right about the supply being established that early on. I stopped breastfeeding when dd was 8 weeks old and diagnosed with a milk allergy. When dd was 5 months my right breast started randomly producing milk and still is years later. I have not breastfed dd for over 2 years and here I am with a milk supply that no one can stop unless I have an operation to remove my milk ducts.

Milk can stop and start at any time.

Elverybaby · 23/07/2021 00:59

I got bad gastroenteritis when dc was only a few weeks old, and my supply did drop as I was so sick and dehydrated. I kept feeding dc at least every 2 hours, if not more frequently, to tell my body to make more milk. And ended up like Dolly Parton . (.)(.)

So just feed feed feed, even if it feels like there's nothing there or it's just comfort sucking. And drink lots of water yourself.

Catchmesomezzzzzzz · 23/07/2021 05:00

Also OP, another option is to use an SNS to cut out the pumping sessions if you get tired of that.

KatieKat88 · 23/07/2021 07:21

Ok so breastfeed as much as possible as that is the best way to increase your supply. Boobs are factories, not warehouses - the greater the demand, the more supply produced! Definitely not too late to increase supply. Try lots of skin to skin, feed whenever baby shows any interest whatsoever.

Dawn1991 · 23/07/2021 12:24

@Catchmesomezzzzzzz

Also OP, another option is to use an SNS to cut out the pumping sessions if you get tired of that.

Is it not too late to do sns? And where do you buy the equipment for it etc xx

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