How to encourage milk to come in following ELCS

[LadyHalesBroach]

Had my baby via ELCS on Wednesday, all very civilised, DS was 39+5 and there were no complications. Discharged home the next day, I’m now technically on day 3.

My milk supply hasn’t come in. I’m trying everything: putting baby into boob until he falls off, lots of skin to skin, eating well, trying to rest. I BF my first born but she was a normal delivery and milk came in very quickly.

I’m very worried my c section will render these spaniel ears empty :-(

Milk normally comes in between day 3 and 5 do don’t start panicking. Make sure you always offer both boobs and feed every 3 hours, timed from the start of each feed.

Have you expressed? I'd have thought it's on its way. Will the health visitor be seeing you on day 3 and 5?

Congratulations!

Mine didn't come in till overnight between day 3 and 4 and it was very sudden, so don't panic! Totally normal (and why babies are born with some reserve and it's common for them to lose some weight in first few days). The colostrum your baby is getting is what he needs for the first couple of days, it's very densely nutritious.

Congratulations on your new baby!

If I were you I would do a little reset. Now you are home I would run a nice bath with no products & get in it with your baby. This can be a really lovely thing to do and is extremely relaxing if you are able to climb in/out of bath and have someone to hand your baby to.

Yes it is a little early for a bath for your baby, but if the bathroom is warm and cost maybe with low lighting (candles, fairy lights) you will be relaxed and (hopefully) have a real oxytocin rush. This might help trigger your milk to come in.

It is really early days & as long as your baby has plenty of wet/dirty nappies then the colostrum is doing it’s job. BF is such an emotional journey that it can be very hard to relax into it - but you need to try to give yourself this time so your body can go through all the steps it needs to.

I would be really surprised if you didn’t wake up on Monday with very full boobs! Remember you might feel emotional and a bit ‘off’ in the hours before that happens. Good luck.

I had to work very hard to express at first but that was with a preemie. Colostrum at first and then milk properly came in on day 4. Have you tried hand expressing?

Feed feed feed. Put baby to your breast as often as you can. Contact a IBCLC lactation consultant and get them to check baby's milk removal. Baby may have a slight tie that is affecting milk transfer, very common to go undetected. Milk usually comes in on day 3, maybe 4 or 5 if you've had a section. A warm bath and shower and massaging the breasts right before a feed may help. Best of luck!

I’d love a bath but under strict instructions to not get my dressing wet (?)

Health visitor coming in two weeks (!) and I’ll see a midwife on day 5, which is Monday. I don’t get a day 1 visit here, just a phone call.

I’m going to just do as much skin to skin and try and see. I’ve pumped and it’s bone dry so I’m topping him up with formula. He’s on the boob all the time in between.

I didn’t have any easy ride with bf’ing my first and I’m really worried how this will
Knock me if I can’t make this work.

Will persevere!!!! Hopefully it’ll come after day 3!

Just loads of feeding. Mine came in day 5 first birth (elcs) and day 3 second and third (elcs) so it will probably just be another day or 2. Colostrum will be working its magic and as long as your bath has wet and dirty nappies, don’t worry

Your milk will come in - ELCS doesn't prevent or interfere with that! Getting stressed might but obviously saying don't get stressed is utterly pointless as you're not choosing to!

I had one emergency and two elective sections and my milk came in fastest with the second elective, but still it was day 3 - I I thought that was quick! It came in on day 5 with the other two!

All my children breastfed successfully despite the fact that the firstborn was with me skin to skin for only about half an hour in recovery and then away from me for six hours after the emergency section while I was in emergency surgery and unconscious.

Skin to skin though and putting the baby on the breast for colostrum. It will come.

Congratulations OP.

Honestly you'll be fine. Both my obstetrician and also my IBCLC/ lactation consultant taught me that removal of the placenta is what triggers lactation to start. So having an ELCS vs a vaginal birth actually doesn't make a difference.

As others have mentioned, no matter how you give birth, it can take up to 5 days for your milk to come in. I know it's hard not to worry, but it sounds like you're doing all the right things - so you will get there in the next day or two!

Are you drinking lots of water? Sounds obvious but you need extra to make all that fluid. Get a big jug and make sure that you actually are.

3 CSs and 3 BF babies. Hardest thing I've ever done in the world for DC1 and 2 but I am extremely determined (and felt a bit guilty for having a CS).

For DC2 my milk had come in but wasn't coming "out", MW soaked towels in hot water and put them on my chest she'd told me to massage towards the nipple. The hot/warm towels thing can't do any harm and won't hurt your dressing.

Express!

It's frustrating though. I had an emcs and I had no milk come in ever

Congratulations on the new baby.

Nothing more to add other than to feed, feed & feed some more. It is easier with the first one as there is only that one to deal with. Do you have someone to help with your firstborn? It's only a few days, but if you have good help at home you can concentrate solely on the new addition.

Your milk will come in, it's still very early days yet, and just a reminder, but your boobs supply what is needed - if baby is getting a formula 'top-up' - the message to your brain to produce enough milk is muted. Try to stop the formula feeds until your body learns what your baby needs.

Pumping is different from feeding - it shows how much milk you can pump, not how much you are producing or how much baby is taking. Some people can't pump at all. Do not use it as a measure of what is happening.

Best of luck and just keep trying - it is bloody difficult - that's why so many people choose bottles instead. If you want to feed, you can feed - if you want bottles you can do that too.

Please don’t worry! My milk didn’t come in until day 5, after EMCS and readmission overnight on day 3 due to DD weight loss. We’re now 6 weeks down the line and breastfeeding is going fine after formula topups via all manner of methods.

One of the doctors said that the ‘comfort blanket’ of having formula on hand as a backup would help my milk come in, due to reducing stress, and I’m sure this was the case.

I tried to think of the formula as simply giving pudding after a meal of milk/colostrum , not as an indicator of success or failure!

I’m sure you know to eat plenty of oats and chocolate, but mostly relax, it will come!

Your baby should be better than your pump. Just because the pump is getting nothing it doesn't mean baby is. Their stomachs are tiny at this age so I'd avoid formula top ups unless you've been advised to or baby is screaming hungry and rejecting book.

Congratulations!
Easier said then done, but try not to stress. My milk arrived on day 4 both times after sections.
As much feeding and skin to skin as you can. Take to your bed if possible. Keep those happy hormones flowing.
Try to trust your body. It doesn’t have to be the same this time.
It sounds like you’re doing great. Enjoy x

I’d also recommend an app called baby feed timer, it’s really good for keeping track of time of next feed, nappies, pumping, topups etc.

We had to have quite a lot of help in the beginning due to DD being small and when the midwives would ask “how many nappies in last 24 hours, how long does she feed for” I’d be thinking “fucked if I know, I’ve not slept for a week!” so this helped with reassurance we were on the right track

I had a CS and it was day 7 before milk came in. I just kept baby at the boob constantly other than for some formula top ups which she was weaned off after her tongue tie had been sorted at day 10.