low/no milk supply, please help

[PearlyDewdrop]

Hi,

Newbie here having a dreadful time. Ds was born 3 days ago and has cried endlessly since. We suffered a traumatic back to back birth, I have been awake for 6 days straight now and seem to have a terribly low supply of milk. DH has gone out and bought formula/bottle/sterilizer, he is concerned that ds is hungry.

I desperately wish to breastfeed, but it seems that I am already failing the first test of motherhood.

One would welcome any advice from those of you who have experience breastfeeding your little ones.

Thank you.

Just to let you all know ds is just fine, perfect, the osteopath found absloutely nothing wrong! It is such a relief and yet I have been crying steadily since I have a terrible longing for a cigarette even though it is three years since one quit the habit (after it first became apparent we were having trouble conceiving).I thought the sense of failure which hung over me during those years was gone forever but it seems to have crept steadily back, starting with ds's birth and now my struggle to breastfeed.

Babymutha thank you so much for your lovely message, it is such a challenge trying to manage on so little sleep. I seem to only be able to manage two hours, no more. This morning no sooner had I dozed off then the mw was on the doorstep!

FlipFantasia thank you so much, you have offered one lots of great advice It is good to know that in time ds will actually consider sleeping somewhere other than in our arms!

Bringonthesummer, one must say, I just love your talk nickname! It is so hard, so little sleep!! Nothing can quite prepare one for it. As you all say and it is true, I have to learn to feed whilst lying down. I have been just so nervous about bringing ds to bed, even in the day.

BertieBotts thank you, one is going to look into buying a sidecar cot,completely new to me, this site is such a wonderful resource to parents

crikeybadger thank you in particular for the link about engorgement issues, one is in such pain, this is quite a shock

One should just sigh with relief, that appointment is behind us one is so looking forward to tomorrow. For now however though ds is still crying and crying

Pearl glad to hear the appointment went well.

Is your little one's crying worse at certain times to the day? Does he wake up crying and not stop? Might be worth seeing if there's a bit of a pattern and taking it from there (hard when you're tired though).
Is there anyone who can take him out for a walk just for half an hour or so to give you a break?

pearl - is your baby usually happy as long as he is being fed or else otherwise close and cuddled up with you?

In that case, he is a normal 5 day old baby :)

Babies as young as this are different every day, as they are getting used to the world 'outside'- the first weeks are often a period of adjustment for everyone including the baby.

Anyway, the breastfeeding counsellor will be able to help by talking about this and about helping with your painful engorgement.

Thank you Igglybuff, one is trying to find a pattern to ds's crying, it feels like non stop, it all seemed to be going better but today ds has vomited twice, after vomiting his crying certainly worsens. We have rather taken to our sling however, as recommended it is a high up one which seems to be very safe. Last night was as awful we took to wandering the streets with ds in his sling trying to settle him by walking. This was the early hours of the morning!

I do get the ocassional break but one really had ones heart set on doing this alone.

Yesterday however was a fantastic day, our breastfeeding counsellor spent the entire day here, she taught one how to feed lying down, she has improved our latch considerably, she left boxes of raspberry leaf tea and instructed one to keep my fluid intake up. Just watching her feed her nine months old little one! Mother and little one in such harmony, both experts

TikTok one wishes ds was happy when cuddling up and upset only otherwise but he is hard to comfort,we are still struggling with feeding, he gets so frustrated and angry. I so wished to enjoy these days but if one could at least get through them ...

Thank you all, you have been so supportive and lovely

Ah you don't want to do it alone! I promise you. I'm so glad the BF counsellor spent all that time with you - really makes a difference to get hands on help.

The vomiting makes me wonder if he's got reflux - it's basically like heartburn and can make them inconsolable. I should confess my DS has silent reflux and contributed to his terrible terrible sleeping habits. He also used to overfeed and vomit. I had to be careful and make sure I winded him properly otherwise he'd bring up milk (which is normal for most babies but he was not a happy bunny!).

With reflux it hurts when they feed, hurts when they lie down and hurts when they've got wind! Also stops them from sleeping, so they get overtired, which makes them cry...

Have a chat with your GP and mention reflux to see what they think.

I know it's early days and you don't want to risk scuppering your supply, but you might want to introduce a dummy. DS didn't take to a dummy at first but after a few weeks it really helped him.

pearlshapes, just wanted to offer a bit of support and tell you you are not alone, it sounds like you are doing so so well at such a stressful time!

I had real problems bf at first with latch and engorgement problems and at the time i honestly thought they were the worst days of my life because I was so desperate to feed her and thought I would fail at something I felt was so terribly important.

I walked around the house with my boobs out like a semi-naked zombie, I couldn't even be bothered to put my bra on because i spent the whole day trying (and mainly failing!) to feed my DD. She would scream because she was hungry and angry and it was just a total nightmare.

We then found an AMAZING counsellor (yours sounds equally as amazing and supportive!)who turned it all around and now DD is 11 weeks, still EBF, on 98th centile for weight and last night slept from 10pm until now, only waking at 6am and 8am for feeds!

I know it seems so awful and bone crushingly exhausting at first but those first days seem like forever ago now and bf and DD are just a joy, something that I could never have conceived at first. Don't give up, it gets much better soon!

I remember my mum telling me at the time that the first couple of weeks are to be survived, not enjoyed, and she was so right!

Good luck!!

How are things today Pearl?

Sounds like the bf counsellor was very helpful. To see her feeding her 9 mo must have felt like a world away from where you are right now, but don't worry things get easier and you'll get there too.

Prehaps one should start a new thread as one is sure this old one must be entirely forgottn about but one is still rather finding new motherhood hard and lonely Does anyone else?

One misses Sally, my adorable rescue dog has been sent off to live with a relative due to jealous behaviour with ds. One feels so guilty, no point in taking risks but my heart is broken

Ds has colic, the crying is endless. Mine too, I cry a lot, I am afraid to talk about it in case it is not normal. What might normal crying be for a tired and lonely mother?

Does anything improve colic other then time?

seashore- I'm a bit confused - are you the OP on this thread?

Pearl

Not much advice to offer, I'm afraid, just support. I had a horrible back to back birth too which lasted 4 days, so I know what that sleep deprivation is like!

You sound like you are doing so well in caring for your little one, so please don't feel like you are failing. The early days are difficult - my dd was rarely off the boob. Not sure if she was hungry, or whether she was just comforted by suckling. Could you try feeding lying down so you can rest at the same time?

You mentioned you couldn't express much - this is normal at this stage. I remember my midwife telling me a newborn's stomach is the size of a marble, so your breasts won't be producing huge quantities.

Hope things get better soon.

Sorry, just read your last post saying that the bf counsellor showed you how to feed lying down.