Making milk

[NoTeaForMe]

How quickly do your breasts produce milk between feeds? My baby is feeding virtually constantly tonight and I can't tell ifshe is actually getting any milk at all now or just using my sorenipples as a comforter?!

IME it takes a little while but if you keep swapping sides there should be something there for her. I find it becomes sore when there is little or no milk there, so try to swap before it gets really sore and that should help you ride it out. You have my sympathies!

There's never no milk. You make milk as they suck. Of course sometimes they have to work harder but it's good for your supply in the long run.

The best analogy I've ever heard for it is that it's not like a pond, it's like a river.

Allowing the baby to suckle when she asks tells your body to produce milk. And it will. Have faith.

Milk is made on demand, it doesn't need time to 'refill'. It might be that she is just getting slightly frustrated with the flow if she normally goes longer between feeds - could be a growth spurt :) Keep feeding and your supply will adjust itself to her needs.

How old is she?

I think my boobs must be pretty slow at making it "on demand"! I cannot let DD suck on an empty slowly refilling breast, she really does make me very sore.

She's only 9 days old. We came to bed at around 8.30 and she fed well, she was then sick a bit, not projectile or anything just quite a bit of milk throw up. And she's been awake since. Going on and off the breast, but she doesnt seem to get enough to send her to that drunk sleepy state at all. My nipples were sore to begin with but now......ouch! Not helpedby the fact that we're all exhausted!

Help!

Oh, I feel for you! I've definitely been there. There's a growth spurt that kicked in for me around 10 days and DS seemed to feed for pretty much all day and all night. Thankfully it only lasted 2 days. If this is the same for you, then keep your chin up - it won't last forever, and it's just your clever, clever baby upping your milk supply for her new growth by increasing her demand.

Clever, yes, but not fun - suggestions to survive growth spurts: if in pain you can take paracetamol, keep Lansinoh and some jelonet handy, and keep eating and drinking as much as you fancy. (Brownies v. helpful for me!) Also remember that someone else holding the baby while you shower/go for a walk/get your head together is totally ok and they won't scream forever.

Keep trying to make sure that she latches on as deeply as possible to avoid painful sucking, and keep slathering on the lansinoh.
It will pass, and it will pass soon.

Good luck. You're not alone - lots of us are awake feeding too. Somehow that always helped me - still does!
[un-MN-Style-supportive-hugs]

Good post Blackcurrants :) and... its worth remembering that the fuller your boob the lower in fat the milk is and the emptier your boob the higher in fat. So just because it doesn't feel like you have much "left" doesn't mean its not the good stuff!.

You will never run out of milk. Just try to make sure she is latched on as far as possible to avoid nipple mashing!

I remember there being a 10day and a 21day growth spurt

Thankyou so much for all your words of advice. I hope it was just a short growth spurt!! she finally fell asleep at 2am and then woke again at 4.30 and fed for 15/20 mins and is now asleep again. She seems to have settled down, last night she just seemed constantly starving and really didn't seem to be getting anything from me. It was our first bad night really so I guess we have been lucky so far.... My nipples really haven't coped well though! Lansinoh cream is slapped on again!!

Notea - it could also be her cluster feeding, DD2 did this every evening from about 7-11pm then slept reasonably well inbetween with normal feeds in the night. She started at about a week and carried on until 11 ish weeks. Once I was prepared for it I stocked up on snacks, drink, lansinoh and claimed the remote it was fine.

Oh no! So do I have to be prepared to do this every night? 8pm-2am? It'll kill me! I hope it was a growth spurt and not cluster feeding. Too painful!

I would say take it one day at a time, it may well be a growth spurt in which case it will slow in a few days.