milk supply gone right down and baby wont take bottle - i'm desperate

[yackityyak]

my milk supply has seriously reduced. Ive been trying to boost it for 3 days now with no luck by frequent feeding, resting, etc. Baby refuses to take a bottle. I just dont know what to do next, Im desperate, worried and baby is hungry.
I have been ill with fever and cold symptoms but am on the mend now, could this be to blame, and have also had blocked ducts on both sides just before the problems started.
Please help...

Is baby refusing to feed or is baby latching but coming off because there is no milk? How old is Baby? If baby is refusing to feed it could be that baby is unwell particularly if you have had a virus and that a sore throat/ear/mouth is making it difficult to feed. My DD1 went on milk strike for 3 days - I went to the doc and it turned out she had an ear infection which was making it painful for her to feed. A course of antibiotics and she was back to feeding well.
If you are sure it is your supply that is struggling you sound like you are doing the right thing - lots of rest, frequent feeding, expressing and skin to skin contact. You also need to try and relax (not possible I know!) as that will help your milk flow.
If you are worried you can always use a syringe to get milk into baby. Breastfed babies sometimes find it easier to drink from a cup than a bottle as a breastfed baby laps milk rather than sucking it from a bottle. Is baby dehydrated? The signs to look for are dry lips and a sunken fontanelle (the soft spot on their head). If this is the case it probably is a good idea to take baby to a doctors for a check up. If not, baby is probably feeding more than you realise and is fine. A genuinely starving baby would take a bottle.
I hope this get easier soon as it very stressful when little ones won't feed - I remember when DD2 was on milk strike (in her case she burned her hand in the toddlers dinner while feeding and refused to feed for 24 hrs until she stopped associating feeding with pain) I felt like she was rejecting me. Not the case and she is now still happily feeding at 10 months. Good luck

Keep persevering YAKITYYAK it should come back for you.

My first was hungry all the time and I didnt produce enough milk n she cried a lot! We started to use formula as a top-up feed at night or expressed milk. We had to try many different teats and even a cup, and changed the formula before finding the right combo, but it was worth it. This meant OH could do last feed of the day at around 11.30pm, I'd go to bed very early and get in my Z's before waking full-boobed at around 1 or 2am for that feed. I was much less tired, baby much more full and happy.

I hope this helps? I do remember how hard it all seemed at the time and how long it seemed to go on for. It can be really hard, especially if you've had other related feeding probs as I had too with bleeding nipples n wandering around with cabbage in my bra (kid you not) but looking back it was the blink of an eye really.

I'm sure you're doing great. Good luck with cracking it. Dommy

How old is your baby? Could he/she be going through a growth spurt? This would make you feel like you have less milk but baby is just trying to up your supply.

I suggest you ring one of the bf helplines for advice

He's four months old. Thanks for your support, sounds like I just need to hang on in there, but it's really odd that 3 days worth of intensive feeding has got me absolutely nowhere. One thing though... he does seem quite sleepy so often with these feeds at the moment he just sucks furiously for a few minutes and then doses off (it only takes a couple of minutes to empty the breast as they are so empty). Maybe My breasts not getting long enough stimulation at each feeding session.

Dommy when you introduced bottle in night, did this affect your milk supply in the long term? I have been considering doing the same because my baby (5 wks) just seems to snack constantly all night and my boobs are getting sore and are quite 'deflated' come morning.....

sorry for thread hijack [shame]

No did not affect milk supply as when I did wake for the 1 or 2pm feed I couldv'e fed several babies, I wonder if my milk supply had a chance to actally replenish, catch up this way.

It's hard to tell and even when I was down to one feed a day at the end for both mine, that went on for a while and milk did not dry up then

Still don't understand why you think milk supply has reduced....?

Yackityyak - are you worried because your breasts don't feel so full anymore? Or is your baby feeding more frequently?

It could be that your breast are simply adjusting to supply and demand - the "full to bursting" feeling that your breasts have when they are full of milk does not last throughout the time you feed, after a while ~(sorry, being very vague as I can't remember how long) they feel more or less "normal" but still produce plenty of milk for your LO.
To me it sounds as though this could be whats happened to you - if your baby is happy, then he's almost certainly getting plenty of milk and it sounds as though you are thinking that they are empty as you can't feel the milk.