sick 3 wk old with bronchiolitis - can I build up my supply?

[MrsZebra]

Hi
My poor 3 week old baby has had bronchiolitis for a week. He was a really good feeder and I've got a good milk supply. He had already gained a pound by 2 weeks old. However he won't feed very well due to his breathing difficulties and bad cough. I can feel my milk supply reducing.
However I am feeding on demand and expressing when possible to maintain my supply.
But my question is whether once he's better I'll be able to reestablish a supply that enables me to keep EBF?
I am happy to feed on demand and devote days to just feeding him. I don't want to express too much at the moment though because he is still feeding and I want to have milk for him to feed on.
This is my 4th baby and I've BF my twins successfully before this.
It was all going so well before this. But any advice on what to do to keep milk and ensure I have enough for him would be brilliant.
Thanks x xx

Thanks so much, for these suggestions. He's not completely emptying each breast after feeding so I'll try that. And he's not feeding much at night so I'll add a pumping session in the night. Hopefully he'll be guzzling again soon. Just hired a double pump to shorten pumping times (have 3 other children under 3!!) x

Hi mrs z just sending you some Bronchiolitis and 3 under 3 best wishes!

Dd 3 had it age 3.5 months in November and we spent a week in hospital due to her feeding. She completely stopped bf ing and I never got much out when I expressed.

So no advice really just wanted to show solidarity ( though you beat me as I only have 3 dcs and ttc #4!)

DD3 had bronch. about 7 times last year (sometime the Drs argue about whether it's viral induced wheeze or bronch. - like I care why DD is ill she is still ill).

Anyway you have my sympathies (especially with the 3 under 3 thing!).

Some good tips I got to maximise feeding was to feed in steamy bathroom and not to let her feed too much as a very full tummy puts pressure on the diaphragm which makes breathing a bit more difficult - so little and very often.

When in hospital they would suction her nose/throat to clear the mucus before her feeds but most people don't have a sucky tube at home so we used a 10ml (yes 10ml!) medicine syringe to clear her nose (also dropped some bm down it first to help loosen the mucus) which meant she could feed more comfortably.

Really hope he feels/feeds better soon.

Hi MrsZebra also want to send you best wishes. My now 11 mo dd had bronchiolitis at 3 weeks old in February so your post struck a cord with me. She was also a great feeder but it's hard for them to suck when their noses are blocked and coughing so much etc. We were in hospital and I got really dehydrated as it was so hot and I wasn't eating/drinking properly myself so I was worried that she wasnt getting enough and that my supply would dwindle...

some good tips already said that I definitely agree with
steamy bathroom helps
sometimes we used the nasal saline drops that can help loosen their nasal discharge and clear their nose
express at the end of a feed if and when you can and then store in fridge/freezer
feed little and often
make sure you're well hydrated too

I had no problems at all with my supply and her feeding once she was better, things just went back to how they had been before.

Take my hat off to you having 3 others under 3 - dd was my first and I didn't find that easy!
Best wishes, hope he's better soon

Hi
Just logged on this morning and seen all these lovely messages, thanks so much.It's lovely to have the support and helpful suggestions. Thankfully, he seems to be getting a lot better. Much less wheezy and can breathe better.
StrawberrySam - I carried him round in the sling yday and completely emptied the breast with the pump yday.

He was alert yday evening and spent literally the whole of the evening feeding. He sleeps next to me and fed a lot in the night. Hopefully, he's on the mend. x