Dreadful cold and cough- worried about supply

[hopingforanother]

I have had a hideous cold/cough/dizziness/slightly dodgy tum etc since wednesday. DS also has it but not the cough. Feeling dreadful but trying to bf as much as poss still.

He doesn't want to be feeding for long atm and pulls away crying after a few mins, so I'm offering all the time, he's having mostly 5-10 mins an hour, but with probably 2 30 min day feeds and 2 30 min night feeds too atm. I'm trying to get as much in as poss but my breasts are feeling really floppy and I'm worried my supply has dropped. Ds usually feeds or at least is at the breast for 50 mins every 2.5-3 hrs when he is feeling well.It's been probably 2.5 days since ds stopped wanting longer feeds as usual.

Am I doing the right thing to maintain milk supply and does it sound like ds is getting enough?...

How old is he? I think your supply can dip a bit if you're feeling poorly, but you are doing the right thing offering as much as possible so that will keep it going. don't forget he may not want as much if he's poorly too.

you can take paracetamol and neurofen to keep temp down, but no lemisp type things.

Hope you both feel better soon.

Hi, thanks cosmosis. He's 20 weeks - he seems fairly happy in himself apart from oozing snot and being generally poorly, but he's not a complain-y baby, I think I just need to keep offering. Im sure my supply must be relatively robust by now, just panicking because it seems like a lot less feeding, reading through my first post it doesn't sound so bad really.

Yes I've been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen. Honestly I don't remember feeling this rough for years! I am so full of cough and snot and misery, so thanks for the good wishes.

Poor both of you :(

If he's snotty he may struggle to feed and breathe, and if he's swallowing a lot of mucous he may feel, or even be sick. So what you are doing is perfect - frequent, small snacks, which is what we want when we're ill, rather than a big meal. The small feeds will also keep him hydrated. Keep drinking water yourself too, to a comfortable level.

Decongestants can reduce your milk supply which is what cosmo mentioned, so Lemsip, Sudafed etc are a bad choice, but if you're just taking paracetamol and ibuprofen that's great.

Your supply will certainly be robust and we are designed for this sort of thing to happen during our nursing times anyway, so don't worry. You're doing all the right things. Just try to rest together and I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks organic, it's the cough that's the worst for me and poor ds looks rather alarmed at me hacking away while he's feeding not to mention his snot!

He seems to have picked up a bit this evening and had a few really good feeds which has cheered me up.

that's good to hear, hope you both recover soon.