How soon should expressing to increase supply take effect?

[RememberToPlaywiththeKids]

I need to increase my supply and I've expressed twice today and I'm just not producing much at all :(. LO is taking so long to feed anyway and I have no idea how I can find the time to express, feed and look after the other 2 plus do everything else that needs doing.

My boobs at best feel a bit full and usually just really soft though I'm putting him to the breast every couple of hours in the day and 4 hourly at night but his appetite has been a bit low.

I'm feeling rather stressed about it all :(

Remember how old is your LO?

4.5 weeks.

Is there any particular reason why you think you need to boost your supply, e.g. dc not gaining weight???? I expressed to boost supply as I was told that dd was not gaining weight quickly enough (later turned out that scale was not working properly and dd was spot on for breast fed baby) and I started expressing a lot which resulted in oversupply and feeding problems for dd. If you are worried about weight you may want to see paediatrician to check, also b/f babies have other weight gain pattern compared with f/f baby. When I expressed, my supply increased within a few days, but I pumped after every feed. It took all my time, I was either feeding (dd was very slow drinker, took about an hour per feed), then expressed and then she wanted to feed again. Was absolutely exhausting, however, in the end it all worked out.

He needs to gain weight more quickly than he is according to the paeds. He's very sleepy and seems to drift off before having a decent feed and then i can't get him to take any more. I have a feeling that if he had to work less hard to get my milk, he would eat a bit more than he is.

today i just continued to express from the side LO had fed from with not alot of luck.

I've been keeping him on the one side as i understood that would give him the richer milk?

I could pop him on to the other side too....i will try that tonight.

as his appetite isn't very big, my supply isn't very big either i guess.

Why do you feel you need to increase your supply?

Soft boobs are normal once LO reaches a certain age typically around 6-12 weeks. At this time your milk supply begins to regulate.

Feeding for a long time is normal for a 4.5 week old, is there any other reasons you are worried? Are you getting enough wet and dirty nappies? Is he gaining weight?

There is a good guide here to help you to judge is your baby is getting enough milk in the first 6 weeks.

And there is some information here on increasing your supply.

If I was you though I'd stick the others infront of the TV, sod the housework, give up on the expressing and just feed, feed and feed some more.

Have you spoken to a bfing counsellor, either in person or on one of the helplines? And are you going to any Bfing Support Groups?

Sorry x-posted there.

Why do the Paeds think he needs to gain more weight? Did he loose more than 10% of his birth weight.

Do you know what weight charts they are using? Are they the WHO ones? And do you know what his weight gain is?

Hopefully someone with training like tiktok will be along soon.

If you have a sleepy baby and are worried about weight gain then you might want to look into switch nursing. Basically as soon as baby loses interest in the first side you switch to the second, and then back to the first and so on. This leads to the baby getting much more milk than if you keep putting them back on the same side.

How are you feeling today Remember?

sorry for my late posting -

I am feeling much more positive after a good weigh in last week - he is on the 75th centile for height and weight so i feel much relieved!

I'm doing the switch nursing and have expressed a couple of times but he has also been feeding more so my supply seems to have naturally crept up too anyway.

Thank you for all your support - you have been brilliant.

I don't know if it works for everyone, but I have had fantastic success increasing my supply with fenugreek capsules (and pumping like a dairy cow).

I even have supplies in the freezer, which is a point I never got to with DD1. I took domperidone for supply with her but am finding the fenugreek much better.

So glad that you are feeling more positive Remember.

Keep feeding and keep posting