Have I run out of bmilk?

[ICanTuckMyBoobsInMyPockets]

I know you can't techinically run out, but I didn;t know how else to word it.

DS is 14 weeks and has been exclusively breastfed up to 4 weeks ago. I had him weighed and he'd dropped off his centile line, because he's only little to start with (he struggled to regain his birth weight) so HV and I agreed that I'd give him a formula feed with his 7pm feed. I have done this and his weight his fine, he's also had an occasional extra ff if we've been out and about, but only 3 times max.

This weekend I had my hair done (3 hours) and went out Saturday night, so I expressed breast milk for DP to feed him. Between me being out of the house for 3 hours in the afternoon and leaving again at 7pm, all the BM was gone by his 10pm feed. As soon as DS so much as whimpers DP thinks he must be hungry so feeds him , but that's not the issue.

I didn't BF again until 7pm last night, as was really scared about passing alcohol on, even though I hardly drank anything.

He didn't sleep very well, and I seemed to spen all night lifting him out, feeding him, putting him back down etc.

Today DS has been really clingy, and I've just spent 3 hours trying to fill him. He latches on, has 2 sucks, then shouts and thrashes about a bit. I'll massage/express some milk into his mouth, he goes back on, 2 sucks etc etc. In the end I gave up and made him a bottle. He guzzled 6oz and is now sleeping.

Have I done it wrong? I want to BF until at least 6m, but is it over? Did I leave it too long between feeds.

Please help

it is still very early days.... so even if something has happened getting your baby to suck loads and loads and loads should bring it back (i think / hope)

if you have a pump put it on now, while he is asleep.

good luck

Please don't worry. At 14 weeks, your body won't stop producing milk so quickly but it is possible that the longish gap has confused things a little. All you need to do is go back to feeding on demand as much as possible, it's possible also that he's coming up to his 4 month growth spurt, where you will feel like he's never satisfied, and it is hard going as he will want to feed lots. He could also be teething, which could explain why he won't stay on, maybe try some gel to see if that helps. The slippery slope is to offer formula when you doubt yourself. If you want to go to 6 months, then get back to basics and solely bf if you can. Things should settle quickly with your milk supply, but those other things may be going on too which can take longer to settle down. Btw, my lo was similar at that age, and bm supply was not the problem. Hth!! So don't panic- just feed

I don't think you have run out of milk, don't panic :)

It sounds like he was very cross and frustrated when you were trying to BF him today. The way a baby gets milk from a bottle is different to how they get milk from a breast- it's much harder work for a baby to get milk from a breast and it could be that your DS is frustrated that your milk isn't coming as quickly as it does from a bottle! There are a few things you could try, here are some ideas.

Can you tell us a bit more about the weight gain problem?

Definitely not over! :) You can build up your supply again. Feed your DS whenever he seems the slightest bit interested.

My DC got very frustrated at slow let-down, so midwife advised to give a small amount of expressed milk in a bottle e.g. 20-30mls immediately before latching DC on. If you DS is massively frustrated try that.

To build up supply your DS will need to take a decent amount of milk from you, so you need to persevere with a few frustrating feeds until you get back to normal.

Make sure you are rested and well-hydrated - you don't have to drink litres and litres - but do have an extra glass of water now and again. I found that having a nap with my DC helped bring my supply up.

If you are out for a night and don't want to feed your DS in case of alcohol passing through you can 'pump and dump' to keep supply up - express some milk chuck it away.

There's loads of good advice on www.kellymom.com

As these posts say, your milk is built up by frequent removal - and that means feeding often and expressing, probably at the moment.

Yes, I think you are experiencing a drop in supply. This is likely to be the result of the daily ff coupled with the long gap(s) over the weekend (no need to suspend bf because of alcohol, esp as you hardly drank anything :) ).

But this is fixable....you know what to do :)

Oh thank you everyone. Just having a little cry, so glad this is fixable!
I will persevere, it's just horrible seeing little one so frustrated.
Thank you for all your advice, you're very kind xx

OP - would be good to check it all with your HV. Milk does come back but it's not like turning on the tap. Your ds may need some formula in the meantime rather than go on being upset....it's something to assess, anyway.

Could it be that milk flows quicker out bottle so he is frustrated that your breast milk isn't coming out so fast or easily. Breastfeeding takes more effort from baby than when it bottle feeds. I reckon you prob have milk there and baby needs to get used to skin to skin nursing again. Can you have a day of lots of skin to skin lazy cuddles. Look up on kellymom