Help 9 days in with dc3 and after good start having major supply issue

[howardsway]

Will try to be brief..sorry for poor typing 9 day old dc3 on my knee.

DC3 started feeding well. At 4-5 day I came down with mystery dv bug, no-one else in family affected. Was only a24 hr bug but felt so ill, vomiting while holding stitches together, sitting shivering in the bath to keep clean.

through this dh ff dc3. when the bug started milk just in, breasts full, but it all seemed to evaporate, when feeling well enough was able to give dc 2 really good feeds but they haven't refilled and have been topping up (am haunted by horrible weightloss problems with dc2 who was topped up in the end but got back to ebf).

have got into such a mess. breasts feel completely empty. dc roots but comes off in 5 mins. i don't think he is tolerating formula well, is constipated and gulping air.

i had no idea supply could go so quickly. is it too late ?

How often are you feeding him? Are you giving them time to 'fill up'? Plus they don't need to be 'full' - can you hear him drinking? If I were you, for peace of mind I'd keep chucking him on the breast as much as he'll tolerate it. His nipple stimulation should produce the milk.

Oh and do switch-nursing :)

Thanks for replying. Am switch nursing. Drinking sounds getting less and less and not sure I've had any today. Try and offer him feed every 2 hrs but he's still very sleepy and often just snuggles up. Am in top up cycle though so he's not neccessarily hungry. Am so cross with myself for getting in this situation. Didn't do too well with dc1 but after massive early problems with dc2 ended up feeding for a year but never saw supply affected like this when he was topped up due to weightloss.

Do you think its possible to get back from where I am now?

I definitely don't think it's too late, but in my non-expert opinion, the sooner you start to turn this around, the easier it will be. Switch nursing and lots of feeding can both be good for increasing supply. Could you get more RL help as to what to do on the top ups? Your MW is probably a good first port of call, but depending on her knowledge of BFing, you could ask if there's an Infant Feeding Coordinator or similar at your hospital who could help you.

I don't think it's too late. Milk supply can be affected by mastitis and we can come back from it x

It's not too late. Can you go to bed with dd, get clothes off and have a babymoon with lots of skin to skin & suckling to stimulate your milk? Plenty of snacks,fluids and rest for you. I appreciate this is your 3rd so not easy.
Only 1 thing is if baby is lethargic and not feeding well need assessment by midwide/hv/gp .
Always worth getting your latch checked by a good breast feeding counsellor too.

howardsway - this is beyond a talkboard's help, I think.....you need real life help and because your baby is only 9 days old you are legally entitled to midwifery care still....you should ask for a home visit asap, and for the whole story, and whole baby to be assessed, inc weighing, so you can discuss a proper plan to get you back on track.

Babymoon is a great idea too.

But you do need proper help from a midwife IMO.

Yes I absolutely will get a midwifes help. I haven't been signed off yet but because everything was going so well when he was weighed first thing on day 5 (I was just beginning to feel rough then) they left it a week b4 next appt and sign off as no concerns but I will call tmrw.

Am very very aware of weightloss issues, having been through the wringer with DC2. This is a bit of late night despairing about how to move back from ff to bf.. Healthwise though he seems in good shape. He has been taking the formula, he has defined awake periods when he is alert and active, its just hard to very wake him 2 hours into a deep newborn sleep for a bf he doesn't want due to formula. He's doing plenty of wet nappies and has just done a poo (said in my original message he was constipated). He is definately feeding, but is less comfortable on bottles than breast.

On the plus side he decided to stay up tonight so we are babymooning while the rest of the house sleeps!

Good luck howardsway. Feel more reassured by your last post re baby and it sounds like you're doing really well and looking out for all the right warning signs. Good to get rl help all the same over the bank hol from your midwife. Nct or la leche league breast feeding counsellor locally may be able to give you help too re reestablishing feeding and supply.
Best of luck & congrats on your new baby!