Tiktok or anyone - need to increase milk supply urgently - any advice

[tortoiseshell]

Ds2 was born Monday, is feeding well - good positioning etc I think, but as with my 2 previous babies has lost a fair bit of weight (just over 11% birth weight I think) - I always seem to take a while to get milk going, and mw is coming again tomorrow to weigh him, talked about admitting him but given that he was a homebirth, I really really don't want that - any tips? Am feeling a bit discouraged, and am trying to feed as often as possible. Mw said to try expressing and topping up with expressed milk, or to top up with formula to perk him up a bit.

TIA!

Well, mw has just been, and ds2 has put on the 40g again since yesterday. He is definitely looking a bit more fulled out, and we've had more yellow poo (enid - you're totally right about wees/poos - I thought I'd be SO chilled with number 3, but I'm obsessively watching the nappies and cheering whenever there's a poo!). She's coming again tomorrow. Was very reassured.

Tiktok - I think you're right about things going backwards in some ways. I think there is a pressure to be 'superwoman', and just cope - I'm very bad about not taking help when it's offered, and my new baby resolution is to allow people to help me out! Dh's late nights are bad timing, but only one more to go!

Enid - I'm the opposite - I worry if ds2 DOESN'T wake enough in the night - last night he was up at 12, 2 and 3.15 and although shattered I was really pleased that he'd woken so that the milk would get a boost! I was less pleased by dd arriving in our bedroom at 3.20 in floods of tears announcing there was a black hairy spider in her bed, and then ds1 coming in at 3.30 (and staying for the rest of the night) because dd was crying so much in their bedroom that he couldn't get back to sleep!). Don't worry about Bea feeding lots in the night - I'm sure tiktok or mears have said that lots of night feeding often coincides with a growth spurt, or just needing to boost the supply, and it's really good that she does that of her own accord!

TS, all good news....I can understand the concern of the midwives to get this weighing done, but without really dramatic or consistent changes, you can't draw any conclusions with frequent weighing alone.

Put into the bigger picture, alongside your baby's behaviour and his bowel and bladder action :) , the weight is looking good, because it appears he has maintained it since the weekend.....a further weight this coming weekend will almost certainly show a gain and then everyone can relax :)

Thanks tiktok - will be so relieved when we're off and away with this feeding - feels like we're still in the starting blocks, with a bit of superglue on the soles of our trainers, and if we can just break the glue then we'll be away! You're right about the bigger picture - although I was very discouraged yesterday, I wasn't as worried about ds2 as I had been over the weekend, because the nappies were better, he was more awake etc.

Hurray - he'd put on another 40g today. So, reweigh on Monday. Am feeling a bit more confident now! And after the mw had gone he gave me his first smile!!!!! Probably because I was smiling so much - but he's been grinning away! And definitely not windy smiles - proper eye contact smiles, responding to me!

Am happy!

Fabulous news, thanks for the update! :)

Not at all surprised, tortoise, but very pleased even so :)

Brilliant, TS! Bloody good job you're doing!

thanks you guys! Btw hunker, sorry you were having a rough time the last few days on here - I think you're great!

Thanks, TS xx

Just wanted to update anyone who might still be interested - after smashing the breast pump (on another thread...), mw came, weighed ds2 - he'd put on a decent amount of weight (about 150g), they discharged him to care of HV (at only 24 days(!)), haven't seen HV yet, but his feeding seemed to undergo an overnight transformation. From being sleepy and mildly interested he is now a real guzzler. Have abandoned all expressing, as he seems to take just what he wants, is pooing for England and seems to be visibly growing. And all seemed to happen when the mw discharged him.

Thank you all so much for your excellent advice - I would definitely have jacked it in otherwise! But all is going swimmingly now (I think - we'll see what his weight does for the HV!).

Glad feeding is on the right track now tortoiseshell.Well done