Am I producing enough milk for newborn?

[Confused40]

Hi
My dd is 3 weeks old and I'm bf. how do I know I'm producing enough milk? Or can I do anything to increase supply? I'm eating well and m

Sorry am feeding and dd wriggling and pressed send too soon. As I'm typing this milk is leaking from other breast.

Is baby feeding well, gulping milk (can you hear them swallow when they bf?), plenty of wet and dirty nappies? Are they putting on weight? If you're leaking milk I'd say you do have enough. why are you worrying?

Confused, your best guide is your baby ;)

The questions cocktailqueen asks are all relevant.

The only surefire way to increase supply is to enable your baby to feed more often, on both breasts.

But you may be doing fine anyway :)

You almost certainly are! Read up on kellymom website, there's lots of evidence-based answers to questions like this.

Reason I'm not sure is that midwife says dd only gained 30 grams last week. I have been told to eat more carbs. And I have to go back to see midwife tomorrow.
I can hear dd drinking milk and she's feeding every two to three hours for up to and over an hour at a time. If she wants feeding in between I always offer it.
Dd didn't lose much birth weight and has gradually gained weight each week. Midwife says she should be at birth weight by now. :(

Your midwife may be right that there is a concern about your dd's weight - yes, if she is not at birtheight, we need to be asking why, and 30g weight gain in a week is low.

But she is wrong about carbs having anything to do with this - it is really rubbish to suggest this :( :(

It sounds to me that your dd would benefit from feeding more often - both breasts every time at least once, and with a concerted effort to feed at every opportunity day and night :) Try switch nursing and breast compression - google them.

The other thing would be to have someone who knows what they are talking about to observe a complete feed.

Hope this helps.

I'm totally confused! I'm feeding dd both breasts, and feel totally overwhelmed. I'm trying really hard to make sure I'm feeding dd. I feed her on demand and alternate breasts. I can hear her swallowing when I feed her. I've tried compressing when I last fed her.
God this is so hard! I feel like such a failure! I'm feeding dd every time she wants it.
I'm determined to best this though. I've bought an electric breast pump and plan to express every night as I was told this also helps with milk flow.

Is DD being weighed on the same scales or could it be possible that the scales are wrong?

TBH, putting the baby to the breast is more effective at getting milk flow going rather than a pump. Babies are always more efficient than pumps.

She wasn't weighed on same scales. I'm getting her weighed again tomorrow and I'm dreading it. It's horrible knowing that you may be responsible for your baby not gaining enough weight :(
I've been eating well, feeding her whenever she wants it and dedicating my whole day to her needs. I'm going to look up when the next breast feeding support group near to me is and make sure I go.
I'm determined to conquer this and be the best breast feeding mummy I can be

Confused, it doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong at all. Please don't blame yourself. You've so far managed to give your DD breastmilk for 3 whole weeks and that's something very special.

Has anyone checked your baby for tongue tie and if so are they experienced in this area? That would be one possible reason for slow weight gain, although your baby is gaining something, so it's not all bad.

You can offer both sides, but then also offer the first and second again as many times as you need if you like and your daughter will take it. This will make sure your DD gets as much milk as possible and also have a positive effect on your supply.

Also, do the 2-3 hourly feeds include at night?

I offer both sides and today switched when other breast started leaking. I'll ask midwife about tongue tie tomorrow. I'm dreading the appointment I really am.
Feeding 2-3 hours includes night feeds too. She's stirring now and has been asleep about an hour and a half. So I'll feed her again and then again whenever she wants it.
I'm big religious but feel like I want to pray that she gains weight and bf works for me :(

It's fine (maybe better) to keep her on one side until she either comes off herself or stops actively sucking/swallowing and then offer the other side.

I hope your appointment goes well tomorrow. Try not to worry too much, you'll get there.

Kellymom is a really good website. They have a section on increasing supply. There are loads of things you can do. Don't worry. You will do it. It is hard at first, I got a lactation consultant to help me eventually. I found it very useful.

kellymom.com/category/bf/got-milk/

Get checked for tongue tie!

Have you had a lactation specialist check her latch?

When you mentioned that feeds were taking over an hour that came into my mind. It sound like she is not feeding efficiently.

I had a baby who fed like that, it turned out that she was not latching well/deep enough feed for over an hour at a time, gained weight slowly, then failed to gain at all. I was able to go and attend a breastfeeding clinic who gave me lots of tips to try and help including compressions.

The best thing you can do is offer the breast whenever she cues. You could take to bed and have skin to skin all day and feed as much as you can. I would not bother with the pump at this stage, it is just another thing to deal with, your baby will be able to get more from you than the pump.

I think my DD was tongue tied too but was never diagnosed. She is now aged 6 and will soon be starting speech therapy for a lisp!

All the best to you. You are not a failure at all, you are doing so brilliantly and YES it is bloody hard work.

Does she come of the breast spontaneously? This is a great indicator of efficient feeding. Let her feed from the one breast until she comes off herself, then after winding you could offer the second.

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE.

Is she happy, alert, gaining weight, plenty of wet/dirty nappies etc? Don't focus on the weight too much. Drink plenty of water (aim for a pint every time baby feeds).

You don't need to pray - breast-feeding is working for you. You're just a little nervous because it's your first time (it's the baby's first time too remember!). Feed her until she comes off herself, then switch over to the other boob, repeat until she doesn't want any more. Stick the boob in every time she cries or whinges, my boy never gave any feeding cues except crying and I found this was the best thing to try. If she doesn't want it, she won't feed.

I'm so very happy!! Just came back from appointment with midwife and dd has gained 50 grams in three days! whoo hoo. So I feel that I am doing ok. Am going to bf support group next Thursday. Oh I'm so happy :)

Congratulations! Sounds like it might be all sorted, but if not then another thing to keep in mind in the early days is that tiredness can affect your supply... My HV initially suggested that I should formula supplement in the evenings, but luckily we then saw a great lactation consultant who said that often new mothers are exhausted and underfed/dehydrated by the end of the day, and that there is generally no need for extra expressed or formula milk if this can be sorted. Best of all, she said thoa while DH was there . Sure enough, some calmer afternoons and more help from DH in the evenings, DS was much fuller, calmer and sleeping better, and his weight gain increased.

Sunnysummer I'm really glad that it went well for you but tiredness and what you eat / drink really doesn't affect the production of breastmilk.

You would have to be at death's door / severely dehydrated in order for it to affect your milk supply.

kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-diet/

I'm just saying this as all too often women get very hung up about what they should / shouldn't eat when breastfeeding when in fact it really doesn't matter most of the time!