4wk old DD put on a no-milk diet for next 6 wks - question about supply etc.

[ThirtyLove]

Hi all,
My 4wo DD has been in intensive care since she was 4days old. Since she was admitted I've been expressing at the hospital, but supply has FAR exceeded demand as she has had long periods with no food at all or on a few mils an hour.

So as a result the hospital freezer is now so full that they have asked me to take some home to make room for other people's. I'm starting to fill up the freezer at the place I'm staying too.

My DD now has an issue with her thoracic duct, causing fat to leak through it, and the solution is to put her on a special type of milk with no fat in for SIX WEEKS. I just can't see much point in freezing 6 weeks of milk when there's already so much and she probably won't ever have it because as soon as she's well enough I'd like to bf her direct.

I've chucked quite a bit away now and I'm just wondering if I could just reduce the times I express now (its pretty time consuming to do and seems quite pointless if im throwing it away) but then kick it up a notch when her diet is nearly over? I bf'ed DD1 but never had this issue obviously, and I don't have access to any BF group here at the hospital so I wondered if anyone on mn could help and let me know if this would work?

Thanks so much in advance.

Don't know about supply etc but could you donate the milk? Seems awful to have to throw it away! (Speaking as someone who struggles to express an ounce at a sitting).

I did wonder that but nobody seems to want it as all the other mums of babies are all expressing too.
Tbh I think I could just give up now as the amount I've stored would probably see her through to 6 months!

Please donate if you feel comfortable to.
Look on Facebook for human milk for human babies.
There's women crying out for it

Firstly congratulations on your dd & I'm so sorry that she's in SCBU & you're all having to go through this.

To answer your question, I'm not sure as normally you would be building up your supply now & if you reduce it that may cause issues later on. You really need Tiktok's advice as she is a BF counsellor.

I'm very shocked there's no bf support at the hospital - whereabouts are you?

Ask the hospital where your nearest milk bank is, it might be a fair way away but most are willing to collect from quite a distance as it's such a precious resource. Your hospital can do all the blood tests you will need before you can donate this way.

I just kept stocking up the freezers (I filled SCBU as well). If she's likely to be able to bf herself, I'd be tempted to throw it if you can't get access to donate.

Dd2 wasn't going to be able to, so I knew I was going to be expressing for the long haul, so needed the freezer stocks.