Help needed - milk running out, panic

[babykittle]

Hi,

This is the first time I have posted so apologies if this is not in right place etc.

My baby is 14wks, ebf and apart from first week breast feeding been going really well. Since Last Thursday though things have been getting worse.

My milk appeared to run out Thursday afternoon (both breasts) and I had to feed a very cross baby on milk I had as emergency in the freezer. He was crying, fussing at breast, pulling etc

Since then I have been taking oats in various forms (porridge, drink, biscuits), milk tea (1or2a day), fenugreek tablets but things are getting bad.

Expressing was going well before, was expressing after night feed approx 150ml total, now is nowhere near. Only got 75ml from boob the other night.

My baby is pulling, biting (no teeth yet, possibly just starting to teeth), hitting me etc regularly especially on right breast. Tonight, 1:30am milk again appeared to run out on right side after relatively short time at breast and what sounded like a good (possibly a bit fast?) let-down. Baby was biting, scratching, hitting - I was in agony. Swapped him to the other breast and he calmed down, drank and fell sleep.

Can anyone help? I desperately want to breast feed exclusively but worried this is going to stop me. Sorry for long post

Could it be a growth spurt? If you swap sides or wait 20 mins do you get enough milk to satisfy baby?

I agree that it's likely to be a growth spurt. Usual advice is to feed as often as baby wants fed and don't give bottles. If baby's drinking more and your supply hasn't yet caught up the amount you can express will be reduced.

you can never run out of milk - your breasts are never fully "empty"

you need to offer your baby a feed more often - and maybe try pumping on one side, while feeding on the other

kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/breast-fullness/

Thank you for your quick replies!

It is possibly a growth spurt, although we think he had one 2 wks ago. He does seem to be getting big though (he is edging in to 6-9m clothes). How long can they last? Would he get more than one in a month

It takes some time until I can hand express any milk, as I say last Thursday it was some time, as long as a bag of milk takes to defrost under the running cold tap, then heat in a bowl

Yes, growth spurts can come ridiculously close together.

I found that expressing helped increase my supply in advance for the next growth spurt, but that when DS was actually in the spurt I couldn't express much at all (and I had a oversupply issue rather than under).

Are you drinking lots of water / other liquids? Have you got any blockages (ie can you feel little pea sized bumps under your skin near your nipple)?

I've been in a similar situation with 9 week old DD. Was told that milk will never run out - its apparently like a dripping tap so constantly refilling. I was also recommended to stop expressing for a while as baby can get much more from breast than you will by pump, and expressing may therefore disrupt the body's milk production. Also milk production drops at night...

DD also fidgets during feeds and punches boob, I think this is related to wind as we often get a burp at this time (was told bf babies didnt need to be winded, but my experience proves otherwise!)

Lastly, are you sure he's not just tired or windy, rather than still hungry. DD will often give feeding cues after a feed, but when DP takes her, that stops and she is calmed with a cuddle or drops off.

Good luck and well done for persevering with the bf - it's so hard isn't it. But worth it.

the growth spurt is a possibility then.

I am trying to drink lots of water. I might not be drinking as much as I could throughout the day when I am out.

I will try to express more, although I am very sore. I worry though if I need to swap sides I will not have milk.

babykittle, prob all babies have occasional periods where they are grumpy, fussing at the breast, scratching and so on, nothing seems to placate them for long etc.

At 14 weeks, the least likely reason for this is that you have run out of milk. If you have been bf frequently and in response to your baby's cues and your baby has been thriving, you will have sufficient milk and sufficient response to meet any increases in needs.

If it is a supply issue, you can eat oats and drink tea and take tablets if you want to, but none of these will make much difference compared to simply feeding more often (and drinking extra fluids makes no difference either)....but as I say, the grumpyness is much more likely to be a passing mood, which you can deal with by other soothing techniques.

Then when he is calm, offer the breast again.

Having said that, some babies beyond newborn suddenly switch to getting what they need in a v. short time, and just don't want to be put on the breast again - they react to the continued attempts to get them to go back on with eactly the behaviour you describe, because they have no other way of saying 'STOP! I am done for now, quit trying to make me feed more than I need!!!'

When your baby stops feeding or slows down, just go with the flow and take him off until he shows clear signs of wanting more. He may sometimes prefer a cuddle etc to a feed, after what seems to be a very quick suck!

Well done for persevering :)

At around 4 months, which you're not so far off, the way your milk production is stimulated changes. Instead of being hormonal driven by hormones triggered at birth, the milk starts to be more 'made on request' when the baby feeds.

This normally leads to less full breasts between feeds (no engorgement), less milk to easy express (as a rest of less engorgement) and can lead to a bit of frustrated feeding from your baby as he has to work a bit harder for his milk now. If this is combined with a growth spurt, you'll really notice the difference.

The best advice is to keep feeding. Whenever he shows any interest, feed him. He may show more frustration if he gets really hungry, so if you can keep him topped up, then he'll be less desperate for milk at each feed.

The way that milk production works kea s that your breasts can never by properly 'empty'. One way to think about it is as a river system - there is a stream of milk tuning down your breast, with pools along the way to store excess. When baby is first born, the hormones released start the milk stream flowing and then send it into overdrive (to ale sure there is enough), filling all the pools to the brim. You feel this as engorgement. Baby can then easily drink his fill from the pools that are desperate to overflow. When he empties the pools, the little stream of milk is still flowing, either directly to the baby if he has t finished a feed, or back into the pools to refill them. Once feeding is established, you body knows sort of how much milk your baby needs and has adjusted the flow rate on the stream accordingly. There is now less surplus, so the pools don't fill as much (though if you miss a feed I think you'll see that they do still fill!) and you feel like your milk is drying up. But that stream is still flowing, and the baby can still drink from it, it's just that he now needs to drink from the stream, restricted to the rate it is flowing, rather than guzzling from overflowing pools. So he must work harder to get his fill. But the stream keeps flowing, and flowing, and flowing. The other role of the pools starts to take over eventually; they become a sensor for reducing the flow of the stream. As the baby feeds less often, the pools fill and send a message back to the stream to reduce the flow. As the feeding reduces more and more, the pools send the message back that they're filling and the stream flow reduces more and more. One day the stream flow rate is so low that the baby, who was probably only looking for milk because its nice anyway, can't be bothered to work to get such a small among of milk. Everything has gently slowed down to such a slow rate that the baby and the mother have reduced Breastfeeding together and there is no need, or supply, for further feeding.

If you keep feeding through this period, it is very unlikely that your well-established supply, 'the stream', will dry up before your baby cuts his feeds to one or two a day and then starts skipping days too.

He is quite windy and I do pay a lot of attention to that.

Like I say, it was going well for past 14 weeks but this has knocked my confidence a lot.

I really like and and really want to exclusively feed for 6 months but needed advice

Oops cross posted with tiktok, who gave a ratheress gushing description of what I said .

Apologies for the typos and gushings. Posting from my phone, and feeling sentimental as I've just finished feeding my babies (it was game over for me, when my DD informed me my both my boobs are broken. This was at age 2yrs 9mo, after her twin brother stopped feeding at 2yrs 6mo, because he couldn't stop giggling when feeding ).

I do offer feeding regularly whenever we are home and immediately when we stop anywhere.
I hope by persevering it evens out, like it did in the early days. I am a little, comforted to hear you can't run out. It's hard though.when DS is pulling so hard there are red sore areas and little bits of skin

Could you try feeding when he 'asks, by responding to feeding cues rather than offering him so frequently. He will never let himself go hungry and will feed for as long as he needs to each time - length of feed may differ but he will feed till satisfied then come off. It may give you a little break between feeds to build up your milk and also rest your poor sore bits.

Btw your local children's centre will have a Breastfeeding person you could see should you want more advice or to get your latch/position checked (which may need slight adjustment as he puts on more weight).

Thanks pocket1
That is how we feed. I attend milk spot with lactation consultant every week any way and luckily today is our day. They are great

Sounds like you're doing all you can. Bf is tough isn't it. But he is a lucky little boy to have a mummy like you

I don't think you've run out. I'm wondering if your letdown has slowed down or your periods are returning? My milk flow slows right down just before my period which gets dd into a right grump!

Thank you for your kind words and suggestions. It has been a real comfort

I am feeling much better than I did when I posted this. Apart from biting (ouch) the milk seems to be ok today. I will keep an eye on it though and I am reporting back to the lactation consultant at milk spots next week