Milk suddenly considerably slowed down !

[AFergie]

Hello!!

My baby is 3 weeks old and over the last 72 hours my milk has considerably slowed down.

I began by having a lot- so much that the MW suggested I went and gave some to neonatal units. But suddenly I can hardly express 1oz from both breasts?

Has this happened to anyone?
Nothing has changed in my day to day life, food, drink, stress wise.

How can I get things going again..?

Any advice welcome thank you !!

If the only thing that's happened is that you find it harder to express, and your baby is fine and shows by his/her responses all is well on the feeding front, then there is nothing wrong. Sometimes yield from expressing does fluctuate and fall. The excess production most women experience at first when things are going well does not last forever.

No I also feel he isn't satisfied. He takes longer to feed, its more tiring for him and he is hungry more often. Its so upsetting.
I just eat and drank loads for diner hoping it will help...

If he isn't satisfied it could be a growth spurt.

I've stopped staying "the baby can't POSSIBLY be hungry AGAIN". I just feed her whenever she wants it now. Much easier that way.

He could be getting enough, but there is a growth spurt around 3 weeks and he could be feeding more frequently and for longer because of this. I have just gone through this with dc3, now 4 weeks old, my other two also did the same at this age. The result of these longer more frequent feedings is that your body will produce more milk.

The amount you get while expressing is no reflection on how much your baby gets at each feed.

There is often a growth spurt around 3 weeks where babies feed more often and can be fussy, seeming I satisfied. There's some info here: kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurts/

If his nappies are still good (plenty of wet and dirty) then it's unlikely to be anything to worry about, especially if he's gaining weight well too, although you may not be having him weighed much now, which is fine.

Are you sure your baby is latching properly? It could be a growth spurt - they do about 3/4 weeks. Also your supply will have naturally slowed from the initial rush. If you are happy all is well re latch then relax, it's probably normal! If you're concerned then get your baby weighed. Lots of wet nappies would also be an indication that they're getting enough. You're doing a good job. Bf is tough.

It is tough ! I dont remember it being this bad with my son.
I have noticed that he has been pooing less than he usually does, last night he woke up every 2 hours and my breast are always soft.

Im going to express all through the day after every feed to try and get my body to realise I need more milk but Im thinking of giving him a bottle of formula. Just so he has one good feed.

Has anyone else done that? Can you give the one off formula bottle?

AFergie, it's clear you are concerned about this, but I feel there is a lot of over-analysing being done here, sorry.

A baby feeding 2 hourly will almost always lead to his mother's breasts being soft. This is normal. It does not mean there is markedly less milk available. Harder, fuller, breasts don't have a huge amount of 'extra' milk in anyway - it doesn't take a lot of milk to make breasts go from feeling soft to feeling hard.

There is no reason for you to feel your milk supply is problematic.

Every point you observe in your posts is on the normal spectrum. A baby pooing less after the initial newborn stage is also normal. A baby waking up more than before is normal - virtually all babies have phases like this.

Expressing after every feed is a hassle and on what you say here, just not necessary. A bottle of formula is absolutely not necessary :)

How about continuing to feed responsively, and then just getting your baby weighed in a week or so for added reassurance?

Well I just feel he isnt getting enough. Just now After breast feeding him for 30 minutes I topped him up with formula and he downed 3.5oz. I know he doesnt eat more than 4oz so he must have got barely nothing from me. He was pulling on my nipple in frustration which he never used to do.

I wonder whats going on.. Anyway thanks for your replies

F x

I don't think there's anything going on, really!

You will read here on mumsnet a million times that what a baby takes from a bottle of formula does not indicate what he takes/took from the breast. He might have taken half an ounce, he might have taken 6 ounces - who knows? Just like most human beings, babies don't always take the exact same amount of food/drink/calories at every sitting :) So you knowing he doesn't eat more than 4 ounces could be misleading.

Babies of this age love to suck. They suck on a bottle teat because it is there :) After 30 mins on the breast, he was pulling on the the nipple. A little burp, cuddle, walk around might have given him a little break and he might have gone on the breast again. Babies pull on nipples for many reasons - we don't know if it is always frustration.

You feel he isn't getting enough. That's an uncomfortable feeling, I know. The answer to it is not to give formula, though, if you are keen on maintaining breastfeeding. Would a visit to a breastfeeding support group give you a bit more confidence?

AFergie I agree with tiktok. All three of mine have cluster fed. DS is my third and for the last week he has been feeding at times every half hour for several hours. It is really common for this to happen during a growth spurt. Pulling at your nipples is a way they stimulate your milk supply alongside more frequent feeds.

If you supplement with formula then your baby will not be feeding from you and your milk supply will not be stimulated and may end up decreasing. The way to increase your supply is just feed on demand, however often that is.

Babies will always take more from a bottle as it flows out faster through a teat than from your nipple, this is not a reflection on how much milk you are producing.

Ok Ill just keep feeding and feeding... A midwife also told me to express in between feeds to tell my body I needed more milk, so Ill do that as well.

I might be completely wrong. I had tried burping cuddling walking around etc but maybe he was just trying to stimulate a bit more milk.

I must still be very hormonal and over reacting.

Anyway thanks for all your replies ! X

OP I don't think how you are feeling is unusual. One of the biggest reasons women stop BF before they wanted to is because they feel they didn't have enough milk. You aren't alone in feeling this way.

If expressing in between feeds helps you feel more confident, then by all means do it, it won't do any harm. However, it's probably an awful lot of hassle that just isn't needed. In a healthy baby then feeding on demand without any top ups or bottles is the most effective way to protect your supply.

Do you think ringing one of the helplines to talk things through or attending a support group might help your confidence or reassure you?

One of the things that got me through the first few weeks of breastfeeding is something our NCT breastfeeding person said - your breats don't know of you've had 1,2 or 3 babies. If you continue to put baby to breast and feed directly on demand, your body WILL produce enough milk to satisfy however many babies you're feeding. Formula can interrupt this process of stimulating demand, leading to a reduction in supply.

Trust your baby to stimulate your milk production, and trust your body to produce it!

And listen to Tiktok. She knows her stuff

Hi afergie - just saw your familiar name on this thread & thought I'd say hello & see how you are getting on...!
. Hopefully your baby is over his growth spurt now & you are doing ok.
My dd clusters her feeds a lot but then goes longer between which I would rather have than dd#1 who was a constant 'snacker'!!
My top tip is... Guiness!!! Honestly, in the early weeks if I feel my milk is run down a bit (usually due to me rushing about & not eating properly) it seems half a Guiness produces the most lovely plentiful milk. Remember it was the gin that got me into labour on Christmas Eve. I'm not an alki- hadn't touched a drop for 9 months before that . AND la leche say it's ok.
I would love to hear how you are getting on ....

Artyparty !!

Sorry only just saw this !!
How are you getting on??

My milk is still not the best I have had to top up with formula as he was hungry and frustrated.
He is definitely a snacker, so only goes 2 hours in between feeds and also constantly falls asleep on my breast so feeding takes hours!! He can be so alert during the day but as soon as he is on my breast he just falls asleep !

How is it going for you?

Can you believe its a month?? Must try the guiness thanks ! o now Im expressing a lot and giving one bottle of formula at night and thanks to that he sleeps 1 stretch of 3.5 hours. How is your little one feeding?

How are you feeling?