Expressing - only three weeks in and less milk

[Givinguph0pe]

I had dd six weeks prematurely and she's three weeks old today.
I tried breast feeding but for various reasons I had to stop - dd actually latched very well though. I've been expressing and bottle feeding since but now I'm getting less and less milk. I expressed for my son for nearly five months but I think the stress and exhaustion of an extended hospital stay and a prem baby plus not eating anything and losing a lot of weight through anxiety probably hasn't helped.

I really want to boost my milk supply. Any ideas? Is it too late? I'm expressing three hourly and I'm absolutely shattered as it is. I feel very sad about the failure to breast feed but then I feel very sad about pretty much anything to do with dd at the moment. I feel I've given her a really crappy start all round and I keep waiting for her to be really ill again like she was when she was born.

I've just lost a long reply I wrote! Don't have time to rewrite it (batteries about to go!) but have you looked at power pumping
https://www.lansinoh.com/help-advice/power-pumping-what-is-it-is-it-for-me
Also skin to skin - just lying baby next to, at your nipple not necessarily eating.

Hopefully someone with more experience will come along soon. Sorry that you've had such a hard time. Wanted to bump you post

Hiya

This is a much better forum than Aibu o hope!

Can you get a Lactation counsellor via IBCLC pages to come and visit you at home ? The really best way to do this is to have baby suckle. Nothing removed milk like a baby's mouth does.

Pumping doesn't create anywhere near the same demand on the boob :( and pumping all the time with a newborn will leave you feeling wiped out and that way your little one won't be getting the best will she?

You can try fenugreek capsules, and power pumping but honestly - really - try to get her cuddling on your chest skin to skin no pressure to feed or latch, get someone to visit you to sort out positions in a calm relaxed setting. It truly is the best way.

I also tried expressing but with a newborn I couldn't do it as much as I needed to. You are doing fantastically to do it every 3hrs. Try the fenugreek but you will stink. Other than that, baby gazing? Didn't work for me tho. Apparently expressing at night will boost but you're already doing this.

Sadly pumping is not as efficient as bf so perhaps that's why you are struggling. I always got more out by hand - have you tried that?

Even if you don't want baby to be breastfeeding permanently, get her on for one or two feeds. You said the latch is good.

Your supply will go through the roof.

I also wanted to say in my first post that you sound very down, you've obviously had a really hard time, and must be mentally and physically exhausted. The skin to skin as might also help you feel better and more relaxed which in turn will help with the feeding, which is why it is really worth doing (it was the only thing that made me feel less stressed after having DD). At the moment you're under a huge amount of preassure to produce milk which in turn must be making it harder to do so. I saw on your other post that you're upset about putting her on formula but if you accepted that she could have a bit of formula maybe that would remove the imperative for you to produce enough to feed her entirely and you could focus on skin to skin and latching her on as often as possible - not worrying about how much she's getting. As you milk increases you could reduce the formula. It's just an idea. I understand your concerns about formula and I know that tops ups can reduce supple etc. I just thought that it might remove some of the stress initially. However, I'm not experienced BF myself (DD is only 17 weeks EBF) so other people might have other ideas. My DD had tongue tie which meant that although she latched well she was a very inefficient feeder, I started expressing as well as Bf and I know what a hassle it is ordinarily, let alone in your circumstances.

Big hugs. I had a 6 week prem baby too. It's very hard.

My baby never got the hang of bfing so I expressed too. The thing that leaps out at me from your post is the not eating. I found that a couple of days of eating less hugely affected my supply. I also needed to drink huge amounts. So I recommend cake and liquids. Skin to skin and looking at baby when expressing are also good. X