When should milk come in?

[Dolly80]

Am trying to breastfeed my newborn daughter, who is 3 days old. Have been told she is latching well by midwife however, I'm unconvinced she is getting enough milk as she can be fussy after feeds, takes a while to settle and doesn't have lots of wet nappies (although there's been plenty of poo's).

Just wondered, when my milk is due to come in? I have not felt any fullness yet and if I try to stimulate my nipples I can't see any evidence of any milk being produced.

I really struggled to breastfeed my older daughter, my milk supply was limited and she ended up losing more than 10% of her birth weight. I'm worried history might be repeating itself and feel stressed at the prospect of not being able to breastfeed again (prob being made worse by feeling tired etc).

Any advice would be gratefully received

Usually day 3-5 but it varies.

I had trouble with DD1 too she lost 13% of her body weight and I ended up having to combine feed.

But now I have oversupply and DD2 is doing great so not necessarily going to repeat itself - I was worried about it too though.

Has she had a weigh-in yet?

My ds (now 5 weeks) had hardly any wet nappies as well. I think it was day 4 my milk came in

Day 3 to 5. Not being able to express milk doesn't mean it's not being produced. First time around I has massively full / enforced breasts. Nothing at all second time around. Don't panic

Day 3-5, and can be longer if you had a c-section.

Poos and wees count as the same at this stage :)

Meant to add, colostrum has a laxative effect so more poos than wees are especially common.

When dd2 was weighed on day 3 she'd lost 15% of birthweight and we had to be readmitted. She'd been doing lots of poos, small wees and was very dehydrated.

She was given formula to rehydrate her. Then every 3 hours I had to breastfeed, then top up with formula, then double pump for 15 mins to get supply up. As well as bf on demand if she wanted it. She only had three formula feeds before I was pumping enough to top her up with that instead.

Do you have a pump? It was hard work but really worth it to get supply up and dd put on 150g in the first 24 hours after being readmitted then continued gaining. Her bloods were back to normal within 24 hours as well so although it was terrifying having her lose so much weight, it actually was fairly easy to come back from. Obviously you don't want to get to that point before you start trying to increase supply though.

Thanks everyone , looks like milk could be next day or two.

I'm due to meet with midwife on Weds so I'll bear in mind all your info
/advice and go with my non-panicking head on (tiredness makes everything seem worse doesn't it).

Mine was 4 days, and it was really, really obvious- massive, rock hard knockers! Looked like I'd had a boob job.

Your dd is fussing to help your milk come in. DS did the same. I ended up with massive over supply and now donate milk to the human milk bank for the local nicu.

I was almost 6 days (EMCS, infection, sleep deprivation) had to top up with formula to keep her happy at night.

My milk didn't really come in until day 5. My lo lost over 10% too but he managed in the end. Then there was no stopping him. Just keep going with it, if you're still not happy in a couple days then maybe could try a bit combined feeding for peace of mind and express to keep up milk supply.

This might help. What to expect in the early days.

kellymom.com/hot-topics/newborn-nursing/

Thanks again for advice/info.

Unfortunately, the last 12 hours or so of feeding have been a real struggle. She's not always latching on correctly so I've been repositioning but have been experiencing nipple pain regardless of what I do.

My nipples are now so painful I wince at the thought of feeding her! Have persevered, although did top up x 1 in the night with a bottle feed. Feeling unsure about what to do next really...I'm just not sure I'm very good at breastfeeding.

I found it very painful for the first week or so with all three of my DC. Doesn't necessarily mean you're doing wrong, but worth getting some advice. The NCT breastfeeding helpline can be really helpful. Congratulations on your lovely new baby

I was the same, unfortunately the nipples need to toughen up. I had a good latch but my wee one was having major cluster sessions and my nips were aching. I recommend using a sheild to give the worst nipple a chance to heal. Plenty of nip cream. The first 2 weeks are the hardest but persevere, it does get better

Don't beat yourself up! No one is "bad" at breastfeeding. You and your baby are both doing something that you've never done before, it's like the blind leading the blind so give yourself a break! It's bloody difficult and it's no wonder most people give up in the first week. Try the helpline and also see if there's a BFing support group in your area. Are you using nipple cream? Sorry if you've said already...

Can you ask if anyone at the hospital is trained to check your baby for tongue tie?

You can ask for a midwife to come out at any time. If your having problems and need support give them a ring.

Also you could ring one of the Breastfeeding helplines, they could go over feeding with you as well. NCT, BfN and the national breastfeeding helpline all the numbers should have been in your hospital discharge pack.

Yes - sorry! I forgot you're no longer in hospital.

I agree to phone one of the helplines. NCT often run a drop in as well. Put your postcode in here:

www.nct.org.uk/branches

Thanks for hd continued suggestions/help. I think i'll give one of the helplines a call later today. Am seeing the community midwife tomorrow so will discuss with her too. Currently using nipple cream, which is helping and might invest in some nipple shields too.

I'm determined to carry on but mindful that with my first daughter I found it so difficult that I ended up quite emotionally exhausted. With hindsight, I probably didn't access the right support so hopefully that will change things this time.

You have to do what's right for you and your family, Dolly. If you do need to give formula for a bit to give yourself a break that's a possibility, too. It doesn't have to be all or nothing :) Be kind to yourself.

It's a shame that the support is often not as easy to access as it might be. That's not your fault.

Thanks for your last post Bertie. I was feeling really crap earlier but, rationally, I know a little bit of formula here and there is unlikely to do any harm whilst we work on the breastfeeding. Have carried on trying today but she's definitely still hungry after being on both breasts and I've not had my milk come in yet.

My plans to seek support today went out of the window as my partner was sick, I ended up focusing on getting through the day whilst I'm sole charge of a 4yr old and 4 day old! Will have a good chat with the midwife tomorrow though.

How are things now Dolly? Hope your dp is better too

Things are better. Baby is having regular wet/dirty nappies so must be getting something from me.

Visited midwife yesterday and she gave me some advice and invited me along to the breastfeeding clinics in our borough, which are held twice a week, so I'm going to pop along to those next week.

Have been topping up x1 per day with formula to give myself a break. Planning to get a breast pump at the weekend and try to express - to top up with that instead.

Very tiring but worth it.

That sounds great! :)