Help when will my milk arrive?

[GlennRheeismyfavourite]

It's night 4, LO is feeding really regularly, latching well, it hurts when she latches but I'm ok after about 10 seconds. Tonight she's fed pretty constantly between 11.30 and 2. She just fallen asleep on my boob again. The only problem is I've got no milk. She must be ravenous. I know there was colostrum at the start as I could squeeze out drips. We have wet nappies (no pooey ones, only the meconium nappy). Will my milk ever arrive? Is she getting enough of anything?

As long as you are having wet nappies then don't worry. It might come in later today. As long as baby seems happy I wouldn't worry too much. Xx

Night four and only one dirty nappy ever? That sounds worrying to me. Do you know the signs of jaundice and dehydration? Is there a medical professional keeping an eye on weight loss?

If your baby is clearly hungry and you don't have breastmilk, then I would begin supplementing right now. As always, I will get flamed for this advice on here but the baby is hungry now, feed him or her now and then move merrily to exclusive breastfeeding if that is what works for you and what you want once your milk comes in. In the meantime, you will know your baby is fed and not at risk of dehydration.

If still no poops in the morning and no sign of your milk, speak to a doctor as a matter of some urgency.

Congratulations on your new baby.

Are you still under the care of your midwife? Ask her.

At this stage my dc had one or two dirty nappies a day, still meconium ones tho, at five days we had the transition poo yellow with green bits in it (the only way I can describe it).

Your DD should be weighed soon then you'll know.

My milk came in late on day five and my baby had lost what the midwife considered was too much birth weight (I think almost 12%) so I ended up in hospital again, I was advised to breastfeed and pump also. Was a really traumatic experience for us but we managed to put on enough weight to be discharged after two days thankfully.

Are you eating drinking enough? Do lots of skin to skin, keep drinking fluids, rest and cuddle baby lots to help stimulate milk production.

But do speak to your midwife/health visitor. They should be asking you about your babies nappies anyway and would flag if there's anything of concern.

Can be up to 5 days but please do check with a midwife/HV to ensure your baby is getting enough. Don't feel defeated yet!

Formula is not poison, if you're concerned please give some. I ebf with the exception of one bottle early on. At the time I felt like the worst mum in the world but looking back I wish I had just done it sooner.

Worth chatting to a midwife or health visitor in the morning if you are worried but lots of wet nappies sounds good. Sounds like baby is cluster feeding to get your milk going.

As others have said - is baby happy? Make sure you are eating and drinking enough and resting where possible. Lots of skin to skin time will help too xx

Wet nappies a good indication but bf babies tend to poo more not less. Did you have a section? That can lead to milk coming in later also other interventions or if you lost a lot of blood.

Yes to drinking LOADS I easily got through 2.5 litres of weak squash a day plus fruit juice and milk when bf.

Talk to midwife.

She just fallen asleep on my boob again

Is she fallen asleep milk drunk? Unlikely as milk as not come in... is she falling asleep as exhausted through suckling? How often is your baby feeding? I would be expecting a meconium poo every day at least. 5 days doesn't sound right?

Would definitely want a weigh in around now and agree the poo does not sound right. Expect at least 2x yellow poo per day (size of 50p piece) plus 6 wet. This is important. Dehydrated babies can get ill quite quickly. Around this time the baby's caloric need starts to go up and the small amounts of colostrum will be unlikely to be sufficient unless copious milk production has started. You might be almost there or you might not, we can't tell. Putting baby to breast lots is of course good but if your milk is not in at the quantities baby needs, even multiple colostrum feeds will not provide sufficient as colostrum simply isn't made in the quantities needed once a baby starts to require those increased volumes. If supplementing is needed, it is entirely compatible with continuing to bf, and with exclusive bf as well - if you see as a temporary coping strategy while your milk comes in. I would suggest calling MW finding out if they can come asap to weigh and explicitly checking the nappies and the fact your milk has not arrived with them. Keep nappies to show the colour of poo if you can. Im not sure anyone who isn't a health prof and can't see baby can say for sure "you need to supplement" or "you don't need to" but if it were me, I think I would to be on the safe side - given what you say about poo. Best wishes. Good luck.

This is something you definitely need to have checked out, OP.

Please ignore any suggestion that breastfed babies don't poo as often as FF babies. This is NOT TRUE in the first week or so, and no poo is always a sign to explore further what's going on.

First step is to have your baby weighed urgently - ASAP. Someone knowledgable needs to observe a feed and also to talk to you and listen about what's happening. If it seems your baby needs more intake after this, you can express colostrum/milk by hand if this seems more productive. It is not a good idea to give formula without these steps - yes, sometimes supplementing with formula is the right response, but not without a full and careful investigation and help to express colostrum (unless of course you are told the situation is urgent and serious at this stage).

I hope this helps. Your milk may come in at any moment, but you do need to see someone you can trust and who can weigh your baby as soon as you can - and today. Dont leave it till tomorrow.

Also, it is not helpful to judge if the baby is 'happy' or not. Babies who are underfed/dehydrated/jaundiced appear 'happy'...... you simply cannot assess a five day old's well being on the basis of whether he/she is 'happy'.

It's an indictment of the postnatal services that you have been left in this situation, not knowing, IMO. New mothers need to know how to tell if things are not right.

f your baby is clearly hungry and you don't have breastmilk, then I would begin supplementing right now. As always, I will get flamed for this advice on here but the baby is hungry now, feed him or her now and then move merrily to exclusive breastfeeding

Thing is with new mums, it can be difficult to tell whether a baby is hungry, cluster feeding, growth spurt, or genuinely has a problem. It can also be extremely difficult to tell if you are producing any milk, as being able to express isn't a reliable measure. Constant feeding is normal, and will trigger more milk and help milk come in, but often mistaken as hunger or lack of supply. It also isn't as simple as formula now, and "merrily" pick up exclusive feeding later. Without the early stimulation it can be easy to get into a negative cycle.

O/p, i agree with pp that lack of poo is of concern. Unless she's still passed meconium recently. Rather than mess about trying fixes or internet advice, get medical advice now. They will weigh, but she's 4 days and loss is normal, it is also very important that someone looks her over and checks for signs of dehydration and other issues.

Gp, hv, walk in,m/w, whatever. She's 4 days old and better to get her seen if you're at all worried.

I agree really - judging whether a baby is 'clearly hungry' is very difficult at this stage. Introducing formula does not have to mean the end of bf by any means but it is not something that should be done lightly or without proper assessment and appropriate 'fixes' for the BF if they are needed.