Low supply

[Jadefeather7]

Hi ladies

I’m pretty sure I have low supply (7 days post ELCS). I’ve been trying to feed baby frequently (as much as I can) and also trying pumping now. After feeds baby is hungry and gulps down formula (had to introduce it as he was losing weight). Every feed is followed by a 60ml top up :( When I express (using hospital grade pump) I get maybe 1ml. Ive tried hand expressing as well and I’m getting less than I was a few days ago even though baby is feeding more frequently now. I’ve tried nursing tea with fenugreek and fennel and I’m eating lots of oats. Don’t know what to do :((

I’ve seen midwives and Lactation consultants. Advice has been to continue mix feeding but with such a shockingly low supply I don’t know whether I should just give up

Get into bed with baby, with snacks and drinks nearby and do skin to skin all day/evening. The only way to get your supply up is to feed feed feed especially at night, which is when prolactin is higher and so encourages increased supply.

Just get baby on the boob as much as you possibly can. Keep an eye on wet nappies and give formula as and when you need to but not after every feed if you can help it.

3/4 tough days of constant feeding and your supply should be up to a good standard. Don’t worry about expressing at the moment, pumps can’t get anything like what you baby can, and so can make you feel shit when you see how little there is.

And if you give it a go and it’s not working then mix-feeding is absolutely fine for you and baby. Good luck!

This website: kellymom.com/ has masses of really useful information about breastfeeding issues, how to get a good latch etc. I read it constantly in the first few weeks!

kellymom.com/hot-topics/low-supply/

Really helpful info about low supply here.

Agree @MustardScreams don't worry about the expressing, feed like fury and keep a close eye on nappy output. Kellymom has advice on reducing) cutting top ups in a controlled way as your supply improves.

That said, find a way that works for you both - if your supply doesn't catch up you don't have to give up bf if you don't want to. I mix fed DS for 14 months with a laughably low milk supply (due to a medical condition), most of his milk intake was formula but he had what little breast milk I made and got comfort from boob. But it was time consuming and stressful in places and there's no shame in swapping to FF to make sure your baby is fed.

should say *Agree with

Thanks ladies. Can I really reduce formula? Midwives are all encouraging increasing it. I’m worried about baby losing weight and getting more restless if he’s not getting enough. He gulps it down so he’s clearly hungry.

Babies will often gulp down formula even after a full breastfeed, so it’s not a good indication of a low supply.

The things that tell you he’s eating enough are: consistent weight gain, plenty of wet and dirty nappies, alert when awake and no sunken fontanelle.

If you miss a couple of top ups he will be absolutely fine. It’s there to give, so if you feel he’s massively hungry even after being on the breast as much as you can then you can give him some. The problem with top ups is every time you give formula that’s one feed you haven’t told your breasts to make. They work on a demand and supply basis - the more your baby feeds the more milk you will make. So you really can only increase with trying to drop the top ups and replacing with breastfeeding.

Midwives are great with pregnant people and childbirth, but not so much with babies or feeding in my experience. So by all means take professional advice, but I'd suggest from someone more specialist. The advice you've been given here is good though.

You need to decide how you want to feed your baby. If you want to breastfeed and cut down on formula you can. But you might need a thick skin to over come the pressure. And there's nothing wrong with giving up, but it should be your choice and not anyone else's.

It’s such a dilemma. I would love to be able to breastfeed but I also don’t want that to be detrimental to the baby because I can’t produce enough.
I spoke to a Lactation consultant and she seemed to think continuing with formula was ok.
I’ve been feeding more frequently but my breasts feels softer and there’s no flow. I hope my supply isn’t already dwindling

kellymom.com/ages/newborn/nb-challenges/decrease-formula/

This is a good reference. I didn't manage to stop topping up because of underlying medical issue but I know others that did using this type of approach.
Are there any bf support groups near you? Good ones will be able to help talk you through options for mix feeding and/or reducing top ups.

If I were you I’d get into bed/ comfy on the sofa and feed feed feed with as much skin to skin as possible. Keep a close eye on weight and nappy output. Keep yourself well fed and hydrated. Be kind to yourself.

Also don’t worry about what you can express. I’ve been feeding DD for five months and I can express less than 1ml. It’s not an indication of how much milk is available for baby.

Also just wanted to share this as I found it an easier visual guide than the one they give you.

Maybe look at it like this. You have some milk. And baby is taking it. And that's good for both of you. You need to offer formula to feel that he is getting enough (and it genuinely doesn't matter if that's because you have low supply or not). You feel soft because your not letting the milk build up, it's probably not a bad thing thing by the way.

How about carrying on mix feeding for now, don't increase or decrease the formula, just try and get into a rhythm your both comfortable with. Once you are more settled you can decide if you want to change the balance either way or stay as you are.

Actually, rereading, 60ml is quite a lot unless you have a big baby, I'm sure that was recommended for dd at 2months, so maybe smaller more frequent bottles. And was the birth okay, traumatic ones and early c-sections can make the baby less inclined to breastfeed.