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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

low milk supply

51 replies

Madigan · 24/08/2007 21:15

Help please! How do I improve my milk supply?

I have been BF my newborn for 1 week now - 4 hourly feeds. She always needs a formula top-up afterwards (at least 30 mls). I express after each feed and there is barely any milk left. My milk came in late (day 5-6; I hasd a c-section and that may by why): now on day 8, and the situation is not improving. I never feel like my breasts are "full" and she is not satisfied after a feed.

Please please can anyone help? I really want to stick at breastfeeding, but am becoming demoralised about it ............

OP posts:

tiktok · 25/08/2007 09:04

Madigan - hope you have a good day today!

I rarely understand the point of maternity nurses unless they can do all the care of the mother and the house and anyone else in the house apart from the baby. You hear they are there to help care for the baby and to help get feeding underway....but in this case, poor Madigan is posting on an internet forum with a baby a week old, asking for help and info with the feeding, and the maternity nurse seems to have been promoting 4 hrly feeds with a top up of formula after every feed.

Strange sort of help

Original poster

Madigan · 25/08/2007 21:22

Hello everyone - much better day today... stayed in bed, as you all told me to, and fed on demand. Hard work, but worth it as she has not needed formula all day, and my supply seems to have increased!! hooray! also have started taking fenugreek, so hope that will improve supply as well.
thank you for all your advice
think bf may actually work now!! xx

OP posts:

juliewoolie · 25/08/2007 21:38

well done keep it up your doing great!

Trinaj · 25/08/2007 21:45

Glad to hear it's working better.
I've had similar problems with my 11 day old.(3rd dc)
I agree with the more frequent feeding, definately improved my supply.
I was told this time something I've never been told before - (sorry to any proffessionals that don't agree but I've found this works) - to keep switching sides when your supply is low, as when they often fall asleep this is a sign that your flow has stopped.
I did this for a couple of days, and found it fab, by feeding for a few minutes at a time then switching and repeating each feed I have been able to cut out all but 2 top ups a day.
Good luck , hope it continues well.

absandme · 25/08/2007 21:52

Well done you for staying in bed. Glad you sound like you're enjoying on demand feeding and having the feeling of more milk. Plenty to eat and drink & loadsa rest in bed or on the sofa wherever you are comfy, if you can sleep then all the better, if not rest is great for helping your supply.
I fed on demand & boy was it demanding but so worth it for me..... not for everyone but I wouldn't change it for the world.

My sister in law who's eldest is 11years old looked at me bf & said she really misses it, even now!

tiktok · 25/08/2007 23:51

Trina, what you describe is 'switch feeding' and it is indeed a technique that can be used with a sleepy baby and/or a milk supply that could do with a boost

determination · 26/08/2007 08:40

Glad to hear it Madigan,

It is now time to start believing in your body and your bodys ability to produce enough milk for your LO Well Done

Jojay · 26/08/2007 19:49

Fab news Madigan - I really hope things continue to go well for you, and I'm sure they will.

Enjoy your little one!!

ruddynorah · 26/08/2007 19:50

great news! hope today has gone well too for you.

VengefulSquirrel · 26/08/2007 20:00

Hi Madigan, I got frustrated in the early days when one boob would kind of run dry, BUT what I found was that I hadn't got to know my let down reflex yet. Just a week in is such early days. If breast-feeding is new, then in time, you will become an expert on this new and wonderful thing that your body can do.

If you leave your baby at the breast for a nice long leisurely feed (well nice as long as your nipples are holding out!) you may find that you have more than one let down during a feed. You get either a stabbing or a, aching, tingling feeding, and suddenly there is a fresh batch of milk there! So don't rush the feeds, your body may be working on top-up...stimulated by the baby sucking avidly at your breast, your brain gets the message that more milk is needed.

You are doing so well, and remember to give it time, bf is not really settled until you get to the 6 week mark so don't give yourself a hard time. Each day you hang in there is great.

Good luck.

Trinaj · 26/08/2007 21:09

vengefulsquirrel - you say that when your boobs run dry they can just be waiting for the let down. When my lo feeds, sometimes he'll be at the boob for up to 1/2 hour per boob, but spends most the time falling asleep - And I spend all the time trying to keep him awake.
Is this due to the let down - is he just waiting for it ?
He's 12 days now and still feeds like this particularly in the eve then can sometimes want feeding an hour later.

Jojay · 26/08/2007 21:34

Vengeful - you're right.

I remember the 'double letdown' phenomenon from expressing.

I'd pump away for ages ( that sounds rude, sorry but you know what I mean.....)after the first initial let down, getting hardly anything, then suddenly it would start gushing out again.

TrinaJ - it may be due to a slow let down, but it does sound like very normal newborn behaviour. He will get more efficient, and therefore quicker, as he gets older.

there's not much you can do at this stage to hurry him up, just go with it.

Olihan · 26/08/2007 21:48

Trina, I think that's where the switch feeding comes into its own. I used to find that ds2 would nod off after the initial let down slowed so I'd swap him to the other side until he dropped off again then swap him back. He'd wake up a bit for the quicker flow so he got more milk than if he stayed on one side for the whole feed.

If he fell so fast asleep that he let go of the nipple and wasn't interested in the other side then I'd leave him until he stirred.

Olihan · 26/08/2007 21:53

Oh, and the evening feeding is completely normal too. It's called cluster feeding and most newborns do it for the first few weeks. I used to spend pretty much the entire evening on the sofa with ds2 feeding, falling asleep for 10 mins to an hour, feeding, falling asleep again, until about 11pm when he'd conk out for a longer period.

The best way of coping is just to get yourself comfy on the sofa with the remote, plenty of drinks and snacks and preferably a dh/dp or someone to wait on you hand and foot and hold lo while you nip to the loo . It usually peters out around 6 weeks or so but it's easier just to ride with it than stress about it.

VengefulSquirrel · 26/08/2007 22:57

Yes, the evening feeding happened for me too, glad I was not alone! I do remember reading that in the early days/weeks that some kind of receptors are being laid down in the Mum's brain to ensure a plentiful supply for later on (sorry, science not my strong point ) so it is really essential to just go with it.

Hard, tho. I do recall a whole box of Bailey's truffles that met a sticky end over the course of one evening! Munch loads, watch Friends back to back and it really does go quicker than you think. You can always stroke that silky hair to pass the time....feeling broody now!

With the let-down, I couldn't feel it at first...just wasn't used to it. I used to make everyone shut up so that I could listen to see if DD was swallowing. Now, I can even feel the milk progressing down the boob (5 months in) so guess I just got used to it.

Olihan · 27/08/2007 19:04

Madigan, how have the last 48 hrs been? Are you feeling a bit happier about your supply and is your dd doing okay without top ups?

Original poster

Madigan · 29/08/2007 14:11

Hi everyone

we are well established with breastfeeding now ... I seem to have lots of milk, and no problems. HOORAY!

I was concerned because my milk did not come in on days 4-5, as all the textbooks seem to think it should. My milk came in properly on days 7-8. Whether this is because I had a c-section, I don't know. I also started taking Fenugreek (2 tablets of 610 mg each, 3 times a day) on day 7, and I don't know whether that has also helped.

Thank you all so much for your support. What a fabulous thing MN is!!

OP posts:

tiktok · 29/08/2007 14:24

Fab news, Madigan

VengefulSquirrel · 29/08/2007 16:47

Oh that's really great, well done for keeping going. It is so tiring and stressful to start with but it will get better. btw, I think that quite a few of us don't get our milk properly until a week or so in.

Congratulations.

determination · 29/08/2007 18:26

Congratulations Madigan,

We all knew you could do it!! Well Done.

amyclaramum · 31/08/2007 09:20

Can I crash into your thread Madigan as I am having same problems ! My lo is a week old and has lost more than 10% birth weight. As she is my 3rd baby I was quite relaxed that she would gain as my milk supply increased however i have been told by Midwife/hospital Paediatrician to give formula top up after every feed !! Surely that is going to make things worse ? Any ideas Mnetters ?

kiskidee · 31/08/2007 09:25

Excellent news Madigan.

Amyclaramum: then the midwife/paed does not know enough about breastfeeding . you are right. what you want is lots of skin-to-skin contact. spend your day in bed and offering milk everytime you little one squeaks. the more your baby stimulates your breasts, the better for milk production in these early days. good luck. and keep us informed.

Original poster

Madigan · 31/08/2007 09:30

amyclaramum

i took to bed for a couple of days and it worked!! also taking fenugreek, and making sure I am eating plenty. I was so glad to get off the formula top ups. Good luck xx

OP posts:

amyclaramum · 31/08/2007 09:37

Thank you ! I think I will get back to bed !
Also probably need to eat more - no appetite at moment . Isn't it funny how professionals go on about breast feeding being best and then as soon as there's a problem they advise formlua ?!

tiktok · 31/08/2007 09:47

amyclaramum - I don't think anyone knows enough about your situation to say ignore the midwife and the paed, sorry

There may be more to your situation.

Chances are, you can rectify the situation by feeding a lot more, but there may be more to it than that.

You need to ensure the baby is removing milk effectively, and that might mean getting help with attachment. Just keeping a baby at the breast who is not feeding effectively will not change anything.....and I would worry that a large weight loss might mean your baby still has to learn about how to do it

Of course just telling someone to top up with formula is a very unhelpful way of supporting breastfeeding, but there are cases when a baby really, really does need a top up while the breastfeeding is being worked on, and I would worry this might apply to you. It may not, of course, but we don't know!

BTW, how often is your baby pooing?

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