I'm on my last 'serving' of espressed milk - low evening milk supply and baby cluster feeding!

[FlossALump]

What is the solution? I used to find the same with DS and am finding the same again. DD is now 4 weeks old and has had now 4 bottles of expressed milk. She has cluster fed all afternoon and evening and is now not satisfied - pulling away from breast. I'm worried that I may have to start introducing formula if this were to happen again as she is currently screaming her heart out hungry as we are sterilizing the bottle. If it makes any difference she was a big baby and only lost 2 ozs of birth weight.

Hello Floss

Growth spurt, probably. Hang in there if you can - keep feeding if you can bear it. Lansinoh and air for sore nipples. If you want to express, do it (sorry) at night if possible (prolactin higher, IIRC) and not for too long - shortish pumping sessions are most effective. HTH

The best way to get your supply up is to feed, feed, feed. If dd crys, put her on the breast. As she's only 4wo she will most probably feed and help increase your supply.

Are you eating, drinking and snacking during the day? I would forget to eat properly when ds was wee and found I had an evening supply problem. I made an effort to drink and snack more (digestives, milk, flapjacks, nuts and seeds etc)and this improved my supply.

is there any special reason for the expressed milk/worries about low milk supply? is it just that you are worried you are not producing enough milk when you bf? it sounds from her weight gain like she is absolutely thriving tbh. prob a growth spurt and if you are ok to keep bf her, your breasts will still be producing milk for her and will be stimulated to produce even more. all of mine have fed like mad of an evening and been generally cranky of an evening when little. evening cluster feeds are really normal and don't mean your supply of milk is running out at all. hang on in there, relax,feed on demand and be reassured that low milk supply is an incredibly rare problem

Agree totally with pastilla, both DS1 and DS2 fed LOADS in the evenings at this age(and generally in fact). They were often grumpy at this time too. I just fed them as often as they wanted and didnt even bother exporessing with DS2 as its harder work than simpy feeding more often than usual. Keep going and try and rest/relax when you can....

Ditto - cluster feeding & fussing is totally normal. Ds did it for the first few weeks of his life. Apparently it gives them small feeds of richer milk and also stimulates milk production. I found it so much easier to deal with once I understood that it DIDN'T mean low supply. I woundn't necessarily even give EBM as your breasts need to adjust to supply & demand.

This is the problem though as I do let her feed on demand. My breast 'feel' empty and she pulls away from each side crying - she isn't getting what she wants! I've stopped expressing for the minute (which is why I have now run out of EBM!) because I felt I ought to give myself the 6 weeks to get feeding really established. I used to feel I had the same problem with DS, my milk supply always seemed really low. I understand that just because breasts feel empty doesn't necessarily mean they are, and yet why isn't BF satisfying her? And why does she gulp down a bottle of EBM?!!

I like the idea of eating more I don't need much of an excuse. I am naughty when it comes to drinking enough. Will make more of an effort today. The rest part is harder, I have a nearly 3 year old who needs lots of attention lavished on him whenever we have a quiet few minutes - as he doesn't seem quite so happy about having a sister anymore!

My nipples are fine thanks Fio - IGW gave me a tube before DD was born which is still serving me well! How are you BTW - I've never quite made it onto the post natal thread - hope all is going well with you!

And berolina, sorry I didn't ask after DS in my last post - really hope all is going well with him now and he has recovered quickly.

Growth spurts! They can go on forever! DD is quite a big girl but was quite light at birth so she fed for England for weeks! The empty feeling is quite normal ime and the pulling away is too. I thin they just don't know what they want, they are tired yet still hungry but feeding for so long is a lot of hard work so they get grumpy.

The expressed milk will just interfere with the building of your supply although it will give you a break for a short time so save it for when you are desperate. Get cosy and settle in for a feeding marathon

the crying and pulling away might be something else - dd does it when she's overtired and/or windy as well as in frustration at a slow letdown.
First is solved by dh jiggling her to sleep for 10min so she wakes up alert enough to eat properly, second by jiggling till burped.
Have also successfully used the pump to get to letdown before putting dd on so she doesn't have to wait...

Just to reassure you - DS behaved exactly the same as you describe, except that he was fed EBM from a bottle exclusively. So there was always plenty of milk for him, but he would still fuss and fuss over it in the evenins. I am sure you are as milky as you need to be!

Floss - forget the expressing and concentrate on direct breastfeeding. babies will often take a bottle whether they need it or not. Expressing and giving EBM is not allowing natural regulation of milk production in relation to your baby's needs.

You are producing enough milk - sometimes babies just don't settle. If she pulls off the breast then just cuddle her for a while before re-offering. Do not give EBM on a regular basis at this stage.
It will sort itself out honestly

What everyone else has said. Don't assume that fussy baby = not enough milk.

But do remember my motto - babies are funny little buggers.

You do have enough milk - you're feeding a baby your body grew on demand. You didn't worry your placenta wasn't big enough for her - there's no reason you won't have enough milk for her. Just trust your body and eat biscuits.

Both DSs used to do this, btw - ask VVV how often I used to bob on and off MSN when feeding DS2 in the evenings!

Thank you all. It has been a better day with her so far today - just not so good with DS!! >eyes up newly drawn on computer table and tries to think of ways to remove permanent marker...