how to increase milk supply

[SanAndreas]

Hello there,

I have a 10wk old ds who i have been mixed feeding for approx 7 wks however, my milk supply has(unsurprisingly) dwindled to nothing. For the past couple of wks the bf have gotten less and less and the ff taken up the majority of feed times. I now only bf once first thing a.m. Im quite happy with this as ff suits me more really, but the problem is that now he doesnt seem to want that morning bf at all. He cries and puls away when i offer the breast, as opposed to looking excited at the bottle. My breasts feel soft all of the time. he does go on and suck after a few tries and sucks well but clearly isnt satisfied.he always has a bottle after.

I dont know what to do. Whether to admit defeat and just give him bottles all the time now as he is so used to them or try and increase supply(if its not too late, which is suspect it is. I have a pump(only hand one0 and am wondered whether to satrt usuing that every 2 hrs??any ideas

The best way to increase supply is to breastfeed more often. You certainly can use the pump but that is very time consuming. However, you could try expressing between feeds to increase supply.

You will not be able to maintain a supply with 1 breastfeed a day at this stage. You certainly can turn it aroung but it will take perseverance. You could try offering the breast before all feeds for that extra stimulation too.

As your milk supply increases you can then start to reduce the amount of formula you are giving.

Best to have support from a breastfeeding counsellor.

its my own fault realy, i was hoping that by just feeding once a day, my body would make enough to do that one feed? obviously not.if i put him to the breast he seems to do it more out of comfort than anthing. i feel guilty now that ive let it come to this, especially as he was goilng on breast very well.

As Mears says, you need some expert advice: try the LLL/ABM/NCT bfing lines. I thin kyou can turn it round at this stage, so good luck

it can take 6 weeks to establish a good demand supply system. in those early weeks it really needs to be feed feed feed for breastfeeding to be set up properly. it's going to take a heck of a lot of effort and determination to get back to full breastfeeding at this point. are you sure you want to be doing bottles plus breastfeeding plus expressing ALL day long?

Any sucking he does will stimulate supply. It isn't too late to turn it around if you want to.

this is what i am trying to do at the moment. i got some motiliun tablets from the chemist and they seem to be working.

just getting over the thrush hurdle at the moment and then will be back into it.

my goal at the moment is to make it to christmas. (it was once to get to two weeks and we are at 9 now - yeah!)

stimulation is the only way so pump or feed.

i dont want to get back to fully bf. Im happy to mixed feed and would have been happy to continue doing that till i went back to work. At the moment tho it almost seems as if ds had naturally stopped bf himself due to low supply. Its making me think maybe its just easier to ff though i feel guilty really.

Moo,

i felt that way too. My plan was bf for first month and then ff, but now the month has come and gone i want to continue but feel its almost easier just to give the bottle as he takes it well, gaining weight, starting to settle at night better etcetc. i tell you what if i have another baby it will bf only and i mean that.

You don't need to go back to full breastfeeding but you will need to increase milk production to make more milk.

Depends what you want to do. Guilt shouldn't come into it.

i have been recommended Fenugreek (in addition to feeding) to increase my supply

if i try incresaing my supply do you then think it possible to mainly f but bf a couple of times aday? or do you think i will end up back in this position?i shouldnt feel guilty but i do cos he bf so well but now now the bottles have taken over. on the other hand i do feel positive that he has had breast milk for 10 wks and thats mile better than i expected. i did plan to just ff.

also, as i have been regularly bf every morning, why has he suddenly stopped wanting/being saitisfied? surely my supply wouldnt have completely gone if hes been going on the breast??

When I mix fed my DD ended up preferring the bottle as it was easier and would pull away from the breast after a few minutes only, probably in the hope I'd whip out the bottle. I used to top up after bfeeds though, not replace feeds entirely. I ended up ditching the formula as it was beginning to look like I'd have to choose, but then I was very keen to bfeed and bloody minded and reluctant to ffeed.

I'd be very surprised if you could carry on only bfeeding twice a day at this stage. I only went down to twice a day when DD was a year old, so supply was well established. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that in the early days stimulation is important and your milk is more likely to dry up if you don't.

Well done for getting so far in any case, especially if you'd originally set out to ffeed. Why don't you want to latch your baby on instead of pumping? I hated pumping with a vengeance, it took me hours, gave me hand ache and only yeilded at most 60ml. Sticking a baby on and watching a DVD is much easier, believe me.

Brangelina,
The only reason i was going to pump is i cant see him going on the breast without getting very upset when hardly anything comes out so i thought id try and increase supply that way.there is no way he sit there for hrs while i tried to bf him now, no way. he too, pulls awaty from the breast in the hope of getting a bottle(which he does) as obviously formula just pours easily down their throat doesnt it. oh i just dont know what to do for the best

My dd pulls away, then goes back, pulls away, goes back, as she knows it makes the let-down happen quicker (even tho' its bloomin' irritating for me).

Maybe you cd let your ds do the same and latch him on quick when you feel the let-down coming. Or even stimulate nipple first to get let-down to happen quicker?

I'd let him come off for a few seconds and not rush to get him back on, I found with dd if I try to push her back on she gets upset, but if I wait she'll go back after a few seconds herself.

Just an idea. Sounds like he's got used to the speed of the bottle. Maybe if he realises that your breasts will do the same thing, he'll be willing to put in the effort next time!

definitely has got used to speed of bottle! to br honest ive never really felt let down. is that normal

SanAndreas, you've discovered one of the major downsides of mixed feeding - very few women (no one?) can maintain a milk supply at all on just one feed a day, unless bf is well-established (I'm talking well into toddlerhood).

Someone should have told you this - too many women think it's just like turning a tap on and off and if you only turn it on once a day, then there will be one feedsworth there....it doesn't happen like this.

Over time (and this varies) the milk dwindles to nothing or virtually nothing and the baby becomes cross and increasingly frustrated even at that one feed (exactly what is happening to you).

You can increase your breastmilk supply by expressing/feeding often - at least 8 x in 24 hours. Or if you decide not to do this, you can create some of the intimacy and closeness of bf when giving the bottle by holding him close skin to skin as you give it.

I agree with mears - if you want to turn it round and increase your breastfeeding, support from a breastfeeding counsellor will be a great help.

I am a bit that no one told you this would happen - did the midwife or HV not warn you?

You just have to persevere. When I stopped the bottles DD would cry and scream for a while but when she sussed that nothing else was forthcoming she latched on. It took me 2, maybe 3 days of this before she started latching on quite happily. You do have to try and latch baby on more frequently in the first week or so to increase, I used to stick DD on every hour.

It does fray your nerves, believe me, especially when you have issues with supply like I did. I'd been told by an ignorant paed that I had very little milk because my boobs weren't hard (I'd just fed DD) and all sorts of other rubbish.

I only ever used to feel let down in my left breast (although when I pumped I often got more out of my right one) and my boobs were only ever hard if DD hadn't fed all afternoon or something, so it means nothing. Everyone is different.

The important thing is to have confidence in what you're doing. That's the hardest thing, especially when you have poor support.

tik tok,

i knew the score with mixed feeding and generally very clued up on feeding, but i suppose i just kidded myself id be able to maintain supply cos he was feeding so beautifully. i feel sad now that hes not interested in bf as once he just to look so keen before bf and and contented after, he looks at the bottle like that now.

tik tok,

i knew the score with mixed feeding and generally very clued up on feeding, but i suppose i just kidded myself id be able to maintain supply cos he was feeding so beautifully. i feel sad now that hes not interested in bf as once he just to look so keen before bf and and contented after, he looks at the bottle like that now.

Shame, SanAndreas....maintaining feeding has very little to do with how well the baby is feeding, and there's no getting away from the basic rule that the baby has to feed often for milk supply to be built up and maintained. No getting away from it !