Do I just give up?

[onetiredmumma33]

My baby is just over a week old. I had planned to bf but we had some latch issues which caused me a lot of pain and he was distressed as he wasn't getting enough. Also had a very rough birth and just didn't have it in me to continue with bf so I switched to formula after a few days.

I have been using an electric pump to try and combi feed and to begin with I was getting enough for roughly 50% of his feeds which I was happy with. But my supply has rapidly diminished and now I'm barely getting anything. I haven't been pumping often enough as we've been overrun with visitors and things going on with older dc so have struggled to find the time and privacy. Over the last day or two I've tried to pump more, averaging about 5-6 a day but this still doesn't feel like enough.

Is this the end for me? Do I just accept that it hasn't worked out and my milk supply has basically gone now or is there anything I can do to get it back?

Have you spoken to a bf counsellor? It should not be too late but technique may need adjustment. Have you tried shields?

No I am just pumping now, I don't want to put baby back to the breast as it was quite traumatic for both of us and I think combi feeding by expressing is the only way forward for us now.

But if my supply has gone I don't know if it's worth persisting. I'm getting barely enough from
3 pumping sessions for one full feed so it just feels like a waste of time at the moment.

I spoke to my midwife who said I should be pumping 8-10 times a day and because I haven't achieved this my supply has gone down. I am actively trying to pump more often now with at least one pump during the night but it doesn't seem to be helping yet.

If you want to do it I think you could get your supply up. You do need to pump more frequently though. I think the 8-10 times thing is a bit mad as not sleeping will kill your supply for sure. Maybe aim for 6-7 times (some sessions can be short, 10min). Will also go a lot better with a double pump, preferably a hired hospital grade one.
I think there is also a power pumping technique where you pump then pump again 20 min later, maybe Google it.
To save effort you don't need to wash pump every time, just keep it in the fridge and wash once a day.
Get DH to deal with visitors and older kids for a bit.

All of that said, it might be easier just to stop and that is totally fine. You may not want it to dominate life for you and your family, that would be very rational.

I struggled bf my 2 children in the beginning. I ended up expressing and bottle feeling while I persevered with the breastfeeding. It didn't help my 2 were premature. In the end we established breastfeeding well and they carried on past 2!
It also helped that that they would take a bottle when we were out and about and DP could help with night feeds.

I personally would give it a timeframe, eg stick to pumping (but 6+ times a day) for a week and if it doesn't help, stop.

One more thing, stress inhibits let down. If you are rushed and worried about people bursting in on you it will not help at all. Get set up with Mumsnet in a quiet room and tell DH it is his job to ensure you have privacy, he needs to make sure visitors or kids dont crash in on you.

I pumped for 3 months whilst my baby was in hospital. I found that I needed to pump every 3-4 hours, about 7 times a day to maintain supply. I produced much more milk in the overnight pumping sessions too.
When my baby came out of hospital I found it very difficult to sustain pumps and feeds. I did some feeds with a nipple shield and a Hakka pump on the other side and my husband did some bottles whilst I pumped. I cut holes in my t- shirt so I could sit with family/ visitors and pump without feeling self conscious. It’s tough but we managed to phase pumping out after a month and it was much easier. It took longer to phase the nipple shields out but still worth it. Good luck.

I could have written this post myself. Traumatic birth, stopped bf after a week due to pain. Have been pumping for 4 weeks and my supply is dropping off as I don’t have time to eat/drink/rest. At first had plenty but now it’s going, also due to PND. I am very close to stopping as it feels like just one more thing to stress about, but I feel guilty.

I don’t have much advice really just to say I understand how you are feeling. Pumping is really hard work, there are some good groups on FB but most will tell you to pump every 3 hours which I find impractical. You could also try a wearable pump like a Momcozy so you are hands free. Apparently eating oats is good for milk supply. If you decide to carry on it will take some time investment up until 12 weeks until supply is built up.

Are you holding/cuddling baby when pumping? That will help let down. Breast compressions when pumping will help too. Sadly pumps are not as efficient at removing milk from breasts as much babies are. Also some people respond better to different pumps. Can you rent a hospital grade pump? If you want to move to full ff, do. Fed is best and constant pumping is soul destroying

As a previous poster said, I could have written this myself. Traumatic birth with significant blood loss, topped off with an incident where I lost a chunk of my nipple in a nipple shield, filled with my blood. I so so desperately wanted to breastfeed and I kept flogging that horse even though I was on my own most of the time as my partner had to go back to work and had to deal with a refluxy baby who needed feeding every 2 hours. I tried my best to pump every 2-3 hours as recommended but I never had the time, was exhausted anyway and would spend up to an hour to get an ounce at best.
In the end I had to accept it wasn’t going to happen and we moved on to formula fully. Turns out my baby has a cows milk allergy so formula is the easier option anyway but I get how hard it is to give up on something you want so badly.
I was even emailing lactation consultants (who never replied) in the dead of night, eating oats at every opportunity and even discussed the idea of a “rebirth” in the bath with my midwife as well as medication to kickstart BF again.
even now whenever I see someone breastfeed or the Bambis logo I get a lump in my throat but it was what was best for my mental health and baby in the end.
I would say keep going as long as you can. Even the small amount I did pump, I felt proud over and you should too. I’d give yourself a time limit, say a week or two, where you really go for it. Get lots of support whilst you take time to pump and rest and fingers crossed it works for you but remember it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t.
plus as they say, in the end you can never tell which children were breastfed and which weren’t. I wasn’t and neither were a lot of my friends. We all have PhDs, so it didn’t do us any harm!