Can you just run out of milk? Bad night

[Overthinkingotter]

My baby is 5 weeks + 3 and is EBF. It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me (went through the standard shredded nipples and anxieties around supply etc in the first few weeks) but she mostly seems to feed well and regained her birth weight in just over 2 weeks, midwives were happy and we were discharged to HV.

She had an occasional formula top up in the first couple of weeks but now she just has breast milk (I have a bottle of formula just in case).

She weighed 7lbs 12 oz at birth. I weighed her at 5 weeks and she was 8lbs 9 oz and am focusing on feeding her up; obviously we have the 6 week weigh in next week.

Anyway, last night I went to feed her in bed and she drank but seemed agitated/unsatisfied. I kept switching breasts but the same thing happened. She ended up screaming inconsolably at around midnight when she would usually settle to sleep. We couldn’t work out if this was wind or because she wasn’t getting any milk. It was horrible- I just felt completely empty, as if she was getting nothing (I had fed her about 2 or so hours before this).

Ended up giving her a bottle of expressed milk and she guzzled it as if she hadn’t eaten in days. She ended up only drinking 50ml and wasn’t interested in the remaining 90ml, even though I kept offering it. She went to sleep soon after, around 12.30.

She woke at 3 and I fed her again, but again felt ‘empty’; usually they feel quite full, tender and engorged at that point. She had both breasts and fell asleep, but I swear she didn’t actually get anything? I know it’s hard to tell.

Another feed at 6.15 and they felt a bit more full but I just feel like something is off. I drink tons of water constantly but barely ate at dinner yesterday as wasn’t hungry, so not sure if this is a factor.

Worth mentioning the obligatory TONS of wet/dirty nappies. She is constantly weeing or pooing. A lot of her dirty nappies are green/greeny yellow, which I have put down to not always getting enough hindmilk and feel I know how to resolve this.

I’m just worried my milk has suddenly stopped (though I know this is very unlikely) and that she is going hungry. It’s weird because the supply had increased significantly recently based on what Ive been expressing, so I was happy until now. Obviously I will give formula if needs be, but don’t really want to.

Has anyone experienced this or have any advice? Thank you

It's quite normal to have softer boobs at around this stage milk supply settles they also go through a fussy stage at around 6 weeks if I remember rightly. My second is 4 weeks and a few days and I'm having the fussy evenings and feeling less full at the moment.

I found this so useful at your stage
https://www.thealphaparent.com/timeline-of-a-breastfed-baby/
There's lots of fussing and growth spurts. I was poorly for a bit in the early days (post 3rd degree tear antibiotics really upset my tummy) body still made milk! Although baby did lots of cluster feeding and I barely slept.
The only other thing to consider is if you have any medications that could impact it- decongestant is a big one that dries up milk.
It's likely all is fine though. Hope things feel better today!

You won’t have just suddenly run out of milk. Supply does wax and wane, and it might not even have been anything to do with that - she could have been unsettled for some other reason. With newborns it’s so tempting to think there’s some solvable puzzle and that if we can just isolate and control each aspect of their care there’ll never be any crying and everything will go smoothly, but it isn’t like that - sometimes there will be a bad night, or day, or week, and you’ll probably never work out why. There is so much going on for her - sometimes it will be like this.

I would really try not to worry or assume there’s anything going on with your milk unless problems persist. You sound like you’re doing a wonderful job. Make sure you keep eating though! Get someone to make you a nice batch of flapjacks or cookies to snack on - you do need lots of calories. Keep going!

Supply can be slower at night so that can make baby a little frustrated in the early weeks but you won't have 'run out' of milk. Different positions may help. Milk flow is slower for me when lying on my side for example so my baby didn't love this position in the beginning.

At around 6 weeks your supply settles down and milk is made "on demand" So you'll stop having those full breast feeling but there will still be milk.

Have you discovered Kellymom?

The fact that she only took 50ml and wasn’t interested in the remaining 90 implies that she wasn’t actually particularly hungry. At 6 weeks they are super fussy and can cry especially in the evenings for long periods for no obvious reason. It can often be that they’ve got themselves worked up and overtired. Please don’t worry about your supply if she’s having wet and dirty nappies then she’s getting enough.

Hi, she may be having a growth spurt, cluster feeding is really normal, and around 4-6 weeks your supply tends to settle so your boobs do feel softer and not as full as the early weeks, all normal. If she is having wet and dirty nappies as expected and her weight gain is ok then all is well.
https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/breastfeeding-information/getting-started-with-breastfeeding/how-do-i-know-if-my-baby-is-getting-enough-milk/
Bear in mind that if she has a bottle feed and you don't offer the breast it will.impact upon your supply unless you express at the same time.

Thank you so much! It’s reassuring to know other people have experienced similar things x

Thank you so much for your reply and for sharing that link! Things have been better today- think I was having a bit of a moment 😅 x

Thank you so much for your lovely reply. I think you’re right; they will just have ‘bad’ nights and that’s part of the newborn experience; it just freaks me out due to me always assuming it’s due to some fault of mine, which isn’t the best mindset to have obviously. And I have absolutely made sure to eat enough today! Have a great evening :)x

Thank you so much for your reply and advice; that is definitely something I will try and good to know it’s normal to feel more empty in the evening x

Boobs are a factory, not a warehouse. Less than 30% of a feed is stored in the breasts once supply settles, the rest is made on demand as baby suckles.

She would have been unsettled like this to encourage you to keep her close for suckling and skin to skin to boost milk supply. Also consider that if you're poorly or coming down with something, so is she and she will be needing extra milk for fluids and antibodies

Thank you so much for your reply- you’re right, she clearly wasn’t actually starving, she was possibly just felt like being a madam x

Thank you so much for your reply and the reassurance! Good to know it’s normal so that’s made me feel better and will definitely remember to pump for any missed feeds x

Thank you for your reply; that’s really interesting! I suppose I thought my milk making ‘ability’ had mysteriously vanished, but that’s obviously ridiculous/impossible 😅 I feel fine currently but sure the sleep deprivation is going to take its toll soon and I’ll come down with something nasty like everyone else is, so good shout on her behalf x

I used to feel the same OP as my baby would act similar but she put weight on soooo much and has ended up a right chubby little thing at 5 months 😂 but she would get quite frustrated and cry while feeding every night until she was about 2 months old, it was hard but it did stop eventually. Sounds like you're doing amazingly.

Classic 6 week growth spurt, give it 48 hours and you boobs will be exploding. Just try and feed as much as possible - the quicker they get their ‘order’ in the quicker your supply will adjust.