4 days old, no milk, and won't sleep unless on breast

[HRHarrison]

Hello, I have a 4 day old and we got off to a slow start with bonding and feeding due to a haemorrhage (so I was slightly out of it).
Been exclusively breast feeding but a slow 2 days of this has meant now at day 4 my milk isn't here yet and baby is so hungry all she does is want to feed. But there's no milk so she just sleeps on the boob and suckles a little. When I try and put her down she wants and wants boob again. I can't get sleep and baby can't get satisfied.
Anyone else experienced similar? Or any thoughts what I can do so she can sleep on her own for a bit. Is a little formular the only way the at the moment until my milk comes in (hopefully soon!!)
Thank you x

My milk didn’t come for a few days, after birth (EMCS). Woke up one day & my boobs were full. Then it took another few days to master latching, actually feeding. Meanwhile, the hospital had provided mini bottles of ready to drink formula. They were brilliant. I can’t imagine my baby going hungry. Get these little bottles if you can. I fed on demand, cluster feeding, up all night for the first 8 weeks. Pumped as well, I only had enough milk to do the job. Not loads at all. BF was brutal & I almost gave up every day until it finally clicked (8 weeks). Then it was much easier. Hoping your milk comes in, is there a midwife who can help? The midwife who rugby tackled me & baby into position was crucial to kickstarting my BF.

Agree with PP, your HV should also be due in next couple of days and if baby has lost too much birth weight you’ll be back off to hospital and on formula until your milk comes in- also probs in next couple of days. You should be able to reduce the formal and EBF good luck

Thanks both. Maybe a little formular is the way and continue to pump and expose baby to breast until milk comes in. I so wanted to try and avoid it, but at least I might be able to sleep a little then hopefully be surprised by full boobs in the morning.

Yes OP, your dear sweet baby needs hydration above all and it could be dangerous for her to go too long without ! Sometimes new babies even need to be awakened to be fed if they are sleeping too much. Do call your midwife or health consultant. And congratulations!

You shouldn’t need to pump just drink loads and eat and put your feet up. Let the baby suckle and keep it close and the milk will come on its own.

All this cluster feeding will be helping to send signals to trigger your milk to come in so keep baby at the breast. Is baby getting colostrum at least? If not then absolutely definitely get formula asap and urgent advice from your midwife / consultant.

Also - Congratulations on your baby! Once milk comes in, breastfeeding will be easier than making bottles in the middle of the night. And by 8 weeks it won't feel like all you do is feed baby. Lots of rest during the day, water and food. And skin to skin with baby all help to boost supply! X

How are you and baby getting along today OP?
Thinking of you at this special time. ;)

I gave up after two weeks of a constantly sucking 9lb baby crying for milk that never really came. He would feed for 30 mins, then by the time I'd changed him and tried to settle him down, he'd start crying again.
Although you want to BF, it's not always possible.

It's supply and demand. If baby has wet nappies they are fine. At four days old the baby's constant suckling is normal. Relax and make sure you are hydrated. There comes a point when you will feel completely empty - doesn't matter - as long as there are wet nappies you are fine.
Supply and demand. Baby is demanding and you will supply.
If your breasts feel sucked dry it can make you feel a bit on edge. Pass baby to someone else for 20 mins, go have a shower and get a snack. Then you will be ready to get comfortable and start again.

Also - you can't compare breast feeding to formula feeding. The mechanics are different and the milk is different. Formula obviously you can see in the bottle so know how much the baby has had.
Breast milk changes throughout the feed. You can't see how much a bf baby is drinking so in the beginning you may think they aren't getting enough - the first milk out is thinner and more watery so thirst quenching. Then the richer milk comes through. That's why sometimes they feed for a few mins and stop - they have basically had a thirst quenching nutrition filled drink. A while later they are hungry so feed for longer.
Wet nappies are the evidence that the baby is getting enough.
I had La Leche League support. They were incredibly helpful.

Contact La Leche League and ask your health visitor midwives for support. I had a similar start to breastfeeding and it took time and a lot of effort but we got it established. I hope you have a supportive partner as the Leche League told me ‘it’s a full time job for 2 people to get it established.’ You need someone who can take care of you as much as possible so you can focus on pumping if that’s what you want to do. Really recommend an electric pump if you’re not already using one. Good luck!

Thanks all for you responses x
We did end up using a formular after breast to supplement for about 4 feeds, she was like a different baby, super chilled! However this change in food did cause her to be bunged up with #2 for a few days. My milk then came in about 12 hrs later from the post. The new challenges being trying blocked ducts (with so far limited success) and relearning to latch onto different shaped boobs! But she is so much calmer and we are all so much more rested now. Anyone else in the same position I'd recommend a temporary top up with formular.

Topping up after a feed will delay your supply adjusting to the babies needs. Breast fed babies can ooo much less frequently than bottle fed, (once a week would be unremarkable), so she may just have been pooing out the formula. I’m glad it’s working for you and you are both settling into a routine.

Great news! Re blockages etc I found the old wives tale re dark cabbage leaves to be magic. Bend or cush slightly to let juice out, was amazingly helpful when I started to get red and sore on the verge of mastitis-put on boobs, then bra. Change every 4hrs or so as they start to smell Darker leaves are best. Also dunking boobs in sink of warm water and massaging gently helps

Just found this as I was about to ask the same question! Baby arrived by emcs in the evening on tue, due to being quite unwell I didn’t get any skin to skin until the following morning. He latched ok and managed one wet nappy on day 2 but I was still only making a tiny bit of colostrum, he cluster fed the whole night when we got home and by the early hours nothing was coming out and nipples were agony with him latching on every few mins. He was clearly hungry and his little mouth was all dry when I popped a clean finger in. Hoping we can keep offering boob/colostrum but top up to keep him hydrated till milk is in…?

You really shouldn’t be ‘recommending’ this to others

feed your baby how ever you want- not my business, but you described completely developmentally normal cluster feeding behaviour.

a 4 day old breastfed baby suckles a lot and seems ‘hungry’. its supply and demand. They are bringing in your milk.

Based on what you have written, there was absolutely no need to supplement with formula in this situation. And others might also think they are apparently starving their baby.

Hi jolies1, sorry to hear your having the same issues! Defo keep up with the skin to skin though as much as you can and feeding as much as you can (lanolin on the nipples and no squashing them into a bra helps) the saliva will be sending messages to your body to bring on the milk.
If you can use a pump if you have one that also might help with some simulation.
We used formular very reservedly but it did help us all get some sleep. It does bung them up though. And we used a spoon to feed rather than a bottle or syringe. If using a syringe for large quantities need to be careful about the amount of air there taking in.
Hopefully your milk will come through in the next day xx

I hope all mums seek the best advice for their baby - I checked with my midwife after this thread and unfortunately our baby was starting to get jaundiced and dehydrated as I was only producing a couple of drops of colostrum and sometimes was completely dry. In our specific circumstances have been advised to top up with formula today otherwise would have ended back in hospital, as well as pumping to try and stimulate my milk. I’m really glad this thread made me ask my midwife.

Thank you - I have replied with similar to another poster but glad I saw your thread, it encouraged me to ask my midwife. Baby is jaundiced and was starting to get dehydrated (as am I) and was barely getting a drop of colostrum. It’s not for every baby but in our specific circumstances were encouraged to get some formula in him and start pumping, hopefully will only need the formula for today. He’d have ended back up in hospital otherwise where they definitely would have given us formula.

It was a very difficult birth and am on lots of meds and had got very dehydrated so aware it’s not the same for everyone of course. I had never intended to use formula but knew baby wasn’t right.

Glad I asked :)

Breast compressions in a nice a warm bath to help with blocked ducts! Youtube how to do hand breast compresses! Xx