Let down really slow at the 7pm feed! Help!

[Loulouhels]

I have been exclusively breastfeeding my 11 week old son and so far everything as been going so well. i haven't even had sore nipples.

Unfortunately I am having a few problems with the 7pm feed which is his feed before bedtime. He normally sleeps right through until 3.30-4.30 with the occasional early or later feed.
I start the feed really well and have always had a fast first let down which comes really quick and he doesn't have to work much to get it. But after about ten minutes he keeps sucking and nothing comes he will suck for a while and then get really frustrated and staert to pull off and cry making it hard for him to go back on and suck to make let down happen again. I end up having to put him on the other breast and the same thing happens on this side after ten mins. He is still hungry after this so for the last couple of nights I try to feed as long as possible and then top him up with 3ozs of expressed milk from the morning.

Has anyone any ideas on how to help this situation. It was going so well and I really don't want to top him up with formula. I have tried expressing after he goes to bed but end up with hardly any but do it because i don't want my milk supply to become any less than it already is at this time because of the top up.

Hi Loulouhels
Have you tried breast compressions? If you look on kellymom.com it will tell you exactly how to do it, but basically involves you using your hand to keep your milk flowing. I would do a link to kellymom but I can't do them, sorry

sounds like he is building your supply by demanding more. are you feeding to schedule? just you say '7pm feed' which implies so, but you also mention early or later feeds which sounds totally different.

at the same stage i was stuck on sofa from 7.30-10pm (or whenever i gave in and went to bed). BUT i did have supply problems.

Thank you - I have found BF a great experience and feel we have done really well up until now.

DS has slept this long from about 4 weeks sometimes he wakes earlier sometimes later and I thought it was because he has a lot of milk at the seven o'clock feed. He is putting on weight really well at least eight oz a week. i was on Kellymom yesterday and tried the compression but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I suppose I will just have to persevere. I will try and express tonight at 10 before I go to bed, if I can stay awake that long.

Hi Fishie. I am demand feeding but DS tends to go every three hours in the day and has done from around about 4 weeks. The evening feed is really the only one that is sort of 'routine'. I do the bath and bedtime routine from six every night and it has been working really well as he goes to bed and settles himself by about half seven and sleeps through until around 3.30 - 4.30. Do you think I am right to top him up with the bottle (expressed milk) at this time this is the fourth night I have had to do it as he becomes quite distressed and goes to bed really contented after the extra 3ozs??