BF struggles at 9 weeks

[Dalmatian0]

My baby is 9.5 weeks old. She is exclusively BF, including pumped breast milk.

The birth was tricky and she was very small, so midwives suggested pumping daily for several reasons - to help my supply and so she didn’t risk losing the little weight she had. I don’t think her latch is that good, I’ve tried all the tips and tricks to no avail. I have pumped daily since (as well as feeding her on the breast) and until now this has worked well.

However at 9 weeks she has doubled the amount of milk she needs per feed. If I feed her on the breast she is never satisfied at the end (I think as latch isn’t right), it needs to be topped up with pumped milk. I don’t seem to make enough milk to keep up - I’m feeding and pumping so much but it is not enough. I never have any milk in the fridge now, whereas before I had 100-300ml as standard.

I’m so worried I will need to top up with formula. Only a week ago it had all been straightforward and I had no doubts about making it to 6 months, but now I’m really worried.

Any advice? Is this normal?

There are so many phases like this with BF I found (I also expressed so could see and felt intimidated by the amount DD was drinking from a bottle) but it’s probably just another phase of cluster feeding to increase your supply with another growth spurt.

Are you wearing the right flange size to maximise pumping output? Are you drinking plenty of water and eating lots etc? Are you pace feeding with bottles to ensure she doesn’t guzzle?

Thanks for your reply, it’s good to hear this is hopefully relatable / normal.

• I think flange size is right, pump output has always been fine (until now!)

• When I do paced feeding a lot of milk gets dribbled down her chin, so I don’t do this as much as I probably should

• I have resolved to lose the last of my baby weight (7kg to go!) recently, but may be I should pause on that. I’ve still been eating three good meals a day but may be I’ll reintroduce a few snacks. I think I do drink enough water

Thank you again. Here’s hoping it is just a phase! So stressful that I’m pumping so much more but as soon as I get any milk I have to give it to her immediately

No worries, I felt like every now and then I thought ‘this is impossible how can we continue’ and I’m now 10m PP still going so I’m sure this is just a bump in the road for you!

Has your output reduced or is it just that she is drinking more so it’s no longer enough what you are pumping? I have ended up with elastic nips so been through every size and type of flange ever. I ended up getting a second hand hospital grade pump when she was about 3 months which helped with my supply (only had a wearable prior).

Are you pace feeding her in a more upright or laying down position? Might be worth trying the opposite to try and avoid waste. Wasting breastmilk feels so tragic for the amount of blood sweat and tears that goes into it.

Good on you working on it so soon! You can probably still loose slowly but if you can wait until your supply is more established at 6m it shouldn’t affect your milk then. I found taking bf vitamins and iron, drinking tonnes of water and eating loads of oats helped! Have you tried power pumping too?

Oh I forgot to say - I read BF babies should usually only ever need 3-5oz as your breastmilk composition changes to meet babies needs, so the amount to pump won’t just keep increasing exponentially! DD is 10m and drinks 4oz of expressed at a time now she is nursery. Hopefully that offers you some reassurance that you won’t end up on 9oz bottles!

Thank you, this is really encouraging to read, especially about the quantity not endlessly going up. I will try BF vitamins and different flange sizes. I always feed her upright, will vary that too.

Thank you again!

As well as not trying to lose weight yet, try to rest as much as possible because milk production uses a lot of calories. Listen to your body and eat when you’re hungry and keep well hydrated at all times.

I’m almost 8 weeks in and still have nipple pain. For at least half of those weeks, I’ve been exclusively pumping. Baby’s tongue tie was divided a few weeks ago but I still have a stinging pain in my nipples after the feed.

Why are you worried about topping up with formula? Not everyone can make enough milk for their baby, for myriad reasons, and formula does no harm. I’m a low supplier, and never got above 50% breastmilk, but did BF for more than three years in the end.

I did find the BFing direct and pumping counter-productive, your body needs calories and rest to be able to make milk, so restricting either is going to make a difference. I got a big increase in supply at eight weeks after I stopped all pumping and my baby was sleeping through so I was getting a decent block of sleep in.

Why still pump? Baby seems to just be cluster feeding, it's how it goes with breastfeeding. It's part of the reason why formula feeding is much easier, especially in the early days.

And forget about losing weight. Dieting will affect your milk supply and your child is more important than losing a few pounds. I'm not saying don't go on formula, I'm saying think about what you want and act accordingly because you will really kick yourself if you end BF just to lose weight.

Agree baby is just cluster feeding, it's not that "she isn't getting enough milk". My DS would suckle at the breast for 4 hrs straight if I let him. Every evening he did that, just swapped from one side to the other and went for hrs. I never thought he wasn't getting enough, just comfort plus telling my body to make more milk for him growing. Try and dial back the pumping and let her latch as much and as often as she likes x

Also the problem with the pumping is you risk creating an oversupply. Which may not sound bad right now but in the long term, it really is. It's extremely painful and difficult to deal with. Imagine your baby finally sleeps through the night, but you have to get up and pump. It's a horrible feeling.

You are also at a massive risk of mastitis with an oversupply and let me tell you, mastitis was the most single horrible illness I ever experienced. Until my toddler gave me hand foot and mouth and I learned what hell on earth actually feels like 😂