Tiktok/anyone - my milk dried up v. early last time, can I prevent it happening again?

[Miaou]

I'm not due to give birth until July but this is on my mind.

With dd1 I b/f successfully until I put her onto bottles when I went back to work (she was about 6 months I think).

With dd2 I only managed to b/f until she was 2 months old. dd1 was only 17months and I was running around after her a lot. I was never able to satisfy dd2, and she began to demand feeds more and more often, but I simply did not have enough milk. I was v. upset about this at the time.

With this baby I really want to b/f for longer, less pressure on me to go back to work now, but I am concerned that I may not have enough milk. Is there anything I can do to prevent this happening again?

it may have been that your dd2 was not very good at feeding - rather than your supply was low.

If it is genuinely low then you can try fenugreek capsules.

I did wonder whether the fact that I got very little rest running around after dd1 had anything to do with it.

Also I am (ahem) not very well-endowed - could that be a reason too?

Hi, miaou...lack of rest will not have affected your milk, nor would your size. However, some babies need feeding often for a milk supply to be built up and maybe the care of your toddler made this hard to do.

It is highly unlikely you had a low milk supply to start off with - you bf fine first time round.

This time, feeding often from day one will help you get off to a good start. Increasing your milk supply happens when you feed more often, and giving bottles interferes with this. Good luck!

i think feeding often is the key. also drink lots of water.good luck

I've just remembered that when she was born she fed almost constantly for 24 hours (1/2 hour feed, then 1/2 hour later she wanted feeding again) - by this time I was delerious with fatigue (having lost a night's sleep by labouring through it) and asked the mw in the hospital to give her a bottle. They kept asking if I was sure...maybe that's where my troubles started!

I would guess she never really got a good latch and so wasn't getting much out - so wanted to feed more often. The bottle maybe compounded it a bit. They have to learn to feed - took my DS1 a month to figure it out.

I didn't know that could happen at the time ... hopefully I am a little less ignorant now and will seek help rather than giving up!

thanks for your advice everyone.

try and get in touch with a local breastfeeding counsellor before you give birth - then you at least know who to contact if you need help.

It is a shame we all automatically assume it is our fault - when normally all we need is help.

Hopefully this next baby will be a champion feeder

I agree with everyone, that feeding often is the fix, and breast size is not an issue.

The other thing that would help is making sure you've got time for the baby - will you have help with your older daughters, so you'll be able to feed the new baby lots when s/he arrives?

Yes NQC, my dds are now 7 and 6, so out at school all day, and apart from cuddles and help with homework etc I will be able to give as much time as I need to this one .