please help new mum with 3 week baby - how do i get my milk supply up?

[roundgirl]

Hiya any advice would be vvv welcome! I have really battled with breast feeding since our DD's birth three weeks ago. She was unable to latch on due to a tongue tie, which went undiagnosed by the hospital and also I have flat nipples and she has a recessive chin!

I had the tongue tie sorted last week and she was feeding well, albeit using nipple sheilds.....then I promptly came down with mastitis!

I am on the mend now and am really keen to breastfeed still, but the traumas of the last few weeks have meant my milk supply is low, particularly after the mastitis and we have had to top up breast feeds with a little bit of formula. I am feeding her for hours, with nipple sheilds still, and she is still starving and so she is having 20ml - 40 ml of formula at the end.

How do I break this cycle and build my milk supply up and get rid of the formula top ups?

Please help as I am exhausted, feeding, expressing and sterilising bottles, the worst of all worlds!

Thankyou!

[nickymorris]

I've been having Fennel tea which is rumoured to boost supply - I also read that fish soup is supposed to help but haven't tried that yet. And drink lots of water :-)

But as has been said above the BEST thing to do is to let the baby stimulate your systems naturally - skin to skin and feeding and nothing else - it'll take a day or so for your boobs to catch up in my experience - but baby won't starve in the meantime - they're surprisingly reslilient little things.

Got fingers crossed for you

[Yorky]

Does fennel tea taste as unappetising as raspeberry leaf tea?
Some things I am willing to do but will be glad when I don't have to anymore!

[ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight]

oh no it's actually nice!

[nickymorris]

I like the fennel tea too. I'd get some from a healthfood shop if you can - although you can get some at the supermarket - Twinings Sweet Fennel and Dutchy Originals Fennel are the ones I've tried.

[ipanemagirl]

From my own experience only, just go to bed and do nothing but rest and feed - if you can!
A laleche couns told le todo this with ds and it worked.
Bf dd (age 4.5 weeks) has been much easier because I make it my main priority and feed her a lot and often in bed so I relax too.
But I know I've been very lucky and also had tons of help in the first few weeks from mother, mil, fil and dh with all the household stuff and ds. So I could really concentrate on feeding dd. Not that I didn't do other things but I have had a month of eating and drinking plenty, lots of rest, not too many chores, not too many visitors, and for the first month feeding dd mostly in bed and often napping with her. She's already growing out of everything.
It wasn't like this with ds, I found it far more difficult.

I wonder how much stress plays apart in milk supply? And mastitis is terrible I hear. So rest rest rest and get yourself fed and rehydrated and strong and relaxed as possible! (Not saying this IS possible - so many women have so much on their plates... - but all the best!)

[ipanemagirl]

I meant, it was like this with ds at the beginning when I struggled a lot. (sorry)