Milk supply depleting

[Nicolab23]

Hi, this is my first post, I'll try to be as concise as I can.
My son was born prematurely at 28 weeks in July. I immediately started to express for him as I was quite rightly advised that my milk would help his progress. My supply was always good, and i was even asked if i wanted to donate milk at one point. Due to his prematurity latching was a problem, although nipple shields offered a solution. Sadly, I wasn't keen on them so continued to express and feed him by bottle. When he came home 3 weeks ago, I returned the ameda pump that i'd been hired and bought a medela swing. I then noticed that my milk was not as abundant and hired another ameda from the community breast advisor. I have tried so hard to express frequently including during the night but have found that my supply has only improved very slightly, from about 15ml to a maximum of 30ml per session. I feel so stressed and wonder whether that is affecting my supply?
Also, on another thread I noted that some mums hadn't had a period for months, or even years. Mine returned within 6 weeks of my sons birth and I am now menstruating again, could that be related to my depleted milk supply.
Sorry this thread has gone on a bit!! Can anybody help or advise me? Can I get my milk supply back up again?

Tiktok...thank you
It's difficult to gauge how much breast milk he has by assessing his stools as I currently top him up with EBM, and will have to possibly top up with formula if I can't express enough.
Also, will DS get a better yield from the breast than the pump...I assume he will.
When I put him to the breast with the shield, there is milk pooled in the teat when he has finished and he has milk all over his face which I assume is a good sign. He does however have a good half feed top up a short while later.
I am more determined than ever to feed him myself completely and plan to get some help from a BFC as soon as possible. If I do have to give him FF at some point, is it ok to discontinue it if he becomes established on the breast?
Sorry for all the questions.
Tiktok, what is your background...you are so knowledgeable

Nicolab you are doing a great job. Express feeding is not as easy as breast feeding directly but any breast milk your child gets is better than non iyswim.

I have had problems breastfeeding ds and dd2 as they both had problems latching. Even with a lot of help and support we couldn't get the hang of it. I express fed ds for about 4 months topping up with formula as needed. I am currently doing the same for dd2 who is 2 weeks old. She tends to have ebm during the day and formula at night. I am double pumping after every feed morning, noon and night and average about 40ml per session. I am also trying to fit in extra sessions in between but with school/nursery runs it is difficult. The breast feeding co ordinator at the hospital told me that any breast milk the child gets is of benefit and that I am doing the best I can and to be proud of myself as many mums would quit and just formula feed.

Tiktok, I can just imagine running away from dc I mean predators with milk dripping everywhere (time to go to bed).

btw, after nearly 9 years of bf I have never really managed to figure out how much dc actually drank. I also know that I was never able to express any milk unless I had dc sucking on the other side. I do remember many hours of continuous mumsnetting with dc in my lap with free "feeding" access.

No one can really gauge how much breastmilk a baby has at any one feed - it's the bigger picture that needs assessing anyway. In a young baby, weight, behaviour and wees/poos are all things to consider when assessing if his intake is ok.

You can't say for sure if babies are always better than pumps for extracting milk. An effectively feeding baby may well get more out than a poorly performing pump. But an efficient pump may get more out than a baby who has not yet learnt to breastfeed well.

Thanks tiktok. DD2 lost over 1lb and started having dry clean nappies which is what prompted me to go with express feeding this time round! It is working for us she is more settled and is gaining weight and I have peace of mind so hopefully I won't end up with pnd and really bad guilt complex like the last 2 times.