elec sect, milk slow arriving, domperidone the answer?

[stoofadoof]

DS is now 17 days old, he was born by (sort of!) elective section at 11 days overdue. Latch was sorted in hosp by ace midwives, and had 3 days there with him feeding almost constantly? figured we were onto a good thing for milk coming in? this pattern continued for first few days at home, all good i thought? however, milk still hasn't really come in (it did at 4 days with DD after emergency section), and at 17 days he still hasn't gained any weight (still 200gm below birth weight).

I have an ace midwife who has checked and rechecked latch, and suggested blessed thistle 10 days ago? there has been no significant increase in milk, and today on advice of another mw have started topping him up with an ounce of formula following breastfeed..

Am feeding at least 3 hourly day and night, and for last 3 days have been trying to express after each feed, but only managing to get 10ml over the course of 3 or 4 sessions of pumping .

This other mwife has suggested a script for domperidone tomorrow? i just wondered if anyone had any advice they could offer or experience they could share - might this be the answer?

from what she's said we'd just have a try at this new regime for a week and hopefully that would sort it, and could then drop the formula again? (the formula top up and taking domperidone whilst continuing to br/feed and express to continue stimulation)

i fed for 3 months last time before giving up, but this time it feels like it's going swimmingly - latch is good etc etc, there just isn't any blinking milk?.. aargh!

sorry about the long msg and all the ? marks? dunno what's happened there, except DD (now 3) has been helping too!

thanks for any help you can offer!

what sort of pump are you using?? if it is manual i would bin it and get a medela swing it will really help, mimics the let down sucking that baby does. also could you try pumping between or just before you feed, then feed, then give expressed milk

will post more tomorrow, i'm trying to drag myself to bed, but i have experience of this and know how heartbreaking it is when it seems all your effort isn't get the results, but it will get better,

No expert advice from me I'm afraid, hopefully Tiktok will come along in the morning. Just remember what it's like to be up desperately hoping someone could say "oh just do A and B and it will all be fine". Never works that way does it?
Try not to stress about giving a bit of formula, your milk will turn up!
Hopefully your fast asleep at the minute and by the time you read this not only will there be more helpful practical advice but also your baby will be feeding better.
Congratulations by the way!

Sorry for being an idiot (and I know you've done this before) but what makes you think your milk hasn't come in? LAck of engorgement?

YY to what SPB says. Why do you think your milk hasn't come in?

I know you say the latch has been checked by MW, but I think at this point you need a BF specialist. If you're happy to say what town you're in, I can have a dig for baby cafes or similar.

Latches can nearly always be improved.

What kind of poo is your baby making? How often? What colour?

How often has he been weighed? What are those numbers like?

Why did you have a CS?

Are there any other health issues we should know about?

hi all - thanks for your msgs! I've not been ignoring my own thread - down under at the mo, so currently 13 hours ahead!

things work a bit differently here, my lead maternity carer is also a lactation consultant, and the hosp ward had lact consults on hand too - so position and latch etc have been checked and rechecked, especially given lack of weight gain, and i'm confident that they are good (they really weren't last time, and the difference this time with the support i've received is incredible!)

to try and answer other questions:

it is a hand-pump, which i got on ok with last time, but i'm going to see if i can hire an elec one from the pharm today.

i have got milk, but it didn't arrive with a fanfare like last time, and the mw (and I) are concerned that DS hasn't gained any weight in 17 days, despite feeding whenever he wants, plus waking him up 3 hourly if necessary? he's been cluster feeding 5-9 most evenings too? so the assumption is that my supply is low? I certainly don't feel like i have 'full' boobs like last time, and I don't spray the shower every morning like i did last time, nor have i needed to use pads for leaks etc

poo has been nice and yellow and with the grainy mustard texture, but only one every few days. plenty of wet nappies tho, and he's not dehydrated.

He's been weighed 4 times now - 5 days after birth he'd dropped 200g (from 3.9) and he hasn't gained any since then (but nor has he lost any more).

I was going for VBAC (emcs first time cos DD got distressed and stuck after 27 hours of contractions) but despite best efforts to get him into good position etc and encourage labour, got to 11 days over with unfavourable signs for any sort of induction (couldn't break waters etc) so was booked for section? still took 3 goes to get him out!

No other health issues (that I'm aware of!)

I guess I just want to know if there's anything else anyone thinks I'm not doing that I could be to build supply, or if it's worth trying the domperidone?

am seeing the mw again later and DS will be weighed? he's been a bit more 'vigorous' with his (breast)feeds since he's had a bit of formula, so am hoping things might be going in the right direction!

thanks everso for taking the time to help me out! I'm constantly amazed by other MNers capacity to share and care for others!

Thats great stood, sounds like he just needed a bit of time to get the hang of the whole feeding business.
I found it very very hard to just let my dd find her own routine and to stop stressing about weight, in the end just stopped having her weighed so often. Nearly five months on we're still going strong and she's a podgy bundle of giggles.
Hope things continue on the right path, I'm in Canada at the moment by the way, which is why I'm about. Not stalking you honest!

hi stoofadoof - jack newman (that lactation expert who has written books/websites on the subject) recommends the domperidone.

at three months i felt i had a lot less milk - now know it was supply adjusting but at the time i thought eeeekkk - and i went down the herbal route. i drank a concoction of raspberry leaf/fennel/chamomile and nettle herbal tea steeped until quite strong then added enough water to make it into a pint of liquid and downed it, three times a day, and within 48 hours i had an enormous amount of milk! i had to stop as i had far far too much! i really don't know how/why it worked but it seemed to!

i'm not an expert, just done lots of reading so you might not want to take my word for it but if you try it and it works, let me know as i'd love to know if it was actually the herbs!

yellow poo sounds positive and your LO is not losing weight, is staying the same so it'll probably all just sort itself out

i'm pretty sure night feeds are important in building supply - something to do with prolactin (hormone responsible) being more abundant at night. (again, not an expert!)

this is jack newman on domperidone

where in oz are you - there was a good healthfood shop in mosmon, sydney which sold a big range of herbal tea

Thanks Ruby I will keep that in mind if i have another dc

Hi stoof
Blimey 5 weigh ins in 17 days seems a bit much!
Try fenugreek capsules for increasing milk supply.
Sounds like you're getting there - just a bit slower than the mw would like.

ps of you in Oz!

thanks for all your help! finally gaining weight now, and milk def increased .. still using an odd top up, but didn't take the domperidone? post section i was rattling with tablets incl antibiotics for infection, and i wanted to try and sort without resorting to more!

in 'the other down-under' just outside akl? tho only for another few weeks - coming home, can't wait!!