Have I screwed up my milk supply? Or is this a growth spurt?

[CinnabarRed]

DS2 is 4 weeks old. I BF DS1 with no problems, but this time it's not so easy.

Last Monday I was literally crying with exhaustion. DS2 was feeding every 1.5-2 hours and wouldn't let me put him down so I was getting only minutes of sleep. My HV thought that tiredness was effecting the quality but not the quantity of my milk, and recommended that DP should give DS2 his midnight feed as a bottle of formula each night so that I could go to bed at 10 and sleep until 2.

Well, it worked brilliantly from my perspective - after 4 nights I feel like a new woman and can actually cope again. And DS2 was much more content (although perhaps that's because I'm more relaxed).

But. For the past couple of evenings DS2 has gone into a feeding frenzy at around 5 and drained me of everything I've got by 7. He's been screaming at the boob in frustration. We've had to top him up with formula (he took 50ml on Wednesday, 80ml yesterday). Yesterday I was able to feed him just fine during the day; today he's been far less happy with the boob.

Have I screwed up? I'm eating and drinking loads to try and up my supply. I'm not getting anything when I express today (earlier in the week I was able to express 100 ml) and my boobs don't feel full at all. What should I do?

I'm not really in a position to offer advice, bfing dc1. 3 months, but sure someone who can help will be along soon. From what i've read here just keep on eating,drinking, get lots of rest and skin to skin, offer the breast as much as poss. Maybe keep up with expressing to stimulate more also, and remember dcs are much better at getting the good stuff out than a pump. You are doing really well! Hope someone is along to help you soon.

I would not worry about your breasts not feeling full, that feeling of fullness tends to settle down after a couple of weeks, or about not getting much out when you pump, sometimes I get a trickle out and sometimes it's loads, no indication of your ability to feed youir baby imo.

I really think that you need to cut out the formula asap, I feel that you were given bad advice by your hv re the giving of formula in the first place but that's obv. just imo.

Feed, feed and feed somemore, swap breasts if he seems hungry after feeding at the first breast and give him plenty of skin to skin contact. As far as rest goes, can you bf lying down? My ds still feeds ever 2ish hours over night some nights but mostly it's ok as I co sleep and feed him lying down, even if you don't want to co-sleep you may well feel more rested if you feed lying down.

I vaguely remember yet another growth spurt at 4 weeks. All you can do is feed, feed, feed. Skin to skin is good if you can.

The more you supplement, esp. in the early weeks, the more you risk interfering with supply.

Boobs don't have to feel full to make milk. Mine are like floppy dog ears these days ;)

Just feed

(Sorry for brevity, NAK)

Take Motilium is my advice. It is a nausea drug but has a side effect of boosting milk supply. Having had problems with supply with three babies and been an exhausted tearful wreck, I am now bfeeding DC4, taking Motilium regularly and it is a totally different experience.

I tried EVERYTHING before, endless demand feeding, skin to skin, rest, food, oats, fennel, pumping, you name it. I never could feed those hungry babies enough. Now, finally, I understand what successful bfeeding can be like. The baby is content, not always frantically rooting at an empty breast. It is such a joy. I also give a formula top-up last thing at night, only ever 2 oz, but it puts DC4 out like a light and I get a bit of sleep before next feed.

I appreciate this is probably not what a bfeeding expert would say (!) but I tried all the official solutions and nothing worked. I just wish I had known about Motilium before. The only trouble is getting enough as the pharmacist quizzes you when you buy it and it's not officially meant for bfeeding. DH buys it for me

Good luck!

I think your HV gave you really duff advice and the more you offer supplements the more likely you are to interfere with your supply. In my experience, I have had those odd mad nights with mine which have taken me to the brink, but then things have settled down again. They are so young, things are constantly changing, if your HV hadn't said that your ds may have just stretched back to 3 hourly feeds on his own within a couple of days (ie it could have been a growth spurt).

If you have affected your supply - and it is very early days yet - it should only take 48 hours to boost it again, so as has been said before just feed, feed, feed. Offer both breasts at each feed, and feed frequently. You'll get there.

As you are an experienced breastfeeder, I assume you know about feeding lying down? I just loved that with dd2, but I think it can be trickier with younger ones. If you haven't tried it before, try it during the day first to practice.