Help with my supply

[SuzeL1997]

Hi everyone

if anyone can advise I would be soo grateful forever

I currently have a 6 week old son who I was exclusively formula feed due to his latch (I have flat nipples)

after trying him on the boob with nipples shields and realising I had a low milk supply we switched when he was 2 weeks old

now due to health issues with my son they said I should try BF

so I’m trying to pump and feed through bottle! After not pumping for 4 weeks I though my supply would be dried up put I am producing a small amount of milk!

how do I increase this?

has anyone tried any hacks?

any suggestions on pumps, currently using tommie tippy ones and I hate them, it’s killing my nipples and my sanity! I loved mam move pump but it broke and always leaked! Any suggestions on hands free pumps would be great

and has anyone ever been able to come back with a good supply after waiting so long?

Best pump for me was elvie hands free pump

I would just get one and pump for an hour at a time as bf is supply and demand

Are there any BF support groups you can go to locally? They can give more specific advice.

Can you also look at power pumping?

www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/breastfeeding/power-pumping-to-increase-breast-milk-supply

I had the momcozy s12. I’d get two and look into power pumping. Make sure the flange is the right size for your nipple. You can buy different sized inserts off Amazon. You could also pop a little bit of lanolin on your nipples before pumping to stop any friction.

Oh you poor thing, this will be hard!

i would agree with pp. get some advice. Lactation consultants etc. have you spoken to your GP about medication?

other than that if you can take to bed your your sofa. Skin to skin if possible, and feed, feed, and feed some more. Feeding is far more effective at stimulating supply than pumping, so feed as much as you can bear it.

can your dh take a few days or someone to help you with cooking and cleaning, fetching drinks and food while you feed?

same if you’re trying to pump and bottle feed, you really need to be doing it as frequently as you can.

Have you been referred to the infant feeding team? I was prescribed Domperidone to help increase my supply when exclusively pumping alongside pumping every 2 hours (3hrs) at night. Warming pads and massage before expressing helped as well.
Use a double pump (hospital grade) and make sure it fits correctly you can usually get inserts to improve the fit. I also got a on the go pump so I wasn't trapped to the house.
The infant team told me thay short but frequent sessions to replicate newborn feeding patterns.
Make sure you're eating well, hydrated and resting when you can.

First off I would see if you can hire a hospital grade pump for a bit to try and build your supply and then once you're producing more then switch to something hands free. After our hire period ended I had the medela swing which worked well but isn't really hands free. I also found massaging my boob to stimulate milk and them attaching the pump was better. And the most important for me was getting the right flange size. I was given the biggest size made in hospital and didn't even get a drop even though I was engorged. When I brought my own pump from home with the correct flange size I got more milk than the bottles could hold.

In terms of building a supply I would get some decent advice from someone like La Leche League or National Breastfeeding Helpline.
Power pumping would be worth a try too to mimic cluster feeding. I used fenugreek supplements too and ate lots of porridge oats as they're supposed to boost supply. And one of the most significant things was probably having baby in skin to skin to get the oxytocin flowing if that's an option for you with their health issues. If not then having them close or looking at their photo might help.