Breastfeeding/pumping help

[DMMMJ]

So DC is 4 weeks old been exclusively BF since birth, amazing latch and BF support described DC as a textbook BF baby.

DC had been getting weighed and at last weigh in on Thursday DC still wasn't back up to birth weight so HV advised to start giving top up of expressed milk.

DC has been a great feeder absolutely no concerns, no tongue tie etc. DC was quite fussy in the evenings between around 4 until bedtime feeding constant but been sleeping great through the night so BF support advised that nothing was wrong and it was just a case of taking the good with the bad.

So after speaking with HV we decided DC top up should be between the fussy hours so around tea time. That was fine and I started trying to express. But in all honesty I'm finding it quite hard. Any time I feel like I have DC down for a nap I get my pump ready to go, start pumping and DC wakes back up.

This morning for example, DC has fed for 1 hour 30 on right side so I decided to pump left side while DC had morning nap but then DC woke up I tried to feed on right but DC was either getting frustrated at the slow flow or just wasn't getting enough milk so I then had to stop pumping my left to try DC on that.

When I took my pump off I had Pumped 4oz and put DC on but there was a bit of fussiness then DC just stopped sucking but not completely sleeping that i could put DC down for a nap.

I feel like pumping I'm taking away from DC and honestly feel like I don't know when I actually have time to fit in pumping in order to produce enough for the tea time top up.

I've tried pumping at night after DC goes to bed and I literally produce 4 oz between both which is enough for 1 top up but I'm trying to build up a supply incase DC might need more top ups. Due to be weighed again tomorrow to see where we are at but I'm just looking for some help or advise.

How do people pump if their baby feeds constant? Am I doing it wrong.

I am in the same boat, I try and pump on one side while I'm feeding on the other. I'm finding it hard to stay on top of having the pump sterilised etc

This is silly. There’s no need to top up. If baby isn’t effectively feeding that needs looking at by a lactation consultant - they are trained in breastfeeding.

Health Visitors are not trained and should not be giving out advice because they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Please speak to your local lactation consultant (they’re free, either at the hospital or a local breastfeeding support group) and do not take your health visitors advice on this.

You need professional support.

The sad news is that apparently the best time for telling your body to produce more milk is around 1am. If you're committed to pumping perhaps that would be a good time to try to increase flow.

Seeing a lactation consultant would be a great shout.

Alternatively I don't think a bottle of formula as a top up is a bad thing. Don't kill yourself to keep it 'exclusively' breastfed, any breast milk you can give your baby is helping them and doing them the world of good ❤️

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time, this sounds awful.

I was told to pump to top up my baby and after 4 weeks of struggling with what you are I gave up on breastfeeding completely. It wss just not manageable, for me, to do the feeding and pumping. I was always either pumping or feeding, and it really affected me mentally. I also ended up with a huge over supply because the pumping over stimulated me.

I'm sorry I don't have any better input other than if you can avoid it don't go down the pump to feed rabbit hole, it is deep and dark.

Is there a reason why you haven't been advised to top up with formula? That would do the same job but not mess about with your supply surely?

I'm not a medical professional mind, and I think a lactation consultant could give you the best advice x

Honestly if you’re feeding for 90 mins at a time and baby isn’t back to birthweight at 4 weeks then something isn’t right, regardless of what the HV says.

Tbh I would just top up with Formula if really needed.

At that age you end up over supply otherwise also which isn’t comfy for you and like you say, no rest.
I would breastfeed unlimited as you are, and add one bottle of formula of 3 oz once a day soon after you have fed baby around 6-7pm.

Actually yes 90 mins is a long feed. 45 mins would be a long feed tbh.

Have you had your baby weighed weekly? If they are feeding frequently and have lots of wet and dirty nappies could it be that the initial weight was inaccurate? I would concentrate on feeding frequently, lots of fluids for yourself and weigh at least weekly on the same scales to look at the trajectory as long as your baby is well, of course?

@Rella357 is hard going isn't it! I tend to feed baby on both sides until content and sleeping so pumping on the other side wouldn't do I don't think 😩.

@SunnySaturdayMorning I had a BF consultant who recently signed me off, she sat and watched baby feed and said there was absolutely no issues with her feeding. In terms of the Weight thing she said that was the HV side of things and that she would leave it with them but had absolutely no concerns with the feeding.

@LovingLivingLife yeah I've heard this and I tend to pump around 12 ish once baby is settled. DC wakes again at 2am so hence why I pump at 12 so I am still getting some sleep before the next feed. I'm not against formula but went and bought an expensive pump (stupid of me) so want to explore all avenues before using formula as a last resort.

@Nell80 oh I'm so sorry it never worked out for you 😩 it really is hard going. I have a pump that enables me to still go about and do chores etc so the pumping part wouldn't be too much of a hindrance it's just the whole when to pump with little one feeding constant. It's the same HV I've had with my other kids so I think she's just said express as I BF my other DC. I don't think there would be any issue if I was to say about formula.

@Chips92 sorry to drip feed, that was just one feed, feeds throughout the day can range from anything from 5 minutes to 40 minutes. There's never a pattern or any consistency.

@yikesanotherbooboo sometimes twice weekly. There has been a bit of a mess around at the start as midwife was weighing baby and in different places around the living room (not intentional, just weighing baby where there was most space) then my original HV was on holiday when baby was born so I had 2 different ones in her place so that was 3 different sets of scales then my own HV came back from holiday and weighed and came back that baby was static. But all in its been 4 different sets of scales. I've been getting everyone to weigh DC in the same space but not sure if it makes a difference as they are all using different scales. Baby is extremely well so bright and alert, plenty of wet nappies. Been a couples of days without a dirty nappy but I know with BF previous that some BF babies can go days without a dirty nappy.

Mine was a constant feeder. It took about 3-4 weeks for him to regain birth weight. Of course in the early days I was clueless and given advice like "feeding only necessary every 3-4 hours" (lol).

I would feed 90 min, then get a half hour break. Then another 90 min feed. On repeat. For about 3 months.

His weight was always a bit spotty in the first 6 months. He fed loads but I guess he has a high metabolism. It picked up when he started solids and has always been constant.

Because it's been so long to regain his birth weight, it's probably worth a phone call to your GP to check there's no underlying problems - there may not be.

If pumping is causing you this much distress, I would give it up. Either feed even more or top up with formula.

I had a crazy gruelling pumping schedule and breastfed, pumped and gave a bottle of expressed milk every three hours. It gave me a great supply. So I would set the alarm and do 12pm, 3am, 6am for instance. I pumped as well as breastfed 8x a day for months.

HOWEVER. In retrospect, it was really a lot and was it worth it?

Also, my baby returned to birth weight at 17 days. A month is a long time.

What I learned was that formula isn't the devil (I swapped to formula at 7 months). What about a bottle before bed? You can still breastfeed the rest of the time. Otherwise - you need to pump through the night.

i agree with PP.
no need to top up, your body will find its own rhythm and produce what is needed. If baby is falling asleep on breast just try and gently wake by stroking their cheek.

I increase my milk by drinking fennel infused milk and sometimes even have butter in it.. Indian recipe 😅

You can pump in between feeds to increase too. I hate pumping. Find it exhausting.

you’re not doing anything wrong! Sending you love, it’s a difficult transition period.

Was the breastfeeding consultant a trained IBCLC?

You need a trained IBCLC. If you continue to feed and pump like this you will exhaust yourself and BF will end up failing.

Whilst I can't comment on your individual case, with my first baby the midwife wrote the birth weight down wrong in the red book. This meant I got hounded about baby not being back to birth weight in the early days, which actually wasn't the case. If your baby is not gaining well then this is a case for a medically trained professional, and support from an IBCLC. A HV is neither of those things.

I've breastfed 4 babies and exclusively pumped for 1 baby (my 4th). Exclusively pumping was awful. I found that pumping on one side while feeding the baby on the other helped the most. Has your baby got a good strong suck? My baby with weight problems didn't suck very hard and I didn't realise how ineffective his sucking was until I had my next baby and he sucked like an industrial vacuum cleaner!

Out of interest, does baby feed through the night ? Just curious as you mention they ‘sleep through the night’?

@UnravellingTheWorld during the day from around 4 till bedtime I'm lucky if I'm even getting half an hour. She feeds little and often during this time. Sometimes drifts off and ill wake back up and then the process starts again. I just feel so confused as to when I'm supposed to fit it in without feeling as though I'm taking the milk she should be drinking. So for example this morning I fed from right all morning baby went for a nap and I put double pump on, baby woke back up 5 minutes into the pump session so I stopped the left pump as I knew that would've been more full. Fed baby for 25 minutes then put the pump back on left while baby napped again. I managed to get 5oz all in from pumping both for 30 minutes but now I haven't had any time to pump anymore as baby has been feeding constant and any time I get her down for a nap it's not lasting any more than 20 minutes.

@pjani a month is a long time although I have a feeling that she maybe lost more at the start than initially thought.

@Maloneyb I normally do when she drifts I will gently wake her back up so she's constantly feeding. I'm trying to pump between feeds but that's the part I'm finding hard because I'm not really getting a minute between feeds in the evening to go to the loo never mind pump lol. In the morning and at bedtime I am able to but just not throughout the afternoon into evening.

@SunnySaturdayMorning I'm not entirely sure to be honest, she is sent out from the local hospital and stays around for the first 2-3 weeks.

@headcheffer I feel that this is what may have happened. The floors in our house are not 100% flat either so I think the initial weighing may have been off and then when we realised this we are now trying to keep weighing in the same place with the same scales but we've had 3 different HV each with their own scales so not really off to a great start. My own HV weighed on Thursday and will weigh again Tomorrow so hopefully there is a change.

@elliejjtiny I think this might be what I need to try but I'm worried that I start pumping on one side and she starts fussing on the other. I would say she had a good suck while feeding this morning and pumping I couldn't feel any difference between the little ones suck and the pump.

@Mum7644885 sorry if the wording is confusing. She goes down around 10pm I pump at around 12, baby gets up at 2am feeds then again around 5:30 and fully awake by 7:30.

Find your local breastfeeding support group - they’ll have a trained IBCLC.

If baby is feeding that much and isn’t gaining weight properly then they aren’t feeding effectively and something is wrong with latch, positioning etc.

Also you should be waking and feeding her every 2 hours day and night if she’s not gaining weight, and make sure to offer both breasts. Breast compressions will increase the amount of milk for baby.

Right so baby is regularly feeding through the night which in turn should boost supply.

Its hard to think back as my LO is 2 now but I remember at 4 weeks I was constantly feeding her and I’d be pumping in between feeds also, it’s pretty relentless but when I was pumping I was probably getting a good 6oz of milk by week 4. I’d try and find a breastfeeding specialist or a help line or something to give all the detail to and see what they think. I personally found HV absolutely useless, half the time they didn’t turn up. Breastfeeding is relentless, I wouldn’t change it and I would do it again but it’s constant, especially during those first 2 months. Hope you find the answers you need x

@Mum7644885 With weight gain issues baby should be feeding every 2 hours; they are going too long without feeds during the night.

Honestly? Nothing increases supply like a baby suckling. If you can, try to spend a day in bed just feeding and dozing and cuddling and drinking lots of delicious things. That should help. If the baby is putting on weight even if it's slow it'll be fine.

@SunnySaturdayMorning

my point was, if baby is feeding regularly enough through the night, that will help boost milk supply, I also made the point that I was constantly feeding my 4 week old. Take from those points what you will.

I also suggested seeking expert advice as I am no expert. Although OP has provided some detail, it is very hard to give the right advice unless all the facts are know, which is why they need to speak to some one properly and not receive snippets of advice.