Breastfeeding - 40ml milk one day, 1ml colostrum the next

[TwoInABubble]

Hello,

I have a new 6 day old and we've been having some problems feeding. I can't seem to find an answer online so thought I'd ask here to see if others have experienced the same.
Labour was fairly quick and she came 8 days early, rushed to resus as she arrived not breathing or moving but was back maybe 10 minutes later (so no immediate skin to skin and cord clamped and cut quick). I also lost alot of blood while being stitched up. I don't know if this has impacted supply and ability to feed/latch (she find it easier to latch after ive pumped and my nipples are more swollen).
2 days ago I got a pump as felt she was getting frustrated at the breast and pumped 40ml milk (definitely milk, not thick or yellow), then a few hours later 30ml. The next day, I was only able to pump about 1ml from both sides and it's back to that thick yellow colostrum.
I get that it may be what her saliva is telling my body to make and what she needs, but it's just not filling her up at all.
Anyone else go back to colostrum after it seemed milk came in?

Please ditch the pump! Pumping is no indication of milk supply and is nowhere near as effective at withdrawing milk as your baby.

Plenty of skin to skin and regular offering of the breast. No matter how long for each tjne.

You've got this!!!

Your baby's saliva has nothing to do with milk supply!

How is weight gain going? Is she back above birth weight? Are there plenty of wet and dirty nappies? What does your midwife think?

Blood loss after birth can cause a milk delay, so that is a possibility. I doubt a short separation will make much difference, there's a lot about the importance of that first hour but doing it didn't make any difference to us - I still had milk delay followed by low supply!

fedisbest.org/resources-for-parents/know-risks-delayed-onset-full-breast-milk-supply/

As above, pumping is no indication of your supply, baby is much more efficient at getting milk. What you say it’s not filling her up, what do you mean? Babies feed more often, especially in this first couple of weeks to build up your supply, it doesn’t mean they aren’t getting enough.

Things have settled a bit now, but she still seems to struggle to feed or latch when she's fully awake - which usually coincides with night time! She just cries and shakes her head at my boob, may suckle twice before coming straight back off again.
Debbs77 - that's reassuring that pump supply doesn't show how much she is getting from source. I'm still pumping every so often (between her feeds) as I'd rather have a small supply of breastmilk in the fridge/freezer to use than have to rely on formula. When things were particularly stressful, we gave her formula and that just made me more stressed because I really didn't want to. Today I have 4oz from 2 pump sessions, so I'm feeling alot better about my supply in general.
RidingMyBike - it may not have anything to do with supply, but it affects the composition of the milk. Hence I wondered if she needed the fattier colostrum to help her gain weight/get rid of the jaundice. I definitely think the blood loss, tiredness and stress of it all made a difference.
Rhino94 - She seemed to get frustrated and pull off really quick. I guess my tired and stressed post-partum brain saw that as she wanted instant food and it wasn't coming out quick enough for her. One particular midwife at hospital didn't help matters either, telling multiple parents on the ward that their babies were being starved! Nor did the community midwife sending us back to hospital for jaundice (although that I'd rather be safe than sorry)

My daughter did the pulling off and crying after a few sucks
We went through the process of fast let down assessments which it probably was a little bit but the bigger cause was reflux and allergies. It started before day10 as I asked my midwife about it on the day 10 visit but she was 4.5 months when we found it was due to reflux and food allergies by which point she barely fed during the day and only when she was very relaxed.

Broadly starting to feed them stopping and crying means they don't like something about the feed. It could be a slow or a fast letdown or tongue tie or something less mechanical like reflux or a food allergy. It might be worth getting a feeding assessment

But that doesn't make sense, colostrum isn't 'fattier' than breastmilk, it's the other way round. Breastmilk is fattier and has more calories in it.

And you need the volume of milk to flush the jaundice out - that's why jaundice is more common in EBF babies because it can take longer for there to be a quantity of milk. Colostrum wouldn't do that.

Hey lovely, just to let you know that fussing at the breast can also be a way to encourage milk production. But it is often misunderstood.

I'd take positioning back to basics if the fussing is a bad latch.

Sit comfortably
Support your arms with cushions
Bring baby to the breast, not the other way round
Their body should be facing you, so essentially tummy to tummy. They shouldn't need to turn their head.
Nose to nipple. This will encourage them to open their mouth wide to get a good mouthful of breast and not just nipple xxx