Breastfeeding help - boosting supply

[Daffodil87]

Hello, sorry for the long post but hope someone can give me some advice on this. I have a 9 week old DS and have been trying to breastfeed since his birth. I had issues immediately in the first week where he was very sleepy and would fall asleep at the breast and often had a poor latch too. I think because of this my supply was impacted and his nappies were completely dry for a day or so which scared me a lot and meant I had to start topping up with formula from the first week. Since then I have been mixed feeding DS and gradually his latch has improved. So I put him on both breasts for each feed, wait for him to come off each breast and then give him a bottle of formula. The problem is that sometimes he will drink half the bottle of formula and other times he drinks the entire bottle. So my supply seems to be quite erratic. I am also pumping about twice a day and that's even worse. The most I've ever been able to pump out is half a feed but usually i only get about 10 - 20ml after an hour and a half of pumping. I'm eating oats, drinking water, tried fenugreek supplements and also taking urtica urens herbal supplement. Any advice? Do you think the damage has already been done since the first week and now there's no hope of me boosting my supply at this late stage? Or do some people just have low supply no matter what they do? I feel bad that I caved and gave him formula in the first week as I've learned so much more about breastfeeding since then and wish I could go back and start all over and give it a proper go.
Fyi: he does still often fall asleep at the breast so sometimes i do remove him myself after 10 mins, no idea if I should just be keeping him on there. Also keen to know how much I should be pumping if I put him on the breast at every feed. TIA and sorry for all the questions.

Forgot to mention that this is my first baby hence why I am so clueless

❤️You didn’t ‘cave’ you were petrified for your babies health and did something you knew would make him better.

Have you tried not topping up for a few days? Draining a bottle after a feed is sort of known as a ‘yes that can happen even if your supply is fine’.

What happens if you don’t top up for one day? Are the nappies still ok? Does he still sleep and stuff and seem comfortable?

The only thing I can liken it to is (we’re totally on formula now he’s 11m old) there are different teat sizes and when I give my DC a size 3 he cries after the bottle because it’s gone in seconds and he’s like ‘what, where’s my milk gone!!!’ But if I give it in a size 2 he drinks what he wants and then leaves it satisfied. I think that’s what it’s like when they have breast and bottle combos one has much fast easier flow so can take without the stomach sending the ‘I’m full’ signal yet I know you’ll probably know all this because you’ve been combo feeding for weeks but it was a revelation for me to see how different it made him

I would seek help from a consultant if you can, do you have a group in your area? I was similar to you with my DD and ended up giving up at 8 weeks and going full formula.

Don't worry about the amount you're pumping being similar to what baby will get when feeding - they are far more efficient

I would try not topping up for a day or two, but just lots of skin to skin and feeding on demand if you can

Has latch been ok recently or could you get checked for tongue tie?

You are doing great

I am no breastfeeding expert and only have a one month old...

But i would second the advice to stop the top up and see what happens. If he is on the breasts for longer more often it might stimulate your supply?

Mine also falls asleep sometimes so i just wait and when she is waking up after 15 or 20min she latches again and eats round 2.
I am feeding on demand and she cluster feeds a lot but my supply follows. Perhaps you could try if you can?

Are you expressing so your partner can feed? Could you try to not express for a couple of days? It doesn't sound efficient and must be exhausting for you...

But honestly i personally see a massive difference in supply when i get a decent sleep/nap and drink plenty of water. I know it sounds simple but it works... at least for me.

And big hugs! This breastfeeding business is not easy and you are doing your best

I could have written this. My baby is 2.5 weeks old and it took until nearly 2 weeks until my milk came in. Had to top up from day 2 as wasn’t getting anything and they were screaming for food. Am trying to feed before formula each time, but they still drink 60-100mls in formula after each feed. Once or twice a day they do breast only. I can’t stop the top up yet as they just scream and reject the breast. I’m only getting very small amounts when pumping, a day’s worth won’t cover one feed (getting 60ml per day on a good day). I’ve seen the lactation specialist and followed all the advice. I’m at my wits end, last two feeds have been rejected about 2mins in and won’t latch on despite previous latching being really good. I don’t want to give up, but I’m running out of things to try and it’s making me feel miserable.

Are you able to get support from a lactation consultant?

Have some days in bed. Snuggle up with lots of skin to skin, loads and loads of water to drink and let baby have unlimited access to the breast.

Make sure you are eating plenty as well. I lived in flapjacks and cheese in the first few months.

Hi OP, I’m pregnant with my third and breastfed both my children so have some experience but I’m no expert!

Congratulations for getting this far and trying so hard, you should give yourself credit!

First it maybe an idea to look up size of baby’s stomach because it’s amazing how little they actually drink at this stage, I found with mine they fed little and often, sometimes referred to as cluster feeding. This upped my milk supply a lot of the time too as baby was suckling a lot.
In terms of baby falling asleep mine did this all the time so I would try to keep my baby awake until he pulled off himself as apposed to falling asleep feeding.
Your midwife when she next visits can advise further too, I also found going to a local breastfeeding group helped for support and speaking to other mums.

Good luck xXx

Thanks everyone! I'm spending a few days in bed doing skin to skin with unlimited access to the breast and hoping that will help. @Grognonne - I know how horrible it is I am the only one in my postnatal group who isn't exclusively breastfeeding so I just don't get why I'm finding it so difficult. Hope the advice on this thread helps you too and that things improve for you soon too x

Hey, Hope this is of some help. I had issues with my milk supply after it came in, due to them not taking his tongue tie seriously n having problems latching him. It went down to point I had to supplement with formula. I managed to get back to ebf by 2-3 months with the support of a breastfeeding nurse and fb groups, which are very helpful for tips and pumping. Pumping wise have you measured your nipples? The wrong flange/shield size can affect your output and it’s effectiveness (I had to find this out myself as no one told me when they said to pump just got given two sizes n told to use one which was comfiest 🙄) also rather than solid pumping, power pumping is great where you pump 20 mins, rest 10 then pump 10, rest 10 and pump 10, so takes an hour. Keeping hydrated is a big one for bf as well as eating. Lastly fenugreek can also cause you to lose supply instead of increase, so if you see no increase I’d stop it in case you are one of the ones it doesn’t work for. Hopefully you will be able to get back to ebf too x

Fenugreek (only take with food otherwise it repeats) and make sure you eat well.
You can also make the baby a little uncomfortable to keep them awake. I undressed my winter babies (on the midwife’s advice) to keep them feeding longer. You can also play with their ears.