Help! I'm losing my supply!

[1+1=5]

My supply just gets worse and worse and now DS is refusing to feed from me.

My supply dropped when he was 9 weeks old, he would pull off after a 10 minute feed and start crying. He would latch on again, suck and then pull off again. We mucked around like this for 2 weeks and then I started expressing and offering EBM through a bottle which he took to. I then ended up having top him up with formula :(. So now we mix feed and he has started solids. He refuses to feed from me entirely except at night and in the morning. I'm on verge of having no milk when expressing, what do I do??? I made one mistake after another but I just couldn't bear to watch him be so hungry after a feed. I really DO NOT want to lose what supply I have, I have taken fenugreek since he was born but it hasn't helped much.

Is there anything i could eat or do to not lose what I have??

ETA: he is 4 months old. he lost some weight after birth and took him 4 weeks to get back to his birth weight. after that he only put on 'minimum weight' and would go for 10 days without poos, but lots of wet nappies.

[Grinnyswife]

Eating n drinking plenty is definitely important, I know when I didn't eat enough I'd notice a huge drop in supply . And lots of stimulation, even if nothing is coming out just keep pumping.
Btw I used to have loads of milk but could never express much.

[MamaKoala]

Oats are good for boosting supply. Drink heaps of water (3 litres ) and vitamin b. Blessed thistle is supposed to help too. Google lactation cookies. They helped me. Express, express, express. 15 minutes on each side every hour or so. It might take a week or two to start working but it worked for me. Expressing is hard work and its hard for me to get much but with heaps of it I was getting about 100 mls. Within 10th minutes. Good luck.

[headoverfeet]

Hm tough situation hun :hugs: have you spoken to a LC? I would suggest cutting out everything but boob and using a SNS with donated EBM or Formula but that is tough and I wouldn't do it without the guidance of a good LC.

Yeah herbal support- check out kellymom and maybe contact a recommended herbalist.

[Hera]

I second seeing a LC for the best advice. Also look into some lactogenic foods and herbal options (i.e.: blessed thistle/fenugreek). Good luck :hugs:

[1+1=5]

thank you fro the advice, I have been skipping breakfast which is so naughty. I'm going to get some blessed thistle as well and get back into breakfast (which has always been oats). I'm so bad with my fluid intake too. I have lots of areas to improve on then. I have no idea how I would find an LC and how much are they?

[headoverfeet]

Yellow pages is where I found mine :) I only had a free over the phone consult, though my issues were not that indepth.

[meme]

Have you called the ABA helpline? you could also try their online forum.
What is your feeding routine like?

It is ok to be minimum weight if weight is being gained, and growth in length and head circumference is happenning. some people just are smaller people. Wet nappies are a great sign and some breastfed babies will not poo much, but how much poo is there when it comes?

Nutritionally breastmilk is much more calorie dense than solids, so cutting back on solids will leave more room to get the good stuff ie milk into bubba. Talking to a proffessional either an LC breastfeeding supportive CHN or ABA counsellor could help you to feel confident with the breastfeeding. Breast refusal or fussing at the breast can be so hard to deal with, so be gentle with your self. it's great that you have been able to continue offerring some breastmilk for this long. Thermy offerred some great ideas, an SNS can be useful to supplement with if you do have true low supply.

good luck with it.

[mumma100]

I experienced the same thing with my 6 week old- ive been on Domperidone (on prescription from my doc) and Blessed thistle and fenugreek herbal tablets-the brand is Herbs of Gold and you can get this at most health food stores, its quite expensive at around $30 for a bottle of 60 tablets, take 1 tablet 3 times a day and see if this helps. I saw a LC at my local hospital which was very helpful. I didnt even have enough milk to express. I can only feed him from my breasts alone at night then in the day i top him up with formula which is working well. Initially i was advised to feed using a 'supply line' which is a small tube that you tape to your nipple thats placed in a bottle of formula-this way bubs get the formula and stimulates your breast plus gets any breast milk too. My supply is slowly increasing so fingers crossed, all the best with yours!

[Bubbles10]

How often does baby feed? Does he take both sides?

The best way to increase supply is to put bub to the breast. If you can spend a couple days just offering the breast whenever baby is awake, it can increase milk production.

A good diet is good for you, just because it will make you feel better, but women on poor diets (think 3rd world countries) are still able to BF.

Sometimes baby wanting to feed lots is not an indicator of poor supply, just that they know they have a growth spurt or something coming up and are signalling to the breasts that soon they will need more.

Call the ABA on 1800 686 2 686, and they can help with suggestions particular to your circumstances

[Theophania]

Hey 1+1

I am not an experience breast feeder, but I did see a LC and try to get my supply back when I tried re-lactating. The advice I was given was to take blessed thistle, fenugreek and domperidone, which I did and it did help. My only problem was that bub WOULD NOT go to the boob, she would scream and upset herself that much she would hold her breathe, it was heartbreaking, but enough about me :laughing:... I was also shown a really good way to massage my breast and then hand express to stimulate my milk supply, it helped but again, the best thing for it is to get bub on the boob as much as possible...

[lemonpancakes]

If you do a google search for lactation association Australia you can get a list of board certified LC's in your state. If you're in Melbourne I know a good one. I just saw her and she mentioned that if I start letting bibs sleep through the night I must express in the middle of the night or else my supply will drop quickly, so maybe that would be a good idea for you too.

[lemonpancakes]

If you do a google search for lactation association Australia you can get a list of board certified LC's in your state. If you're in Melbourne I know a good one. I just saw her and she mentioned that if I start letting bubs sleep through the night I must express in the middle of the night or else my supply will drop quickly, so maybe that would be a good idea for you too.

[DaughteroftheForest]

You've got some great advice here and I won't repeat it. Just wanted to give you a big :hugs: and hope things pick up soon for you!

[Ceili]

I feel for you. :hugs: But you can get it back. I re-lactated and kept my supply as high as a could with the help of double electric pumping day and night, domperidone, Weleda nursing tea, breast massage, and visualisation. I tried to get DD back to the breast with a nursing supplementor. I also did loads of skin-to-skin (bathed together, baby massage etc), ate and drank a lot, and tried to balance rest with re-lactating activities so as to not compromise supply by fatigue. And tried not to get to stressed about the whole thing :laughing:

[Midwife & Mum to 3]

I'll suggest a few things (I think some have already been suggested):

- Lots of fluids

- Eat oats for breakfast, and sprinkle some flaxseed on them (both good for increasing supply) OR if you don't like oats, look up the supply boosting biscuit recipe in this section (the main ingredients being oats, flaxseed and brewers yeast - all good for supply)

- Buy some fenugreek capsules (from a healthfood store - take 3 per day)

- Raspberry leaf tea can be good for your supply, or you can also find a 'Breastfeeding tea' from the health food store (most have aniseed in them, so avoid if you don't like aniseed)

- Express, express, express - and express in the shower, and with a pump a few times a day, whenever you can.

- See if you can get your DS on the boob every 3 hours during the day, just until you get your supply up, and an overnight feed or express if you can. Try massaging the breast gently while he's feeding to stimulate a let down for him. Lots of skin to skin, it will encourage him to feed.

- If nothing seems to be working, go and see your GP as he can prescribe medication to increase your supply, but it's better if you can try all of the above first.

It would also be worth contacting an LC, or ring up the ABA

Good luck :)

[1+1=5]

If you do a google search for lactation association Australia you can get a list of board certified LC's in your state. If you're in Melbourne I know a good one. I just saw her and she mentioned that if I start letting bibs sleep through the night I must express in the middle of the night or else my supply will drop quickly, so maybe that would be a good idea for you too.

he has been sleeping through from birth which I'm sure has affected my supply. i have been too scared to wake him after the horror sleepers my first two were.

I'm upping my oat intake, I just had a bowl now. I might have it a few times a day.

[lemonpancakes]

I'm definitely no expert but sounds like you should express in the night then. My LC said night time is when your hormone levels are highest (prolactin maybe? I forget). I can't remember specifics but she stressed that it's important to send that message to your brain/breasts at that time of night to continue to have a supply.

[Ceili]

I
My LC said night time is when your hormone levels are highest (prolactin maybe? I forget).

Yes, prolactin levels peak in the early hours of the morning (around 1-3am if my memory serves me right) - so expressing at this time is a super booster for supply. I kept a little hand pump beside the bed and pumped half asleep.

[BabyPaparazzi]

You may have a local health centre that has a drop in bf clinic, in Qld they are free.

Expressing is not a good indication of your supply. Around 3 to 4 months, your supply calms down to the demand you will feel less engorged, will stop waking up flooding, and stop leaking as much. It also become harder to express as the months go on due to this, and letdown takes longer and more stimulation.

Fussiness at the breast I also not an indication of low supply. Babies will fuss and carry on just because they are babies. Other things should be considered like tiredness, or overstimulation as well. Its a learning curve for them as well when you supply is regulating, they have to adjust to the increased work needed, how long letdown takes etc. Often babies will fuss towards the end of a feed for many reasons, its exhausting when they are little and get tired towards the end, or as the are emptying the boob its harder work and the flow is slower and they are just wanting to settle back to sleep. Its also quite normal for feeds to decrease to only 10 minutes and they are getting enough, they are getting a lot stronger and feed much quicker, then just wanting to go back to sleep but still want to comfort suck, sometimes getting annoyed that they are sucking and still receiving milk but are full, hence fussing. So when a bottle is introduced at the end of a feed because it is easier to drink from and requires minimal effort they will easily take it, and often it will lead to continued breast refusal as the can gain preference for the easy bottle feed.

Sleeping through without feeding won't affect the supply you get during the day either. Many babies sleep through the night and all will do eventually, but this doesn't mean you won't continue to make enough milk during the day. What happens when a baby starts sleeping through is your b00bies get this realization that these night feeds are no longer happening, you supply will increase to a point and store and wait for the first feed of the day, when this happens you can go these long hours and wake up without feeling engorged or leaking everywhere.

Just because his weight gain is classed as minimal isn't an issue. Babies come in all shapes and sizes, and this means some of them are genetically smaller. This might just be how he is growing, he probably was never meant to have huge gains. As long as it is an increase and an upward curve over a longer period of time. It definitely isn't an indication to your quality or quantity of milk. Its also very normal for a bf bub to for up to 10 days without poos, bm contains exactly what they need and its majority water, so there is minimal wastage or output.

Its best to arm yourself with as much support and information as possible, and it will be easier to get on the right track. Ring the ABA and get in contact with an LC. Put bub to breast as much as possible, even if it is to comfort suck, the extra stimulation will trigger an increase in supply and pump, pump, pump. If you want to start removing the bottles, its either a very slow process of increasing bf and reducing the use of bottles or you do it quickly and have bub at breast as often as possible and cut bottle out completely. Best wishes, I hope it goes well for you from now on.:hugs:

[Faithy]

Hi,

I've been working with an LC via the public hosp I gave birth in. they have put me on Fenugreek and Domperidone and my milk has started to go through the roof -- yay!! I've also been waking bubs up to feed every 3 or 3.5 hours, eating oats and drinking so much water.

The LC told us stories about babies who'd refuse the breast and how she got them back on - so it can help.

For us the LC has been free via the hosp.