help i think i'm losing my milk!

[1+1=5]

i think i may be losing my milk and i have no idea what to do. bubs gets really frustrated, especially his last feed at night before he goes to bed. he sucks then stops and cries, then latches on again, sucks vigorously and stops and cries again. he is 3 weeks old .

my supply was great for the first two weeks and then it suddenly dropped. what can i do to bring up my supply other than expressing which i have been doing. he feeds a lot during the day. i really don't want to introduce formula but should i do it for the one feed before bedtime when he seems to be the hungriest? anyone had this happen?

[stellarella]

There is no reason why you should lose your milk other than you have not let bub suck as often or as long as they like....it is easily fixed, just put bub to the breast as often as possible and allow bub to suck as long as he likes...try a sling...

Bub will determine supply!!

He may be going through a growth spurt...common at 2/3 weeks of age and he needs to suck alot to set your milk supply for later/...introducing formula now could interfere with your long term supply...I would not introduce formula until you have spoken to the Aust Bfing Association. Other care providers may suggest Formula however they are not all equipped with sufficient BFing knowledge that is why ABA are recommended.

Goodluck

[oleander]

Are you getting the let-down? Maybe he's frustrated waiting for the letdown.

[draught]

I think the important question is why do you think you are losing your milk?
If it is because your breasts don't feel as "full" then that doesn't mean that you are losing your supply - it just means that your body is settling into it's routine of knowing how much to produce. I have exclusively breastfed all three of my children and after the first few weeks my breasts have always felt pretty much the same - i.e. not full or empty - yet they have all been big hefty healthy babies.

The best advice is to rest whenever you can (I know how hard it is with more than one child but do try to rest!), put baby to the breast as much as possible, drink fluid, and look after your diet. Try to increase the amount of animal protein in your diet - including at breakfast time as this will improve the quality of your milk, rather than the quantity - try some sardines or pate on toast at breakfast, or savoury mince, then have a chicken breast at lunch - not just a slice of ham - and see if that helps. (It will also help you to have more energy in the meantime.)

I fyou still feel that your supply is low there are a number of options that people on here recommend - fenugreek tablets is one, and there is a recipe for some lactation boosting cookies that people swear by (I will try to find the link but if I don't get back a search of those words will bring it up for you).

I would be careful and get advice from the ABA before introducing formula - from all I have read that is likely to reduce your supply rather than assist the situation.

[~Emmylou~]

I think it's probably a growth spurt and he'll settle down in a few days when your milk increases - as long as you let him feed as much as he wants.

We went through this at exactly the same age - it lasted for about a week and he was on the boob every hour almost around the clock - I thought I would tear my hair out but we got through it without giving him formula.

Supplementing him means that he won't feed as often so your supply won't increase to his needs so be really careful with doing that.

I also find sometimes that I have less milk at the end of the day but I just let him feed as long as he wants and usually it sorts itself out in a day or two. Sometimes I take fenugreek and that really gives my supply a boost too so that may be something to try.

[Manxie]

Hi

I second everything that draught said, Lol! Especially the resting bit although I can completely understand how hard that would be with two of them.

The only other thing that crossed my mind was possibly and ear infection or thrush but if bubs is only doing this at the last feed they I guess this isnt very likely.

I hope that someone can help you out a bit so you can spend a day taking easy and letting bubs suck, suck suck to build up that supply

Good luck:hugs:

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Dont give up,i think everyone who bf goes through this at one stage more than once i know i did.

Like others have said keep feeding as much as possible,even if it is for a minute that way it will stimulate your breasts to make more milk.I found that it gets better after a couple of day but if it dosnt there is plenty of stuff to increase your milk supply.

I had a big drop in supply a month ago,and my doctor put me on mottilium but that was after i done everything i could to increase it.

REMEMBER drink lots of water and keep eating, little snack foods are great.

[meme]

you have recieved lots of great suggestions so far. i will add my two cents which is that there can be numerous reasons for fussy feeding, mums are so consious of milk suply that is usually the first thing we think of, but not necessarilly what is happenning.

plenty of wet nappies over 24hrs will reassure you that bubs is getting plenty of milk in.

the best way to boost milk suplpy ( as already mentioned) is to feed your baby more (http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/supply.html)often.

ABA page on breast refusal (http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/refusal.html)has many tips also relevant to fussy feeding.
sometimes too much milk (http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/toomuch.html)rather than too little milk (http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/toomuch.html) can be the cause of fussing. follow my links for info on both.

[1+1=5]

I think the important question is why do you think you are losing your milk?

firstly, thanks for all your advice, i will try the fenugreek and see how i go.

DS sleeps through most of the day, like 7 hours straight sometimes so i express after 3 hours and all i can produce is 20-25mls from both breasts. hes ok with the supply during the day and night, its that one night feed before bed where he gets frustrated.

i'm hoping that it is just a phase or growth spurt. hes definitly putting on weight (510g in two weeks) and he has lots of wet nappies. its just hard to see him so upset during that night feed.

i also had a look at ABA website on increasing supply and i'm already doing everything its suggesting to do.

[stellarella]

just with regard to how much milk you can express....

it doesnt matter if you can only express 2 mls, babies are pros at getting the milk out so that is not an indicator of how much milk you have.

but im not trying to say your imagining it...im a firm believer in mothers intuition so if you know something is wrong then look into it further...but just make sure you dont introduce formula too early and disturb your supply..

:fingerscrossed:

[Anna07]

I also had the same problem a few weeks ago. Feeding your baby regularly does help. But also ensure to drink lots of fluids. Drink a glass of water every time your feeding your little one.

Good luck.. you'll get through it
Anna

[babyluv]

HI
Just wanted to say what a few women have said on here already. That is that bub quite possibly is going through a growth spurt. I had the same thoughts at about the same age. Mu bub was getting so agitated when feeding and then was unsettled for a bit after a feed. He also feed more frequently. I spent one day just on the lounge the entire day. It passed and we were all good.
Just wanted to share the experience
Good luck
Amy

[1+1=5]

thank you ladies, i'll keep going with different startegies before resorting to formula. :thumbsup:. just needed a bit of confidence i guess.

[meme]

from what youve said re weight gains and wet nappies it sounds like your milk supply is good. perhaps bubs is fussing because of impatience at the speed of letdown.

warm washers on the boobs could help the milk flow faster if he is impatient, or expressing a little before the feed to get a flow going. perhaps if you think about whats different for that feed you may find something that helps.

is it a dreamfeed or aything different than his daytime feeds?relaxing is important for let down are you extra busy at that time of day?

:hugs: hope it works out quick

[elissas]

I agree, the weight gain and wet nappies indicate that milk supply is good.

DS had a growth spurt at about 4 weeks of age, and fed more frequently. He also fed more on the hotter days (being a Summer baby) and I felt like I couldn't keep up at times.

I swear by Fenugreek. When Will was about 10months old and feeding heaps (because he refused solids until 12 months :eek: ) I needed to boost my supply. If I took a tablet before bed, I woke the next morning full - and that was with him feeding every 3hrs through the night!!!

Also consider the possibility that your milk might be too fast or you may have an oversupply. I had too much milk for the first 3 months, which caused Will to become a lazy feeder/attacher (he barely had to suck, it almost POURED into his mouth). It also caused too much wind because of the foremilk he was getting. Which made him want to feed more, which started a crazy cycle!

[1+1=5]

i think the problem may be that he sleeps so much during the day then wakes up at about 5 has a feed and then at 8 when i'm trying to get him to sleep, thats when he gets frustrated. maybe he needs more because he slept so much during the day and it makes him hungry at the end of the day.

i've been drinking a lot more water and hes waking during the day for the past two days and therefore there have been more feeds and i can feel that i'm a bit 'fuller' so hopefully my suply will gradually increase as he spends more time awake and hence more time feeding. :fingerscrossed:

[Sazeby]

Hi..

My baby girl does this alot.. more so at the end of a feed, when she starts doing this i burp her and then pop her back on and she feeds normally again.
It might not be wind like in my case but you could always give it a go it could just be a little bit of wind.
you have alot of good replies so i hope one of them helps

Goodluck:)