Supply? and pumping..

[JordanKX]

Had a rough day with my one-week old... not sleeping, and wanting to nurse ALL day. After about 6hrs, I realized something had to be wrong. I've been so busy nursing last night/today, I haven't pumped, (oh, don't slam me too hard), so I bought some formula. Finger-fed him 80 ml and he went into his "full" coma.
He was hungry!!

Got my 15min on the pump and between both breasts got only 20 ml. No wonder he was upset all day - he probably wasn't getting anything!! What happened - two days ago I was pumping much more??

What should be a normal output at a week pp?

Of course now I want to permanently attach myself to the pump so I don't have to use more formula ... anyone know Why the recommendations are 15 min /3hrs? I'd be happy to pump more often!

[ewe+lamb]

No slamming here about not pumping, what I am wondering is why you need to pump, do you already have supply issues? Are you going back to work soon? It seems to me that your breast isn't being stimulated enough, do you feel any letdowns? You may have to be quite strict about your baby's latch, ear, shoulder and hip in a straight line, tummy to tummy nice open mouth, lips nice and open like an open book, nipple should be pointed up to the top of the mouth, so that a good amount of the underside of the breast goes into the mouth and the nipple is pulled to the back of the mouth (inbetween the soft and hard palate) and I would highly recommend breast compression see www.drjacknewman.com and click on videos - you'll see a really good clip I think it's called tongue clip and breast compression - or something like that.

Don't attach yourself to the pump all day lol!!, give yourself some help, drink fenugrec tea, eat oatmeal, drink non-alcoholic beer, that sort of thing can really help augment your supply, if you can you could pump on the other breast when your baby is nursing, or inbetween feeds (leave 30-60 minutes between the end of the last feed before pumping - if it's possible) or pump right after nursing, finally what sort of pump are you using and what's it's suction?

Hope this helps a little ...

[JordanKX]

Originally Posted by ewe+lamb

what I am wondering is why you need to pump, do you already have supply issues?

ah, good question. I've been pumping because lil man was in the hospital for 2 days with jaundice. So I know my supply is noticeably less than it was a few days ago. The stress of the week has made it difficult for me to eat, which I'm sure has something to do with things as well.

Thank you for the recommendations for trying to build it back up! Non-alcoholic beer... interesting.

[Monkeygrrl]

Also, when it comes to pumping --- if you are pumping for supply, then you should pump every 2 hours during the day hours and every 4 at night, just like you would feed your baby. I pumped for fulltime for a year for both of my boys, and this is how I did it for several months until my supply was established.

I second the recommendations for non-alcoholic beer, oatmeal, fenugreek. You can also drink mothers milk tea. Stay away from reglan (prescription) as it crosses the blood brain barrier and is horrible for women who have issues with depression. If you find that you need something else to get your supply up, you can order domperidone from a new zealand pharmacy (no prescription needed). It works just like reglan but without the crazies.

Hope that helps!

peace...
Margaret

[kriket]

don't stress yourself out about this too bad. Keep putting him to your breast and the milk will come. Pump if it makes you feel better (even psychologically better) My milk didn't even come in until about day 5 and DS had pretty bad jaundice so we supplemented. Kudos on the finger feeder, we did have to 'relearn' how to use a boob because of the bottles. Lots and lots of water, eat well and try to take it easy

p.s. we're going strong after at 5mos!

[PatioGardener]

I think there is a growth spurt at 1 week (am I right, Mamas?) so your baby wanting to nurse 24/7 and not being able to pump any extra milk are completely normal.

Keep nursing, Mama. Watch the diapers (6 heavy wet pees in 24 hours and 3-4 poops bigger than a quarter) are what you need. Baby should be starting to put on weight now - have you had a weight since he was born?

Hang in there! Can you call LLL to see if someone can come by and watch you nurse? That may be reassuring.

[haurelia]

We had a similar situation; a near-term babe who wasn't nursing great, and got jaundiced enough to require hospitalization for a couple of days. He lost a lot of weight, and we ended up needing to supplement while I built my supply (but used donor milk).
I nursed every 2 hours, then pumped for 15-20 mins while DH supplemented with milk pumped after the last feeding plus donor milk to make up about an ounce per feeding in addition to his nursing. Rest/sleep 30-45 mins, rinse, repeat. For a couple of weeks...it was rough, but we survived. Once he was gaining, we slowly phased out the pumping and supplementing until by 6 weeks, he was stricly on breast alone, and he's 8 months old now still nursing all the time. I used fenugreek seeds (just swallowed a teaspoon morning and evening), ate oatmeal, drank lots of water and mama milk tea, and also used an herb called shatavari (recommended by the LC we worked with). We worked with an LC to optimize our latching, and also got some bodywork for the babe.

In my opinion, a baby who is nursing all the time will be stimulating a lot of milk to come in the next day or two, meeting his/her needs. I would avoid the use of any formula, unless the baby was losing weight or bilirubin was getting higher.
According to kellymom, mothers who are pumping and nursing will normally get 1-2 oz between both breasts per pumping session. Many women don't pump much more than that unless they're separated from their baby and not nursing. I agree w/ ewe+lamb; make sure your latch is optimized and try some breast compression to slip a little more milk into your LO when he nurses. Trying to pump one side when you nurse on the either might be helpful too...I never tried that because it was just too cumbersome.

Best wishes and just try to snuggle in bed with your baby for a day or two and it will sort out. It's normal for your newborn to be attached to your breast all the time!