3 day old hungry baby, milk not in yet. Help?!

[attached2ethan]

I just had my 3rd baby on Monday evening. I've BF my other two children well past toddlerhood, so I'm not new to the mechanics of nursing- but this little one is perplexing me.

My daughter nursed beautifully after birth and all day Tuesday, but yesterday and today she is just miserably fussy. She was 3 weeks early and is a tiny peanut (5.1 lbs at birth and 4.12 when we left the hospital). My milk has not come in yet, and I truly feel like she will be much happier when it does! The doctor said this might happen *because* she was suffering from mild IUGR since I had mild pre-eclampsia at the end of the pregnancy- and basically she is trying to "catch up" on her nutrional intake.

My other children were basically satiated and happy until my milk came in, so I feel bad for this little one- she is so upset and miserable and nursing her is only making her more frustrated. I'd be fine if she would just latch on and stay there all day, but she is really pissed when she does. She has a beautiful latch and is a great nurser, but I am just wondering what I can do for her in the meantime? We don't do any supplementing, etc...is it basically just going to be a frustrating day or two until my milk comes?

Amazing how you think you know everything after you've already had two kids...they are ALL different though. Any advice is appreciated!

[onlyboys]

Just nurse, nurse, nurse. It's all you can do. Your milk will come in, though it might be a couple more days until it does. Your all she needs, though. I know how frustrating it can be having a hungry, fussy baby, but she will be SO HAPPY once your milk comes in!

It took me 5 days to get my milk in for the last two babies, and both times I freaked out worrying that it would never come in. One of my babies was inconsolable! He's still a little piggy now. Hope this helps relieve some of your anxiety.

Do make sure she's having some wet diapers just as reassurance.

[vbactivist]

Originally Posted by onlyboys

Just nurse, nurse, nurse. It's all you can do. Your milk will come in, though it might be a couple more days until it does. Your all she needs, though. I know how frustrating it can be having a hungry, fussy baby, but she will be SO HAPPY once your milk comes in!

It took me 5 days to get my milk in for the last two babies, and both times I freaked out worrying that it would never come in. One of my babies was inconsolable! He's still a little piggy now. Hope this helps relieve some of your anxiety.

Do make sure she's having some wet diapers just as reassurance.

I agreee with all this. You could also try pumping between nursings just to add extra stimulation to your milk production - but I wouldn't give her the expressed colostrum from a bottle just yet.

[~Boudicca~]

Originally Posted by onlyboys

Just nurse, nurse, nurse. It's all you can do. Your milk will come in, though it might be a couple more days until it does. Your all she needs, though. I know how frustrating it can be having a hungry, fussy baby, but she will be SO HAPPY once your milk comes in!

It took me 5 days to get my milk in for the last two babies, and both times I freaked out worrying that it would never come in. One of my babies was inconsolable! He's still a little piggy now. Hope this helps relieve some of your anxiety.

Do make sure she's having some wet diapers just as reassurance.

Good advice here.

[luv-my-boys]

the best advice that was given to me when I was waiting for my milk to come in was to make sure I stimulated my breasts as much as possible. If the baby was nursing I would put the pump on the other side, I didnt supplement quite yet. I also stayed well, I mean down gallons of fluids as much as possible. The LC even told me to gently rub my nipples even when not nursing and pumping as it would help to stimulate the release of hormones. Eventually my milk did come in and he was a nursing champ. Good luck mama.

[flavorfull1]

I think everyone else gave great advice. Hugs mama. My little guy was a little early and started getting like yours around day 4. It took me ~5days for my milk to come in. Just keep nursing and keep him on you/around you at all times. Hope your milk comes in soon and keep up the good work!

[ShwarmaQueen]

Remember to get lots of skin to skin contact.

[Vancouver Mommy]

OH, I know how hard that can be! Have faith in your body and it will happen soon. My milk was full five days coming in with dd and I thought I would lose my mind, but once it came in we were both so much happier!

[Llyra]

That last day or so before the milk comes in can be SO HARD. I do think, though, that the fussiness and incessant need to suckle during that time is normal-- it's the way the whole "system" of lactation is designed, to ensure that the breasts get stimulated enough to bring in a full supply of milk. I think all you can do is hang in there and nurse as much as you can.

I wouldn't supplement, unless there are clear indications that baby is really not doing well-- marked dehydration, for instance. Supplementing is going to fill baby up and send baby to sleep, and baby will therefore not be spending that time at the breast, and it's only going to slow the process down. All that fussing and cranking and needing to be held and nursed are a good sign, as exhausting as they are. The real problem is when baby at this stage is too sluggish to stay awake long enough to fuss for the breast-- that's when newborns start running into real trouble.

My milk was always slow to come in. With DD1, especially-- I think we were at the end of the fifth day or even into the sixth. It came faster with the twins, which I attribute to there being twice as much suckling going on, but even then it was the fifth day.

FWIW, my DD2 was also very small-- she was down to 4 1/2 pounds before my milk came in. It's hard not to worry when they're so small, because they seem so fragile, and the normal weight loss seems more dramatic in such a tiny baby. But my milk came in on the fifth day, and by day 8, we were up to 5 lbs and 8 oz. She'll make up for it!

Hang in there. It'll come. And congratulations!