The battle with supplementing with formula

[RavenRT]

Hi. I am a first time mom with a DS who is 7 weeks. We have had a really hard time with getting him enough milk. I found out last week (DS 6weeks) I had retained placenta and I had a D and C. three days later my milk finally fully came in. For the last 2 1/2 weeks I have been supplementing with formula and breast milk. Now I am using a SNS (while trying to get supply up) to try and remind DS that the breast will give him food. I am seeing a LC, and anything under the sun that I could be doing to help DS and I out to breastfeed...I am doing.

I am looking for some support that we will be able to exclusively breastfeed and if any of you have stories with supplementing and using an SNS how that turned out for you.

Thank you!

[Megan73]

Good for you for figuring out what the problem was and sticking with it! You really deserve major kudos.
You're supplementing at the breast - which is awesome! - and it sounds like you're already pumping after feeds, which would be my top suggestions. I know how exhausting it is to be doing EVERYTHING to boost supply. Hang in there!
My only other suggestion is that domperidone might help increase your supply by increasing your prolactin levels. It's a drug intended for gastric motility that I believe US moms buy online from overseas. It's a prescription drug here in Canada and I've used it while BF both my babies. There's a Domperidone FAQ thread in the Breastfeeding Challenges forum.
With my second son, I did go through a period of having to pump after every feed and supplement at the breast (I used the excellent Lact-Aid brand supplementer) with formula and then breast milk but was able to transition after about a month to EBF. I'm so, so grateful that it worked out for us.
I had to supplement my first son with formula in the Lact-Aid throughout our breastfeeding relationship and while I wish he'd been EBF, I wouldn't trade those memories of nursing him for anything.