5 day old & low supply

[amandacj08]

Historically I have had very low supply. To the point that my ds#2 was dehydrated, passing uric crystals. At that time I went on Reglan and started using an Ameda Purely Yours to pump (I also had to supplement with formula because he was so dehydrated).

I just had my baby girl 5 days ago. In anticipation of supply issues, I started taking Dom right away (90 mg a day). I do have milk now (it turned white on day 3) and I have been keeping her at my breast almost 24/7. If she even peeps I latch her on.

I am worried because she is still loosing weight even though my milk is supposdly "in". She was born at 7 14 and as of this morning weighed 7 2. I am also worried because I don't feel let down, I don't feel full and I can only express *drops* of breastmilk with either a hospital grade pump or my hands.

If I massage my breasts I feel hard little pockets in there (milk ducts I assume) but I'm not sure that they are releasing or whatever since I don't feel any difference after she nurses.

She is producing about 3 - 4 wet diapers a day, and she has passed all the meconium. She has had 1 normal poop and that was really early yesterday morning.

Am I still within the range of normal?

[SPOpa]

Given your history and yoru concerns, I would probably speak with a lactation consultant, just for peace of mind and so that she can check things out.

[Amris]

What other things are you doing for your supply? What does your diet look like?

Have you tried eating oatmeal and drinking Mother's Milk Tea? Are you taking some fatty acid supplements? Fatty acids in the milk can help to boost her ability to put on weight, it's very high calorie.

How much water do you drink every day? Are you eating tons of fresh greens and fruits? Do you go out of your way to avoid the things that help you to stop producing mucus (poultry, for example)?

A nice article on galactagogues: http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ly.html?page=1 (Don't miss the second and third pages)

[sunnysideup]

Congratulations on the birth of your baby!

Her weight sounds good. Weight loss during the first week is normal. It's possible your milk is just beginning to come in, and you'll see a difference in the next couple days.

Have you had someone check your baby's latch and positioning? A good latch is key to building a good supply.

Are you using cloth diapers or disposables? New babies wet such a small amount, it can be hard to tell they've gone. Try wetting a diaper with 1 or 2 oz of water to see what it feels like.

Have you tried pumping on one breast while baby nurses on the other? That can help you get a let down (which you may or may not feel, that's normal).

Do you have help? Stress is not good for your milk supply. If you have someone to watch your older child, it'd be a good idea to spend a few days doing nothing but hang out in bed with your baby.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Did you have a c/s or vag birth? c/s babies tend to loose more weight in the first few days..also your milk may not be all the way in..i would have a bf eval with a lactation consultant w/i the next 2-3 days....you are doing great by putting her to the breast on demand...hang out at the breast as much as possible...it's still to early to tell about the supply issue...keep up the good work

[amandacj08]

I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast every day and pretty closley following the suggested diet from www.mobi.com - the grains, fennel, yams, carrots, spinich, berries, citrus, bananas & melon. I have continued to drink the pregnancy tea I was drinking (mainly to use it up and also because it has alfalfa and stinging nettle in it). Fenugreek did not seem to work on me at all last time, so I haven't gone there yet.

I had a natural, vaginal delivery at a birthing center. I can think of only two notable things that happened during delivery that might come into play. I lost a considerable amount of blood while they were waiting for the placenta to deliver. They did not have to use pit, though. Once I delivered the placenta the bleed slowed to a normal amount. Baby passed meconium during the delivery (not in utero) and my midwife said that she was under some distress and that was why.

I am using cloth diapers - so it could be that we just aren't catching those pees right away and there have been more. Not all bf babies poop so much, right? So even if I have only one poop every other day, could that still be ok?

I am doing ok on stress (other than worrying about supply). I have a very good husband who took the whole month off and has been doing everything to take care of us.

I guess I should go to the lactation consultant, but I was hoping that we would turn a corner and wouldn't need to. Maybe today we will see a difference....

[amandacj08]

Oh, I forgot about the water - I have been drinking about 3-4 qts a day.

[Amris]

Visit a LLL meeting.

Did you read the link I posted? You know, sometimes, in rare cases, it just is what it is. You can continue to nurse and use an SNS. They're not particularly expensive.

Sure, it's not ideal, and you will probably experience some grief over not getting to "do it all yourself," but there's no reason to give up on nursing your beloved daughter completely.

Remember, formula is like medicine. If your little one needed medicine, you wouldn't feel bad about giving it to her. You'd feel like a good mother that loved her child and wanted her to be healthy and whole.

That's what formula is meant for. For cases like the woman in the article, who did her best to use all the various galactagogues and it didn't work. Thank god formula is there for her, wouldn't you say?? And thank god it was there for your dear little one when needed, right?

Yeah, it may not be ideal, but it's not the end of the world. A loving mother gives medicine and feels good about it if the medicine is needed. And sometimes, my friend, it really IS needed. One should never be ashamed of taking care of her child to the best of her ability.

A parent who doesn't give their child needed medicine is irresponsible. A parent who doesn't do their best to ensure that their baby needs it before giving medicine, is irresponsible.

Find for yourself the balance between the two that makes YOU know you are a good parent. Then follow that balance with utter confidence and full love. It is the right thing to do, never let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Amris]

THAT BEING SAID...

I do want you to keep a couple of things in mind.

1. All babies lose weight at first. It's natural and normal.
2. If your babe isn't screaming in hunger, you are most likely making enough for her. Don't let yourself panic over this normal post-birth weight loss.
3. Get some real life, immediate advice. Internet advice is wonderful, but we can't see you, or your baby.
4. Don't rush to give up nursing simply because of low supply... there are other benefits to her sucking on you and snuggling skin to skin with you.
5. If you do end up supplementing, and you find that you're not able to continue your nursing, look into bottle nursing.
6. The most important nourishment for your child is love. That's something that you can still give her, regardless of what happens.

[sunnysideup]

Originally Posted by Amris

Visit a LLL meeting.

Did you read the link I posted? You know, sometimes, in rare cases, it just is what it is. You can continue to nurse and use an SNS. They're not particularly expensive.

Sure, it's not ideal, and you will probably experience some grief over not getting to "do it all yourself," but there's no reason to give up on nursing your beloved daughter completely.

Remember, formula is like medicine. If your little one needed medicine, you wouldn't feel bad about giving it to her. You'd feel like a good mother that loved her child and wanted her to be healthy and whole.

That's what formula is meant for. For cases like the woman in the article, who did her best to use all the various galactagogues and it didn't work. Thank god formula is there for her, wouldn't you say?? And thank god it was there for your dear little one when needed, right?

Yeah, it may not be ideal, but it's not the end of the world. A loving mother gives medicine and feels good about it if the medicine is needed. And sometimes, my friend, it really IS needed. One should never be ashamed of taking care of her child to the best of her ability.

A parent who doesn't give their child needed medicine is irresponsible. A parent who doesn't do their best to ensure that their baby needs it before giving medicine, is irresponsible.

Find for yourself the balance between the two that makes YOU know you are a good parent. Then follow that balance with utter confidence and full love. It is the right thing to do, never let anyone tell you otherwise.

5 days post partum is a little soon to jump to supplementing with formula. Breast milk can come in gradually over a couple of days. It's quite likely the op's milk has not fully come in yet.

[amandacj08]

Thanks for your responses. I'm not yet ready to supplement, and I'm not yet ready to think that I still won't make more of a supply. I was hoping I would to get some "yeah that happened to me, but my milk still came in" responses to help ease some of my nervousness.

I know that I am doing everything I need to in order to build my supply and there is no way that I am giving up on that - I'm not even worn out by the process of the round the clock nursing/pumping/galactagogues, moreso I'm worried about babe and a little angry with my body.

What worries me is not knowing the difference between being satisfied and being sleepy and comfort nursing. If she's not on the breast and not in a hard sleep she cries, so she's pretty much latched 20 hours a day.

I think I might be seeing an increase in production this afternoon. I got 20 cc out of my left breast while I was nursing my right breast. That was encouraging to me.

I want to go to a LLL meeting but they are only once a month here and the next one isn't for 2 more weeks. If I don't have a significant increase in supply over the next few days I'll schedule an appt with an IBCLC.

[Amris]

Originally Posted by sunnysideup

5 days post partum is a little soon to jump to supplementing with formula. Breast milk can come in gradually over a couple of days. It's quite likely the op's milk has not fully come in yet.

My point is that she doesn't need to live in fear of it, because as much as we would hope not to need it, it does have a place and it doesn't mean "failure." We all want her to be successful in her nursing relationship, but judgement or fear about possibly having to supplement will only increase her tension and potentially even make her upset.

I can't offer any specific thoughts on it because I spent my first few months engorged and weeping in pain from breasts that were harder than watermelons and nearly as big. I had plenty of milk but it wouldn't come out because I was so engorged the flow was cut off.

I ended up having to supplement with formula because my little one continued to drop weight despite my excess of milk (more accurately, because of it). I felt horrible, terrible, awful. No one bothered to tell me that it was okay, that even though it wasn't ideal, I wasn't harming my daughter, I was doing my best, except when I finally got a different LC.

Interestingly enough, once I got over the shame and fear, my problems cleared up.

Originally Posted by amandacj08

Thanks for your responses. I'm not yet ready to supplement, and I'm not yet ready to think that I still won't make more of a supply. I was hoping I would to get some "yeah that happened to me, but my milk still came in" responses to help ease some of my nervousness.

I know that I am doing everything I need to in order to build my supply and there is no way that I am giving up on that - I'm not even worn out by the process of the round the clock nursing/pumping/galactagogues, moreso I'm worried about babe and a little angry with my body.

What worries me is not knowing the difference between being satisfied and being sleepy and comfort nursing. If she's not on the breast and not in a hard sleep she cries, so she's pretty much latched 20 hours a day.

I think I might be seeing an increase in production this afternoon. I got 20 cc out of my left breast while I was nursing my right breast. That was encouraging to me.

I want to go to a LLL meeting but they are only once a month here and the next one isn't for 2 more weeks. If I don't have a significant increase in supply over the next few days I'll schedule an appt with an IBCLC.

You should be able to contact them and speak with a LLL representative without having to go to a meeting. Give your local chapter a call and see what they can offer to you.

They want to support you, so do your best to get ahold of someone.

[amandacj08]

Originally Posted by Amris

My point is that she doesn't need to live in fear of it, because as much as we would hope not to need it, it does have a place and it doesn't mean "failure." We all want her to be successful in her nursing relationship, but judgement or fear about possibly having to supplement will only increase her tension and potentially even make her upset.

I can't offer any specific thoughts on it because I spent my first few months engorged and weeping in pain from breasts that were harder than watermelons and nearly as big. I had plenty of milk but it wouldn't come out because I was so engorged the flow was cut off.

I ended up having to supplement with formula because my little one continued to drop weight despite my excess of milk (more accurately, because of it). I felt horrible, terrible, awful. No one bothered to tell me that it was okay, that even though it wasn't ideal, I wasn't harming my daughter, I was doing my best, except when I finally got a different LC.

Interestingly enough, once I got over the shame and fear, my problems cleared up.


You should be able to contact them and speak with a LLL representative without having to go to a meeting. Give your local chapter a call and see what they can offer to you.

They want to support you, so do your best to get ahold of someone.

Thank you for this. I really do appreciate it. I did go through those feelings with my son, and it helps to hear it again. I am holding out hope that things will get better. I will give the LLL a call today.