Is my supply getting worse?

[ActivistMommy]

I am soooo frustrated. My IBCLC diagnosed me with a low supply on Tuesday and since I have kicked everything into high gear.I have a hospital grade pump that I use after I feed DD (5 months) and I have been taking the fenugreek, goats rue, and drinking lots of water. When I pump after I feed her - I get NOTHING - even with the hospital grade pump. We are supplementing with formula because of my supply issues and she is drinking a LOT of it. She just took 6 oz, and she only weighs 12lbs.

I feel like things are getting better at all and hopeless that I'll never be able to make enough milk. When I went to the IBCLC she only got an ounce out of each breast and that was after 2 hours of not feeding her.

Is it silly to expect it to be improving after 5 days? How can I tell if things are getting better? I am sitting here crying, I feel horrible that I can't provide enough for her. We are so anti-formula and here I sit feeding it to her.

-----going crazy-------

[PatioGardener]

Hang in there!

Here are some thoughs in no particular order:
-domperidone : any luck in tracking some down? Finding an MD who is bf friendly and will prescribe? How frustrating (I'm in Canada so we don't often have that issue here)
-supplementation : are you able to do it at the breast?
-milk : would you ever consider using donor milk?

It sounds to me like you are working really hard to provide your baby with as much breastmilk as you can possibly make! That is awesome. Seriously - what a dedicated mom

Hang in there.

[Bleu]

Originally Posted by ActivistMommy

I am soooo frustrated.

I really, really empathize. I had very low supply as well and the emotions are as hard to handle as the lack of milk. I'm very sorry you're in this sitch and I hope it gets better soon.

It does sound like you are doing a lot of good things to get your supply going! I'm going to discuss some of your other point below.

Originally Posted by AM

I have a hospital grade pump that I use after I feed DD (5 months) ... When I pump after I feed her - I get NOTHING - even with the hospital grade pump.

Have you worked out a (rough) feeding/pumping schedule with your ICBLC? How often are you supposed to pump and for how long? Are there any longer stretches when your dd is sleeping and you can pump without her feeding immediately before? Have you used with the pump with your LC there with you to ensure (1) you're using it correctly and (2) that the parts are all working? Have you tried pumping in the morning (when most nursing mothers have more milk)?

Regardless of your answers to that alarming slew of questions (not that you have to answer any of them here, but that is what I'd be looking at IIWY)... pumping and frequent nursing are very good for boosting your supply. If you are doing SO much that you're too tired and drained to make more milk, then it's counterproductive. If you have to take a break on something, take a break on the pumping, not the nursing. If you can handle (more or less, I'm assuming you're tired no matter what, because hey, you have a new baby!) the pace, I suggest continuing to pump even if you don't get any milk out. Making milk is all about demand and supply. Eventually, it will work. Then you can start replacing the formula supplement with your own milk, and after that, gradually phasing out supplements altogether until you’re nursing alone.

Originally Posted by AM

... I have been taking the fenugreek, goats rue, and drinking lots of water.

Those are good herbs. I recommend supplements in tincture form because they are MUCH stronger than teas or capsules. Motherlove makes a good one, and I've seen lactation solutions from Gaiam and another good organic source recently, too.

Don’t drink too much water, because ironically, that can also have a bad effect on your supply. Just drink to thirst.

Originally Posted by AM

We are supplementing with formula because of my supply issues and she is drinking a LOT of it. She just took 6 oz, and she only weighs 12lbs. I feel like things are getting better at all and hopeless that I'll never be able to make enough milk.

Okay, yes, that is pretty much formula, but it's not hopeless. How are you feeding her the formula? I'm going to agree with the PP and say it's much better if your baby can receive *all* nutrition at the breast. IOW, a Lact-Aid. I'll be blunt: the learning curve with those things is evil. If you're frustrated now, just wait until you try operating one of those things. : It's absolutely unbelievably awful, but IME it's better than the baby developing a preference for the bottle.

One more question: did the LC evaluate your dd’s suck? That’s good to check out, too.

Originally Posted by AM

Is it silly to expect it to be improving after 5 days? How can I tell if things are getting better?

No, it’s not silly! You’re killing yourself working on this, of course you want to see some improvement! The reality is… it may take a while longer. Take a look at Kellymom.com and check out the diaper counts and weight gains for your baby’s age. Wet/poopy diapers and weight gain are the most important criteria for supply issues. Don’t go by the pump, go by the baby.

And try to be as gentle with yourself as you are with your baby. This is miserably difficult for a nursing mama. Best wishes. You are doing a great job and your baby is really, truly lucky.

[annalivia]

Ginormous hugs to you! I had a really hard time bfing ds and still don't know why, just that he wasn't gaining, not pooping much, and by the time he was a month, he had only just regained birthweight. I didn't see an lc until he was a month, and dear lord, the pumping, and me crying and frustrated, and my boy crying and frustrated, and the pumping, and did I mention the pumping?
Good thing I'm stubborn. The one thing I wish someone could have told me was why. And then, exactly what I needed to do to fix everything. Unfortunately, that isn't how it works, and there's a lot of trial and error probably involved.
I attempted to pump after every feeding for about two months (not an easy thing to do when your babe will not be put down and is possibly still hungry). I did the best I could. Every bit of ebm was precious and went right back to my boy, so it was worth it as much as I could make it happen, I think six pumping sessions in one day was my record. I think I was "supposed" to be pumping eight times or so, but the feeding/pumping cycle just never ended some days. We didn't use a lactaid proper, but just had what was I think an ng tube that the lc gave us that had one end in a bottle and one end that I threaded into ds's mouth after he latched (takes a little bit of practice to get it in the right spot, but hang in there)--I couldn't get him to latch with the tube there. It was a pain, but it wasn't all that bad (please pay close attention to how the supplement bottle is positioned, if it isn't at or a little below the level of your dc's head, the milk will just gravity flow and dc can possibly gradually lose his/her suck).
The times when we sat down for a 40 minute feed that seemed to go really well, just to have my boy hungry and wailing 10 minutes later, then to watch him suck down 5 or 6 ounces of formula were so hard. Please resist the temptation to let someone else finger or bottle feed to give you a break (not that you won't deserve one), it is so so so important that if you are having trouble bfing, you practice bfing (by using a lactaid style supplement, or whatever works/is necessary).
I read kellymom obsessively, Dr. Jack Newman is a marvel and if you are not familiar with the breastfeeding info he has available (a lot of it is on kellymom), please google him post-haste. I actually contacted him via email, and he suggested to me that pumping at the point I had reached was actually possibly making the breastfeeding experience worse and more stressful, so I stopped, and somehow, we made it.
I still am not sure what the problem was, and I don't quite know how we got through it (ds is 17 months and still bfing), but I do very clearly remember all of the struggle and the tears and how much I wanted warm hugs and wise words instead of desperate research, and I am hoping that you are getting lots of love and support and encouragement, and I hope that you know that the effort you make is amazing and it's hard, hard work. Sometimes the solution isn't clear or not what you imagine it should be, but I am hoping for you that every day will get better.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Bleu

One more question: did the LC evaluate your dd’s suck? That’s good to check out, too.

:

And look for tongue-tie too. Sometimes a tongue-tie can result in baby being unable to fully empty the breast, and only relying on the letdown part of the feed. There is a great sticky about tongue-tie at the top of this forum.

[justthinkn]

Esp. with the goat's rue, give it some time - that herb in particular takes 2-3 weeks, b/c it's growing breast tissue. I also use an at the breast supplementer - for me, an SNS. Your LO could also just be making up for lost time, drinking a lot of formula. My DD took so much for a while, until her body got as plump as it wanted to be, then overnight, she cut back formula intake by 50%!

Good luck

[MaryJaneLouise]

Please read the stickie at the top of the forum here on "low milk supply". You might also consider taking domperidone, I will bump the FAQ if it isn't already on the first page