[Lousli]

Hi,
A little background. I have a 3 year old, who I have nursed since birth, and my milk came in with her about 3-4 days postpartum. I leaked colostrom prior to her birth. She recently was nursing infrequently, but did nurse throughout my pregnancy.

On 12/18 I went to the hospital, very ill. It is a really long story involving many days, medications, etc., which I won't get into here. I got to see my daughter about twice a day, and she nursed maybe twice while I was in the hospital from 12/18-12/21.

On 12/21 at 10:54 pm my daughter was born 7 weeks early. I pumped asap after her birth, and got a fairly considerable amount of milk/colostrum. I have continued pumping since then, and although the first day I would get colostrom at every pumping (even if it was only drops), I have not gotten anything at all in about the last 18 hours. I have been pumping every 2-3 hours, although a couple of times I have been a little late.

I'm trying to keep up on my fluids, and I'm peeing regularly and sweating profusely, so I don't think I'm dehydrated. None of the meds i was given should have effected my milk supply. I'm of course very tired, and somewhat stressed for my little baby in the NICU.

Am I dry? Will my milk come in today or tomorrow? Anything I can do to help it along? What if it doesn't come? I really need to get breastmilk to my little girl. PLEASE help!

 

[SEEPAE]

what kind of pump are you using? it might not be the right one to reaaly stimulate your milk again.
have you tried massaging your breasts and expressing?
how early was baby?

 

[Lousli]

I'm using a medela pump in style. I used a hospital grade in the hospital yesterday, and still didn't get anything. The baby was 7 weeks early. I have been massaging as I pump, trying to encourage let-down, but my breasts don't feel full at all.

 

[SEEPAE]

the massaging and hand expressing.

you said you were on antibiotics... Ive heard that some types will make you dry up... I hope someone who has been through this will come along as I am only speaking from what Ive read.

I do know that the pump matters... do you think you could spring for an advent isis? I always had the hardest time pumping with my lactina and then I got the avent and it would just flow.

Do you have the newest PIS that mimics the sucking of baby? fast and soft, then slow and hard?

 

[marisa724]

Because of the unusual circumstances surrounding your new baby's birth, I would not be surprised if your milk was delayed slightly. Anywhere from 1-6 days is within the realm of 'normal', and I have heard anecdotal evidence that a stressful birth may result in more of a delay.

(Says she who waited six days after a c/b.)

It is too soon to panic after only 3 days, please hang in there, mama!

 

[Quirky]

Are you working with a lactation consultant? I would get one ASAP. Make sure you get a list of the medications you were on.

Spend as much time as you can with your new baby skin to skin, smelling her and letting her latch on or lick your nipple if she will.

I would also start taking fenugreek and blessed thistle (3-4 capsules of each 3 times a day) and look into getting some domperidone ASAP. www.globaldrug.tv is a good source although it's in New Zealand so it takes a while.

Is your older dd still nursing? Does she tell you whether she's getting any milk?

This has got to be tough, mama. I would definitely get professional help ASAP!!

 

[flminivanmama]

Hi

my twins were born 11 weeks premature by c-section. I used the big metal pump in the hospital. The first day I got about 2 oz of colostrum (which they lost. grrr). the second day I got DROPS (which they said wasn't enough and threw out

). then I got nothing. I went home at 4 days post-partum with the lactina and still got nothing. I got fenugreek and mothers milk tea and my milk came in on day 7. not sure if the herbs helped or not. I think the milk was just delayed by a combo of things - stress, c-section, prematurity....

I'm sure you know all this but = just keep pumping - you should pump about 200 minutes a day. use a hospital grade pump to bring in and sustain a milk supply for a non-nursing baby. massage your breasts before pumping, if you have a partner have your partner lightly rub your back while pumping, put warm washcloths on your breasts before pumping....

good luck!

 

[Lousli]

Thanks everyone!
The nurse taking care of my daughter in the NICU as well as my mom (she's a CNM) both said that it is not unusal for milk to take several days to come in, as you all mentioned, because of the circumstances. As long as I am pumping enough (which I am, believe me) I shouldn't be alarmed yet. My older dd does occasionally nurse, so I've also been encouraging her to do so between pumpings. She said that there is milk. I'll keep you all posted!

 

[SEEPAE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lousli She said that there is milk. I'll keep you all posted!

if she says it then by goodness there must be! one thing I learned from pumping no matter what type or for how long I pumped the kid always gets more and since shes nursed fro so long Im sure she knows some secrets that hard ole plastic pump doesnt, hehehe

 

[kavamamakava]

When my daughter was born, my son was 17 months old. He was nursing about 4-5 times a day and 1-3 times at night. She had to be taken to the hospital because she was having breathing difficulties after her home birth and they admitted her to the NICU for observation to make sure it wasn't anything more than TTN. She ended up staying for 6 days. My milk didn't come in until day 5. I couldn't even pump with the Medela Pump in Style or with the hospital pump. I would sit in the pumping room at the hospital for an hour massaging and pumping and reading magazines with pictures of breastfeeding babies and holding some of the clothes she had worn. I finally dug out my Avent Isis and it WORKED!! I was able to pump about 2 ounces at a time. Not much, but certainly better than the few drops I was twisting out with the Medela pumps. I refer to the Pump in Style, not as the PIS, but the POS.
My son was still sucking. I don't know if he was getting anything out or not, but he has never cared. He just really likes to nurse.
My midwife is also a lactation consultant and she suggested rolling my nipples between thumb and forefinger before pumping. That helped a bit.
She also said that skin to skin contact really helps with most breastfeeding problems. When you put your baby to the breast in the hospital, try to make sure the baby's chest and stomach are bare. If you just lift your shirt, baby should be able to have skin contact with you even if you're nursing in the NICU.
And as soon as we got home, I just wore her in a sling with her dressed in only a diaper and I stayed topless with just a bra on. It took about 2 days for her to get over her nipple confusion and for my supply to get well established. So she was about 8 days home by then.

 

[mum2 4]

Give your body a chance to readjust to the demands of bf and the milk will come. The stress of a premature birth and all the worries that go with it are part of the delay in production.
You are also so used to a suckling baby that the pump does not elicit a let-down repsonse. As other have said try an Isis hand pump as well as some hand expressing ( see breastfeeding.com for Expressing Breastmilk info) Do some message, have a 4 oz drink of water, use pump for about 5+ minutes. pause for another drink and some dppe breaths to encourage let-down and then repeat pumping. finish up with hand expressing to maximize output. This routine works well for the Moms at Breastfeeding Boot Camp sponsored by the fourfriends.com/abrw/ site. You are welcome to chek out the at home plan. Also remember to eat a daily bowl of oatmeal and drink 3 quarts of liquid. Then watch the river of milk begin to flow...

 

[Lousli]

Update:

Well, even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I got a present anyway! My milk is coming in now. It is a just a little right now, but I'm guessing it will be flowing pretty well by later today. Each time I pumped last night, I got more than the time before. The timing is perfect, because they have just started tube feeding my baby in the NICU, and now they have something to give her! I literally got tears in my eyes when I saw those first drops.

 

[flminivanmama]

woo hoo!! great news!!

congrats

 

[veggiemommy]

Wow that's great news!! My son was 5 weeks early due to the fact that I got HELLP syndrome and they had to deliver him early as my organs were shutting down. I too was quite drugged up etc. to prevent seizures and to bring my blood pressure down and my milk didn't come in AT ALL in the hospital--I was there for 8 days! Then I finally found out about a drug called diclecten--I started taking that and my milk came in and I've never had a problem since! (Been nursing for 4 years now!) Just thought that I would mention that in case it becomes a problem again--not the most natural thing but it worked and then I was able to get back off the drug. I wouldn't have known to ask for that except my friend had been offered it previously by her doctor so luckily she remembered! I was SO determined to breastfeed and was SO disappointed when no milk was coming in and they kept feeding him formula!

Anyway--good luck with everything--it will only get easier now and soon the days in the nicu will seem like just a distant memory!! I can hardly remember my son only being 5lbs now!

Take care,

Holly

 

[kavamamakava]

Oh that's awesome!!!

 

[LoveMyLil'B]

That's great news! I've noticed that I can pump a lot more when I pump at home. When I'm at work I have a quiet comfortable place, but nothing is more comfortable than your own home. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to pump at the NICU.
Have you tried pumping one side while your DD nurses on the other side?

 

[Lousli]

The NICU has a few room designated for pumping and other family needs. One of them is sort of a conference room, so it is very private, but not really nice. However, the other room is very nice, with a glider rocker, a couch, a TV and refrigerator, like a little nursery/hotl room. So it isn't so bad to pump while I'm there.

I've been nursing dd in between pumping, so that I can stimulate my breasts more and also get more milk with each pumping. She has increased her nursing a little now that there is milk, so it is seeming that I have someone or something attached all the time! It's okay though, I really want to get this milk into my little girl, so she can get bigger and come home! I'm making quite a bit now, the nurses were happy with what i brough in yesterday, so i think they'll be bowled over by today's.

 

[doctorjen]

It sounds like your milk is coming in now, and pumping will probably go better - but in case any one else ever has a similar situation - I have found that had expressing often works better in the first few days before mature milk comes in. Colostrum is often better removed by compression than suction like with a pump. If you use a small container like a little medicine cup or even a spoon, you can often express enough small drops to make up a few ccs at a time. This can be drawn up and stored in a small syringe, and then used for tube feeds. You can keep pumping then, too, to encourage milk production. LLL has a good handout on hand expression.
I don't think it always happens, but I've seen a lot of preemie moms where mature milk production was delayed a bit. A friend delivered recently at 25 1/2 weeks, and was ready to quit pumping on day 5 of no milk (she'd also just suffered the loss of 2 of her triplets, though, and was so discouraged on many levels) The next time she pumped, there was the milk, and she's gone on to produce 40 oz a day and has a huge storage space problem now. It's like that "Field of Dreams" movie with the "If you build it, they will come." If you keep pumping or expressing, or putting baby to breast if possible, in most cases, the milk will come!

 

[stafl]

If I were you, I'd pump one side while older child nurses the other. That works for me when nothing else will. Good luck, and congrats!!

 

[Lousli]

I thought everyone might like to know that this morning the nurse in the NICU told me that I would need to start frezzing some of my milk at home because both the refridgerator and freezer at the hospital are full. My freezer at home is also so full of milk that I'm going to have to start taking out my frozen foods and eating them so I'll have more room for milk! So, obviously it all worked out! Thank you all for the advice. BTW, my toddler is delighted at all the milk too, she's nursing between pumpings, and is nursing way more frequently than she used to.