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11-29-2012 at 4:58 PM
Pautler01
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Joined on 04-05-2008
Tonawanda, NY
711 Points
Pautler01 is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 8:55 PMNewbie

FTM...worried about low supply (long)

Hi all...I haven't posted anything onthe Bump yet (but have been lurking since I became pregnant). My LO is 10 days old today. I wanted to EBF and then pump for when I went back to work. However that has been difficult since the beginning. We had some initial issues with latching and with her falling alseep while nursing. Long story short, we have been feeding her breast milk via bottles (and I still nurse occassionally now that she is getting better at it - although today she refused to nurse at all for whatever reason). 

 

So my real concern is how much I am pumping. With pumping 10 times a day, my supply seems low to me (and it's a bit all over the place). I pump between 1.5 oz and 2.5 oz per session (if I do BF I pump after and then only get about 1 oz). When we don't have enough BM for a feeding we do supplement with formula (so far it's only been for one feeding a day - she ends up eating every hour as opposed to every 2-3 hours in the late evening). 

 

Should I be getting more at this point? My milk was a bit slow to come in even though I have been BFing since the beginning (although due to some her feeding issues, I didn't start BFing/ pumping very consistenly until after I left the hospital.  

 

As a FTM I am a bit lost.  I wish I could be EBFing still but the pedi was worried about her weight loss after leaving the hospital (born 7lbs 5oz, then down to 6lbs 3oz but as of Tuesday back up to 7lbs 1oz). 

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! TIA! 




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11-29-2012 at 6:24 PM
Kris2011RN
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Joined on 11-27-2011
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Kris2011RN is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 8:52 PMBronze
In the beginning that's about all I could pump. Now I can get a lot more. You will start to build up more milk the more you pump.

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11-29-2012 at 6:43 PM
jennygirlm...
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Joined on 04-06-2006
Philadelphia
7,431 Points
jennygirlmt is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 9:01 PMSilver

First, as far as latching, keep working on it, give it time an if you can, and if possible, visit an LC for pointers. I'm a STM who breastfed my first for 21 months, and I still had issues with DD2. She cried, screamed and wouldnt latch for almost an hour. I dreaded feeding times and even caved a few times and pumped and gave a bottle (maybe 3 times).  But my mom and DH sat with me and we kept working at it. I was a day from calling an LC when she just clicked (around 10-11 days) and started latching like it was no issue.

She lost a whole pound by her first weigh in, and only gained a few ounces at 8 days. She didn't hit her birth weight (well 1 oz shy) until 2 weeks. Many bf babies need 3-4 weeks to get to birth weight. I wouldn't jump to formula just yet. Babies get more than you can pump so I would keep nursing as much as possible and giving her time to latch (again an LC will have pointers on what the issue might be).

I would nurse/pump as much as possible to keep building your supply, but your output is pretty normal at this point. But you can also try some of the tips like drinking more water, eating oatmeal, mother's milk tea, etc.

You are doing well, but keep working on it, you'll be surprised that you won't even remember these days when things start working fluently and you can just snuggle in for nursing sessions.


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11-29-2012 at 6:51 PM
Pautler01
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Joined on 04-05-2008
Tonawanda, NY
711 Points
Pautler01 is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 8:55 PMNewbie

Thanks so much for the replies!

 With regards to the latch, she latches great now actually...she just won't nurse. Or at least not consistenly. We've seen an LC several times and she said we are doing everything right with BFing but she just won't eat very much (at one weighed feeding she took less than half an ounce total from both sides). That's why we had to use formula occassionally - I just wasn't producing enough either from BFing or from pumping...at least not when I first started pumping). 

 I guess I am just going to take it one day at a time. I mean, at least she's getting BM for the majority of her feedings, right? :)  




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11-29-2012 at 9:18 PM
Justcallme...
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Joined on 05-14-2011
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JustcallmeGG2 is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 8:33 PMSilver

stepping in from another board- hey.

your supply is just getting established for the first 3 months actually.  KEEP UP WITH PUMPING.  i was kind of lazy about it in the beginning, maybe just pumpe 5 times a day, and i think my supply would have been SO much better if i did it 8 times a day like they recommended.

do you have a hands free pumping bra?  you pump SO much more when you can relax and have your hands free.  LIKE 100 percent difference!

also, are you massaging your boobs while pumping?  i kind of squeeze mine a little to get the milk out faster.  also try to pump until you are basically empty.  you could also try about 10 minutes of warm compresses and see if you get more milk that way.


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11-30-2012 at 1:00 AM
Afunky6
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Joined on 06-29-2011
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Afunky6 is not online. Last active: 05-21-2013, 10:16 PMSilver

Your story sounds similar to ours. I was EBF DD but she couldn't suck effectively. She dropped from 5lbs 9oz to 4lbs 13oz. So, my LC said that I should BF her for 30 minutes (15 each), pump, and feed her a bottle. So basically, each feeding took about 1 and 1/2 hours or so. It was exhausting. I got sick of BFing, so I started EPing. It made me so much happier. In the beginning, all I was getting was about 2.5oz. It steadily increased and now I have a massive over supply (though I would much rather have an over supply than an under supply).

I would make sure you're drinking LOTS of water and getting plenty of rest. If you could even sleep and have your SO give your LO and sleep for a bit. Its crazy in the beginning and hard work, but hopefully you guys find a rhythm that works for your family! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.


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