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snugglebug 
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 Topic: Milk supply problems please help!
Posted: 17 December 2010 at 6:43pm |
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I am having issues with my milk supply all of a sudden.
In the last couple of days my supply seems to have dropped a lot, last night I could barely get any out and baby was getting extremely frustrated and screaming from hunger. Today it's been much the same.
I have had to give a couple of formula top ups which I have hated doing because I love breastfeeding, and up until now I have had a great supply and baby has been putting on weight really well and doing great.
I have been under heaps of stress as I have a reflux baby and I haven't been coping well, or eating as much as I should.
Could that be the cause? I am also using nipple shields have done since he was born for a few reasons, could this be taking its toll as well?
What can I do to get my supply up again Im really scared it's going for good and I would be gutted. Should I express after every feed or what should I do?
I fed him this afternoon and thought he got a good amount and then he proceeded to drink a bottle of formula too... is he being greedy or is he not getting what he needs from me?
So confused... please help. Im scared Ive made a mistake by topping up
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Me 28, DH 29 DS born 20 Nov 2010 (4 years old) #2 due October 7 
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Nothing
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Location: Nelson
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 7:09pm |
Dont worry, if you have a screaming baby that is mega hungry you did the right thing by giving him a top up. When you BF try to relax as much as possible as tensing up can inhibit your let down reflex. Put baby to the breast as often as you can as the more that he feeds/sucks the more it will stimulate your breast to produce more milk.
You will find a recipie for lactation cookies here: http://www.ohbaby.co.nz/Forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6351&PN=1&TPN=1 You can get the brewers yeast and ground linseed from Bin Inn. These are really great to help boost your supply.
You can also get blessed thistle capsules from your health pharmacy and fenegruek also works well. Try to eat regularly, plenty of protein, and remember to drink water. I have had this a few times and it is hard work, but once I got through it I had lots of milk! Good luck 
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Shezamumof3
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 7:10pm |
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Drink HEAPS of water
Make yourself a drink with complan and banana and an egg wizz it up!
Milkflow pills, I used these and they are awesome!!! Just get them from the health shop or chemist
Lactation cookies, if you do a search on here you should be able to find them
Try cluster feeding as well, frequent suckling to help keep your supply up.
Topping up with formula, at a young age can effect how well they breastfeed(i know from my own personal experience), they often favour the bottle over the breast as they get milk faster ffrom the bottle, so just be aware of that.
I had issue with my supply too, and all these things really helped, I still topepd up with formula but always offered breast first.
Good Luck!
Edited by Sheza
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AuntieSarah
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Location: Hastings
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 7:18pm |
 Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with your little man so far
Do you have a lactation consultant nearby you can go and see? We have something called the baby cafe where you can go and see lactation consultants (for free), maybe ask your midwife if there is anything in your area.
From memory of what they told me there (though I could be wrong about this so someone please correct me if I am) your supply doesn't just suddenly drop, it happens slowly if it does happen. Are you sure it's a supply issue? I don't really have any other ideas of what it might be though sorry.
Hope you manage to sort it out soon - I was gutted when I had supply issues after being unwell when ds was about 8 months, but a trip to the lactation consultant sorted us out.
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Raspberryjam
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 7:51pm |
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I had similar issues, and used natruopharm milkflow spray - it was really good
If he is your first and your tired just camp up in bed with him for the day and feed him every 1 or 2 hours, drink lots af water, eat lots of food, go the complan its awesome! lots of almonds and high protein foods, do it for as long as you need to
If thats not possible pump for 5 mins each side after every feed even if you arent getting much, its Try avoid the bottle - unless he isnt getting 6 wet naps a day
not a real indication of how much baby is taking but will help to stimulate the production
Weegee is awesome - maybe you could PM her - and she has given loads of advice in the feeding issues thread, good luck, breastfeeding in awesome if thats your choice - I love it
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http://lilypie.com] 
http://lilypie.com] 
http://lilypie.com] 
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Danda08
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 8:06pm |
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Artemis Breastfeeding Tea!! It makes a huge difference to my supply.
I used to express after every feed too to keep my supply up.
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Bizzy
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 8:37pm |
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he is probably getting ready for his 4 week growth spurt... he will feed more and the more he feeds the more your supply will increase. just relax, drink water like someone said and go with the flow.
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mummyofprinces
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Posted: 17 December 2010 at 8:57pm |
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I agree with Bizzy, he is probably now needing more so he needs to build up the supply to match his new appetite.... it can be a bit daunting, especially in the evening when it seems like they have sucked you dry and are still hungry.
If this is the case and exclusive bf is important to you then try and perservere with letting him feed as often as he needs to up your supply and it should settle down in a day or 2. He will most likely want to feed non stop (it will feel like) in the early evening when your supply is naturally lower. Topping up with formula will affect babies way of increasing your supply (if it isnt being demanded, it wont be produced philosphy). That said, having had a baby with reflux and having PND I know all to well how hard it is to handle a hungry screaming baby so do what YOU need to do.
Your suppy doesnt just disappear over night hun so dont worry about that!!! Thats a stress you dont need, but stress will affect your letdown.
Natural milk boosters
Brewers yeast
Almonds
Oats
Keeping well hydrated (this humidty and heat will mean you need extra water, I always try and have a glass of water with every feed and then whenever I remember)
Blessed Thistle
Fenugreek
Protein
Someone recommended to me to have a complan in the early afternoon and make sure I have at least 30 minutes with my feet up (not feeding time) to help that evening supply... worked for me.
Hopefull it settles down for you tomorrow.
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weegee
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Posted: 18 December 2010 at 8:12am |
You've been given lots of awesome advice in here, the most important being that it's a supply and demand relationship so letting him suckle as often as he wants is very important, even if he isn't always getting something when he does it.
- topping up with formula is only a mistake if you let it become so. Yes there's a feedback loop, so if there's less demand on your boobs they'll produce less, but that's only an issue if you keep giving him 'just one more bottle'. Supply can increase as well as decrease.
- just because he takes a full bottle after feeding doesn't mean he needed it or that he's greedy. Here's a great excerpt from a lactation consultant explaining about fussy times and 'topping up':
 Mother-2-Mother.com wrote:
FUSSINESS
Young babies, both breast and formula fed, are often fussy. It is not unusual for this to happen during the late afternoon and evenings, and is usually NOT due to hunger, wet/dirty diaper, or anything that mom or dad can fix. It is usually NOT related to milk supply, although some mothers may worry about this.
One of the best explanations of normal infant fussiness is shared here with permission from Kathy S. Kuhn RN BSN IBCLC and lactation consultant for Parentsplace.com:
Normal infant fussiness starts at about 1-3 weeks, peaks at about 6-8 weeks and is gone by about 3-4 months. Most babies will "fuss" about 2-4 hours per day, no matter what you do. They want to be "in arms" or at the breast very frequently and fuss even though you attempt to calm them. They often seem "unsatisfied" with their feedings and even seem to reject or cry at the breast.
It most commonly happens in the evening hours, and usually the baby will take their longest stretch of sleep after this fussy time. The best thing to do is offer the breast as much as the baby wants it. If she fusses at the breast try to calm her in other ways such as "dancing" with her, gentle bouncing and rocking, and just giving big doses of TLC. You can tell it is normal fussiness if it occurs about the same time each day, if your baby has other times of the day when feedings are calm and she seems happy, and if she is growing and gaining well per her pediatrician and having plenty of wet and soiled diapers.
Many times during a baby's fussy time they will refuse the breast. After several frustrating attempts at nursing, the parents may "break down" and offer a bottle of expressed breastmilk or formula thinking that the fussiness is related to low supply or something wrong with mom's milk. Kathy gives a better understanding of this particular concern here, as well as explaining what happens when baby is offered a bottle and "guzzles" it down:
Parents who don't know this is "normal" frequently respond as you did by giving a bottle because they think the baby isn't "happy or satisfied" with the breast. When the bottle goes in the baby's mouth the mouth fills with milk, the baby is obligated to swallow and the action of swallowing initiates another suck. The suck again fills the mouth and the cycle repeats, giving an appearance of the baby "gulping the bottle down hungrily".
This of course only contributes to mom and dad's fear that the baby wasn't getting enough at the breast and they keep offering more and more bottles (understandably). Which then causes a true low milk supply. Often the baby falls asleep peacefully after this episode which also reinforces to the parents that the bottle was just what the baby needed. What has really happened is the baby has by coincidence come to the natural conclusion of the fussy spell (most parents give the bottle as a last resort which means the fussiness has been going on for awhile) and/or the baby has withdrawn because "gulping" down the bottle was actually stressful and NOT what the baby wanted but she could not stop the flow, so exhausted, she falls asleep. So don't offer bottles during any fussy time. |
Please read this page to be sure you really do have low supply - supply often settles naturally at around 4 weeks
Otherwise, I'm pretty sure you should be able to see a lactation consultant for free in the first 6 weeks (ask your midwife for a referral) or contact a breastfeeding peer counsellor (like me! or through La Leche League is your best bet) - some one on one help could be all you need to get your confidence back
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Mum to JJ, 4 July 2008 & Addie, 28 July 2010
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caliandjack
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Posted: 18 December 2010 at 9:12am |
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You are entitled to 2 free sessions with a lactation consultant via Plunket at any stage. Not sure where in Akl you are I found the Family Centre in Henderson really helpful with bf, suggest contacting your local Plunket or talking to your mw
Make sure you are eating, drinking and getting plenty of rest I found I needed to eat and drink at every feed to keep my supply up.
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AuntieSarah
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Posted: 18 December 2010 at 12:18pm |
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weegee what a great article you've quoted, thanks for that.
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puppy
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Posted: 20 December 2010 at 7:34pm |
Thanks for all this great information.
It is so helpful to know that this is "normal" and stressing about it doesn't help.
It's very easy to think it something you are doing wrong - especially with your first child.
Thanks again everyone! 
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Jaune
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Posted: 20 December 2010 at 10:29pm |
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In addition to what everyone else said, growth spurts can also be mistaken for low supply...so worth keeping in mind.
See this article for info...I found it quite helpful.
http://breastfeeding.about.com/od/breastfeedingbystage/a/growthspurts.htm
At times when DS was younger he would cluster feed for hours at a time...exhausting, but I just let him to what he wanted to do and haven't had any issues with supply...despite thinking and feeling like my boobs were totally empty at times!
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kiwisj
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Posted: 21 December 2010 at 2:30pm |
I have only skimmed the other replies but also wanted to add that reflux can make your baby seem constantly hungry too - feeding soothes their throat and makes them feel better for a bit and then of course they bring it up again and it starts again  So just another thing to think about when he's getting upset after a BF, it could just be reflux (haha "just" reflux).
As for the nipple shields, they *can* affect your supply but as others have said it's a gradual thing rather than being an overnight thing. I used nipple shields the whole time I BFd Callum (5.5months) and for the first 6 weeks with Daniel. With Daniel it took a couple of sessions with a lactation consultant and lots of support from the LC and my DH to wean MYSELF off them, I didn't have the confidence to just give them up. But now D is latching really well and gaining weight at an amazing pace, so it's not forever, this tough part
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SJ
Callum - Dec 2008
Daniel - Oct 2010
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mummymonster
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Posted: 21 December 2010 at 8:35pm |
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Every mum and every baby is different.
I had 'issues' with BFing DS. He went to FF at 4 months.
I tried the cookies, fenugreek, so much water I might have burst and the plunket lactation consultant. DS also had silent reflux. I could go on as it's a long story, but in summary. What I'll do differently this time -
I'd put of the FF longer
I'd visit my GP sooner (she's lovely)
I'd get more info on the prescription milk supply boosting drug (sorry don't know what it's called)
I'd relax more (easier said than done)
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sugarbaby
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Posted: 22 December 2010 at 10:01pm |
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if its been hot where you are, remember to drink plenty of water, i pump twice a day and can totally notice the difference in amount on hot days i dont hydrate. full up a bunch of water bottles first thing in the morning and put them where you feed. at the end of the day you will see how much you have had to drink :)
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Milk supply problems please help!
