do i not have enough breastmilk?

Question

i never leak and i never became painfully engorged when my milk came in and i never feel a "let down" and when i pump after a feeding i can never get more than a 1/4 oz and that' if im lucky. i started supplementing with formula at night because i felt that i could not satisfy my baby. he is now 7 weeks old and i am still breastfeeding almost the entire day he either falls asleep on my breast from sucking for so long or he eats as much as he can (i do as much breast compression as i can) and cries about 20 minutes later from hunger and i feel like im pretty empty. i dont know what to do i'm a prisoner in my own home and i feel awful because he's starving after nursing him a whole day -i can feed him in the evening with a bottle immediately after a feeding and he'll inhale 5-6 oz. what can i do? do i just not have enough milk? and please dont blame it on the formula and say all i have to do is nurse because i tried it and he never seemed content. is there any solution? HELP!

Answer 1

Well firstly you need to understand that a breastfed baby will not act like a formula fed baby. Formula is like eating Thanksgiving dinner, breastmilk is like eating soup and a salad. Just because you are hungry faster and feel different after a lighter meal doesn't mean that you should eat like it's Thanksgiving every meal of every day.

Leaking and engorgement really have little to do with anything. And many women do not feel let down. And it is normal to not be able to pump much when you are breastfeeding full time. And pumping is a skill, it has little to do with how much milk there is -only how much milk you can pump. Breastfed babies will also "guzzle" a bottle after feeding, the poor little things don't know what to do with a bottle. With a breast they only get milk when they suck, with a bottle it just drips, so they swallow then more comes. Most breastfed babies just don't know what to do, they don't know to turn their head so they just keep swallowing.

Is your milk supply really low?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#supply

The best way to tell how much a baby is getting is to count wet and dirty diapers, in your case with the added formula that isn't going to tell you much.

HOWEVER if the baby is having difficulty getting the milk out of the breast you will not make enough milk, and even if you had tonnes of milk it would make little difference. A properly latched on baby can become full in 2-20 minutes depending on the baby, a baby that is not well latched or has a weak suck, or has other problems they can suck for 24 hours and not get enough.

You need help, today, IN PERSON to make sure that your baby is getting enough milk from you. That he isn't tongue tied, that he is latched on the right way for him. I don't care if the latch is "textbook perfect" if it isn't working, it isn't working. In person they can also help you tell the difference between drinking and sucking. Some babies just like to suck, mine does. There is nothing wrong with letting your baby suck on you for comfort -if that works for you. If it doesn't then you need to consider other ways to satisfy that such as pacifiers or teaching the baby to suck his thumb. You may find that once you know the difference you don't mind the sucking so much because you know he isn't going hungry.

Please contact a La Leche League -which is free and they will likely be willing to come to your house today, even though it is Sunday. And if you can afford a Lactation Consultant get one too, get as much help as you can find. Statistically less than 1% of women (who haven't had breast surgery) can not make enough milk WITH THE RIGHT SUPPORT. Without support the failure rate is high, not because the woman's body can't make enough milk but because things are working against it.

La Leche League:
http://www.llli.org/WebUS.html (Change the country in the upper right if you aren't in America)

Answer 2

How do you know you are not producing enough milk? I thought the same with my first son too. I didn't leak or engorge. And at six weeks he went through a growing spurt and i felt soft and got scared and quit, i regret it. So with kids 2-4 i made sure i was more educated. You have stuck it out this long keep trying. Some women do not pump milk well and you can not go by that. The best way to know if your son is getting enough is call the Dr. office tomorrow and ask to come in and have the baby weighed before feeding him. And weighed after feeding him. The nurse can tell you if he is getting enough. You might be surprised how much you are producing. And with the baby crying all the time, it might not be hunger, try a pacifier. Because a baby can make you the human pacifier.

Answer 3

Please, please, call a local La Leche League Leader!!! It's free and they can help, I promise. I dealt with very similar circumstances, no let down or engorgement. We didn't have to supplement until he was 4 months, (he'll be 1 next week). The pumping thing sucks, did that too. They are ALOT of things you can take, fenugreek (an herb), take 3 capsules 3 times a day, there's also a prescription called Reglan that will substantially increase your supply. I'm so sorry, I know exactly how you feel, Benny weaned himself at 9 months and I was heartbroken. I really wanted to reach one year, but at least he got my milk for 6 months, which is when it's so important. What kind of bottles are you using, they have some made by the first years that are very similar to the breast, but use a nipple that doesn't just "flow", make it as hard as nursing. PLease email if I can help, or if you just need to vent. You're not a bad mama if you can't exclusively breastfeed your baby, and don't let anyone make you feel that way, and don't beat yourself up. Ask about a SNS system, it'll help to keep him nursing while getting supplement. Blessings, Amber

are you taking any kind of birth control? even though they say the mini-pill or IUD is safe for BF mamas, the IUD wrecked my supply

Answer 4

1] call a lactation consultant
2] call La Leche league.
3] is he gaining weight? If he is, he's OK.
Are you eating enough? Breastfeeding requires 600 extra calories a day.
Drinking enough? Try to drink at least 1/2 gallon of water a day. No alcohol, and limit caffeine.
Stay put in your house for several days, and do nothing but nurse. No chores, errands, etc. Feed yourself and him, and
do no other work whatsoever. You can read or watch tv, but don't do anything that requires calories.
Ask the consultant or la Leche about supplements - fenugreek is supposed to help milk production.

Answer 5

You already know the answer. You can do it. Engorgement, leaking, letdown, and pumping have nothing to do with supply. Your body made the baby and it can nourish him too. Lost those bottles, and nurse constantly, and your baby will become satisfied in a few days! It sounds like a lot of work (it is), but it's nothing compared to using bottles of formula. The formula is to blame, and the solution is to nurse very often. Make sure you have enough water, healthy food, rest and relax. Worrying about milk slows down milk production (it's not fair). You can do it! Find some support, like a La Leche League group in your area.

Answer 6

Contact a lactation consultant ASAP. If you don't know one, as your doctor or local la leche league for a referral.

Giving your baby a bottle at night will actually worsen your supply problem. I understand why you are supplementing, obviously you don't want him to starve, but your breasts will only produce milk when milk is being used.

If you feel like you HAVE TO supplement for your own sanity or your baby's health, please pump during or after his bottle. Also, use a breast bottle, the the adiri breast bottle, so he does not have nipple confusion. Sucking on a commercial nipple will make nursing more difficult.

Answer 7

What you get out of a pump is not an indicator of what the baby is capable of getting. Contact the lactation consultant at your hospital or through Le Leche League. He may have a poor latch, tongue tied or not be in a good position.

Answer 8

i understand the way u sense. Even my toddler lost weight the 1st week and that i resorted to formulation to help her benefit some weight. Your spouse's milk may well be sluggish coming in (consistent with possibility she used an anesthetic for the duration of childbirth). Its person-friendly for little ones to lose 10-15% of birthweight for the time of the 1st 2 weeks. basically verify on the latch, and feed your toddler by making use of pumping each and every time after she has nursed. This enables to drain the breast no count number if it incredibly isn't any longer already and if toddler basically gor drained after sucking for one among those long term, she would manage to get extra of what she desires (hindmilk). authentic milk production issues are very uncommon, under 2% of folk have it. Her milk will are available dont complication and toddler would be happy, basically hang in there. i relish her for breast feeding. So save up doing the spectacular interest she is doing, dont provide up. sturdy success!

Answer 9

You probably do, but you need to address that question to your gyn. You may need some oxytocins. Also, you need to relax, meditate, and find happiness in the new baby. Your tension will dry you out.

Answer 10

talk to your dr first but as long as he isnt losing weight i am sure you are fine .. i breast feed to and you just dont know how much they are getting .. my baby just likes to be close to me and nibble . maybe he needs you close