How do you know if you've run out of milk at end of day?
Dd last night was constantly wanting to feed but would keep pulling off like she was frustrated nothing was coming out she screamed until 1am! When I was finally able to get her to sleep in her rocker , I know I didn't drink much water yesterday because I was nauseous
I'm feeling frustrated because she's usually fine but when she has a fussy night where she won't stop screaming and feeding dh starts nagging about formula feeding because ds was alot more settled on ff
I do often struggle to drink enough because It seems impossible to remember or get the time when I'm split between 2 kids
Simple answer, you never run out completely. You're constantly making more, so there's always some there. And if bub is peeing and pooing enough, and growing nicely, then you are making enough.
And you said this happened last night - does that mean that she was ok the night before? So one unsettled evening is not an indication of not enough milk! I'm not trying to belittle you or your concern, just trying to give you some perspective. Many, many mums worry that their supply is inadequate, and it nearly always isn't true. There are heaps of articles on this - on bellybelly, on the aba website. Have a read through and reassure yourself.
How much you can express is not a good indication of how much milk you are producing, or how much bub can get. And believe me, giving formula is not an automatic pass to a settled baby! All babies are different and your elder child may have been just as settled if he had been BF, and this one may be just as unsettled on formula.
Please make sure that your DH knows all these things too, and reads the information, so that he can start being supportive of your BFing, instead of undermining your bfing.
To help yourself to stay hydrated, try putting a large bottle of water (like an empty 2L cordial bottle, for example) in reach of your favourite feeding chair, and make sure its empty by the end of the day. If your DH wants to be more supportive, you could ask him to make sure that the bottle is there and ready for you first thing every morning. Helping me to stay hydrated was one thing my DH did for ages, which I found really helpful for the first 5 months or so.
I hope you have a super-watery day today, and a more settled evening.
I can't see how old ur dd is but she might have been in pain (wind or a reaction to something u have eaten etc) and wanting a feed for comfort but it was hurting her too much, hence the constant pulling off and frustration. But yeah also make sure u drink a lot of water too!!
That is what my bubs have done during growth spurts. With DS3 the 2 week spurt was the worst he did that and screamed all night. I remember thinking I had no milk too. I did but it was a mix of him wanting it faster and the fact they will suck more to make sure you make more. It was a nightmare night though so I sympathise Like Pholi said if you're getting enough wet and dirty nappies you have enough milk. Ditto on the expressing even when I was engorged I couldn't express a lot of milk.
I have been reminding myself too to drink enough water. I got slack last week and although I had enough milk still, I felt a bit blah, and DD likes a faster flow so being a bit dehydrated slowed things down making her a bit cranky. ...I'm off now to fill my water bottle Thanks for the reminder
Hi,
It is a common myth that your milk could “run out” or “dry up” and of course very concerning for mothers to have this idea in their head. In fact, what’s happening is your baby’s behaviour. Your body makes milk the same all day and night. When your breasts are relatively emptier the signal is for your body to make more milk - quickly. When your breasts are relatively full milk making slows down. But what changes is baby’s mood. Babies need their mum (or dad) to help them regulate themselves. When they suck a hormone, CCK is released in their body and that helps them relax and go to sleep. As they get more tired/overstimulated at the end of the day they want to suck more - and if they feed more your breasts don’t get to fill up. think of the toilet cistern - filling at the same rate - but if a bunch of you go to the loo in quick succession you don’t get much of a flush. Most babies feed at least 8-12 times in 24 hours. Usually there is one time of the day or night when they have a longer sleep - maybe three hours or at most 4. But then there is another time of the day or the night when nothing seems to make your baby happy. They are trying to “wind down” and will have a cluster of feeds over several hours before they have a longer sleep. Not sure what you mean by your anxiety increasing hormones. Hormones in your milk won’t be making her irritable. If she is outside the norm it might be worth talking to some-one about allergies in your milk, but probably best to see and LC about this. Are you getting a bit of a rest during the day when she sleeps? You are doing so well, but the early weeks with a baby are tough going, however you feed them.
It sounds very similar to how my bub gets if he is overstimulated or overtired. I can't see how old your bub is but do you have a predictable bedtime routine? I set sleep cues for my DS from the beginning and this helps alot if he is overtired. You are doing an amazing job. Hang in there. I have a two yr old and a bub too and it's exhausting.
Are you a member of the ABA? The book you get when you join has lots of great info, including a handy checklist that you can use to reassure yourself that baby is getting enough milk. If she is, then you can relax about that at least, and it may help you to accept that her behaviour is "off", but it's nothing to do with your milk (as others have said). And there's really no guarantee that she wouldn't fuss just as much if she were on formula - bottle fed babies have bad days too, it's just that no-one seems to blame the milk then.
It is really hard to get rest with an older child too, hopefully things will settle down a bit for you in the coming weeks. Do you have much help at home?
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Like Pholi said if you're getting enough wet and dirty nappies you have enough milk. Ditto on the expressing even when I was engorged I couldn't express a lot of milk.
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