My son is 13 days old and was born 4428g, He has been breastfeeding 3-4 hourly for approx 45 mins - 60 mins. I let him detach and then I burp him then I offer the other side. Sometimes he takes it, sometimes not. If he does I offer that same side next feed and if he doesn't I offer that side still for the next feed. He wakes up and demands a feed, sleeps very well and seems really content and has sufficient wet/soiled nappies.
Archer was born 4428, day 5 was 4185g (-243) then day 7 was 4200g (+ 15g) and day 12 was 4260 (+60g). So he has put on 75g in 5 days. The nurse was not happy with this and wanted me to express to see how much I got out.. I only got 20mls out of my left side which had a very damaged nipple but has since healed using a medela swing pump and was on it for about 15 mins, could this indicate I have low supply or something? He is very very sleepy at the breast but does suck for a good majority of it and I play with him.. He does not fuss or pull or carry on. Im really confused and feel like my body is failing me now as I thought we were doing ok
Expressing is never really a good indication of supply especially when you are first trying to do it. Babies are a lot more effecient than a pump and 20mLs in 15mins actually sounds really decent to me for this early in the piece! I wouldn't be concerned, 75g in 5 days sounds pretty reasonable... he isn't wasting away, is content and having wet nappies so something must be going in. 3-4hrly is quite a low number of feeds for this age (2-3hrly is more common) so you could always try to squeeze in more feeds? Personally, I would just follow bubs lead while maybe trying to fit in a couple of extra feeds and seeing how things are in a week, as long as he remained showing no sign of dehydration then I wouldn't worry just yet.
You're doing a good job and I don't think your body is failing
When a mother is expressing "to see how much she has" the amount she gets tells me everything about how stressed she is, everything about the fact that she is new at this caper and still learning the ropes, everything about the equipment she is using to pump and absolutely nothing about how much milk you have. You grow a good baby - wow, 4kg. And I bet you never doubted your body's ability to provide when your babe was on the inside. No different on the outside. Your body has what it takes. Tip: Feed 20 mins on one side. Your darling will be snoozing by then and loving every minute of cuddling up to mum. Take him off, nappy change, burp, wake up and give him the other side. He will get the benefit of 2 letdowns (where most of the milk is ejected) The health nurse will be amazed......
You knew all along you could do it......
Sounds awesome to me! Your son is sleeping, gaining weight (doesn't matter how much) & has plenty of wet/soiled nappies - all good indications
Some babies gain fast, others slow. My DD was a slow gainer & still is at 4 yo. Her 3 yo cousin weighs more than her, is taller than her & has bigger feet! And there is not much height difference between our families - we are not tall people!
Speaking only from personal experience, if you really did have very low supply, your baby would be more likely to feed for 1hr plus then only have 1/2 to 1 hour off the boob before wanting to feed again.
Keep going, you are doing really well! (And I'd say to ignore expressing and just feed your baby when he is hungry).
Low weight gain, exclusive BF, low supply?
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Well done!!
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