Why isn't it working!!!

Long story short, I got some bad advise from a doctor and started to wean, which I wasn't happy about. Have decided that I still wanted to bf so for the last week have been working on building my supply back up. I never stopped bf so I didn't think this would be too difficult.

Anyway I have been trying for at least a week now and I don't seem to be getting anywhere! I put DS on as often as possible, feed him 10x10x10x10 alternative sides, give him a top up 30 minutes after a feed , on motilium, fenugreek and keeping up fluids and eating enough and exprerssing when i can (which i cant do often with a toddler running around). But it's not working.

I'm getting so frustrated. I am having to offer a bottle after every feed still and the top up amount doesn't seem to be reducing at all. What can I do? I'm getting myself stressed and I know this isn't going to help either. Not to mention dh isn't supportive of this at all either which doesn't help.

Pulling my hair out:crying::crying:

It can be really hard work and you're doing a great job already. How are you giving him the top ups? With my DS, I had to top him up and I used a supply line so he would still be stimulating the breast to make more milk. Every few days or so I would reduce the amount of top up by around 10-20 mls and if he seemed to want more, he would go back on the breast. When i used a bottle for the top ups, i kept him on the slowest flow teat so he would still have to do some work for his milk, like he would at the breast. Somedays we went backwards and I had to increase the top ups again but we eventually got rid of them and it was so worth the perseverance and effort.

It might be worth chatting to an LC if you haven't already. But hang in there, it will improve :hug:

That is a mammoth effort you are putting in hun :hug: What a lucky DS you have having a mum who is working so hard for him :hug:

It sounds to me like you are doing all the right things hun. Building up supply again can take more than a week - for some mums 2 -3 weeks is a more reasonable time frame. So perhaps you just need more time. My other thought is maybe you do have enough milk but your little one might be going through a wonder week or something and making it look like you don't have enough. What are his nappies like? What are the signs that are giving you the impression that you don't have enough milk for him?

:cheer:
Just wanted to cheer you on - you're a very hard working mummy
Do you have help and support from an LC or the ABA?

At the beginning I was having to give him a full bottle as my supply dropped off really quickly even tho I was still feeding him. Sometimes now he only has half, which is 60mls but today he has been super fussy and just not wanting to feed off my at all. And I don't feel as full as I normally do.

Have been trying to express but I am either not very good at it or do t have a lot of milk (I think a combo of both) as I only get 20-25mls on a good day. When I expressed while weaning I got about 80mls, and that was just to feel comfy.

I just need to know that something will happen here. I don't want to be stressing about this and it's starting to make me not enjoy DS.

25mls expressing is great! I could only ever get 10-20mls and it took me a while to stop stressing about it and accept that I was crap at expressing! Keep doing what you're doing, something WILL happen, not overnight, but it will. For me it was about 4 months but my supply was really low, for most it's only a few weeks or so. You are doing great xxx

It is really confusing with a baby that can't talk, as signs can mean different things.

Not feeling full is not a sign that you don't have enough milk - feeling full means you have too much milk, not feeling full is the "normal" breastfeeding state. Many mums feel full in the beginning because it is common to have too much milk at first. When things settle down to the right level mums often think they have run out of milk but this is not the case.

Not getting much when you are expressing is not a sign that you don't have enough - it just means that like many mums it is hard to let down for a bit of plastic instead of a baby. There are some tricks that can help if expressing is important to you - a warm compress before expressing, a shoulder massage while expressing, distracting yourself with TV or reading while expressing so you are not concentrating on what is coming out (or what is not coming out!!), expressing at the same time every day and in the same place as you normally feed etc. Sometimes none of these things will help, but they can be worth a try. A hospital grade electric pump could be worth hiring for a couple of weeks if you don't already have one.

Your DS taking a bottle is not necessarily a sign that you don't have enough. Bottles are easier for babies - milk pours out without them doing anything. At the breast they have to work for it. Also because it pours into their mouths, they usually will drink whether they want it or not - really it's a matter of swallowing because the milk is there not necessarily because they are hungry.

Nappies are often the easiest way to tell that a baby is getting enough milk. 5 or more heavily wet disposables (6 - 8 very wet cloth nappies) in 24 hours is a great sign. Heavily wet doesn't mean overnight heavily wet, it is more that it is heavy enough to notice that it is wet. Until at least the 8 week mark you would also normally have one or two or more dirty nappies in 24 hours, with runny or soft poo. Formula can confuse the poo issue a bit though. Also weight gain over a 3 -4 week period (an average of 150g or more a week is a good gain), healthy skin tone, bright eyes, settled for at least part of the day, not sleepy all the time are other signs. Have you tried not giving him a bottle to see what happens? Does he seem to really need it, or do you offer because you are worried about him not getting enough?

Another question for you - how did you go with bfing your DD?

Firstly, well done! You are doing a fabulous job!!

You keep saying he isn't getting what he wants, it isn't working... What are you using to guage this by?

You sound like you are doing a great job and need to stop being so hard on yourself! The suggestion of cutting down top up feeds is what I would start with and take it from there. Just remember it takes up to 6 weeks to get a good supply up from birth so stay strong. Post back with updates for us when ever you can because support through these things is super important!

I recall a thread from Barb a while ago where she said that the amount of breastmilk needed to give a baby an advantage over the average formula fed baby was something like 20 ml a day - so your little one is still getting lots of good stuff, although you are having to top up.
Hang in there, try not to get too sad or frustrated - you're doing a great job, and bub is benefiting.
If you are expressing after bub has just fed it is totally normal to get almost nothing. It still helps to build supply though - but you may not notice, since it goes straight into growing bub.

Just a quick update - i'm still trying to increase my supply so I don't need to comp feed ds.

There seems to be more milk and I figure that in a couple of weeks I 'might' make it to exclusive bf. I made a deal with myself to give it a full week and if I don't see some kind of result (something at least) then I will give up. Everytime he is difficult to feed (doesn't like lots of noise etc so feeding him when we are out and about is difficult and he ends up getting a bottle), I keep telling myself to give it the week or I will kick myself later.

The other night, instead of giving him a feed (DH and I went out to the movies for a break), I expressed once I got home and managed to get 60mls. I figure thats a good start considering I only managed to get 5mls when I first started this.

Hopefully I can get the supply up fast enough to beat his growth (when he will need more formula and then I will be in a constant cycle of trying to keep up).

BTW does anyone know if I slowly wean from motilium, will my supply suffer or should I continue to take it? A document I got from the clinic said take 6 tablets a day (2 every 8 hours or so), for the first 7 days, then the next 7 days, 4 tablets (2 morning and night) and then for the last week 2 tablets just in the morning....or should I just keep up the full dose?

Don't cut the motillium till you've achieved what you're happy with, then wean off it slowly. I found I had to take 120 (12 tabs) per day to achieve the maximum milk supply I could (though I was very low from beginning for physiological reasons) in order for my supply to not drop with the motillium I could only drop 1 tablet every 3-4 days, and I would recommend doing this over 3 at a time and see how it goes. Also, for me the motillium took almost 2 weeks to kick in at all, so definately give it some more time. Is it possible to give bub a top up feed even if a larger one every second feed or less as it sounds like your biggest problem at the moment seems to be bubs started showing signs of flow preference from the bottle? I gave my DD's 1 or 2 bigger bottles instead of topping off each feed when building my supply for the same reason, so it might be worth a try! All the best, it's hard work :hug:

Sorry, also just wanted to add, Breastfed babies tend to drink the same amount of Breast Milk from 1 month - 6 months, it's only formula fed babies that need more formula because of the differences between them. Bub may be used to taking larger feeds or may just drink till super full even if not needed too, so weight gain can sometimes be a better indicator than bubs behaviour, if that's the case, cut back a little bit at a time every few days provided bub cooperates and monitor output and weight gain as he adjusts. HTH!

Good for you Pinklilly, that's a really great attitude.
I have to stick a wrap over DD's head to feed her a lot of the time as she's getting so distracted.
All the best for this week