Building milk supply! Not putting on weight :(

cheryl

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Hi all! Sorry for the long post...!

In the first 8 weeks or so after Jack was born I breastfed him with no problems at all, made loads of milk and could always express more than he needed and built up a good supply in the freezer

A couple of weeks ago I had to be out of the house for a couple of days and so couldnt express as much, I used up a lot of my frozen milk while i was out and got a bit lazy with expressing during the night which i usually did, and since then my milk supply has of course dropped. Ive also gone back to work this week in the afternoons and so I really need to be expressing enough to give my mum while shes looking after him but im not managing it, hes having to be topped up with formula once he finishes the bottle of expressed milk as he's still hungry.

Im also gutted as I took him to be weighed on thursday and hes only put on 3oz since i last took him 3 weeks ago, the health visitor told me to feed him every 2 hours and ive got to go back next week. Feels like i have been either feeding him or expressing non stop over the last week to try and build it up but im not sure its working, i still cant express enough for his afternoon feed (need about 9 - 12oz) :(

Today he had a few short feeds during the afternoon but then started crying and crying, didnt stop until i made up a bottle of formula which he then gulped down! I hate not being able to make enough milk for him and feel so guilty about him not putting on enough weight. Does anyone have any advice on boosting milk supply?
 
Hello,

I'm in a very similar position at the moment, I made the step into mix feeding 3 weeks ago and I currently trying to reverse it. My LO is 16 weeks so a bit older than yours, if you look down the page at some older posts you'll see one I made that may offer some help to you.

Maybe drop me a PM because I really can empathise and perhaps we can share some tips and offer each other some support :hug: .

Alex xxx
 
I found that Fenugreek really helped me buildup my supply, although I don't think it works for everyone. I got it from Holland and Barrats and my lactation consultant said to take 3 tablets 3 times a day. I saw an increase within 48 hours. I used it for a few weeks and now I just use it if I feel I need a boost.
 
thanks for the replies! That link had some good info and fenugreek sounds like its def worth a try. :D

Alex i read your post, hope its still going alright for you and its given me more hope that my supply will start to build up again! It does sound like we're in the same boat so hope we can help each other out! I've started expressing again at night for the last couple of nights as well as during the day as much as i can. I was hoping I wouldn't have to express while at work but it means going from 12.30pm to at least 6pm so perhaps i should while im trying to build it back up.

uhh this is hard work! Its amazing how much just a few days can mess up your supply! :roll:
 
I find that drinking lots of water helps keep my supply up and I know Charlie84 has used oats to build up her supply.

Hope you find something that works for you.
 
Charlie:-) said:
I find that drinking lots of water helps keep my supply up and I know Charlie84 has used oats to build up her supply.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Yep indeedy :) Oats really helped my supply.
 
Yeah have heard that about oats, will give it a try and make myself drink more water!

Ive now been trying really hard to get my supply up for 4 days and its starting to increase a bit! Expressing is getting easier and faster to get it going again which is great so at least i can see that its working and im feeling more positive about it

Mum is still having to make up a bottle of formula for him as the bottle of expressed milk isnt quite lasting the afternoon, but he only had about 2 oz of the formula bottle today so hopefully by the end of the week ill be producing enough to be able to stop the formula. Ive got to take him in on thursday to make sure he is putting on weight again so fingers crossed.
 
well took him in to be weighed today and he has put on 10oz since last Thurs so yay! :dance: I have no idea why it dropped by so much last week, i didnt think he was feeding that much less and he definitely wasn't complaining about it. Oh well getting back on track now i think!
 

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