Colostrum run out?

[FirstBabyEek]

Hi everyone,

My LO is three days old and i know I'm still waiting for my milk to come in. As he's so hungry and cries a lot, fusses at the boob but is a good sleeper, he'll sleep for four hours at a time.

I'm really worried as he had nitrates in his nappy this evening so i know he's dehydrated.

I tried expressing and got a few drops out, nothing more and then tried manually expressing whilst he's sleeping thinking I could let him sip this from a cup and at least he would have had something, but that only produced a few drops.

So I'm worried my colostrum has run out and he's getting nothing.

I feel like I've failed a bit and am at the moment resisting the urge to give him some formula just to rehydrate him.

Can any one give me some advise please or tips that I can do.

I've just has porridge for dinner as I've read that eating oats can boost your supply.

I feel so bad for him
Xx

 

[beckyboo1]

You won't of run out stop panicking

Fussing at the breast isn't necessarily a sign that you've run out- your body produces exactly what you need.

You're unlikely in the early days to get anything expressing so don't panic if you try and get nothing

Your milk should come on the next day or so- we had a nappy with nitrates around the same time as you. As long as every nappy isn't like that there's no need to worry

Just keep offering your boob often and baby will get what they need- at this age their tummys are about the size of a thimble so need little and often

The crying could just be your LO getting used to the outside world- they've spent a snug 9 months inside you so it's all a bit scary for them

Make sure you have plenty of skin to skin and that'll will encourage milk production and make sure you keep hydrated. And drink at least 2 litres of fluids
And finally- congratulations and welcome to baby and toddler!! Xx

 

[MrsT2011]

Have you tried hand expressing? I had to hand express colostrum until my milk came in - midwives said I would get more this way than using a pump or just let LO keep sucking as they are the best expressors and will get what they need from you. If your worried then give a bit of formula - I had to due to LO getting dehydrated but I've had to continue topping up as never produced enough milk.

 

[Mrs. KM]

Does your lo stay awake while he is feeding? If he does, I wouldn't worry too much. Once you introduce formula, it is very hard to get your milk supply in (speaking from experience). If he is falling asleep constantly though, you may need to give a little formula, 20ml or so. He may just need the energy to suck better. You can also try feeding him more often to see if your milk comes in quicker. Good luck, congrats, and welcome!

 

[FirstBabyEek]

If he does fall asleep I wake him by stroking him or gently blowing on him to encourage him to suck again.

He had quite a traumatic birth (ventouse and forceps) and the Mw at the hospital said he'd prob need to 'sleep labour off' in the first few days. So I've never woken him for a feed.

I just hope my milk comes in soon as he seems so hungry.
Xx

 

[Butterflykisses]

My wee one had a nitrates in nappies when he was 2 days old. At the time we didn't realise what it was and brought him to out of hours doctor who couldn't even explain to us what was wrong. I told the doctor he hadn't had a wet nappy for ages that day though when we took nappy off at the surgery for doctor to examine him it was wet The next day my milk came in and he got so much more and the nitrates in nappy disappeared and we've had none since. As girls have said just let your wee one to breast as often as possible and the sucking motion will help to bring your milk in.

 

[Hope81]

I would put him on the breast, change his nappy to wake him a little and then try just a bit of formula to just rehydrate him a little and give him the energy.
I wouldn't personally let him go 4 h until nappies are looking fine. I would gently open his baby grow or swaddle at 3 h and let him wake then put him on breast . If he fells asleep , change the nappy and put on the other breast for 5-10 more min.
You are doing fabulous

 

[Rowesb]

Stop worrying as this isn't going to help matters.
LO fussing is probably starting the process of getting your milk to come, go back to bed, (or the sofa if you can slob comfortably), strip him of and you and have lots and lots of skin to skin, let him feed as and when he wants to and maybe try and feed a little more frequently if he is going more than a few hours between feeds, this should help both scenarios of low supply and dehydration.
I am a peer supporter so any questions ask away hun, will try and answer/advise where I can
Am sure you are doing a fab job already, sounds as though you are

 

[muffinferon]

Hiya, my milk didn't properly come in till about day 5 and my son was debydrated and lost too much body weight. Also had nitrates. Not saying at all your baby will have lost too much, but I was in hosp with him and I offered boob every 3hours and once he came off a nurse have him a little top up of formula while I expressed. I was the same, hardly got anything but I expressed after every feed and milk came through after a day of doing it, so hopefully baby and pump will help milk come in. But I think hope 81 gave good advice about tipping up with a bit of formula just till milk comes in properly. Well done xxx

 

[BevG]

it can take up to 10 days for milk to come in hun so keep at it, you cant run out and if you do give him a lil formula just to keep his energy up it wont hurt him lol, id just keep trying to feed him from you as the more often he feeds the quicker your milk will come in. i would also wake him every 2-3 hours for feeds in the day at least hun as that will help

 

[FirstBabyEek]

Thank you ladies for your replies, much appreciated. I'm a first timer with not a lot of understanding so your advice is invaluable.

I will continue as suggested, decreasing the time between feeds, until my milk supply is established and perhaps top up if absolutely necessary.
Xx

 

[beckyboo1]

You're doing brilliantly just stick with it- have you got lansinoh cream for your nipples?

If so get rubbing it in.

Enjoy lazy days having lots of snuggles and everything will be fine x

 

[TORino]

Well done with the breastfeeding hun xxx

I would wake him personally if he's showing signs of being dehydrated. Babies do not always wake when they are hungry. I was told not to leave my newborn to go longer than 3 hours in the day and 4 at night.

Tickle his feet or blow gently on his face if he is falling asleep at the breast. He needs to keep suckling to stimulate your milk to come in.

And always remember if you ate doubting your supply that the only way you can tell if they are not getting enough is by the scales xxx

 

[KarenC]

Big hugs, hun. Lovely to see you over here in baby and parenting. Sounds like you are doing just fine - everyone has given really good advice here. Unfortunately I was forced to top Tilly up after two weeks because she had lost too much body weight and was too tired to feed at my breast. I'm still BFing now and expressing a lot of milk too because she still feeds lazily, with two small formula top ups per day. It's hard work, but it works for me. Just keep going with breastfeeding and feed LO as much as possible. It is so tough in the first few weeks and I'm still finding it tough now, but you'll get there eventually. xxx