Breastfeeding at 6 Weeks

Try nursing baby at breast, more often than you are.
Infants need to nurse on-demand, 24/7, day and night. Not according to a 'schedule.' Infants also "cluster feed" meaning they will feed even every single hour, and it is normal and they need to.

I did not have a low supply issue but I suggest that you read kellymom.com for info on how to increase supply and nurse, nurse, nurse whenever possible. Baby is more efficient and can help you maintain supply. Keep track of output - that tells you a lot about input.

I think if you are supplementing, then you will lose production. As you know, it's all about supply and demand. For me, I found that it was a lot better for my body and for the baby in general when I moved the feedings to every 4 hours. What happened when we nursed more frequently than that was that my babies were "snacking," and not getting any of the hind milk. In turn, I would produce less milk (because there was no demand for the richer hind milk), and the baby would be hungry again sooner (because she was only drinking the more watery milk). Feeding the baby less frequently, but really working to make sure she was eating a LOT (changing her diaper in between sides, undressing her so she was a little chilly so she wouldn't fall asleep), worked well for us. I'd feed her first thing in the morning, when she was very hungry, and really make her eat a ton. Then I'd get her to hold off on eating again until after morning nap, and again, really work on getting her to eat her fill. Then again, a big feeding after afternoon nap, and then a final feeding just before bedtime. That schedule worked great for us, and actually led them to sleep for a good long time at night as well.

In addition to that, you may need more fat in your diet. For me, whenever my milk got more watery and lower in volume, if I ate some cheese pizza, or a cheeseburger, my milk would become noticeably richer and there would be more of it. So, that's something to consider.

Good luck!

If your baby is gaining weight and has plenty of wet diapers, then you are doing great! Many moms think their supply is low based on what they are pumping - so not the case. A baby's suckling can stimulate more milk production than a pump. Also, another common booby trap is thinking you have low supply because your baby is hungry after a nursing session. Again, not the case. Babies need to be put back on the breast to stimulate the supply - they are getting you ready for the next growth spurt so that you produce more milk. I would stop supplementing, as that is sabotaging your milk supply, keep baby close, and nurse more often and on demand. Trust your body! This is what your breasts were made for! Good luck!!

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It is absolutely supply and demand, so if you want milk every 3 hours, you need to pump and/or feed every 3 hours. If you go more than a day or 2 skipping this, you WILL lose your milk at that feeding.

I would continue to do what the lactation consultant recommended, except during the night.

Does he have his days and nights mixed up? Most babies wake from naps for their meals. You haven't said that he's up all night, but if he IS waking every 2 or 3 hours in the middle of the night, you should try to keep him awake more during the day. That way you'd be nursing at least every 3 hours (from start of nursing to the next start of nursing) and that would keep you from losing it.

Good luck,
Dawn

1. Are you drinking a lot of water? You really need to push it - it really helps your supply. Between 2-3 quarts is ideal.

2. Be sure to eat nutrient-dense foods. Whole oats and grains can help increase milk supply.

As the saying goes, you can't draw water (or milk!) from an empty well. Be sure to put your physical needs (rest, hunger, water) first so you can care for your family. I know it's hard!

3. You are right that if you stimulate less often, you'll produce less. If you're committed to breastfeeding, I would say definitely try to keep it up. Listen to your body - it gives very strong signals about what needs to happen and when. If you are uncomfortable, definitely pump or nurse.

Congrats on your little guy! Good luck!

I've been through everything you are describing and more. If your body isn't making much and you in turn give formula supplements, you will likely start loosing this battle of supply little by little. It truly is supply and demand. Putting baby to breast is best, but there are many reasons why pumping is advisable. My baby for example had a weak suck. I would nurse her for two hours (yes thats right two hours) and she was still hungry. Her weight loss made it clear she was expending too much energy to eat, and not getting enough. I worked with a really good lactation consultant who was not only able to recognize how much trouble we were in, but was able to identify why we were struggling and how we could fix it. I had to limit her to 30 min on the breast and pump and give her the rest by bottle so she didn't have to work so hard. It took her several months before she learned to be a strong sucker. She was not extracting enough milk, and in turn was not stimulating me to make enough milk, so pumping and supplementing BM and and formula was the right course of action for us. It may not be the right course of action for you. And don't take any of our words for it but work with a professional. If you are determined to make this work, a good lactation consultant should be able to help you trouble shoot. In my experience, the trouble shooting I did on my own and the advice I got only caused me to fail at BF my first. I have been through it all when it comes to dealing with low milk supply and I can tell you that most any tactic you employe to increase your milk takes about 72 hours to bring noticeable results (and even then they are only noticeable if you are keeping good charts). I get that pumping its exhausting, but if you decide to formula supplement, you may very well find yourself on the BF sinking ship. Thats what happened to me with my first. We were at 6 weeks, I was not making enough, I was exhausted, I just decided to nurse for 15 min and top her off with formula. In theory it was a good compromise. In reality, my low milk production went from bad to really bad. With my second, I didn't want to make the same wrong turns that lead to BF demise. But, I'm not going to sugar coat it, I worked damn hard. If I have a third, knowing what i know now about how hard it is to increase milk supply through pumping, I don't know if I could do it again.
When you say 4-5 hours are your talking about night sleeping or day? if you are struggling with supply, you should not let baby go without a feeding for this long, but its okay at night. If your baby can sleep this long in the day then I'd say stop with the formula and let him get hungry to BF.

Your doing a good job.
Try not to supplement and just nurse more often. If you can try and only concentrate on nursing for 48 hours and see if you need to supplement. It's really supply and demand.
Also if you do pump don't use that breastmilk that day. Store it for when you introduce a cup.
Good luck. Keep it up!

I always had to supplement, and skipping a nursing seesion had no impact to my supply. She nursed longer when she skipped so the damand and therefore supply remained the same.

That said, we are all different, so play it by ear. IF it looks like your supply is starting to decrease then pump in between.

Good luck!