Not Enough Milk :(

Go see a LC--there are so many possible issues--tongue tie or bad latch; it's even possible that you have an overactive letdown and it drowns her. Also, fenugreek was effective for me, but in a pretty high doses; essentially if I didn't smell like maple syrup it didn't work--that's how I knew I was getting enough.

I am wondering if maybe your baby is tongue tied, and her lack of being able to nurse well is causing a lack of milk supply?

If you continue to supplement - instead of working on the latching/let down issue... you will cause your own decline. Stop all formula. No bottles. Pump for 10 minutes before you latch her to the breast, and try to football hold - that tends to be the most preferred hold for newborns. Your let down may be either too slow or too fast - which is why she may be cranky at the breast.

Offer the breast at least once an hour, and allow her to stay latched on for comfort... this will quickly build up the responses needed for the body to produce more. The more bottles she takes, the less stimulus your body gets to keep up the milk production.

Having her suckle once an hour, or close to that will be better than pumping instead of a feeding... but still pump before you nurse and pump for a longer session in between nursings.

Check out www.drjacknewman.com, www.kellymom.com, and www.llli.org

***Also a HUGE FYI****
NEVER judge your milk supply from what you can pump! The pump can barely get 25% of the portion that your newborn/infant/toddler can withdraw from your body.

Ex: you get 2 ounces from pumping... baby gets 8-12 ounces from nursing.

i had the same problem and tried supplementing and wound up going straight formula at 5 weeks so I have no answer for you just experience

My now ten-month-old son's doctor labeled him an ineffective nurser when he was a newborn. I thought I wasn't producing enough, but it turned out I have forceful letdowns, making it challenging for my little guy to nurse effectively. Talking to a lactation consultant on the phone was reassuring for me. It took us a good two months to really get the hang of things, but he's a nursing champ now! Praying nursing will become a joy rather than a challenge - as it did for us :)

IT's impossible to tell if you're producing "enough" to satisfy baby unless it's obvious she's losing a lot of weight. You'll never come close to producing the same amount of milk by pumping. Babies are much more efficient at expressing the milk. The best thing to do is to breastfeed exclusively without pumping or formula. It will take baby time to get used to breastfeeding and baby will not starve to death during the "getting used to breastfeeding" period of time. I exclusively breastfed all 5 of my children and had some issue with all of them. Between difficulty latching, sore nipples, sleepy babies and biting (AAHHHH) and more, but I just hung in there through the difficult times and stayed persistent and consistent and they all learned to become professional breastfeeders. Sometimes after you breastfeed, your baby may act like they're starving to death. Really, your body will adjust to your baby's needs as he grows. Just nurse a little longer or sooner than usual and your body will make MORE milk for the next feeding. It doesn't take long for your body to adjust. If you pump or supplement, the demand will go down and your body will adjust by not supplying more milk because you told your body not to make as much. Keep nursing. And a lot of times, your baby isn't even hungry. My babies all acted hungry when they were tired. I never supplemented or pumped (except on one occasion where I needed surgery.) Your baby is only little for a short time so breastfeed your little heart out during this time when they're little. Enjoy it! Even if there is a struggle, push through it and you'll succeed. Hang in there and congratulations!!!!!

I agree. See the LC or contact a La Leache League leader. My LC was a godsend. I had an overproduction so my baby would choke and couldn't latch when I was really engorged. I used a nipple shield for a little while. Be aware that a pump does not = a baby so what you pump may not be what she could get. Go with what she shows as her output in her diapers. Sometimes it helps to pump a little to get a letdown and then offer your nipple to baby.

kellymom.com has more info. Hang in there.

Can you call a lactation consultant - usually the hospital will offer the assistance. I know it can be SOOOO frustrating. Hang in there. She could just be frustrated b/c she's not getting milk when she's nursing... does she get upset when it's from a bottle? I'd call the lactation consultant for suggestions. Sometimes we just struggle to produce milk. Not wrong or right, just the way it is. Take it as it comes... as it goes with all parenting I'm learning! Hang in there!

I have been drinking plenty of water and Healthy nursing tea to keep up my supply that was tanked when I was admitted in hospital due to excessive bleeding. It brought back my supply from one oz to 4 to 5 oz in a session.

Relax. I know caring for another child and nursing is A LOT OF WORK AND STRESSFUL. I know..I have 4 children. *whew*

If someone can help with your other child and maybe you and the baby can stay in a room that is relaxing to you, have your water, some healthy snacks in there and maybe play some music..and just focus on your baby. I say have her nurse every 1.5 to 2 hours for now...the more you nurse, the more you produce, but you need to relax. I know when I get stressed out..the milk doesn't flow as much as I would like it to. I tried the same things you are eating/drinking now. I say nurse her often and pump in between...I know..I know..it sounds like all you're doing is pumping and nursing...all day ..every day. You're doing great so far. Hang in there.

I can't help, but I can empathize. I just had my third child 6 weeks ago. I never produced a lot of milk. This one was a marathon nurser, then would still be hungry after an hour. I did a lot of pumping, but I was still only getting 1/2 to 1 ounce each time. I just quit pumping two days ago. I go back to work in two weeks. I have one child in school (7 years old) and one at home (3 years old). The baby wakes up every two to three hours to eat, so trying to get him to latch, bottle feeding him, then pumping every two to three hours around the clock was too time consuming and exhausting. He got a cold about two weeks ago and couldn't latch at all. I decided to retire the Medela since there is no way I could maintain that when I go back to work. I am curious to see the responses that you get and if you get good results. Good luck!

Check for tongue tie... and hang in there.

See a lactation consultant and go to a la leche league meeting. The emotional and moral support is wonderful and they will have some good suggestions. I think a lactation consultant will weigh the baby before nursing and after, so you can see how much she is really getting. Its terrible worrying that your baby is hungry because you are doing something wrong. They will help you.

Is your baby gaining weight? If she is, then that takes a little bit of the stress off.

My son did this same thing, but it was because I had the forceful letdown and my little guy was choking. He could only nurse when he was sleepy, or when the vacuum was on (two situations where he nursed more slowly) until he was about 3 months. He became a champion nurser, and I nursed him until a year, when I had to stop for other reasons.

You can do it. Having a two week old baby is really hard and tiring and stressful and your hormones are all out of wack - things will get better.

Contact a lactation consultant (I think one will come to your house for about $100 - or I talked on the phone with one for hours and corresponded via email and she charged $50) and go to a la leche meeting.

Good luck, mama!