Feeling like I’ve failed..

I had the same problem in the first two weeks of LOs life. Guess what? He ended up being allergic to formula. He would go cross eyed, arch his back, and cry like crazy for hours. I also felt guilty and like a failure. I would cry so much. Im tearing up now writing you this. I would pump til there was blood in what little milk I made. I tried supplements which maybe offered a little boost. Then I got some advice. Take a snuggle day with LO. Lay in bed with snacks and lots of water and just cuddle with him and breast feed on demand. Nothing is going to get your supply up like breast feeding on demand. Even if its not enough today or tommorow, the more he latches the more youl make. Your body can sense his saliva and he can always empty you and find more milk in there. Use a hakaa for the boob he isnt using to catch/ encourage milk from it. I keep LO attatched to me in bed from 7 am-2 or 3 pm bc im up all night. My supply is now enough to drown him in the mornings.

@Honor I’m so sorry you went through this! Thank you for the support and advice. We stopped breastfeeding because it was so stressful. He would get fussy while feeding, not sure if it was because it wasn’t coming out as fast as he’d liked or if it was because he had had worse when breastfeeding. I’d love to try it again though, I’m always up for it. It’s just that my family in laws told me that it shouldn’t be this stressful.. I feel like he doesn’t latch as good as he used to.. I’m really at a loss…

I’ve just gone through this! Currently day 2 of full formula feeds. I cried about it for almost 2 days because I just didn’t want it to end. My LO was fussy on breast. We started out well worked really hard to get her latched to my right and got there then a week or so ago became really fussy with both! I was devastated. I was crying trying to get her to latch to me, she was crying it just wasn’t a fun time. Since making the switch she’s been my happy little girl again. I also thought through all possibilities before this. A lactation consultant gave me information for medication to boost my supply but had to wait a week to get in to my doctor and I mentally couldn’t handle another week of my baby being so distressed. I’m not sure what to tell you about formula as mine as been combo fed from birth (we’d had about a month of full breast fed).

Dont listen to your family, I had a hell of a time. My nipples were as flat as the great planes. I even still gotta cup my little nipples in to a c so he can grab them. He gets soo frustrated and has a hard time latching sometimes too. He has a lip tie which didnt help. My lactation consultant said to offer the boob everytime so I did. It was frustrating like you said. However one day I decided not to let up. Hed cry n fuss and his little face was so mad, it was heart breaking. But I persisted. I gave him time to calm some and tried until he finally latched. Your breasts have milk for him always. I have pumped til “empty” and he found more. Try it when hes sleepy and not too hungry. Lay him on his side belly to belly and try it like that. Thats my LO favorite. Your gonna have to be more hardheaded than the baby, but after you choose to out hard head him, hes gonna give in. It took me one day of no longer defaulting to the bottle even when he was super angry to establish good latch.

Then the next day he was still irritated but quicker to give in. Im on week one and a half now of exclusive breast feeding outside of one or two bottles when i needed SO to take over while i did hw. I use the hakaa on the other boob to catch ket down now i have a few extra bags of milk in the freezer. Im worried if you give up now it will be too hard to get him to latch later and regain your supply. It almost happened to me. My lactation consultant insissted i kept trying even though my baby and i were crying to her with my boobs out lol I was so going to quit. Maybe get a lactation consultant or reach out to La Leche leauge. You really have got this.

Hey your breasts over supply sometimes whilst they are getting regulated. Once this happens your supply goes to exactly what your baby needs and your boobs can feel empty and not full of milk. That doesn’t mean you are not supplying enough. If your milk is too low your baby will be dehydrated and not have wet nappies and lose weight. Use these 2 as indicators your supply is ok. Your baby does all the magic to get your supply up by cluster feeding if it’s needed. It’s a brain fry getting used to it.

Yeah, Jemma has it nailed. Not sure how old your baby is. We're not designed to over-produce, that's actually really inefficient from a biological perspective. When your baby is bor, your boobs don't know how hungry they are, how big, or whether you have multiples, so you start off by producing 'too much' just to make sure. Then as your baby latches, and cluster feeds, they send messages to your body confirming how much is needed. It's really normal for your supply to reduce to what 'is needed'. If you want more, such as to also build up an extra stash, you will need to tell your body that, through consistent pumping. I'm sorry that you've had a really stressful time of it x

@Jemma my breasts have already regulated 🥲 I pump every 2-4 hours..

@Anna he’s almost 3 months old .. I know exactly what you guys mean.

What makes you think your supply is down? Is your baby having dry nappies? Are they losing weight? You can’t measure your supply on what you pump. It’s different from what your baby gets x

@Jemma because I went from pumping 6oz on one side and then hours later only 3 oz in total. And we only bottle feed. He does have wet diapers and he’s not losing weight as far as I can tell. He doesn’t have an appointment until 4 months

Lots of things can contribute to you pumping less such as your hydration levels and catching virus’ ect. Just go by his nappies. If he isn’t getting enough they will be drier. I hope that helps?

Do you smoke while you breastfeed

@Sylvia smoke what?