in Breastfeeding, Bottle feeding, Weaning Support

I need help

Idk what I'm doing wrong. I have a 4 week old preemie that is exclusively bottle fed while I pump. He's not very good at latching, I'm guessing because he spent some time in nicu and I was unable to nurse him right away, he had to stay a few days extra because he relied on his feeding tube too much and didn't want to take a bottle. I started jumping right away and was slow to start but after a couple days I was able to get my supply in and things were going ok. Well now he's 4 weeks old and he's drinking like 3 to 4 Oz per feeding and I'm still only pumping about 2oz per pump combined. I have been trying all the tricks to try to increase my supply and nothing is working. I pump every 2 hours. I have increased my water intake to be more hydrated. I have tried supply boosting supplements, snacks, and drinks and none of them are helping. We were supplementing formula when needed but I was able to find another mamma in my area who had a large supply in her freezer and was able to get a couple bricks of donor milk for now. I'm hoping that I can get my supply up so I won't need to keep using donor milk or switching to formula. This is my 4th child and I have never been able to keep up with my kids. Is this just how my body works? I'm so disappointed at the time I put in and not getting what I need out of it. I understand that stress can reduce it as well but it's hard not to be stressed when all I want to do is feed my baby 😔

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I've heard that skin to skin contact can help with your supply. I also recommend power pumping 1 to 2x a day depending on how much you want to produce a day. I'd also say if it's comfortable to you (like no pain in your nips) then maybe pump a little sooner than 2 hours between for a few days. Or at least a few times a day if you can manage. Mostly just keep constant stimulation coming to mimic cluster feeding and trick your body into thinking you need to produce more. Power pumping really helped me with my first babe

Have you been fitted for the right size flange and are you regularly replacing the pump parts I. E valves?

I really liked the Milky Mama brownies. I feel like they made a difference but of course any supplements like that can be different for everyone https://milky-mama.com/lactation-brownies/

You should lookup Done Naturally on YouTube. She’s a great LC and has videos specifically for NICU babies and videos about supply! She’s great! I’ve learned a ton from her!

@Mekenzie I do skin to skin with him all the time as I usually walk around in just my bra since I don't go anywhere very often except to drop the big kids off at school. I can try going to 1.5 hours instead of 2 and doing at least 1 power pump a day.

@Emandoh my new pump came with a measuring tool. I'm pretty sure I have the right flange based on the tool. I probably do need to replace the valves on one of my pumps but my new one I have only used 3 times so that ones good. I have a total of 5 pumps (this is my 4th kid).

@Sarah I just got my order of emergency brownies in yesterday. So far they haven't done anything except make my boobs hurt. But I heard they might take a couple days to actually work.

@Katherine I will look her up. Thank you. I'm also looking into seeing if there's a local lactation consultant that I can go see.

I am a ABM peer support , I had a premiee baby , her latch was so shallow to start with , she was 8 weeks early. It’s a bit more persistent to get them feeding , I have stayed pumping every 4 hours around the clock , I would come back a bit with 2 hours pumps as that can mess around the supply. Little one is the best way to increase your supply as they stimulate your milk. Skin to skin is a great way to help also. Also if bubba wants to cluster feed it’s nothing to do with your supply it’s them growing and developing. Hope it helps xx

@Ashley I would for sure go see one in person too! I did in the early days with my little guy and it was so helpful! If you can’t see one in person there are a lot of LCs that will do video visits too.

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