Milk supply

Just keep feeding on demand and lots of skin to skin. It’s not uncommon for breastfed babies to lose up to 10%. A good indicator is wet nappies, if he is producing lots of them, chances are he is getting enough milk. Expressing 40mls is fine and not feeling “full” is pretty normal too. Keep an eye on the weight and keep going if you want to carry on breastfeeding.

he is getting weighed by midwife every 48 hours. He wees and poo’s plenty I just can’t help but worry

It's normal for babies to lose weight. Is he gaining now that he's having regular weight checks? Everyone is different but personally I only feel full after a big chunk of time so if baby is feeding regularly you are unlikely to feel full. I also have never leaked or felt engorged like some people do. On a side note, I know you said you don't want to formula feed but with my first we did breast feed and top up with formula and it did work. (I never tried to increase supply to exclusively breast feed with first). Wet and dirty nappies is a good sign. 😊

day 5-7 he maintained his weight after the 9.9% loss, day 7-9 he gained 90g and then day 9-11 he only gained 25g. He is getting weighed again tomorrow so fingers crossed he has gained more than 40g x

Just keep on expressing and feeding the more you do the more you will produce I’ve been BF for 8 months now and what I have found is loads of water help I mean around 4L a day for me and lots of rest

It’s so hard not to worry when you’re breastfeeding, I was the same with my first. Stressing, worrying about my supply, tracking everything.
With my second I’ve taken a much more relaxed approach.
I saw a breast feeding support lady and she said breast compression would help as bubs was getting tired quickly and wouldn’t feed for long. It really helped me!

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Try drinking coconut water and body Armour lite, you will feel the fullness in your boobies to feed and pump much more milk, I used it with my first and currently using it with my baby

Agree with Ruth above, I only ever feel "full" after at least 3h and sometimes not even then.

You say you're feeding every 1-2h. Is that from the start of one feed to the start of the next? How long do feeds last for? Do you know how to tell when he's actively feeding vs comfort suckling? With my first, I felt like I was constantly feeding but actually she was falling asleep and comfort suckling for AGES and not actually taking in much milk, whereas with my 4w old I can clearly tell when he's swallowing and I encourage more milk flow by doing breast compressions until he stops swallowing - then I know I've done a decent job of "emptying" the breast (which stimulates more milk production)

Is the 40ml expressed after a feed or from a full breast? After a feed that sounds like a perfectly normal amount; getting 40ml from a full breast I'd be wondering if your pump is the right size for you and whether you're using the right settings

Is your baby waking up for feeds ? X

I feel your stress, in breast feeding and pumping, then topping up with a bottle if my daughter doesn't have a long breast feed. This isn't a top up with formula, just what I've pumped. I was advised to do this as she had lost weight x