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@Alivoo01: Try to rest when you can, eat well and drink lots of water!! CONGRATS btw!! I think I missed your announcement!

Congrats! I pumped for about 3 weeks before I started nursing more!

It took a week or two for my supply to build up...pumping small amounts can be normal in the early days!

@Kemma: I was going to say the same thing, @septemberlove; would be a great person to talk you.

Congrats on your little man!!

Congrats!!! I was making that little the first week

I was unable to BF after EP but I know it's possible!! Septemberlove did it

Congrats on your LO!!

I wish I had my pumping log to say exactly what I produced in the early days but it wasn't much. I think maybe 1oz total that slowly increased to 4oz total by 3 weeks. Don't stress, it sounds like you're off to a great start! I also had an underproducing boob, but it caught up.

My LO was 4lb, 4oz at birth and almost exclusively bottled fed for 6.5 weeks. My hospital had a NICU lactation consultant who helped us nurse a few times in the hospital with a nipple shield. I could never get it to work at home, but some bees LOVE them, so definitely consider giving one a shot.

Have you put LO to breast? Will he latch? My LO was so tiny and had no neck control and we were very worried about weight gain (he didn't consistently take bottles well) so I exclusively pumped until 6.5 weeks. LO latched with the help of an IBCLC. She taught me some great positions and showed me how to get him latched/unlatched, what to watch for, etc. and we did weigh/feed/weigh to see how much he was eating.

We struggled, not so much with latch, but with the difference in the flow of the bottle vs the flow of the breast. We tried to do paced feeding when we bottle fed (slow flow nipple, stopping often to burp, feeding him upright, etc.) He was also tongue-tied, which added to the situation.

It's definitely doable (we are EBFing and I WOH so he switches from bottle to breast often) so don't despair!

Congratulations again!!!

Yes yes yes! This was almost exactly my story, except no early baby. But my daughter would not latch on at first, so I pumped and bottle fed. She did latch on at day five, but I'd expected it to take longer. Do you have a good lactation consultant? So long as you're getting your supply started, you can keep working on the latch. You're doing great!

@Alivoo01: I have an 11 day old and we have a lot of breast feeding issues-- she was born with a jaw issue that makes a good latch almost impossible, I have semi- flat nipples, and she had jaundice at birth that required bottle feeding in the hospital. My sweet girl traumatized my nipples so badly when we first started to try breastfeeding that after three LC visits, the LC saw my crazy bruised, cracked, bleeding nips and advised me to stop using the shield and just pump for a while. I think she meant, like...a day or two, but my boobs were so sore, I EPd for the first full week. Then just three days ago, I tried to BF again with the shield and it worked. It was still painful, but it worked. So now I've been alternating between feeding with a shield and pumping, since her latch still isn't great and it still hurts a lot for me. But my little one is doing just fine switching back and forth.

My Ped told me that babies this young basically have no memory, so every time you Fred, you are starting over with teaching them how to eat. Hope that helps!

@Alivoo01: My guy was 6 weeks early and it really took until his due date and then a week or two after until he was totally on the boob. We would have 2-3 sessions in a row when he latched great and I thought we were making progress and then the next time he wouldn't do anything. I was so anxious that he would never get it and we were creating negative association bc he would SCREAM when I tried to put him in a BFing position.
I would always start a feeding by trying to BF and if it didn't work, move to the bottle. Once it seemed like he was BFing more, I would still follow up with a small bottle until he just wasn't interested in the follow up bottle and I was confident he got enough from the boob.
Every LC I talked to said that it would take until his due date and kind of like a light switch, he was different after we reached that day. Keep trying, it is totally possible! Good luck!

ETA: We also had some success with switching his bottle nipple to a preemie nipple. I think he got frustrated bc he could take down a 2 oz bottle in 5 minutes and it just wouldn't come as fast from the boob. The preemie nipple helped level the playing field a bit.