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I had low supply from the beginning, I tried feeding on demand, herbs, prescriptions, pumping after every feeding, using the supplement aid tube, just pumping, etc. and nothing really helped. it took me four to six weeks to come terms with it, a lot of tears, appts with LCs, etc at that point my mental health and enjoyment of my baby were suffering. So At six weeks I decided to feed her the little my body made, that I would not pump after and that she would get the rest from formula. That really helped bond better with her because I stopped stressing so much.

For me - it was really hard to feel like I was failing and in hindsight I wish I had stopped sooner because I think it really contributed to my PPD. It's hard to try and get milk out of your body 12 plus hours a day and only get four ounces total. I did the " give her what I could" until she was four months and then stopped cold turkey. For me it just wasn't worth the time and stress after going back to work.

@Mae: FWIW it takes about twelve weeks for supply to be fully established I think? Is your LO nursing in the early hours of the morning? Nursing or pumping during this time can really help boost supply due to the higher prolactin levels.

@Mae: my "rule" for myself was that I would stop EPing if I made less than 50% of her daily intake. Not worth the time or stress when I could be spending it cuddling with my baby instead

@Mae: that is an exhausting cycle, I've been there

I just looked at my Baby Connect and at 4 w I was pumping 3oz per session, Oct 4oz, Nov 5oz, and Jan 7oz. I started taking domperidone in Nov so it did help. I was EPing though so she wasn't draining anything from the breast. If I was BFing I'm sure I would have only been getting minimal amounts while pumping also.

Can you look into a domperidone prescription?

Hugs!!

@Mae: I completely understand. For me when I finally decided to stop pumping I started to enjoy her more.

I had low supply and nothing I did improved it. I pumped at that golden hour at 1-3am and did not get the fabled double amount. I ate oatmeal, drank a lot of water, took supplements all to no avail.
If have low supply again this time around I plan to try domperidone. With M I didn't hear about this till she was almost one.

So many hugs. Low supply blows.

So to answer your question, no, my supply did not increase much. I was able to get a small boost from things like lactation cookies, oatmeal, almond milk & mostly just pounding calories. Herbs & domperidone never worked for me & neither did pumping. I so know the exhausting feed/supplement/pump cycle. If having a newborn doesn't already make you crazy, that certainly will!

Even though I was never able to get a full supply, yes, it did get better. Breastfeeding got easier & I am so glad we stuck it out. I am nursing my 7.5 month old right now It is NOT all or nothing!

The two big turning points for us were 1) when I decided to stop pumping to increase supply at 5 weeks and 2) when I decided to not force her to nurse at 4 months. Nursing was going good but she had a preference for the bottle that peaked when she was 3-4 months. I decided that I would just nurse her when she wanted to nurse for as long as she wanted & not sweat it if it meant more bottle feeding or that she didn't empty me every time. At that point I think nursing became more enjoyable for us & now she LOVES to nurse!

My advice to you is to not make yourself crazy trying to increase supply but also don't give up yet. Personally I also considered EP but I am glad I stuck with nursing for the bond, and honestly just the ease as well. Pumping is hard work!

Next time I will use an SNS though to supplement if need be. I would rather get stimulation from the baby instead of the pump so it kills two birds with one stone. I'm not sure if you've considered trying it?

Good luck - feel free to wall me anytime!

I just want to say that I read your posts and feel for you and want you to know that you have support.

I had low supply with my first and had to supplement with formula because I could not keep up with his demand. With my second son(currently 7 weeks) I feel I have low supply again. The first month was torture, he cried a lot and the only thing that helped was letting him comfort nurse. He is a lazy eater so I don't think that is helping my supply. He also has had a slow weight gain (born 7 lbs 8 oz and at a month was only up to 8 lbs 4 oz.) he falls asleep quite frequently while nursing because he doesn't nap otherwise so it's a bad cycle we're in. I will say that around 5 weeks he turned a corner. Not sure what caused it but he seems more comfortable in himself and is less fussy. Maybe he's taking more in than I think. We'll see at his 2 month appt. that's the thing about breastfeeding that I find so hard- the unknowns. It can drive a woman crazy. I have only pumped maybe twice so far and have no stash for going back to work but like you I am not comfortable trying to pump and have to listen to a screaming baby, that's way too stressful for me. I have decided that if I have to supplement I will so with formula and not stress about it. I want to enjoy my maternity leave as much as possible. I eat oatmeal with flax seed and brewers yeast daily and plan on making lactation cookies but other than that I'm not going to try anything else.

I certainly am in awe of people who do more to increase their supply but I just don't have it in me.

Just know that whatever you do you are doing the best and the right thing for yourself and your baby.

Hang in there!

I started to drink mothers milk tea also.

Also forgot to say that I will be thinking of you this week. I understand the anxiety of being alone with your baby. I remember this with my first. You will make it work!

@Mae: I'd totally recommend eating oats, lactation cookies and lactation tea! And I had to eat heaps of calories to keep my supply up so make sure you're getting lots of good, nutritious calories

Hang in there, you're doing great!!

Have you tried using an SNS while you supplement? Hugs- I had so much trouble with DD1 and had to supplement and eventually stop nursing short of my goal (supply was low and eventually just completely tanked due to undiagnosed tongue and lip ties which didn't allow enough milk transfer and stimulation). I know how upsetting it can be, and want you to give yourself a huge pat on the back for working so hard. (And just FYI, no supply issues with my 4 month old DD2, so don't let yourself worry about low supply if you have another baby in the future- it may not even be an issue.)

Wanted to chime in with a "me too"! Here's my life story :

I found out at about 3 weeks that I had low supply too. My LO still hadn't reached her birth weight, was nursing constantly, rarely slept for long and was quite cranky. After seeing a LC and ruling out other issues, I began supplementing with formula after a feed. After that first supplemented feed I realized that I had been starving my daughter because for the first time she seemed happy and alert, then slept for hours. I cried, feeling like a failure.

I pumped and pumped and just got drops out (from the hospital pump and an expensive one I bought), took domperidone, drank lactation tea and ate oatmeal, cookies, fenugreek, the whole nine yards. I supplemented with 2oz of formula via SNS during feedings and with one small bottle of formula in the evening. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view of these things) my daughter self-weaned off of the formula, eventually refusing any and all bottles (including those with BM inside!).

By about 7 or 8 weeks, we were back to exclusively breastfeeding. I believe my supply went up due to the domperidone, but barely. I did a few weighted feeds and it seemed to increase my output by about half an ounce, which isn't much.

Anyway, I eventually just stopped taking the domperidone. I resigned myself to feeding her more often than a "normal" baby would, including about every 2 hours at night. Guh.

Now she's just over 10 months and we're still breastfeeding. Adding solids has of course helped and she's doing great in terms of her weight and growth. Looking back, I honestly don't know how we made it relatively unscathed - months 2-5 were pretty dang brutal at times because of her being hungry but yet refusing bottles and formula. Brutal.

I guess what I wanted to say was that you're not alone, as you've seen. It's heart-wrenching and difficult, to say the least, when you want to breastfeed but it's just not going 100%. I eventually accepted that I had a sucky supply and gave up trying to boost it. I stopped pumping, not wanting to waste any on a bottle she'd probably refuse anyway. I felt better when I stressed less about it.

Sooo... good luck!

I wish I had time to post, but work is busy today. I just want to say I'm sorry you are dealing with this, I know it can be so stressful. Try not to get down on yourself or beat yourself up. Breastmilk is great, but having a happy mom is even more important! I will try to come back and post more later.

I had a lower supply, especially after I went back to work. I was able to exclusively breastfeed until 6 months (supplemented after that), but I was pumping like crazy and doing everything under the sun to scrape together enough milk to send to daycare. I do think all the supplements, drinking more water, diet changes, domperidome, etc. helped, but did not entirely fix the problem. I would say they maybe increased my supply 25-30%. The thing that helped me the most was pumping after nursing and power pumping sessions. Pumping even when nothing is coming out. I wouldn't see the effect that day, but by a day or two later, there was a definite increase.

I did hear over and over again that the first 3 months is really the window of opportunity for establishing supply. The LC I saw said it's hard to completely fix after that point. You may still have a chance though if you are in that window. Is your LO not gaining? How do you know you have low supply? Are you pumping every single time you give pumped milk or formula? It's such a pain in the butt, but it really is necessary.

Are you attending a breastfeeding support group? I went 2x a week and found it really helpful to be able to commiserate with other moms experiencing the same challenges.

With regards to holding your LO while pumping, could you pump one side at a time and hold her against your chest on the other side? Not as efficient, but maybe less stressful??

Hang in there! Sounds like you are trying really hard - that's all you can do!

@Mae: that is not low stress. Does she do better in the swing or bouncy seat or play mat? Or even laying right next to you on the bed or couch?

@Mae: Just a tip about pumping with a baby (although if you don't want to do it, I totally understand!). Use your hands free bra, put baby in a rock n play, swing, bouncer...whatever you have, and interact with her while you pump. You can sit on the floor and pump even.

This worked at least 80% of the time when I was pumping on mat leave. There was the other 20% of the time where NOTHING helped and I just had to pump while she cried (on those days where she just wanted to be held all day).

I think one small benefit of all this is that she's very independent now. I'm actually pumping as we speak and she's playing by herself on the living room floor with toys. She can entertain herself for a full 30 minutes at this age (she's not quite 11 months).

Either way, hang in there. Your issue is SO common--I have so many friends who have been throught the grueling BF/Pump/Supplement cycle--all with different results. Some were able to just BF after their supply improved, some went to EPing, some went to FF, some continued combo feeding forever. =) Any way you do it, your baby will be fine!

@Mae: I've been in your shoes, and wanted to lend my support and condolences. I am not entirely sure my milk ever fully "came in", but I was diagnosed with chronic low supply when LO was a few weeks old. We tried almost everything - frequent LC visits, strict pumping schedule, SNS, and a plethora of herbs and supplements. It was barely managable during the few weeks my husband took leave, but after he went back to work, it was a nightmare. My daughter, like yours, wanted to be held/worn almost constantly, so the amount of time I had to devote to pumping really upset her. We kept at it a while longer, but I wasn't noticing any increase in my supply, and I felt myself slipping, emotionally and mentally. My daughter's low weight was also becoming a problem. I was exhausted, defeated, and immensely frustrated with my body. I genuinely just wanted to enjoy motherhood.

I know there are low supply success stories, and I truly hope yours is one of them! Personally, I supplemented until my supply dried up, entirely, and then switched to formula, full-time. Whatever your outcome, your daughter will thrive, with love. Hang in there, and be kind to yourself.