Hellobee Boards

That's me! My milk came in a bit later and LO wasn't gaining. In fact she didn't go above her birth weight until almost 6 weeks. I've been taking fenugreek and blessed thistle three times a day since she was 5 days old. We didn't supplement with formula in the beginning but really probably should have been. For the past week and a half, I've been BFing, feeding a bottle of pumped milk and then pumping. It seems to be helping, as annoying as the routine can be. I think my milk just came in later and slowly. I've been having nipple pain so it helps offset that too. I'm actually up pumping right now since I get a decent amount in the middle of the night! Hang in there though, it's still so early! I felt like I was doing something "wrong" by supplementing but if your LO needs it then so be it! If you were hungry, you'd eat, right? So treat LO the same. She's just hungry. It doesn't mean you're a bad mom and it may just be temporary!

Is there a reason why you feel you aren't meeting his needs? Pumping output doesn't correlate to how much your LO can transfer at the breast. I would ask your LC to do a weighted feeding so you have a good idea of how much your LO is transferring.

I remember how hard it was to get LO to nurse as a sleepy newborn. Our LC suggested a diaper change before nursing, nursing LO in his diaper, and basically pestering him to keep him awake. We would rub his hands, feet, back, etc. to try to keep him awake. I've read some people use a wet wash cloth to keep their LO awake, but we never did that.

We also had some latching problems and eventually needed a nipple shield. My LC suggested nursing, pumping, then supplementing 1-2 oz of pumped milk to help LO gain. I think getting hands on help with a LC will be helpful. Good luck!

@Portboston: Congratulations on your little one! Sounds like you're doing a great job mama! My DD was also an extremely sleepy newborn. I tried everything to keep her up including the wet wash cloth but even that didn't work sometimes. But when we did end up giving her bottles she drank it quickly, so I think she was hungry. My milk supply was also very low in the beginning. I never got engorged. We supplemented with formula for about 6 weeks before my supply kicked in and we were able to wean off the formula entirely. I tried the Fenugreek and did lots of pumping and I pumped every time I gave her formula. I also tried this power pumping technique I googled. Eventually my supply picked up and I was able to breastfeed exclusively for over a year, pump at work and build up a decent freezer supply. Don't feel bummed about giving formula, although I admit I was a little sad too. But in the end I figured most importantly the baby needs to eat whether it's formula or breast milk. My DD was way happier and satisfied once we supplemented. Hang in there, it's still really early. I'm sure the lac consultant will have some good tips too!