breastfeed, feeling drained, especially at night

J

jamiexchan

Registered User
I am breastfeeding my baby girl and top up with 1-2 formula milk a day. The morning feed is usually with the most milk supply, and the supply goes down along the day. And i am feeling almost completely drained before the last meal at night, and that probably won't be enough for the baby to last for 2 hours.

Does it mean i don't get enough milk, and the only way is to top up with formula? Are there anything i could do to improve the situation?
 
Probably the best way for you to improve your milk supply is to feed your baby as often as you can (especially if your baby is less then 6 weeks old). Don't wait until your breasts feel "full", it's really not necessary. The more often you feed, the more milk you will make. Don't forget that babies are much better at removing milk from the breast than a pump or hand expressing. Even if you don't think you have much milk baby will probably still be getting plenty.

If you're feeding formula too you can get into a downward spiral of producing less and less of your own milk.

La leche league in HK is really useful in helping solve BF issues. I would recommend you call one of their leaders for some more specific advice.
 
I agree with all of the above, but also have a few things to add (actually, this might get long, so grab a cup of tea):
1. Try a day of BFing alone. Does baby have at least 6 wet nappies in a 24 hour period? If yes, then baby does not need to be fed formula at all. However, you still may not be making enough to meet her demand, even though you are making enough to sustain her.
2. make sure your latch is correct. is baby drinking all that milk or is she gumming yor nipples and not getting any sustenance? Get a lactation consultant to weigh baby before and after a feed and see how many MLs baby is getting in a feed. The LC will also check your latch is correct.
3. Try the "24 hour cure". Arrange to have someone care for all your needs while you spend the entire 24 hours in bed constantly nursing baby (make sure latch is good first or this won't work). have some Lanolin to keep your nipples from getting too sore. Don't do a thing except eat (in bed) and feed baby. the following day, your supply should increase significantly.
4. Get a good double electric pump, if you are intent on feeding breast milk. Pump every two hours around the clock for about a week. You will feel very tired, and night pumpings will be HARD, but you will see a significant increase within a week.
5. Eat and drink foods that increase milk supply. Here is a partial list (many more on the internet), and there are many others, but these are the ones that worked for me:
-Guiness lager (black and thick): drink 1 hour before a feed so you process the alcohol, but Guiness is an awesome milk maker!
-Fenugreek
-Goat's Rue
-Anise
-Oatmeal (make it with Milk for a calcium boost! Calcium can increase milk supply)
-Domperidone (available at any local drug store)
-Mother's Milk tea
-Lots of clean water! Lots! Lots!!!!!

It takes about a week to improve your supply noticeably, and as much as 4 weeks to make a significant improvement. Dont give up just because you aren't suddenly gushing milk after a day ot two of trying these things. Try to pump after each feeding to completely drain the breast. If your baby is a sleeper and sleeps for 4 hours at a time, get a pumping in between feeds. Don't let those breasts rest too long...its all about supplying a demand. Be demanding, and you will get a supply!

I suffer from chronic low supply, and breasts that have a very low maximum milk capacity (this has nothing to do with physical size; little A breasts can have a 6 oz capacity and DD's can have a 1 oz capacity). Despite my low milk capacity, I can support my child on BF alone because I do all of the above. As you probably dont have this issue, I know you will be OK!
 
My milk supply is exactly the same -- tons in the morning, less at night.
In the morning, I feed one side (it's enough for her) and pump the other side.
Then, in the evening, I give her the pumped milk.
Using more than 1 formula a day will cause you supply to go down.
 
Hi Jamiexchan,

Some great tips from the moms above!

If you'd like to speak with someone directly regarding your situation, please feel free to call or email us. We don't normally charge for phone or email consultations..

Warm regards,

Elena
 
like those mentioned above, the more you feed directly, the more milk you'll have. in btw your feeds do you pump at least to keep up the sucking feeling? your feeding schedule sounds a bit like you are weaning off the breast.....
 
jamiexchan said:
I am breastfeeding my baby girl and top up with 1-2 formula milk a day. The morning feed is usually with the most milk supply, and the supply goes down along the day. And i am feeling almost completely drained before the last meal at night, and that probably won't be enough for the baby to last for 2 hours.

Does it mean i don't get enough milk, and the only way is to top up with formula? Are there anything i could do to improve the situation?
Click to expand...
How old is your baby? I am BF 100% and can understand your anxiety. I am on Day 12 with my boy, and BF situation is much more manageable now.
suggestions: 1. You have to make sure that your milk flow is good...check for lumps in your breasts, one may be different from another. 2. use warm compress before BF 3. get lactation help; i used a lactation consultantant prenatal and 2 visits which are helpful. 3. I am not sure what you mean by "completely drained before the last meal at night"...elaborate? 4. get enough rest and try as much as possible not to be stressed out about BF; I know first hand it's hard but trying is needed :)

good luck!



I find pumping difficult since I am not using commercial / hospital grade - just Advent.
 
thanks for all the advices. i did not have good experience with pumps. i got. tommy tippee manual pump, a medela electric pump, both did not do a good job. they just pump out a small amount of milk, i can still feel lumps in my breast even when no milk can be expressed. i did a visit to a lactatin consultant and she think the reason is my milk supply is too low to be effectively pumped.
i am no longer confident in breastfeeding... don't wanna starve the baby...
 
I would also like to add that your milk changes throughout the day. It is very common for there to be less milk in the evening/night, but the fat content of your "evening milk" is higher providing baby with less over all fluid, but more filling meal.

Another way to increase milk supplies is drop the formula feeding all-together and nurse on demand. Baby will nurse more frequently and you'll feel "drained" but it will cue your body to produce more milk to meet babies needs.
 
Hi Jamiexchan, the great thing about breastfeeding is that problems are not always permanent, and with the right help, most breastfeeding problems can be resolved. If it is your goal to breastfeed, then get in touch as soon as possible with someone who can support you through getting breastfeeding back on track. Your baby won't starve! Sarah Hung at http://www.lotuslactation.com/ is very experienced.. Good luck and enjoy your precious new baby :)
 
PS. I second what Erina says. The more you drain your breasts the more you're telling them to produce more milk. Nurse nurse nurse as often as you can (now is not the time to be timing and scheduling) and once your supply is back on track you at least have choices..
 
Your baby doesn't need to drink the same amount every feed, aa long it is enough for a day one feed can be more than another. The number of nappies and your bubs weight should tell you if it's ok or not.
 
How old is your baby? That's the first question I'm wondering about.

If you want to increase your milk supply you're going to have to cut out the formula feeds. Breastfeeding isn't at all like formula feeding--you don't measure the milk by volume. Breastmilk CONTENT is what matters--not necessarily volume.

Is your baby gaining weight? Is your baby having 5-6 wet diapers/day? If so, your baby is getting enough from breastfeeding and isn't starving. What have you done to increase your milk supply.? The first step is cutting out formula completely out because if you feed with formula it tells your body to produce less milk and then you get into a cycle. So, if you are trying to keep with breastfeeding and especially if your baby is small, feeding formula is actually causing your breastmilk supply to go down.

genkimom gave a lot of good suggestions above on how to increase breastmilk supply. It takes time and effort. Breastfeeding can feel tiring and in the beginning can be a lot of work but it's worth it. You said you saw a lactation consultant? Where? Was it at the public hospital or the mother/child health clinic? If so, I would contact La Leche League and get a second opinion--the public hospital and local doctors are well known for giving poor breastfeeding advice to new mothers. Just because you can't get milk out with a pump doesn't mean your milk supply is low necessarily. Pumping breastmilk is really a lot different than feeding the baby directly. You will never get as much pumping as you do when your baby feeds directly. Pumping is not always an accurate way to measure breastmilk supply.

Here are some questions:
If you truly have low breastmilk supply, have you gone on domeridone? Have you taken fenugreek and fennel? Have you started eating a diet high in lactogenic foods (oatmeal, spinach). Are you on a good nutritional supplement that contains plenty of balanced calcium that your body can absorb (this was my problem when I had serious milk supply issues)? Are you getting enough calories in your diet (you need at least 500 more calories than usual daily)? Are you getting rest? Are you drinking enough water? Are you taking any medications or supplements that have a negative effect on milk supply (such as cold medicine)? Does your baby have a proper latch? Is your baby feeding frequently? Have you tried hand expressing--many women can get much more milk with hand expression than with a pump?

I think contacting La Leche League is a good place to start if you really want to keep breastfeeding. It is not easy and it takes a lot of work at first. You just need some encouragement and practical help from people who know what they're doing.
 
I feed more frequently in the late afternoon/early evening and from both breasts (cluster feeding). It's normal to have less volume during those hours. More frequent feedings = more milk.
 
Don't give up on the pump. In the beginning, I thought it wasn't working either. But after a few times, it got better.
Also, how long do you keep the pump on? Sometimes, the first 5 minutes, it looks like nothing is coming out. Then I get a "let down" and more milk comes out.
But the more you supplement with formula, the less stimulation your breasts will get, and the less milk they will produce.
But if you really try to 100% BF, and maybe do a little extra pumping, it will only take a few days for your breasts to produce more milk.
I hear local moms all the time complaining about having not enough milk. But then it turns out that they just aren't feeding / pumping enough. There's no big secret about diet, supplements, etc -- it really is just a matter of time and effort.
Don't give up now. Breastmilk is way better for your baby than formula. It's the only way to give immunity to your child.
Mine has been BF for 5 months now and has not had a single cold, flu, allergy or anything, even though it's winter.
 
BTW, your baby will not starve to death -- definitely not silently! They scream when they are hungry.
But serious -- moms have BF their babies since the beginning of time. Unless you have a major medical problem, there is no reason you can't produce enough milk for your baby. It sounds like you're also being held back by worry and a lack of confidence.
There is no need to worry.
 
Oh, actually the OP is a friend of mine. Since she might be quite busy struggling with her 4 week old baby girl, and taking care of her 21 month old toddler as well, I might try to answer some of the questions for her.

According to her, her baby hasn't gained lot of weight, and although the baby was regularly wetting the diapers, the diapers are usually scarcely wet. At the MCHC, the doctor was a little bit concerned about that, and suggested that she should feed, or at least, complement with formula.

I suggested her to contact LLL, and see some lactation consultant before giving up. She did called some LLL leaders for advices, and also went to see Mrs Chee. At Mrs Chee office, she tried to pump milk from my friend, and could hardly get 1 oz of milk out. Mrs. Chee did think that she indeed has too little milk, and gave her some medication (probably domeridone) for increasing her supply.

From what she told me later, the medication wasn't helping a lot, and she has started giving more feed with formula.

As a note, my friend is in care of a Chinese confinement lady, who is making sure that she gets a healthy diet and plenty of rest. In fact, she told me that sometime her baby would wake up in the middle of an afternoon nap, and her confinement lady would not allow her breastfeed the baby, stating that she need to get more sleep. Her confinement lady would then rock the baby back to sleep..............
 
Gataloca said:
At Mrs Chee office, she tried to pump milk from my friend, and could hardly get 1 oz of milk out. Mrs. Chee did think that she indeed has too little milk, and gave her some medication (probably domeridone) for increasing her supply.
Click to expand...

Same here, I get very little milk out with pump alone, even when engorged. The only way for me is to nurse my baby and pump on the other breast at the same time. You'll be surprised how easy and the amount of milk you get pumped this way. Also by doing this, breastfeeding is not only mommy & bb's time, my husband can have his by feeding bb the milk I pumped after i breastfed bb on one breast.
 
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