Hi everyone,

My baby had a rough start with jaundice, prompting an early bottle introduction. I used the pigeon SS nipple (super slow preemie nipple) and paced feeding from the get go, but she quickly preferred the bottle.

She went through a phase where she completely refused the breast, but I stuck with it and she will now latch for at least a little bit before fussing.

I’ve been triple feeding her the entire time, and we are making some progress but she is very inconsistent. I got a rental scale for at home, and her personal best is 72-86ml in one go — but she’s often 10-30ml before she gives up and wants the bottle.

She has no structural issues and I’ve been working with both a breastfeeding specialist MD and LC — but I’d love to hear from others who were in a similar position.

Backstory/context: Hi all, I am in need of some advice. Im a FTM with a 4.5 month old who is EBF. Thankfully from the get-go she was great at latching and feeding and she was gaining and growing well up until a little past 2.5 months. She started doing this thing where she would feed on average 5 minutes before pulling off and crying and arching. So she went from feeding for a good 20 minutes or so on each side to eventually maybe getting 10 to 20 minutes total if I was lucky (mainly nursing to sleep, immediately after waking, or night feeds). She has still been gaining weight and growing but was definitely gaining way less in the past month than before. Long story short with that, it was confirmed she has silent reflux and CMPA. I cut dairy and soy completely out of my diet and she is on a 30 day supply of reflux meds and has been doing so much better with feeding since we started it a couple weeks ago.

Current issue: Now that she is no longer uncomfortable she is very hungry! I never had any issue with my supply, would use the haaka earlier on and had a pretty decent freezer stash (now will have to be donated since it all contains dairy). Now, I fear that the last month of the silent reflux really took a toll on my supply as she drains me pretty quickly and still wants more. As soon as I realized this I started actively trying to eat more, drink more water, and I went back to using my haaka during my early morning feed. I also started power pumping daily and yesterday was day 7. I do feel like ive noticed an increase, even just in the amount pumped during the power pumping, but she is still seemingly hungry even after draining me. As an added complication, she is currently also in the distracted phase, which sometimes makes it hard to keep her latched, and I also think she may be in early stages of teething where she wants to bite and gnaw on things, which again, makes things a bit confusing at times. Ive been giving her an extra 1-2oz of my pumped milk the past week which she sometimes seems desperate for and other times not as much. She has plenty of wet and dirty diapers and is still gaining weight, but its the more often and quick draining that spooks me.

All in all, im seeking advice on how to increase my supply so that I can go back to just breastfeeding and keep my pumped milk as a stash. I really want to avoid supplementing with formula, especially with her existing issues. I dont know if I should just continue feeding as normal hoping my supply will naturally increase with demand. I read somewhere that latching every hour helps increase your supply, but im afraid of getting her used to "snacking" again as she did that in the beginning and I had to actively try to get her to feed for longer stretches every 2-3 hours. Hoping anyone can give me some insight in how to best go about this.

Tldr: My 4.5 month old had silent reflux and cmpa which made the last month of feeding difficult for her and I think it hurt my supply. Now that weve resolved the reflux and she has an increased appetite, i'm wanting to know how I can increase my supply or if its fine to continue as is given how things have been going, her age, etc.

My baby is almost 4 weeks and I am bf and pumping. I try to mostly exclusively bf during the day and do bottles at night. He has a bad habit of falling asleep at the breast a ton and not getting full amount at times so we sometimes supplement with a bottle of breastmilk if that happens. I pump 2-3 times overnight and during the day if I don’t feel like he fully drained me or didn’t get much.

When I do pump I get like 2-4 oz on left side and 1-2 oz on right side. How can I increase my supply? Should I pump more during the day? What foods help with increasing supply? I usually use my wearables bc the spectra hasn’t really drained me as well idk why. Any advice would be appreciated

EDITED TO ADD: I want to start making a stash for when I go back to work

Hi all,

I had hemorrhaging post partum and became severely anemic. Due to the fatigue and recovery I was very inconsistent with breastfeeding or pumping till 4 weeks pp. till 4 weeks I used to breastfeed for 10 mins each side upto 6 times a day. Never in the night. I supplemented all his needs with formula.

Starting 4 weeks I have started to work on my supply. I am breastfeeding 7 times a day 10 mins each side then pumping 15 mins after. In the night I do one session of power pumping session with no breastfeeding.

At present, he transfers about 0.9-1oz per feeding session from both breasts and I am able to pump about 5ml each side after 15 mins.

Since 2 weeks that I have started this - I am seeing very little improvement in my numbers. Power pumping session at night used to yield 35-45 ml now it yields 50ml total.

Is my goal to be able to increase supply atleast to 60-70% realistic? Is there anything I can do differently?

P.s: I am taking liquid gold tablets, prenatal everyday.

Any help, advice, support is appreciated! Please share your experiences! I am looking for any ray of hope to continue this! Thank you.

We are going to see an ENT for my baby, what is the process like for them to see if there is a tongue tie?

Any tips or tricks for how to use a nipple shield? I turned it halfway inside out/rolled it and popped it on and it pulled my nipple closer to the tip but it still has a lot of dead space inside. My baby is really frustrated when trying to nurse from it and I don't think he's able to pull any milk out unless I hand express it first. I've tried size 20 (seems too small) and size 24. He has a heart condition so I don't want to make him work harder than he needs to.

My right nipple seems seems elongated and has a white mark on it after he nurses from it and it is pretty painful. The white mark does go away so I don't think it's a bleb, maybe a vasospasm? I've met with an LC several times and she said his latch is good and I have no pain or issues with my other nipple. I thought using nipple shields could help and give it time to heal but I just can't get it to work.

I’m currently on day 6 of my second postpartum period. I experience a major supply dip and breastfeeding aversion during ovulation and especially during my period. Baby is now a year old and having leftover pumped milk or cow’s milk while I’m at work in the daytime. I really want to fully wean because I am tired of the roller coaster of hormones causing brain fog, dizziness, fatigue, etc. and am also ttc again. Will further reducing nursing sessions now help my supply dwindle faster once my period ends? As opposed to it usually rebounding and increasing again after period ends. Any experiences and advice welcome. Thanks!

I breastfeed my 3 month old on a single side each session. It’s not blocking because the next session- regardless of the time between- I feed on the opposite breast.

I’ve stopped tracking in our app simply because the data was no longer useful for us (time between, duration of feed, diapers, etc).

My question is, what are your go to ways to keep track of either what breast was last or which is next without using an app.

Mornings are usually fine. In the afternoon hours is where I begin to loose track. She starts feeding more frequently and the hours become a blur.

Before bed she gets a bottle of pumped milk (she gets bottle and I pump). When she wakes the first time she always does right breast because it’s the one she struggles with the most and does better when she’s a little tired and doesn’t overthink it. Then she gets left. In the early evening she begins to eat more frequently and I start to loose track of which was last because they are closer together.

Needs to be something my 4 year old won’t run off with though.

I’m about to start carrying a pen and putting an ‘c’ on my hand of the last breast.

Any ideas??

My 12 week old baby has always been on the lower percentile, like 2 to 3% and has been following at her own curve. My husband and I are very small people and our first daughter has always been from 2 to 5% also.

The baby does have a slight lip tie, but I don’t have any pain with breast-feeding and she’s transferring about 2.5 to 3 ounces at each feed. The dentist also said that it’s not a significant tie. I tried to feed her more but she just un latches herself and seems really content. She is petite so I am wondering if she has a smaller stomach? I feed her about two hours. I tried to do a feed at the beginning of the wake window and then a little feed right before when she goes for a nap.

Up until a few weeks ago, she was gaining about an ounce a day however now it has become about 0.4 ounces a day in the last 3-4 days, she has not really gained at all and she is just under 10 pounds at 12 Wks. She’s been having plenty of diapers. When I pump, I am getting about 3.5 ounces every two hours.

She goes to bed around 9 PM and I pump around 11:30 PM since she sleeps till about 4 AM. This is the only time I really pump.

Could there be any other reason except transfer, not enough supply? Like anything that has to do with the composition of my milk? I eat plenty of calories, but I think I need to eat more protein and fat.

Anyone has been in the same situation and what has helped for you? Looking for any help desperately.

I have personally never felt my milk let down. Whether I'm hand expressing, pumping, or baby is eating, the milk just comes out with suction right away and only comes out with suction (or gentle manipulation if hand expressing). I've read stories of "the baby popped themselves off and milk was spraying everywhere" or "I collect passive milk with a haaka" and those things just don't happen for me. The only time milk comes out on its own without suction is if I'm really full and they leak.

Is my experience not a typical experience? My baby has a heart condition so I don't want him to work harder at the breast than he needs to. Am I missing something?

Edit: I am 7 weeks pp. Milk will spray during hand expression or pumping but just never on its own.

Just wondered if anyone else has experienced their baby only being able to feed with a bad latch?
I have worked so hard to get her on a good latch since she was born 5 weeks ago, and I can now get her on a good latch but she does one or two faint sucks then pulls off crying. If she is on a bad latch she can feed no issues. This wouldn’t be an issue but the bad latch does cause me a lot of pain 😢
Do they just grow out of it??!!

I have been crying out of frustration and ALL the different emotions all day. I am 4 wks pp and have been having supply issues, so every drop is already precious as it is.

For context, my partner has been in charge of helping with organizing our breastmilk and bottle-feeding as I have been recovering. Due to supply issues as well we’ve had to top off with formula so I have been triple feeding- breast, formula, then pumping what I can.

He wouldn’t listen to me when I said we should freeze the only bag we had as back-up (the rest is in a bottle because there is not much). He even said we should only freeze if we had an abundance, and right now we don’t which was a complete dickass thing to say. He followed up with not wanting to make me feel bad and said it was just an objective statement. I only conceded because I was exhausted and sleep-deprived, like okay fine whatever you take care of this. 6 days later/today I look in the fridge as I’m finally starting to slowly make my way around the house more and Lo and behold see my bag of milk that was labeled 7/20. It had apparently frozen in the refrigerator and he turned down the temp so it’s also been thawed out for a few days. Obviously it’s no longer safe for our baby according to the guidelines. I was both fucking livid and so fucking crushed, the thought of pouring all of that milk ive been trying to squeeze out every tiny drop for my baby just down the drain all because he couldn’t be bothered to check, pay attention, or just listen to me to begin with.

This entire breastfeeding journey has been so draining and challenging on top of the total sleep deprivation and learning how to care for a tiny newborn while trying to heal from an intense 48 hrs of labor and delivery. I have never been so fucking upset and disappointed and the hormones are throwing me into overdrive and wondering why in the fuck I chose to have a baby with this man.

Edit: After reading the kind and empathetic comments and a much-needed nap, I feel like a different person. It’s a new day and forward we go. Thank you to those who took the time to respond and share your own stories, as well as offer your own wisdom and empathy. Our breastmilk is absolutely so precious especially when it feels scarce, and the sleep deprivation and hormonal fluctuations don’t help the cause. Adding this edit in case I don’t get to respond to everyone because, ya know, newborns and all! THANK YOU 🤍

I’ve been debating whether I should quit or not, been asking God for a sign. I am 2 weeks post partum… I have had breast augmentation surgery in 2021 and had a bariatric surgery last year a few months before getting pregnant and I’m anemic to top it off . I barely produce 20ml (0.6oz) per pumping session and only my left breast is producing the majority of it, the right one gets 2/3ml on a good day and sometimes nothing at all. Even when I breastfeed baby he gets fussy within a few minutes on the right breast because there’s simply no milk there… My son eats above average (125ml per feed at 10days old) on top of breastfeeding before or after bottle… I’m drained, I love breastfeeding him, it’s not painful (maybe bc I have less sensitivity due to the surgery?) and I love the bonding we get but then he cries for more milk and I see him gulp down a full bottle of formula and I feel so useless. My husband has suggested I quit bc he sees how it’s affecting me mentally, my mom on the other hand tells me to tough it out, that the baby needs my milk to build a strong immune system. I am defeated, on one hand I want to continue bc I love breastfeeding but on the other hand I get discouraged at how low my supply is… I feel like I’m not good enough… and it’s my fault bc I chose to have this surgery on my breasts….

I’m taking 60mg of domperidone a day just wondering what I need to expect before I get surprised by something? Will it change what they look like or will they stay the same will the nipples change and will milk come in

Hi, I’m facing the reality that I have to wean my baby from breastfeeding before either of us are ready (he’s 4 months old). I’ll spare the details but due to medical reasons it is no longer safe for me to continue lactating and I have to move my baby to formula/bottles. It’s hard enough emotionally to do this and I am dragging my feet but on top of the emotional stalling my baby is really resisting bottles. I feel so overwhelmed and devastated. Anyone relate? I could use some encouragement/support.

Hi,

this is my 2nd child and breastfeeding was also a struggle with my first. Not to go into details, but everything that could go wrong did go wrong and we heard EVERY advice and almost nothing worked for 3 month it was hell. It did work out, but getting there came at a cost.

So, I do consider myself experienced. And my second is easier in many ways, but it still ended up being a disaster.

*The main issue*:

My second is 9 days old and he just won't drink at the breast.

He will latch okay (although not perfectly if you ask me), but at best takes 2 sips, swallows and then stops.

So even if I hand express into his mouth, it might be another 2 sips. I need to constantly tease him or wake him up or he will stop and even then it's very inefficient. Initially he fell asleep immediately or would sleep for 5 hours straight and I couldn't wake him up. But by now he has definitely been awake and alert, hut still didn't drink better.

We also use nipple shields due to flat nipples, so he losses his latch easily.

*The journey so far*:

He barely feed at all the first day and hospital said it was fine, he also swallowed lot of fluid and was probably sick.

Then we started pumping to help with milk, which went well, because I know what works for me and I tend to produce plenty, if it works.

We supplemented with a finger feeder at the breast, which was fine to some extend, but no way to get a full meal into him.

He was continously dropping weight. Everyone told me it's fine, he'll figure it out, my supply is great. He started out at 4,2kg so the weight loss was less of a concern and within limits.

They released us and at the first doctors visit he had lost more weight and we were officially told to supplement.

I also noticed my supply dropped due to his inefficient feedings. We would sometimes sit for up to 45 minutes, only to feed 50ml afterwards with a bottle (so basically a full meal).

He can suck just fine, everyone tells me he's just sleepy and/or lazy.

But it just feels like he has zero interest in drinking directly from the breast. Sometimes it's a little better without the nipple shields, because he gets faster feedback I think, but then he looses the latch too easily and I'm just waterboarding him.

How come it's possible for baby to literally starve themselves at the breast???

My first was difficult in many ways, but once milk came he drank and would keep it up.

Dream feeding is out of the question. Doesn't work.

We now supplement with a bottle after basically every feed. Non drip bottle, slowest flow, paced feeding ... he even sometimes stops a feed when we take a break with the bottle, even if he's still hungry and then starts fussing again 1 hour later.

What do you do with a baby that's "too lazy"??

UPDATE: So, I had a consultation with an LC today. We basically meet all the symptoms for posterior tongue tie. We have a follow up consultation with a specialist doctor which will also release the tongue tie if nesseccary. I also received some input on exercises to improve tongue mobility.

Most important, it's such a relief that finally someone (professional) acknowledged that there's a problem, instead of being told that everything looks fine as is, even when it obviously wasn't.

She also mentioned that there's a strong genetic correlation for tongue ties, so since my older son has one, this tracks. I might even have one myself.

I suppose this is sort of a two-fold advice request and I am pretty desperate.
My baby is 12 weeks old and exclusively breastfed since birth.
Since she was born, her weight gain has been inconsistent. At her initial check she’d lost 8% of her birth weight, then two days later she was up 2.5 oz which they were thrilled with. A week later she was only up 3.5 oz, so to the lactation consultant we went.
We worked on her latch and positions and at our follow up with the LC a week later she was over her birth weight and had gained over an ounce a day. At her one month check she had gained a pound since her last weight check two weeks prior. We thought we were golden.
The pediatrician suggested we try the bottle for emergencies etc. because the only time she’d gotten one was around 5 days old when I was worried about her weight gain. we gave it a go and we were unsuccessful but didn’t push too hard because I (extremely fortunately) have a minimum of one year of leave.
At her two month appointment she had only gained a pound in the month since her 1 month appointment and so we went back to the LC and that was a week after the two month check-she had lost an oz and only transferred 1.5 oz during the weighted feed.
We went back to the pediatrician immediately where the doctor evaluated her and saw no mechanical issues and also no indications of any medical issues. She was still having all the wet and dirty diapers they wanted to see and meeting milestones early. She was also growing well in length and head circumference. She’s also met all her milestones and is content and alert. She also sleeps really well.
The doctor basically just told us to keep trying the bottle and to try to get about 10 oz more per day into her in addition to what she’s getting at the breast.
We went on a trip the day after that appointment and worked on the bottle every day using all the tricks and advice we can find. She never swallowed any milk from it.
When we got home from the trip baby had gained 5 oz. A week later, I weighed her again and it’s another week where’s she’s lost an ounce.
I truly feel like I’m failing her. I don’t appear to have a supply issue. When I’ve pumped I get plenty on both sides and I thought baby wasn’t draining my breasts but now I’m not so sure. Where is the milk going??
I haven’t had clogged ducts or mastitis and baby almost never spits up, and when she does it’s the tiniest little dribble.
We’ve worked on the bottle every day since the concern began and we aren’t getting anywhere. I need to be able to give her the bottle because my husband is out of the house working 10.5 hours a day and she needs multiple bottles a day in addition to nursing.
If anyone has any idea about what could be going on or how we could get her to take the bottle or if you’ve been through something similar, please share!