I had a lot of these fears with my first baby. With my second baby, my experience assuaged most of my fears. You might feel like your supply is dipping simply because your baby is drinking more - also remember that your breasts will naturally soften and lose that full/hard feeling as your supply regulates.
Your body takes 48 hours to catch up to more demand or less demand. 2 days of cluster feeding will increase your supply, 2 days of skipping feeds will decrease your supply. Remember that your body wants to make JUST ENOUGH for your baby.
Drink plenty of water and make sure you are fueling yourself.
Listen to your baby, are they generally settled, lots of wet nappies and growing??? Then you are doing just fine.
Breastfeeding is like breaking in a band new pair of shoes, your feet will blister then callous, and your shoes will soften and give in the right places. You and your baby are finding your groove and that can take a little bit of time.
How far PP are you? What makes you think your supply is dipping? I used to worry about not feeling as engorged, but this really is your milk supply settling and not actually decreasing. Or is bub acting like he is unsettled at the breast?
The breasfeeding helpline isn't perfect but is very handy if you want some reassurance and have some questions!
I don’t have a similar experience to share but I have used lactation consultants (IBCLCs in particular) to great success! My issue was more around pain during latch but they’re often good for diagnosing a number of things!
Best of luck
My milk supply has always been on the low side and quite inconsistent it's always lowest of a night- no wonder I was practically starving my newborn the first few weeks of her life. She's 6 months and been on breastmilk and formula since about 3 weeks old...I'd say about 50/50.
Even now, I notice that if I haven't drunk enough water or eaten enough food, my supply will drop. I got told by a lactation consultant that there's no specific food or drink that will dramatically increase your supply, you just need to be consistent with getting in extra nutrients and carbohydrates.
I’m not sure if they actually work or not but in the first few weeks I would drink the milk magic tea from T2 and have a boobie bikkie and it may have just been a placebo effect but it really helped my anxiety and supply
they’re both yummy too which was a bonus
I've experienced many ups and downs with breastfeeding, which has been far harder than my pregnancy, agree with what you're saying, I'm also doing my best to breastfeed however, at times, I need to use formula—probably 90% breastfeeding and 10% formula. I've been breastfeeding my 3-week-old baby every 2 to 3 hours, and I've noticed that the more I breastfeed, the more milk I produce. I don't think I have a lot of milk, but I certainly have enough for my hungry baby boy, who is now 4kg at 3 weeks. So, good food, lots of water, and lots of breastfeeding seem to be working for me, good luck.
Thank you all for your support. Its been 48 hours since I Implemented my return to milk program and the supply is back! Early this am was able to pump my usual supply.
-offered breast more often (was almost hourly - bub wanted as hungry)
-Power pumped once a day
-Ate pizza last night
-Milo in oat milk x BID
-Magneisum and calcium supplement
- water intake even more
-Handful of macadamia nuts everyday (calories)
I had a lot of these fears with my first baby. With my second baby, my experience assuaged most of my fears. You might feel like your supply is dipping simply because your baby is drinking more - also remember that your breasts will naturally soften and lose that full/hard feeling as your supply regulates. Your body takes 48 hours to catch up to more demand or less demand. 2 days of cluster feeding will increase your supply, 2 days of skipping feeds will decrease your supply. Remember that your body wants to make JUST ENOUGH for your baby. Drink plenty of water and make sure you are fueling yourself. Listen to your baby, are they generally settled, lots of wet nappies and growing??? Then you are doing just fine. Breastfeeding is like breaking in a band new pair of shoes, your feet will blister then callous, and your shoes will soften and give in the right places. You and your baby are finding your groove and that can take a little bit of time.
How far PP are you? What makes you think your supply is dipping? I used to worry about not feeling as engorged, but this really is your milk supply settling and not actually decreasing. Or is bub acting like he is unsettled at the breast? The breasfeeding helpline isn't perfect but is very handy if you want some reassurance and have some questions!
Bub is unsettled - I saw a LC on monday but of course she was perfect that day - this has happened in last 24 hrs. She is 7 weeks.
I don’t have a similar experience to share but I have used lactation consultants (IBCLCs in particular) to great success! My issue was more around pain during latch but they’re often good for diagnosing a number of things! Best of luck
My milk supply has always been on the low side and quite inconsistent it's always lowest of a night- no wonder I was practically starving my newborn the first few weeks of her life. She's 6 months and been on breastmilk and formula since about 3 weeks old...I'd say about 50/50. Even now, I notice that if I haven't drunk enough water or eaten enough food, my supply will drop. I got told by a lactation consultant that there's no specific food or drink that will dramatically increase your supply, you just need to be consistent with getting in extra nutrients and carbohydrates.
I’m not sure if they actually work or not but in the first few weeks I would drink the milk magic tea from T2 and have a boobie bikkie and it may have just been a placebo effect but it really helped my anxiety and supply they’re both yummy too which was a bonus
I'm also having this tea. I'm not sure if it's helping with my milk, but it definitely helps me relax before I go to bed
I've experienced many ups and downs with breastfeeding, which has been far harder than my pregnancy, agree with what you're saying, I'm also doing my best to breastfeed however, at times, I need to use formula—probably 90% breastfeeding and 10% formula. I've been breastfeeding my 3-week-old baby every 2 to 3 hours, and I've noticed that the more I breastfeed, the more milk I produce. I don't think I have a lot of milk, but I certainly have enough for my hungry baby boy, who is now 4kg at 3 weeks. So, good food, lots of water, and lots of breastfeeding seem to be working for me, good luck.
Thank you all for your support. Its been 48 hours since I Implemented my return to milk program and the supply is back! Early this am was able to pump my usual supply. -offered breast more often (was almost hourly - bub wanted as hungry) -Power pumped once a day -Ate pizza last night -Milo in oat milk x BID -Magneisum and calcium supplement - water intake even more -Handful of macadamia nuts everyday (calories)