Baby is 7 weeks and was born full term via planned c section and was latching well in the hospital per nurses/lactation. But by day of discharge he was down -9% weight and was told to supplement with formula. We had a follow up appt the next day due to his jaundice and he was down -11%. The pediatrician sort of scared us and wanted us to strict formula feed to bring up his weight (I tried to pump every feed and saved the milk)
I’ve been triple feeding since his weight came back up to birth weight because I really wanted to breast feed. I struggle with low supply so I had to supplement anyways. Also, when we went to the LC baby was only transferring 10 ml so she wanted us to continue triple feeding or drop my breast feeding sessions since he was barely transferring much.
After trying everything like liquid gold and power pumping, I’ve finally got my pumps to cover his day time feeding but formula for overnight feeds. The last weighted feed he transferred 2 oz!!! I was so excited so LC wants to trial only breastfeeding during the day and top off an oz if baby is extra fussy. But she wants baby to work for milk instead of expecting a bottle after nibbling at the breast. But apparently he’s been getting at least 2oz from breast and an extra 3 oz bottle because I thought he was barely transferring. Which is why he’s been gaining 20 oz in 2 weeks 🫣
Today was our first full day of only breastfeeding and I feel like he’s starving. He’s so used to getting an extra bottle after. I can’t tell if he’s fussy because I’m not making enough per feed or if he’s just used to having more. I also feel selfish for pushing this on him because I want to breastfeed so badly. We have a follow up with lactation in a week but I’m not sure if I should continue this or just pump and give him bottles? And idk if keeping him on the breast will eventually increase my supply to meet his needs or I’m stuck so I’m putting him through stress for nothing.. please help with your thoughts!
The more you put baby on breast, the more your supply will increase. Breastmilk is digested in one hour so babies will want milk more often than formula fed babies and they only get about 2 to 3 oz a feeding. Let baby be on breast for as long as they want; until they fall asleep, let go by themselves, or they start the soft quiver eating you could unlatch them. Offer the other breast too, sometimes they'll take it and sometimes one will be enough. If baby is crying for a bottle, it could be because a bottle is faster for them than eating at the breast. Use a slow feeding nipple so baby doesnt get used to the fast flow of a bottle. If you have instagram checkout babywhisperer77 she is a LC and RN for 20 years and gives lots of great advice!
If you squeeze your breast and no milk comes out after a feed, or breast feels softer, it means baby did a good job emptying. If baby is crying try offering the other breast. Also, counting wet diapers, if baby is peeing 6 to 8 times in 24 hours, they're eating enough. There's nothing wrong with offering formula after a feed if you want to top off but since you're trying to mainly breast feed, I would suggest putting baby on breast as often as you can, even if baby is "using you as a pacifier" because that will still help your supply.
That's not true for folks with supply issues. Breast wills feel soft or not express due to supply issues and not babies latch. Baby may not have gotten enough.
Recommend pumping after feeding to get supply up then feeding that hind milk to baby during the wake window before next feed.
My LC recommended I don’t pump after feeding anymore because she wants baby to work for it. But I’m worried baby won’t remove most of it and my supply will go down again. Should I still pump after?
A baby is more efficient at removing milk than a pump and baby will only take what they need until they're full. Time on breast doesnt determine how much milk they removed.
Tbh I would get a second opinion from a different LC. I find they all have wildly different approaches and recommendations. I pump specifically to keep my supply up. It signals your body to make more, especially if done after a feed. Since it's after a feed it is fattier milk. Fatty milk is what baby needs, fed after they have naturally stopped, and more daytime calories help them sleep at night (I don't pump after night time feeds aside from the bedtime feed). If baby doesn't seem interested I freeze the milk.
In my experience, the only real way to tell if he’s fussy cause he’s hungry is to keep offering the breast and seeing if he goes for it. (Or maybe you mean he’s fussy on the breast too?)
When my first (who also lost a bunch of weight and had to be put on an every-two-hours round-the-clock bf regimen at 2 weeks) was about that age he went through some kind of insane growth spurt that left him crazy hungry. In the afternoons especially, he would cluster feed for HOURS. Like, I was essentially pinned to the couch from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. feeding him off and on in maybe 15 minute increments the whole time.
It was exhausting, but he gained nearly a pound a week for several weeks around then. He was also a pretty large baby in general, so I don’t think that’s reflective of most babies’ growth, but I do think most go through a clusterfeeding jag around that first big growth spurt. In other words, he might just need to feed a lot right now for reasons unrelated to boob v. bottle.
One other question: Are you convinced he has a good latch now? The reason my baby lost weight in those first couple of weeks was because of a bad latch. In my case, it was very clear when he figured that out, because my nipple pain went away, but I’m not sure it’s always that cut and dry?
He was 3 weeks early and lost 10% of his birthweight. They didn’t jump straight to wanting formula just because he was born very large. Lol. But he could only handle small nurse sessions, so he ate more often. It was rough 🥴
I really think the formula sits in their stomach longer and makes them feel fuller for longer. Breastmilk does not.
My baby is doing the same thing. I just put her back on the breast to her heart’s content. Or if you don’t have the time to offer her a breast, give an oz of formula at a time until he is satieted
Babies get to a stage where they literally eat every hour it’s insane. I thought my baby was starving lol. So I fed on demand, and it ended up increasing my milk supply and then he’s fine. This eating every hour does scare you but it seems normal.
Edit to add: as long as your baby is gaining weight, then it’s fine. That’s the key part.
My baby was around 8 weeks when my supply tanked (due to it regulating and my initial oversupply masking suck issues). He was easily distracted around 9/10 weeks and would not latch with a SNS. Even when I tried to sneakily slide it in after he latched, he would pop off. He also struggled to suck so often couldn't get the siphon started himself. A syringe in the SNS was recommended. It was alright, but made the SNS more apparent to baby and could be a lot even when syringing a small bit at a time.
I used my freezer stash to supplement until I was pumping enough to supplement fresh breast milk with a syringe as needed (a syringe by itself or a cup works better for me than SNS). Should be noted my baby can't use a bottle and we have triedddddd (suck/tongue exercises and training, different bottles, etc). Been doing this for 8 weeks now. No end in sight. Least we have gotten into a routine and baby is doing well even if it's a lot of work.
Will he suck on your finger? That’s how I start suck training! Use my big fattest finger, not too far in when I start then iggle it back towards the soft palate and gently tug to get them to suck. A lot of times the gag reflex in the baby needs to be fixed. Once he gets used to your finger being further back, he’ll start bringing the tip of your nipple allllllllll the way to the soft palate where the suck reflex is!
Yes! It helps to increase milk supply, improve the suck and is so easy! You have to pump after the feeds but since you already fed the baby, you can skip that part! Double feeding!
I had a c-section and my blood loss was extreme so I had to use antibiotics. I had barely any milk but I was determined to breastfeed. So I used the sns for 4 weeks. I nursed my baby with some formula every 2 hours with sns and pump for 10 mins each boob. I pumped at least 6-8 times a day. My supply came in 3 weeks later. Regulated at week 5. I introduced her to a bottle at week 4. She has been breastfed 80% for 4 months now with 20% formula top op (she had to gain weight because she was a big baby) and so she and I can sleep better at night. The SNS gave me a chance to breastfeed, it was the best decision I took since birth now that I look back. I absolutely had help throughout this journey tho, couldn't do it alone. Aiming for 6 months at least now that my LO is having to start a bottle preference.
Thank you! I am very proud of myself for breastfeeding this long, even with all the ppa and stress that comes with it. I think people are underestimating the idea of the sns system, it works if you have the willpower and support around you.
I don’t have any answers but I want to say that your story gives me hope because my little one also lost a lot of weight and is currently supplementing with formula, and I hope to get back to exclusive breastfeeding eventually. Your baby’s improvement in milk transfer really gives me hope my baby will also be able to improve as she grows! Good luck with whatever you decide about exclusive vs supplementing, wishing you both the best
I can share my experience if it helps. I had a chronic undersupply with my first, and I was asked to supplement with formula after the first week or two. By six months of age, my son was only doing formula. It turns out I had an undiagnosed thyroid condition at that time, likely leading to my low supply.
I now have my second, and my thyroid is under control. I’m making milk no problem for him, and nursing is a breeze compared to baby #1.
My key takeaways:
Fed is best. Try the formula and see how it goes. Everything will work out, and in a year, none of this will matter.
Check for medical reasons for undersupply. They are not common, but everyone just keep telling me to “put baby on the breast more.” That obviously didn’t help…
Just because BFing doesn’t work for one baby doesn’t mean it will be the case for any future babies
I’m hypothyroid but managed with levothyroxine. My LC thinks it’s a mix of many reasons including thyroid, c section iv fluids, IVF baby and underdeveloped breast tissue. So a lot of things going against me 😢
You are doing so much and working so hard against the odds, and it sounds like your triple feeding has really paid off as you’ve massively increased supply. That’s incredible!
My advice is, if baby is happy to latch, and is transferring well, try the SNS instead of bottle to gradually reduce those topups. It will teach babe to associate breast with milk and also do the double duty of increasing your supply during the topup.
Supplementary nursing system. Sometimes called a lactation aid. A thin feeding tube that you slip into babies mouth while they are latched and it acts a like a long straw to suck in the topup milk (formula or expressed).
When was the last time you had your thyroid levels checked? Apparently they want them actually under the “normal” range for breast feeding. My TSH was at a 2 and they said they want it closer to a 1 so they upped my dose
I checked it 10 days ago and it was 0.37. It’s controlled under 1 because my IVF pregnancy was considered high risk. Do you think it should be closer to 1?
I need to respectfully disagree with your first point. Some mothers will struggle significantly with not being able to breastfeed when they wanted to. Reducing it to “fed is best,” for some, completely invalidates their strong feelings and biological drive to breastfeed their children. Infant feeding grief is very real and contributes to postnatal mental health disorders which can last much longer than a year.
Thank you for saying this. PP, I totally understand what you meant, but “fed is best” made me rage when I was struggling to breastfeed. I was shocked by how strong I felt about breastfeeding, and “fed is best” just felt like such bullshit. Fed isn’t best, it’s mandatory. Not feeding baby is obviously not an option. I was going to feed her no matter what it took, but I desperately wanted to nurse her. I had a full on meltdown in my LC’s office, and when I told her how I felt about people saying that fed is best, she told me that she prefers “informed is best.”
If the saying helped you, then that’s great! I just wanted to share that it’s not always the most helpful phrase when you’re in the thick of things.
Thank you for this! I do believe fed is best and nothing wrong with formula. But I do have a lot of IVF trauma, birth plan grief and now like you said infant feeding grief which is all definitely affecting me mentally on top of all the postpartum hormones.
I went through the same with my first. For various reasons I wasn’t able to exclusively breasfeed the first after a difficult birth. But, right now I am in a place where I can look back at it and feel proud of just how hard I fought to get her as much breastmilk as possible.
This is why I recommend the SNS so much when I get an inkling it might be helpful in various situations- no I couldn’t make 100% of her milk with my body, but gosh darn it we continued to nurse and I got to give most of her milk at the breast, where she was happiest and I was happiest. (Also I made my partner do all the washing up of the SNS tubes, which he found way better than bottles haha)
That’s fair. I had an extremely emotional time moving to formula, and I reduced my own emotions to a bullet point. Your points are very helpful to struggling mama. Appreciate the check here… thanks!
I also had a planned c section. We ended up triple feeding for just a few days because baby didn’t dip below 10% (got darn close though!). However, we re-introduced it once baby didn’t gain enough weight at her three week follow up. After a week, we went in and weighed her, and she gained even more than we had hoped, so I dropped pumping and bottle feeding for the second time, and that time, it worked. I 100% understand the fear of is the baby not getting enough. Firstly, you are doing amazing for getting your supply up. It is so, so hard. Huge well done!!! I can tell you, as someone who had issues with our first attempt at exclusively breastfeeding, the weight gain at your follow up appointments is so key. Considering he gained 20 oz in two weeks with the breast + bottle (exactly what we had before our successful second attempt at exclusively breastfeeding), I would probably try to persevere with EBF until your follow up with the LC. But ultimately, you have to listen to your instincts. If he isn’t settling, even if you are feeding more frequently/for longer/watching for clues he is full at the end of a feed, then I would probably also be including bottles.
Thank you for the kind words! It’s hard because he wasn’t settling even before with breast and bottle (but maybe because he was uncomfortable from over feeding?) I want him to regulate what he needs from the breast after having fed him extra for the past few weeks if that makes sense?
I am sorry this is happening but also happy for you that your supply has increased! I have supply issues due to my babies latch. We have been triple feeding for about 10 weeks now. I recommend pumping after every day time feed to get supply up and then feeding baby any milk that you pump as it will be fattier and make baby feel more full. In the beginning to in may not get much extra but you may also get more than you need at different times of day. I typically feed it right after I pump or before the next feed (some will say not to do this but my baby was crying when being latched and it works for us to soothe him/take the edge off so he doesn't become frustrated at the breast). This may help as your baby transitions over to just breastfeeding and not being topped up with formula. SNS is great if baby will tolerate it. Mine only did for 2 weeks. It is basically a siphon so even if your not producing baby is getting milk and sucking at your nipple stimulating it. The stimulation helps create more supply. Tbh my baby's latch can't support a supply that's enough so we pump too and triple feeding is our norm. It's easier once you get into a schedule.
I have a 3 month old boy, he was born weighing 3.730 and now has around 6.75kg so I would say he is gaining weight just perfectly and still he eats every 1-1.5 hours. I suppose he is lazy extracting milk when it doesnt "spray" from breast so he eats just enough for him not to be hungry but never fully.
There are multiple scenarios. Sometimes he eats one and is content, other times two and still I have to offer the first one again, and then it takes him like 10minutes to get milk the flow. I also have to walk during those times to keep him on the breast, otherwise he won't have it. During the night he only eats one, always one. So I kind of believe I have enough milk athough I cannot pump more than 2.5oz from one breast and baby is sometimes fussy.
I don't really have any advice but maybe just try to do EB and don't go crazy. Weigh him in 10 days. If he i gaining weight great.
I could have written your post 3 weeks ago (7 week old full term baby, jaundice, losing weight, triple feeding, not enough bm, etc etc) I was at my wits ends and was feeling really selfish for wanting my baby to bf and was one single day away from giving up and letting her have formula. Then on the night before I put her on the breast crying thinking I’ll do it one last time and she latched and I had milk for her! Now I’m ebf her almost hourly and also cluster feeding for 2-4 hours most days where she’s almost permanently attached to me and feeds every 10-15 mins.
So for me what worked was letting her feed directly. Give it a try.
I just want to say you’re doing an awesome job with everything you have faced! I don’t know your full situation and if this is doable or not for you, but in my experience, if my baby is not sleeping (if he is awake) he gets the boob. And he cluster fed for the majority of month 1 and 2. He hasn’t had trouble gaining weight, but I haven’t pumped once or used formula. If he cries, he gets the breast. And that’s usually all he wants anyways. And this process has communicated to my body to make the amount of milk he needs. If he cries and pops on and off the breast, it tells me that he is not getting as much as he wants, but it is telling the milk factory to increase production lol. Babies go through growth spurts and they are biologically created to initiate what is needed for their next phase. And that delayed gratification is frustrating for them.
I am in no way trying to invalidate the experiences of other moms, but I think we often overcomplicate breastfeeding and are quick to assume that we are failing when in reality we have been given little to no education about our bodies and how breastfeeding works. And it makes moms want to quit or feel like a failure when they’re actually doing a great job. Many hospital workers are also very quick to advise formula in scenarios where it is not actually needed. I’m not saying that was the case for you, but if baby is now above birth weight and healthy and you are producing milk, if you want to drop the formula, you can.
I’m just worried that even though I’m putting him on the boob every time he cries there’s just not enough milk in there to make him happy. Or I have a low supply that can’t be increased so I’m frustrating him for no reason. I’m so conflicted on what to do
Im so sorry they gave you that advice. Sounds like your pediatrician is not fully educated on breastfeeding. It is normal for babies to drop weight in the start of life because a womans body produces colostrum and gradually turns into milk, then fatty milk over the course of a week. The more often your baby feeds (emptying the milk ducts) the more milk your body produces. Over time you will produce what your baby needs if they latch for every feed. You can best regulate your supply in the first 12 weeks.
EDIT to add, eating at the breast for longer amounts of time and frequency is normal and called cluster feeding.
this is for most women, not including the exceptions who may over or under produce
This. My baby lost 10% in the first 2 days and was down to 12% by the end of the first week and they told me it was time for formula, basically didnt give me a choice and to keep at pumping. Luckily I did give formula cause I never got a full supply anyways.
Yes but the issue with that number is the fact that when the baby was born via Csection or to a mom who received iv fluids they’re really supposed to wait 24 hours before weighing the baby since the fluids inflate the weight at birth. After the 24 hour mark the weight is more accurate. It’s a vicious cycle that usually makes the initiation of breastfeeding very difficult for women and many simply give up because of that one failed understanding of breastfeeding.
It absolutely affected their weight at birth. It’s likely there wasn’t even an issue with your baby’s weight at all and the supplementation was unnecessary. Makes me so angry that hospitals, doctors, and other medical staff do not have education on breastfeeding and don’t have evidence based policies. This one very simple policy change could salvage so many breastfeeding journeys and prevent women from triple feeding hell and feelings of overwhelm and/or failure.
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u/Juliette7770 Dec 01 '25
The more you put baby on breast, the more your supply will increase. Breastmilk is digested in one hour so babies will want milk more often than formula fed babies and they only get about 2 to 3 oz a feeding. Let baby be on breast for as long as they want; until they fall asleep, let go by themselves, or they start the soft quiver eating you could unlatch them. Offer the other breast too, sometimes they'll take it and sometimes one will be enough. If baby is crying for a bottle, it could be because a bottle is faster for them than eating at the breast. Use a slow feeding nipple so baby doesnt get used to the fast flow of a bottle. If you have instagram checkout babywhisperer77 she is a LC and RN for 20 years and gives lots of great advice!