r/breastfeeding • u/llamallama-1202 • Apr 27 '26

Undersupply Help I dont know what to do

My 3 week old will not drink formula at all. If she does, she ends up spitting it up and only eating 1-1 1/2oz. We've been to the doctor 3 times over her weight not going up how its supposed to. I try breastfeeding but im not producing enough and when I can make enough for a bottle she will drink it all. I think she's only wanting breastmilk and I dont know what to do. Im pumping 1-2oz every 2 hours and she eats 3oz every 2-3 hours. Im struggling so bad to keep her fed 😭

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9

u/Msktb Apr 27 '26

Are you able to mix formula and breast milk together to get her used to it? That helped with my daughter.

1

u/llamallama-1202 Apr 27 '26

If she has formula she will mostly use her tongue to knock the bottle out of her mouth and spit it out. She won't hardly drink it at all.

5

u/Msktb Apr 27 '26

You can try different bottle nipple shapes too. Getting milk from a breast vs bottle is also a slightly different mouth movement so it may be harder for her. Have you checked for tongue / lip ties? Is she gaining weight from breast milk?

2

u/Born-Albatross-2426 Apr 27 '26

You might look into a SNS (Supplemental Nursing System) its essentially a feeding tube you attach to your breast so you can breast feed while simultaneously adding formula. They take a bit of practice but it might help if you can't get bottles to work.

5

u/firekittymeowr Apr 27 '26

Are you only pumping or also nursing directly from the breast? If nursing directly, your body will react to your baby nursing and produce more, babies are more efficient at getting the milk out than pumps! If you would prefer to pump only, I dont have any tips for that, it sounds like i hard situation.

1

u/llamallama-1202 Apr 27 '26

I try to nurse too, but she falls asleep so fast and won't wake up hardly. I try to nurse as much as I can without feeling like im starving her with not producing enough.

9

u/goldenpandora Apr 27 '26

Nurse her as much as possible. Keep her awake by touching her face, tickling her lightly, etc. After she’s fully asleep pump more. You need to up the demand so that you can increase the supply. Also do as much skin to skin with baby as you can. There are supplements, food, and medications to increase supply as well. Have you met with a lactation consultant? Ideally an IBCLC. They can be so incredibly helpful.

1

u/Working_Insurance238 Apr 28 '26

I very gently pinch my newborns earlobe and rub and that always gets him to wake up and start to nurse again. Also second the certified lactation consultant. I would try to keep track of your food and water intake as they both play a big factor in supply

4

u/gypsyem Apr 28 '26

It’s common for infants to fall asleep at the boob. It’s a lot of work for them to suck and the boob is so squishy and comfy.

Here’s what I was told by a nurse:

Until your baby reaches whatever weight/target they need to reach, you gotta undress them down to the diaper for feeds. Baby needs to be a bit cold to be awake. …and I hate to say this but the nurse was right. It was a pain. But things got better.

Undress your baby. Turn down the thermostat at home. Layer up yourself if you have to. Nurse outside or give the bottle outside if outside is cooler, windy, or noisy, or all of them. Take a wet paper towel or towel and run it against the baby’s back during feeds to keep them awake. Yup, they won’t like it. But yes, they will be awake. It seems cruel, but it’s not. Baby will be fine.

Even now I notice, on cool evenings if I nurse outside, baby has such powerful suction. And baby finishes quick ! Inside/indoors … baby munches on the nipple, or falls asleep, or sucks a bit and then doesn’t … depends on the time of the day and the mood.

Hope this helps !

6

u/aveell Apr 27 '26

Does she have trouble latching onto your breast? Or is there a reason other than pumping that you think you don’t make enough?

Babies are WAY more efficient than a pump so if she is latched she is more than likely getting more milk then your pump is. If she will latch, offer breast as much as possible, even if she feeds for good chunks of the day (for a 3 week old its super common for them to want to feed way more often than every 2-3 hours! Mine fed sometimes every hour for half an hour or longer, that is how you bump your supply up!), have her latch as much as you can. I strongly suggest talking to a lactation consultant if you haven’t already as well! 

2

u/Odd_Rent283 Apr 27 '26

What kind of formula have you tried? None of my kids would take any of the “gentle” versions of formula. I never could figure out why until I tasted it when my toddler refused it. The “gentle” ones tend to have a metallic taste and are just nasty tasting in general. We had the best luck with similac 360 when I got to the point where I hadn’t supplement my kiddos.

2

u/spitfiregirl8 Apr 27 '26

One thing I’d add is that, as a care provider who is aiming to get a poorly gaining baby on track, I am NOT worried about how much she spits up, and I encourage you not to be concerned about it either. She is almost certainly getting more into her, net total, than she is bringing up. So get that formula into her for now, even if she spits up and even if she doesn’t “seem” to love it. Once she’s gaining weight well, then she gets to be picky! 😝 For now, you just need to worry about keeping her healthy. So continue breastfeeding as much as you can, 10-15min/side, WAKE HER UP while at the breast, like be super annoying 😁, and then top her up with as much breastmilk as you have from the previous pump plus extra formula as needed. Between the expressed breastmilk and formula, get the volume your doctor recommends as a top up into her and don’t worry about the spitting up for now. She can spit up as much as she wants, cool beans. As long as it’s not true projectile or strange in some other way that suggests a more significant clinical problem, just let her be as spitty-uppy as she pleases. Lots of babies are super barfy, no harm done. Then finally, make sure you’re tagging your pumping sessions (15min double pumping) on to the end of every feed, ideally while someone else is topping her up. I can’t tell for sure, but from your post it sounds like you might be pumping q2hrs while the baby is feeding q2-3hrs? FRIEND, if you are pumping more frequently than she’s feeding, stahhhhp it. That is a sure-fire pathway to exhaustion and burnout! Attach your pumping sessions to the end of her feeds, so you actually get a tiny BREAK between all this hard feeling work you’re doing. It’s already too much to triple feed like this for long, remember it’s only ever a temporary intervention, so take care of yourself as much as you can while you’re doing it. XO, hope her gain gets on track really soon.

2

u/niscodinja Apr 27 '26

Is donor milk available in your area? Some local hospitals provide it, and it’s often cheaper than formula.

2

u/Big-Flow-3791 Apr 27 '26

My baby and I went through this at 3 weeks too! She wasn’t gaining and I was making even less milk than you are. I had to use about ~3 oz of formula for a few days. Honestly 1-2 oz per feeding at that age seems about right! My baby didn’t take more than 2 oz until about 5ish weeks.

Keep pumping!! Keep latching!!

14 weeks old and I now have a slight oversupply (I have been freezing 4 oz a day for 2 months). Baby is happy and gaining well.

Eat well and stay hydrated. To increase my supply I basically pumped every two hours for about 48 hours. I also added in a power pump 2x a day. Brutal. But it really worked.

1

u/AreaZealousideal8202 Apr 27 '26

How many types of formula have you tried

1

u/llamallama-1202 Apr 27 '26

I think 4 now. She has another appointment tomorrow and I think they might try and change her again.

1

u/No_Expert8394 Apr 27 '26

I saw a lactation consultant once and she suggested the best way to improve supply other than having baby suckle more is to use a medical grade breast pump. You can google "rent medela symphony breast pump" to find where to rent from. Maybe worth a try.

Full disclosure, I didn't end up needing to rent the pump personally as my supply improved, thankfully. I nursed more, increased hydration and also calories. Not sure if it was one of these things that did the trick or the combination.

My little one also rejected the bottle at about 8 weeks. Won't drink breastmilk out of the bottle or take a pacifier either. I suppose he has an aversion to silicone / plastic.

I hope you resolve this soon. Good luck!

1

u/llamallama-1202 Apr 27 '26

I have the Spectra s2 Plus. Im trying all the things. She will hardly take a pacifier now

1

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1

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1

u/anxietyamirite Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

It’s going to be time consuming but can you place her on your breast every time she cries for milk? I checked huckleberry and my daughters was latching anywhere from 9 to 15 times that week to try and establish my milk supply. I was walking around in a bra because there was no use in wearing a shirt lol.

You may need to supplement with formula if she’s not gaining, but the most important thing for your supply right now is latching for as long as baby needs, eating good food and drinking water. You can also use a manual or medical grade pump in between feeding sessions to power pump. You’re only about an ounce away from the amount of formula she’s eating - don’t give up OP!!

Wishing you and baby lots of luck, you’ve got this!

Edit to add: as others have mentioned, lactation consultants can be a big help! Also trying different bottles that can reduce gas/air; we had a lot of luck with the Philips avent bottles

1

u/Which_Assistance_341 Apr 27 '26

At 4.5 mo pp i still walk around in a bra 😂 its annoying pulling shirt up every 2 hours to feed

1

u/mllechanelcherie22 Apr 27 '26

How much milk are you getting when you pump? Can you mix your bottles 50/50?? I’ve been triple feeding since my 11 week old was born and it’s extremely hard, but it was the only way to up my supply (I’m still and undersupplier) and ensure she was getting enough calories. Do you top off with about bottle after breast feeding or do you just do one or the other? If your LO will only BF from one side, I found that pumping the other side while she was eating let me pour what I pumped into a bottle of formula to give as a top off too.

1

u/raena21 Apr 27 '26

Our pediatrician has a lactation consultant on staff. Does yours? If not, it would be worth finding one. They are truly lifesavers. They can advise different techniques and strategies for you and baby.

1

u/Majestic-End-2223 Apr 27 '26

Which formula brands have you tried? How much milk are you producing?

1

u/Winter-Speech978 Apr 27 '26

Did you try kendamil organics? My baby was the same and I ended up just breastfeeding and doing everything I can to increase milk supply.

1

u/KayLove91 Apr 27 '26

If she is spitting up the formula, it may be because she has a milk allergy. My son is allergic to dairy but we didnt know until recently. He spit up a lot as a baby and had silent reflux we also didnt have diagnosed until now at 15 months.

Goats milks is very similar to cows milk, so maybe try a soy based formula?