Another post by me, abit worried, is bf over for us?

Its me again , Im worried that maybe we are near the end of breastfeeding :iconsad: . DD is 20 weeks now and for the past few days my boobs have been very soft and almost floppy(is thats possible, lol) When dd is latched on, she sucks like mad but isnt getting any milk at all!! I thought maybe it was my imagination but no, when i squeeze my nipple area no milk comes out and when she feeding ive not got the let down reflex, wheres before it was really strong. She is getting angry with herself and flapping about all over the place. She is now on solids and she is eating loads as she is obviously making up for it cos she isnt getting milk.

What the hell do i do? :tear: :tear: :tear:

:please?: someone help me, i have no-one to turn to for advice and hv is crap

:aww: I'm sure someone will be along soon who can give you more advice than I can, but in the mean time I'd say to eat plenty of oats to naturally increase your milk supply. And have plenty of skin to skin with your little one. I'm sure you are producing, even if you don't feel like you are. Could you try reducing LO's solid intake? Or I'd try always offering :boob: before solids. She may just be going through a growth spurt. HTH xxxxxxxxxxx

I tried the oats and that didnt do anything just gave me a sore stomach!!! I do offer her boob before solids but its as if she knows the outcome before latching on so she isnt interested.

Hiya

Sounds like a growth spurt to me hun, mine felt as they had nothing in and hardley had anything come out (or so I thought) Oli was crying all the time etc.

The main way to solve this is to keep putting her to the breast, just like a newborn, growth spurts are liek going back to the begining, no matter what age they are.

I really struggled at that age and the other one was around 3 months I had problems with, I tried everything and I still had lots of supply issues but I turned to a herbal supplement which helped.

main option for you is lots of skin to skin, plenty of food and water for you.

THE LAST resort is the herbal supplement if you are still having problems in about a week or so.

I tried Fenugreek
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

Some women take it with milk thistle but I didn't need too.

It worked within a week for me, took 3 a day and I stank of maple syrup

One thing I will say is, by giving her more food your causing a bigger problem for yourself, I know its hard because shes diddy and your concerned about her being hungry, but you need to put her to the breast as much as possible to get your supply back up, I also recommend you pump inbetween aswell.

That will really help you, and if your still struggling get some fenugreek if you feel its nessasary, your bfing relationship is certainly not over! :bighug:

I thought the growth spurt roundabout this age was 16 weeks??? Im only asking as she was a nightmare at that one.

I read about the herbal stuff and it sounds good apart from the smell!!! lol

I took motilium ages ago and boy did that work. I might have to buy some tomorrow just to tide me over for the week.

Ive tried pumping but nothing comes out. Are you saying pumping to express or just pumping to boost supply?

Pumping to boost supply hun.

Nipple stimulation is needed to produce more milk, which is why you need to put LO on as much as you can and why you need to pump x

Yes they do happen around 16 weeks, but I know I have had them before 6 months too, she could also be teething and as you say shes not content with feeding as its quicker and easier for her to eat or have bm from a bottle, they have to work at the breast.

Your supply has gone down the more she has eaten solids, its just a case of getting her used to the boob again

I think we all go through the stage of 'floppy boob' which is quite normal as is not feeling let down so much. I used to squeeze my nips and get nothing but its worth remembering we normally squeeze wrong and dont stimulate like a baby and i know i produce plenty of milk but cant ever get any out from a pump! Dont get disheartened keep overing her boob as much as poss & slow down on solids,i know some of the girls bathe with babe to get lots of skin contact. Dont worry you will get through it:aww:

:aww: I cant add any more than the girls have, but if you keep at it, it will certainly pass :bighug:

Growth spurts occure around every 4 weeks lol so this is most likely.
And remember once your supply is established your breasts won't feel as hard and "milky" like in early days. As for "squizzing" milk out by hand, when baby is sucking certain areas of breast and nipple are being massaged and baby is sucking so ... baby is much more effective than test squizze. Also I know mums who were never aboe to pump ounce in their life and still bf their 2 year old kids.
My advice is follow baby's lead and bf as often as possible and as long as possible. Also plenty of skin to skin contact.

Well last night she fed every hour, started at 11pm and got to sleep at 5.45 am. Im so tired. What is going on with her at the min?

definately a Growth spurt!

There is a growth spurt at 20 weeks, give her milk, that is what she needs.
Solids at this age will just fill her little tummy up but won't necessarily give her the calories she requires - remember milk is the main source of nourishment until they are one.

It WILL pass though!