five days post partum and not making enough milk

Hi Everyone - sorry my first post on the first years board is going to be such a downer. I had no problem nursing my son, and things seemed like they were going great with the twins. But when we brought them to their weight check yesterday, they had lost way too much weight. Last night I realized that they were not having any wet diapers. Today I pumped and got slightly less than one ounce from both breasts combined. We are chasing the BM with formula now, but I see the writing on the wall that the BF thing is not going to work without an amount of effort I am not sure I want to make. I am very upset and DH doesn't understand at all. He keeps accusing me of being depressed. I'm just SAD! Any advice or experiences would be great. I don't want to spend my babies' first month stressing out about BF - I guess I'd rather cut my losses now if it's not going to work. Thanks and nice to meet everyone - Laura

 

:hug: I had this exact issue after a week. My babies were not gaining adequately, I was nursing constantly and exhausted. I got an oz or 2 if lucky when I tried to pump. I gave up pretty much altogether, and had a lot of guilt over it for a long time afterwards(also had PPD compounding that lovely guilt!). Anyway, my advice to you is 1. Make sure your babies are gaining/having wet/poopy diapers, whether it be with formula or bf, or a combo 2. If you really want to continue to bf, you can still do it part-time! Even a little is great! 2. Take care of YOU! If your husband thinks you might be depressed, maybe you are? I know that my family sees it before I do sometimes.

:hug:

 

:hug: I see in your siggy that you were having a c-section? I had one twin vaginally and one c-section and it did take a bit longer for my milk to come in. (Though I was still in hospital so they didn't discharge us til the babes started gaining back some of the weight lost.) Anyway they said that c-sections sometimes affect your milk supply and had me start taking a medication (domperidone) to help bring my milk supply in quicker. The very next day the twins had gained enough to go home and we were on the right track it works that quickly (24 to 48 hours). Perhaps give your family doc a call about it or if nursing is not right for you this time there is no shame in that at all.

I came home from the hospital he!! bent on switching to formula (and I have breastfed 2 other children before). It just seemed so hard and I forgot how hard it is with newborns again. It wasn't until I gave myself permission to stop breastfeeding (and made it through the 1st month and a half) that I felt like it was no harder than bottles. I prefer to nurse individually, I just never liked tandem. I also hate my EZ2 Nurse twins pillow and use my regular nursing pillow. We give them one bottle of formula at their last evening feed so hubby can help, started that at a few weeks of age and it has worked well for us. If things are super hectic like they are both screaming hysterically or things are too hectic to nurse I sometimes will do one other bottle feed that day too but they are usually 1 bottle and the rest nursing.

Good luck momma, check out our breastfeeding forum for some encouragement and tips etc. It will get easier but you need to do what's right for all of you! :hug:

 

:hug: I've been there too! I had to start supplementing my dd immediately in the hospital, she was hungry and I wasn't getting enough for her. Once my milk came in good at about day 4 I was okay for a few weeks, but then my dd started crying after feedings again, and occassionally my ds would cry as well. I fought with it for 4 weeks (nursing constantly, drinking/eating as much as I could as often as I could). At a 5 wks old I called my husband in tears and asked him if we could afford formula full time, because I couldn't take the stress of this anymore. I stopped nursing them both by 6 wks and went to formula full time.

:hug: You are definitely not alone! I found with 2 older kids that I didn't have the time to pump to increase supply (not that I think it would have helped, I was already nursing almost round the clock), nor could I remember to drink the tea or take the pills several times a day. For me, it was a matter of what would work in our situation, and formula just worked better.

I also agree with Becky's points, even if you have to supplement any bf'ing is beneficial, and the most important things right now are the babies weight gain, and taking care of you!! :hug: I also agree that maybe you have some ppd...you could call your ob and see what they suggest! :hug:

 

Laura - I too had issues with low supply, not to mention the gals had trouble latching on properly (leading to incredibly sore, bleeding nipples). I understand how you are feeling right now - I put myself through a lot of stress and agony trying to get BFing on track. I met with various lactation consultants and started taking Domperidone to increase my milk supply. I started pumping the night the girls were born (they were in the NICU for two nights) and continued to pump for about 3 months. I gave them a mixture of expressed BM and formula for those first three months until I finally gave up the pumping too. Even at its best I would only get about 3-5oz total. When I made the decision to stop trying to make BFing happen (after about 6-7 weeks of trying) it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Even though I felt an incredible pressure to continue trying to BF exclusively (from my DH and others) I knew in my heart it was the right decision for me. You will have to make the decision that is right for you. At this point I would suggest that you try and stick with it for a little while longer. You are only 5 days post-partum and your milk may not have fully come in yet. I know mine didn't until about a week after my c-section. Do what is best for you and your family, and that means a mommy who is not sad and stressed out about BFing. Best of luck and keep us posted! :good:

 

Oh... :hug: I had the same issue.

I felt so horrible about it, but breastfeeding did not work out for me. I think I was the one most excited about idea of breastfeeding but it failed me. I did BF them for the first 3 days and gave them as much colostrum as I could, but I never got milk.

I even pumped every 2-3 hours with electronic breast-pump that cost us $300 and tried to hand-express but my breasts stayed as soft as they could be and as empty. I also took breastfeeding classes while pregnant and had appointments with lactation consultants while at the hospital, but I had to stop, because at the time both babies got jaundice and HAD to drink a lot to help with it, also they were premature so I could not "play" around with timing as much since they could not afford to loose weight...in any case, I was heartbroken, but I am getting better accepting the fact that it did not happen for me. At least I treasure the memories of our special bonding time for those 3 days that I got to breastfeed...Not like you can't bond while formula feed, because you can!

If you feel that it's too much pressure, the do what you think is right for you and your babies!

 

I agree with everybody else. You have to do what works for you. I will say though that my milk didn't even come in until after 5 days postpartum after c-section, both times, and I was so very worried about it. I did continue to bf and supplement with formula (jaundice and losing weight issues). I really didn't get a better feel for bfing the boys until closer to the 9-12 week mark and then I felt my supply was pretty good. For me, I continued on and it worked out and I bf until they were 8 months old. However, I truly understand how stressful it is and how we and others can put so much pressure on the bfing thing. Make the decision that is best for you...you have your son and two newborns to take care of. Check out the breastfeeding forum if you have other questions that you'd like to ask before making your decision. Good luck and congratulations!

 

I had to supplement too. In the beginning, they were too small to really suck hard enough to produce milk. My advice is to BF (my ped recommended 20 minutes tops), then supplement with an oz or two of formula and then pump. I did this for 6 weeks, then went on a "nursing vacation" and BF'd around the clock for about 3 days. Their suck was finally strong enough, my supply was established and I never pumped again. I BF'd for 6 months and decided to wean for personal reasons. When I needed to supplement before I weaned, I just offered a bottle, but never more than once a day so it didn't affect my supply.

Good luck!!

 

Oh Mama. I feel your pain. It can be sooooo hard sometimes, and I know exactly what you mean about being sad. If you want to keep trying have you considered meeting with/ calling a lactation consultant or your local La Leche League? What has helped me is support and tons of it. I have called nursing hotlines, my LLL, my LC, and anyone I could think of bazillion of times.

There can be many things going on and a good LC can help you figure it out and help you get to the root of the problem.

Also, there is a breastfeeding forum here on Twin Stuff, and it has been a true lifesaver for me. There are some ladies on there with a TON of knowledge. I would highly recommend checking it out and cross posting your post there. Seriously, there is a wealth of information available there and so much support.
You are an awesome Mama.

 

My girls were not at their birth weight at 2 weeks and i was convinced my supply would never be enough. We did end up exclusively breastfeeding for 2 months and now they get 6 oz of formula a day and the rest breastmilk. As for the pumping, I have never been a good pumper. One time I got 4 oz, but pretty much daily I get 2-3. i have tried different pumps and it doesn't work. however, when I have been to the LC, they have been weighed before and after feedings and always gain around 5oz.

 

Another one with the same issue here! Luke had lost well over a pound in the first few days we were at home and started having very few wet diapers. The doctor recommended we start supplementing with formula immediately at that point. It did the trick & he started gaining and did just fine after that. I continued to breastfeed & supplement for 6 months before I gave it up altogether.

If you want advice on increasing your milk supply or breastfeeding twins, check out the TS Breastfeeding Forum (I see someone has already linked it for you). But if you want to go with formula, that works too. Whatever works best for you & your little ones. And if you do think you are depressed, talk to your doctor. It is so common & there are things that can help! :hug:

 

Everyone else here has echoed a lot of my thoughts so I won't repeat everything but if you really do want to try to make BF work don't give up yet. It is way too early to know that it isn't going to work and you are dealing with a rush of hormones right now! 5 days PP I don't think I could get more than a few drops to come out if I pumped so I didn't even bother. I merely put the babies to the breast whenever they seemed hungry and basically camped out on the couch. I had one who had more trouble latching so I made sure to switch sides each time so that my good nurser would stimulate the supply. You didn't mention how big your babies were at birth. If they weren't jaundiced and are feeding vigorously, then the weight loss may not be as much a big deal as your ped is making it be. Some peds are not very pro-breastfeeding and will focus too much on the numbers. I am not only a mother of twins but a ped as well and I will tell you that if your babies are still latching vigorously you are not starving or dehydrating them! If you are going to supplement, it is better to cut out a feeding and bottle feed instead of chasing the nursing session with a bottle. This is because babies learn very quickly that it is easier to get milk out of a bottle and they will get lazy if they know they will get a bottle afterward. It is the biggest killer of supply.

In a nutshell my advice is:
1. Give it at least until their 2 week check up...set short term goals
2. Pick a time of day (or night) where you need a break and have DH give bottles while you pump (or rest)
3. Nurse on demand the rest of the time. I found I could not do tandem at first...I didn't get comfortable with it until they were much bigger and had some head/body control
4. Drink plenty of water, remember to eat
5. Remember that the hormones will settle and you will think much more clearly in a week or so.

I agree with the moms who say to not feel bad if you switch to formula because you have to do what's best for you, but if you give up now you may always ask yourself if you could have made it work.