I had our 3 rd baby a week ago via elective c section. I had all intentions of breast feeding as I have done with previous children. Baby was put on breast while I was in recovery and fed straight away but my milk took an extra day to come in. Since then I have found the milk to be really watery and not very thick also don't have a lot of quantity. I have been getting rest, eating properly and drinking heaps of water and letting him feed as much as poss to help increase quantity but nothing seems to help. It's now getting to the point I seem to be kinda drying up and have to top up baby with formula so his full ( I would rather give him alittle formula than have him starve). Has anyone else had this issue with watery low quantity milk ?? It's really upsetting me as I wanted to breast feed baby the same as I have done our other children but it just really dosent seem to be working.
3 Replies
Please contact the Australian breastfeeding association and try and get along to one of their meetings and meet a councilor face to face. Could it be that your milk is settling down (not engorged or extra) rather than drying up? What you can express is in no way indicative of how much milk you actually have. As long as your son is having lots of wet nappies he should be getting enough milk without the formula. Oats boost milk supply. Good luck and please try and get in touch with the breast feeding association, you don't have to be a member to get help!
Milk comes in 2 stages, foremilk which is watery and hindmilk which is fatty. Often the hindmilk only comes after a decent period of suckling or pumping. Also in early stages of milk production remember that your baby will feed often (2 hourly) but only has a tiny tummy so will only ingest about 50ml even if suckling for an hour.
I suspect your expecting too much of yourself early on, which is completely normal :-)
Keep going don't give up, you can do this!
Your body knows what to do. Baby will be getting everything he needs, and the right amount.
I was told by my Dr that it's unlikely you aren't producing enough milk! And to check see if he is wetting at least 6 nappies a day and putting on weight.
If you top up with formula, your milk won't know it needs to increase, so it's a vicious cycle. You don't think baby is getting enough, you give formula, baby doesn't drink what it needs to from you, your body doesn't think it needs to make that amount anymore.