baby is a week old and still no milk

[lilyfish]

The nurse who was with me in the labor & delivery room while I was laboring told me that it took her milk 10 DAYS to come in with het DD2. She continued to nurse her and then give formula until her milk finally came in.

You do not necessarily have to buy an SNS -- from what I hear, you can make them. Pumping does not necessarily work for all mamas.

Just stay strong, honey. *hugs* Try to get an SNS and use that.

[jtsanti]

Remember your baby's tummy is very small. I bet that they are getting more milk than you think. Like others said, pumping is not an indicator of supply. I would watch the wet diapers and your baby's weight. Try to rest, get plenty to eat and nurse frequently, like every hour, when your baby is awake.
Don't give up!

[peacefulj]

I had major problems with not enough milk for my first....and also, my milk not being nourishing enough for him. We literally nursed every hour around the clock! I'm sure you've heard this before, but having baby sleep with you and near you at all times helps milk production. Two other things that have helped me....chocolate and coconut oil. The chocolate sounds weird, but I found some good quality dark chocoate and had some every few hours for ten days per instructions of an experience health doctor. My baby started going longer! My baby did react to the chocolate and fuss, but it was worth it. My second baby has not reacted to chocolate. With my second I started on coconut oil right away and it made a huge difference for me. And enough fluids and rest (the latter being the most difficult). These three things have made a huge difference for me this time around.

[ariannes_mummy]

I think its totally normal for some womens milk to not come in for a while. For at least the first week and a half after my DD was born I would get barely anything when I pumped, and she was rarely nursing as we had major latch problems. So she was getting some formula the first 2 weeks. I didnt know hardly anything about BFing and didnt know that the baby needed to nurse to establish my supply- but you know, that didnt even affect us- after about 1.5 weeks it just came in, and now I produce enough to feed an army!! DD has been exclusively BF since that 2nd week and things are wonderful.
Its very unlikely that your body wont produce enough milk, just keep at it and nurse as much as possible. Pumping is no where near as effective as nursing- if you are going to need to pump you may want to get a hospital grade one which are more effective. Good luck!

[kymdenise]

Did you have an epidural? I have with all three of mine, and they say that contributes to the milk coming in late.. Any anesthesia will.. But it still came, and not always with a vengance. Just watch those diapers and baby weight. I know lots of mama's who just can't pump... And DRINK DRINK DRINK!!! We're all rooting for you!

[Thrice Blessed]

Originally Posted by BeckyP My baby was born last Monday and I still don't have hardly any milk. When I pump I only get about 5 cc's and that is from both breasts after pumping for about 15 mins. I talked with the LL and she said I could start taking Fenugreek to try and increase my supply but she doesn't believe it will work for me. I guess my body just doesn't produce milk. Anybody have this issue and by some stroke of a miracle still BF their baby.

As other people have said, go by baby's dipes and weight gain. Pump after you feed-think stimulation, not how much you see in the bottle. 15 min is a great amount to increase supply.

And like raven said-get an LC stat! Get rid of that LL person you talked to . Rest and get lots of fluids-you really don't need an excess of fats in your diet-I did that w/ my first. Made no difference in my milk but it did make a difference to my poor body!!!

[BeckyP]

Originally Posted by Thrice Blessed As other people have said, go by baby's dipes and weight gain. Pump after you feed-think stimulation, not how much you see in the bottle. 15 min is a great amount to increase supply. And like raven said-get an LC stat! Get rid of that LL person you talked to . Rest and get lots of fluids-you really don't need an excess of fats in your diet-I did that w/ my first. Made no difference in my milk but it did make a difference to my poor body!!!

Sorry I meant to say that The LC told me that not LL. It just really made me said that a "breastfeeding Nazi" (sorry for the term but you get the idea) told me she doesn't believe I can nurse my baby. We had a very rough birth and recovery. DD had low blood oxygen levels so she was taken right to the NICU and I didn't get to see her/bond with her until the next day. Then she turned Jaundice and had to stay under the lights. Then for me I had a wet tap that ended up causing the worst headaches so I ended up getting the blood patch. It was so bad that every time I would sit up I would vomit. I had DD to the breast and would have the bucket sitting close and may times I would have to unlatch her so I could get sick. They gave me the SNS in the hospital because she had to have formula and they knew I didn't want her to have a bottle. One feeding was even done by the LC who used a syringe because I was so sick I couldn't feed her. I rented a hospital grade pump because of all the time I have spent away from DD. I keep her at the breast for as long as possible but she gets very frustrated when nothing comes out. I pump after keeping her at the breast for as long as possible. I have even been letting her use me as a pasi. We don't use the SNS very much anymore because I have to use it with a nipple shield and DD doesn't like it. When I tired to use it without the nipple shield she didn't like that either because she could feel the little straw in her mouth. I have the pump rented for 2 months so I am just going to see how things go in that time. Thanks everybody.

[Rach988]

drink lots of water, relax. Already a lot of good advice here
I have also heard of drinking a beer every day. One of my friends did that and her supply got a lot stronger. She fought it out. They were telling her the baby was too skinny, failure to thrive, but she kept nursing, and soon her baby was on the charts and climbing.
I don't know if it has to be a certain kind... hmm...? maybe someone else will know.

[tmfletch]

Don't give up!! I was having the same problem. I wasn't producing much at all, my breasts were hard as a rock but barely any milk would come out. My poor DD would get upset and frustrated after breastfeeding. So what I did for a few days was breastfeed DD and if she still acted hungry I gave her a little bit of formula. I would then pump-pump-pump. Suddenly one day it was as if a geyser turned on. I was so frustrated that I almost gave up. This happened for well over a week. It got better approaching 2 weeks. Just don't give up!

[AddysMama]

you might want to try the Lact-Aid instead of the SNS, the tubes are different.
also. DITCH THE SHIELD. you must must must. if your babes mouth isnt ON your nipple your body isnt getting the signal to your brain to produce milk.
keep nursing. all the time. no shield. use the SNS or Lact-Aid for supplimentation. find an IBCLC(international board ceritfied lactation consultant, NOT a hospital LC) to support you.
start drinking tons of water. eating oatmeal or cheerios for breakfast, take herbs. my fave capsule is from Vitanica its the lactation blend. and it works FABULOUSLY. i take two when i wake up. one mid day and two at bedtime. my supply has almost doubled (i am a bfar mama)
DONT GIVE UP!!!!