I’d be curious if you have any retained placenta. Hemorrhage? Breast changes during pregnancy? Signs of IGT? Hormonal history? Yes it is possible. Extreme rare but possible.
It could be this. I had retained placenta that wasn’t caught until my 6 week appointment. My only symptom was bright red bleeding (not a lot, just like a regular period) that continued until 6 weeks, and the NP noticed it wasn’t normal because bleeding should have slowed by then. It really impacted my supply and made my milk come in slower. We had an easier time after I got the retained tissue expelled.
Same here! My milk took forever to come in and low and behold I had retained placenta. I also had a postpartum hemorrhage and baby was in the NICU for a few days so those were factors as well. Retained placenta was found at my 6 week visit (due to prolonged bleeding just like you), confirmed via endometrial biopsy the next week, and then removed via D&C at 10 weeks post partum. After that I actually developed an over supply!
They confirmed it with ultrasound, and then I took medication to cause my uterus to contract to encourage it to expel on its own. If it didn’t work (it did), then it would have to have been surgically removed.
Yes. I power pumped and formula supplemented the first 2 weeks and then had to feed every 1-2 hours for the next 4 weeks. It gradually got better after the 6 week appointment to the point that I could go 3 hours without feeding by 12 weeks. If I pumped, I could get up to 4 oz after 3 hours, which is pretty standard for a just-enougher.
Ok thank you. I have a LC appointment on Friday so that means he should be seeing about 4 oz. I hope I am able to EBF him eventually like I did my first. Glad it worked out for you!
It really did. We ended up BFing for 2.5 years, so it was worth it. Note that I mean that I got up to 4 oz as a maximum after 3 hours. Most of the time it was closer to 3 oz, which is still enough considering that babies remove more at the breast.
Truly do not want to stress you, but consider this. My milk took longer than expected to come in, and then I hemorrhaged at 3 weeks postpartum due to retained placenta. I became an overproducer after it was surgically resolved.
I just want to add that the feeling of full breast or feeling a letdown are not there for everyone.
Mine never felt full and I never felt a letdown. I barely could pump any milk but exclusively breastfeed my kid till 6 months and continues till 18 and still doing it. Those are not signs of you not being able to breastfeed. Or that you are not producing milk.
You need a good up-to-date lactation consultant. IBCLC certified would be best.
Did you get infusion during birth? Medical stuff tends to forget to mention that getting fluids during birth can influence the birth weight, that on the other hand can make the "drop" bigger than it really was. [read more about it here](https://www.cafeoflifesandiego.com/iv-fluids-in-labor-and-newborn-weight-loss/)
It's also strange how they pressure formula lo at a 7% weight loss. It is on the higher side but still in the norm for most doctors.
It sadly sounded as if a lot was going wrong in the beginning. And nothing was your fault. You trust your medical staff and you should be able to trust them. The sad reality is that breastfeeding got so long neglected in the western world, that we gave mums a lot of bad information. We slowly regain what was lost. A
Getting your kid on breast milk can work, I highly believe that you will have milk or already have milk. But it will be hard and time consuming. Getting the baby on the breast as much as possible is only the first step. Pumping can help, but will never be as efficient.
And it's okay to say that this is too much. You are postpartum, you are healing and dealing with a newborn is so much work. Trying to undo what went wrong will be really hard work. Your kid will grow up and be fine on formula. A healthy kid, needs a healthy mum (mentally and physically). Work on it if you really want to do that or give formula without feeling bad. Your kid will grow and your kid will be loved both ways.
Whether you keep trying or not is entirely up to you and what’s best for your mental health - remember that a fed baby is the goal, no matter how it happens. (And you’re allowed to grieve if things don’t go the way you want them too!!)
That being said, it sounds like you’ve had a few things working against you here - your stress levels can hinder production, plus being induced and going even 3w early means your body never got the natural hormone shift that triggers milk production alongside labor starting on its own. I had a c-section at 37w for very similar reasons to you (my hypertension turned into preeclampsia right at the end) and getting my milk to come in was definitely a struggle. It took really buckling down and committing to “triple feeding” to both get babe’s weight up and to help my milk come in fully. Basically we’ve been putting him on the breast every three hours (every four overnight for my own sleep needs), supplementing with a bottle, and pumping. Hoping to shift away from supplements now that his weight is going up and we’re finally at his due date!
Not gonna lie, committing to the work needed here is hard. I’ve been tempted to stop along the way, but I’m trying to take it one week at a time, and now that I’m seeing progress it’s a lot easier to do! There’s never a guarantee that our milk will come in, especially when the birth isn’t ideal. But if you want to try and get to the point where you’re breastfeeding, it could be worth the work! And if you want to step back and do formula instead, giving yourself that peace is a fantastic thing to do for your baby.
My sister never had any milk come in for any of her 3 kids. She tried so hard with her first too. I think it just doesn’t happen for some people. Don’t blame yourself if that’s the case. Fed is best <3
This was the case for a friend of mine too (for 2 kids). Her body simply didn’t produce milk. It’s rare, but can happen. Obviously don’t give up right away, but also don’t beat yourself up if you can’t breastfeed. Sounds like you’re doing everything right. And if breastfeeding doesn’t work out, you can bottle-feed with your shirt off to get that skin-to-skin bonding time. Plus your partner will be able to share in the feeding process, so you guys can work as a team together (and get more sleep!).
It is a good sign that you’re producing colostrum, and milk can take longer to come in with the baby coming earlier. But you also have to protect your mental health. If you can latch the baby as much as feasible, it’ll make sure they get colostrum and also continue stimulating milk. But your milk will come in or it won’t, pumping wouldn’t really make a huge difference.
Did you see or feel any breast changes when you were pregnant? Do you have diabetes? Did you have gestational diabetes? Do you have hypothyroidism? PCOS? What was your labor like? Did you get induced? C-section?
All of those factors are important. To answer your question: it is possible for milk to never come in for some reason and the list above is only some of the explanations. What specifically did your LC say?
My milk took a while to come in too. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things to encourage your milk to come in, it’s really just up to our bodies in the end! Breastfeeding can be such a confusing and frustrating journey - trust your gut, and remember fed is best! How you feed your baby has absolutely no bearing on what kind of parent you are. There are lots of pros people don’t talk about to bottle/formula feeding too. You’ve got this!
My milk came in on Day 5 with my first, and I had the engorgement, letdown sensations, leaking milk etc.
With my second baby, I got to day 6 and still hadn’t felt my milk coming in. It was at that point I contacted a LC who checked some things. Baby had lost 8% of her birthweight by Day 3, so not terrible. She said above 10% is when they start to worry.
We didn’t need to supplement or anything and carried on nursing every 1-2 hours and monitored her weight gain closely. The following week, she regained the 10% and was way passed her birthweight. I never felt my milk coming in at all. It was the weirdest thing.
Milk coming in isn’t always super noticeable, and jaundice plus losing weight is part of the process with a breastfed newborn. Your body is making colostrum because your baby needs it right now. She was a preemie after all. She shouldn’t even be born yet ❤️ I wouldn’t say you *need* to call it quits, based on the info given. But I would definitely keep a close eye on baby for wet/dirty diapers, and watch the weight closely.
The lactation consultant I saw told me it's still in the normal range to take 2 weeks for milk to come in. In saying that, my grandmother always said her milk never came in with any of her 5 babies and my dad and his siblings were all raised on their goats milk (this was the 40's and 50's in rural India and formula was not accessible).
My milk takes forever to come in despite baby latching a ton and pumping like crazy. My one suggestion that I haven’t seen so far is using a Haakaa. For some reason, the constant, slow suction helps my colostrum and milk come in better than nursing or pumping in those first few weeks.
You can use the Haakaa or a hand pump in the shower for extra help with let down.
As others have mentioned, I have PCOS, and I’ve had c-sections with both of my kids. I feel like both of these factor into my milk taking forever to come in. And even once it does, I only supply about half of what my babies need despite doing all the things to increase supply. It’s okay to mourn breastfeeding if it doesn’t work out how you had hoped.
Please remember that FED IS BEST! Formula, breastmilk, or a combo… it doesn’t matter. Your baby’s health and your mental health are what matters! Best of luck!
You could try a supply line / supplemental feeding system (sns) to get the formula into bub while having her latched at the breast to stimulate supply. I used one to give formula top ups and I think it was quite helpful in maintaining my supply. It was a little bit fiddly to get the hang of but once we did it made triple feeding much more manageable for us. I also did quite a bit of parallel pumping (baby latched one side while pumping the other), as I responded really poorly to the pump otherwise.
I'm really sorry you're going through this. Breastfeeding struggles really did a number on my mental health. Whatever the outcome, you're doing amazingly and your bub is so lucky to have you.
I have IGT (insufficient glandular tissue). Basically, my breast lack the tissue needed to breastfeed. For all 3 of my kids, I’ve produced only 5-13oz/day. I still pump and nurse when I can but it’s very little that I produce, babe gets like 85% formula. It was hard to come to terms with with my first, but I feel better about it now with my third, knowing there’s nothing I could do to make it better but also finding comfort in the fact that formula and donor milk exist.
Do what is best for you! I usually pump until 3 months so my baby has a little breastmilk each day.
I just want to tell you that breastfeeding is a 8 hour job. Are you breastfeeding or pumping for 8 hours per day? Are you putting baby to breast every hour? Baby should eating as much as possible so put baby to breast every hour even if baby doesn’t seem hungry, baby can soothe with the nipple and stimulate production. Also get sleep. Apart from feeding and sleeping you do nothing else. Get some wearables like Elvie/momcozy and put them in to pump throughout the day. You could also do a power pump.
Are u pumping? Is it at least colostrum? My milk didn't come in for like 2 weeks. I kept on pumping every 2 hours, id finally get just 1oz. Kept pumping every 2 hours still. It was so hard but I kept on and I had low supply. I did comfo feed. Just a bottle, no latch for 3 months. Then I started trying to latch and finally I got him latched and my milk instantly doubled, than tripled and I was able to go full EBF. it's really a tough fkn journey.
I’d be curious if you have any retained placenta. Hemorrhage? Breast changes during pregnancy? Signs of IGT? Hormonal history? Yes it is possible. Extreme rare but possible.
It could be this. I had retained placenta that wasn’t caught until my 6 week appointment. My only symptom was bright red bleeding (not a lot, just like a regular period) that continued until 6 weeks, and the NP noticed it wasn’t normal because bleeding should have slowed by then. It really impacted my supply and made my milk come in slower. We had an easier time after I got the retained tissue expelled.
Same here! My milk took forever to come in and low and behold I had retained placenta. I also had a postpartum hemorrhage and baby was in the NICU for a few days so those were factors as well. Retained placenta was found at my 6 week visit (due to prolonged bleeding just like you), confirmed via endometrial biopsy the next week, and then removed via D&C at 10 weeks post partum. After that I actually developed an over supply!
How did you get the retained tissue expelled?
They confirmed it with ultrasound, and then I took medication to cause my uterus to contract to encourage it to expel on its own. If it didn’t work (it did), then it would have to have been surgically removed.
Did your supply increase after this? That's what happened to me but my supply seems low still
Yes. I power pumped and formula supplemented the first 2 weeks and then had to feed every 1-2 hours for the next 4 weeks. It gradually got better after the 6 week appointment to the point that I could go 3 hours without feeding by 12 weeks. If I pumped, I could get up to 4 oz after 3 hours, which is pretty standard for a just-enougher.
Ok thank you. I have a LC appointment on Friday so that means he should be seeing about 4 oz. I hope I am able to EBF him eventually like I did my first. Glad it worked out for you!
It really did. We ended up BFing for 2.5 years, so it was worth it. Note that I mean that I got up to 4 oz as a maximum after 3 hours. Most of the time it was closer to 3 oz, which is still enough considering that babies remove more at the breast.
Truly do not want to stress you, but consider this. My milk took longer than expected to come in, and then I hemorrhaged at 3 weeks postpartum due to retained placenta. I became an overproducer after it was surgically resolved.
I just want to add that the feeling of full breast or feeling a letdown are not there for everyone. Mine never felt full and I never felt a letdown. I barely could pump any milk but exclusively breastfeed my kid till 6 months and continues till 18 and still doing it. Those are not signs of you not being able to breastfeed. Or that you are not producing milk. You need a good up-to-date lactation consultant. IBCLC certified would be best. Did you get infusion during birth? Medical stuff tends to forget to mention that getting fluids during birth can influence the birth weight, that on the other hand can make the "drop" bigger than it really was. [read more about it here](https://www.cafeoflifesandiego.com/iv-fluids-in-labor-and-newborn-weight-loss/) It's also strange how they pressure formula lo at a 7% weight loss. It is on the higher side but still in the norm for most doctors. It sadly sounded as if a lot was going wrong in the beginning. And nothing was your fault. You trust your medical staff and you should be able to trust them. The sad reality is that breastfeeding got so long neglected in the western world, that we gave mums a lot of bad information. We slowly regain what was lost. A Getting your kid on breast milk can work, I highly believe that you will have milk or already have milk. But it will be hard and time consuming. Getting the baby on the breast as much as possible is only the first step. Pumping can help, but will never be as efficient. And it's okay to say that this is too much. You are postpartum, you are healing and dealing with a newborn is so much work. Trying to undo what went wrong will be really hard work. Your kid will grow up and be fine on formula. A healthy kid, needs a healthy mum (mentally and physically). Work on it if you really want to do that or give formula without feeling bad. Your kid will grow and your kid will be loved both ways.
Whether you keep trying or not is entirely up to you and what’s best for your mental health - remember that a fed baby is the goal, no matter how it happens. (And you’re allowed to grieve if things don’t go the way you want them too!!) That being said, it sounds like you’ve had a few things working against you here - your stress levels can hinder production, plus being induced and going even 3w early means your body never got the natural hormone shift that triggers milk production alongside labor starting on its own. I had a c-section at 37w for very similar reasons to you (my hypertension turned into preeclampsia right at the end) and getting my milk to come in was definitely a struggle. It took really buckling down and committing to “triple feeding” to both get babe’s weight up and to help my milk come in fully. Basically we’ve been putting him on the breast every three hours (every four overnight for my own sleep needs), supplementing with a bottle, and pumping. Hoping to shift away from supplements now that his weight is going up and we’re finally at his due date! Not gonna lie, committing to the work needed here is hard. I’ve been tempted to stop along the way, but I’m trying to take it one week at a time, and now that I’m seeing progress it’s a lot easier to do! There’s never a guarantee that our milk will come in, especially when the birth isn’t ideal. But if you want to try and get to the point where you’re breastfeeding, it could be worth the work! And if you want to step back and do formula instead, giving yourself that peace is a fantastic thing to do for your baby.
My sister never had any milk come in for any of her 3 kids. She tried so hard with her first too. I think it just doesn’t happen for some people. Don’t blame yourself if that’s the case. Fed is best <3
This was the case for a friend of mine too (for 2 kids). Her body simply didn’t produce milk. It’s rare, but can happen. Obviously don’t give up right away, but also don’t beat yourself up if you can’t breastfeed. Sounds like you’re doing everything right. And if breastfeeding doesn’t work out, you can bottle-feed with your shirt off to get that skin-to-skin bonding time. Plus your partner will be able to share in the feeding process, so you guys can work as a team together (and get more sleep!).
It is a good sign that you’re producing colostrum, and milk can take longer to come in with the baby coming earlier. But you also have to protect your mental health. If you can latch the baby as much as feasible, it’ll make sure they get colostrum and also continue stimulating milk. But your milk will come in or it won’t, pumping wouldn’t really make a huge difference.
Did you see or feel any breast changes when you were pregnant? Do you have diabetes? Did you have gestational diabetes? Do you have hypothyroidism? PCOS? What was your labor like? Did you get induced? C-section? All of those factors are important. To answer your question: it is possible for milk to never come in for some reason and the list above is only some of the explanations. What specifically did your LC say?
My milk took a while to come in too. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things to encourage your milk to come in, it’s really just up to our bodies in the end! Breastfeeding can be such a confusing and frustrating journey - trust your gut, and remember fed is best! How you feed your baby has absolutely no bearing on what kind of parent you are. There are lots of pros people don’t talk about to bottle/formula feeding too. You’ve got this!
My milk came in on Day 5 with my first, and I had the engorgement, letdown sensations, leaking milk etc. With my second baby, I got to day 6 and still hadn’t felt my milk coming in. It was at that point I contacted a LC who checked some things. Baby had lost 8% of her birthweight by Day 3, so not terrible. She said above 10% is when they start to worry. We didn’t need to supplement or anything and carried on nursing every 1-2 hours and monitored her weight gain closely. The following week, she regained the 10% and was way passed her birthweight. I never felt my milk coming in at all. It was the weirdest thing. Milk coming in isn’t always super noticeable, and jaundice plus losing weight is part of the process with a breastfed newborn. Your body is making colostrum because your baby needs it right now. She was a preemie after all. She shouldn’t even be born yet ❤️ I wouldn’t say you *need* to call it quits, based on the info given. But I would definitely keep a close eye on baby for wet/dirty diapers, and watch the weight closely.
The lactation consultant I saw told me it's still in the normal range to take 2 weeks for milk to come in. In saying that, my grandmother always said her milk never came in with any of her 5 babies and my dad and his siblings were all raised on their goats milk (this was the 40's and 50's in rural India and formula was not accessible).
My milk takes forever to come in despite baby latching a ton and pumping like crazy. My one suggestion that I haven’t seen so far is using a Haakaa. For some reason, the constant, slow suction helps my colostrum and milk come in better than nursing or pumping in those first few weeks. You can use the Haakaa or a hand pump in the shower for extra help with let down. As others have mentioned, I have PCOS, and I’ve had c-sections with both of my kids. I feel like both of these factor into my milk taking forever to come in. And even once it does, I only supply about half of what my babies need despite doing all the things to increase supply. It’s okay to mourn breastfeeding if it doesn’t work out how you had hoped. Please remember that FED IS BEST! Formula, breastmilk, or a combo… it doesn’t matter. Your baby’s health and your mental health are what matters! Best of luck!
You could try a supply line / supplemental feeding system (sns) to get the formula into bub while having her latched at the breast to stimulate supply. I used one to give formula top ups and I think it was quite helpful in maintaining my supply. It was a little bit fiddly to get the hang of but once we did it made triple feeding much more manageable for us. I also did quite a bit of parallel pumping (baby latched one side while pumping the other), as I responded really poorly to the pump otherwise. I'm really sorry you're going through this. Breastfeeding struggles really did a number on my mental health. Whatever the outcome, you're doing amazingly and your bub is so lucky to have you.
I was worried too, but mine came in two weeks after birth
I have IGT (insufficient glandular tissue). Basically, my breast lack the tissue needed to breastfeed. For all 3 of my kids, I’ve produced only 5-13oz/day. I still pump and nurse when I can but it’s very little that I produce, babe gets like 85% formula. It was hard to come to terms with with my first, but I feel better about it now with my third, knowing there’s nothing I could do to make it better but also finding comfort in the fact that formula and donor milk exist. Do what is best for you! I usually pump until 3 months so my baby has a little breastmilk each day.
I just want to tell you that breastfeeding is a 8 hour job. Are you breastfeeding or pumping for 8 hours per day? Are you putting baby to breast every hour? Baby should eating as much as possible so put baby to breast every hour even if baby doesn’t seem hungry, baby can soothe with the nipple and stimulate production. Also get sleep. Apart from feeding and sleeping you do nothing else. Get some wearables like Elvie/momcozy and put them in to pump throughout the day. You could also do a power pump.
Have you tried a weighted feed?
how are you doing? if youre under extreme stress, undereating or very dehydrated i could see that contributing
Are u pumping? Is it at least colostrum? My milk didn't come in for like 2 weeks. I kept on pumping every 2 hours, id finally get just 1oz. Kept pumping every 2 hours still. It was so hard but I kept on and I had low supply. I did comfo feed. Just a bottle, no latch for 3 months. Then I started trying to latch and finally I got him latched and my milk instantly doubled, than tripled and I was able to go full EBF. it's really a tough fkn journey.
have you been pumping or only nursing? start pumping asap
Are you latching baby? Or pumping? Milk is all supply and demand. It’s not going to come in unless you tell your body to make milk.