u/Careless-Scallion-90

I’m in week 4 of triple feeding, and I’m worried I can’t see the end in sight. The lactation consultant told me they only ever do it for a week or two and very rarely three, and then proceeded to tell me to go on for a 4th week when nothing had improved. I didn’t plan on pumping at all until I have to go back to work. I nursed baby on demand (which meant basically nonstop) for her first two weeks, and I trusted all the advice I had seen that just said to put baby to breast as often as possible, baby is more efficient than a pump, the cluster feeding will bring in your supply. Two weeks of that and she didn’t gain and weight :( —Apparently she wasn’t efficiently removing milk that whole time, which means my milk supply never really came in.

I try to do the whole triple feed as often as I can throughout the day, but 4 weeks in and she still takes the entire 2 ounce supplement, and lately she’s wanting more. When I pump to replace a feed I get MAX 2 ounces total, usually closer to 1-1.5 ounces (using a spectra with flanges I was measured for). She’s also only taking an ounce in a ~20 minute feed at 5 weeks old according to her weighted feeds.

I’m just feeling very hopeless. My supply has gone up a little from when I started, but I only have so long before I have to go back to work, and I would really like to spend as much time as possible exclusively nursing before then. It’s also just so hard knowing how much work I’m putting in just to have to be feeding her mostly formula.

We’re going to the pediatrician today to hopefully get a referral to get her oral function double checked by a specialist (every doctor and lactation consultant we’ve seen so far says her oral function and latch looks good, but she has friction blisters on her lips so something may be off). In the meantime I’d love to hear any stories or tips from people with similar experiences!

It feels like I did everything right. I breastfed my newborn what felt like constantly for 2 weeks. The lactation consultants at the hospital said everything looked great. She had plenty of wet and dirty diapers before leaving the hospital. We got home and she cluster fed like crazy- eating for 8-12 hours straight (obviously with sleeping mixed in, but she’d get so fussy if I removed her and resumed active eating when I relatched her. It was exhausting and kind of awful, but I trusted what I had seen online about clusterfeeding being important to establish your supply. 2 weeks later, she wasn’t having more than 1 poopy diaper a day and she hadn’t gained any weight. I met with a lactation consultant who found she was transferring 0.6 ounces at her weighted feed, so I had to start triple feeding (nurse 30 minutes, supplement with a 2 ounce bottle, and pump for 15 minutes). It’s honestly been way easier on me than her cluster feeding was. However, she’s basically eating mostly formula. After nursing her, I get 0.75 ounces if I’m lucky, and if I pump to replace a feed I only get 1.25-1.75 ounces.

I’m not totally against formula obviously, and I’m glad she’s gained her birthweight back after a week of doing this. At our second appointment, she transferred 1 ounce at the weighted feed. The lactation consultant told me it was probably my supply. It’s possible she just wasn’t transferring well during those first two weeks, and that affected my supply.

I’m just so frustrated that I did everything how it felt like I was told you’re supposed to in the first two weeks- feeding totally on demand, letting her cluster feed and comfort nurse, and never going more than 2-3 hours between feeds (she never went that long), her latch looks great and she supposedly has no oral function issues, and now here we are giving her mostly formula.

Does anyone have a similar experience? And if so, were you able to get back to EBF? Has anyone had any luck remedying a situation like this quickly with triple feeding, or is there a better solution? Thanks in advance for any advice <3