If you are having difficulty establishing a plentiful milk supply for your baby there is hope! I am
sharing my story in the hope that I can inspire even just one woman who wants to breastfeed but is
having supply trouble to keep trying. It is worth it in the end!
My baby son was born at home. It was a lovely birth, but unfortunately there were complications
afterwards, causing me to lose a lot of blood. I was still quite unwell after three blood transfusions.
Despite this, breastfeeding seemed to be going well at first. That was until he was week or so
old and the midwife realised he had lost too much weight and wasn’t gaining it back fast enough.
My heart sank. The thought that my milk might not be enough to nourish my baby was utterly
devastating.
The weeks that followed were really difficult, tiring and testing. I was fortunate though to have the
unfaltering support of two wonderful people – my midwife and my mother. I started by feeding my
baby every three hours on both breasts, then expressing on both breasts (to stimulate more milk for
next time), then topping him up with formula via a cup or spoon (to make sure he got enough while
avoiding the bottle at this early stage). On top of all this I was guzzling fenugreek, breastfeeding tea
and anything that I heard of that might possibly increase milk supply.
But he still wasn’t gaining enough weight. My midwife called in the expertise of a fabulous lactation
consultant Mandi Lynn, and we embarked on an adjusted regime. We would still
feed three hourly on both breasts, then express on both breasts, then top up with formula but via a
tube on the breast to continue the work of increasing the milk supply. I was also put on a high dose
of domperidone to help with milk supply.
I’m not going to lie, at this point things were extremely tough. It was exhausting and fiddly. I
seemed to be constantly feeding. By the time I had finished an hour of breastfeeding, then
expressing, then formula via the tube and cleaning all the equipment it was a short time before
three hours was up and I had to start it all again. I avoided going out because I had so much
equipment and drama to get through one of these feeds, and while I don’t at all mind feeding in
public I wasn’t so keen on the ‘pumping and tube on breast’ circus being on public display.
It was also at about this point that my cracked nipple got nasty, and the gaping wound became
infected. And shortly after that was the first of many bouts of mastitis. On top of all this I really
didn’t know if it was going to work – no one could assure me 100% that after all of this effort I would
actually be able to make enough milk to feed my baby on my own.
Despite all the difficulties and despair I was utterly determined to breastfeed. I can’t put into words
why. It was like some kind of primal instinct telling me that it is the right thing to do for me and for
my baby. So I kept on going in this way for many weeks.
And as I continued my supply slowly started to increase. I was able to reduce the volume of the
formula top-ups bit by bit. My baby’s weight was monitored every two days to ensure he was
getting enough nourishment. By the time he was two and a half months old I was able to stop
the tube feeding. He was then surviving solely on breast milk, except for one small formula bottle
before bed. Eventually I was able to drop this as well and was off the domperidone completely
by the time he reached nine months old. And now as I type, he is a healthy 14 month old toddler
running around the place, and he is still enjoying breastfeeding and all the good things that come
with it.
My best tip for anyone in a similar situation is to surround yourself with people who understand
what you want and who truly believe you can do it. There may be those who don’t think you can do
it and tell you should give up and feed your baby formula. As long as the appropriate professionals
are ensuring your baby is gaining weight and receiving the nourishment he or she needs, forget all
the crap that you’re hearing from those who don’t understand and listen to yourself and what you
truly believe is right for you and for your baby.
And once you’ve got through the hard times, sit back and relax with your baby on your breast and
enjoy... you’ll have no bottles to clean and lug around, no formula to buy and a healthy, happy
