Baby woke up as I finished pumping

[@llli*angeloftroy]

My 7 week old has had a lot of problems transferring milk and gaining weight, so I'm on domperidone to up my supply and I'm pumping to up my supply and also top him up as well as breastfeeding. He feeds best when my breasts are full, he needs a fast let down or he gets tired and just 'flutters' at the breast. But obviously I can't let my breasts get really full regularly or my body will get the message to reduce supply.

So, my breasts were mega full this morning and he was still fast asleep, so I pumped 3oz... when my baby woke up hungry! Now he's feeding but not swallowing much and I'm worried he isn't getting enough.

Should I give him the expressed milk? Or save it for his top up later as normal?

Help!

[@llli*mommal]

It's been a while since you posted so you probably already chose one of your options... Sorry we couldn't help in a more timely manner!

If this happens again, I think you decide what to do by observing the baby. If you nurse him and he still seems really hungry afterwards, a top up may be required. If he seems mostly satisfied, just let it ride. A lot of moms find that they have the most milk in the wee hours of the night and early in the morning, so often a mom who must supplement in the afternoon and evening is able to simply nurse in the night and morning. Another thing you could try is simply waking the baby and nursing him instead of pumping. Cutting his sleep short isn't a big deal, compared to him getting a great nursing session! And many babies will go right back to sleep after a late-night or early-morning "dream feed".

[@llli*filmmommy]

This happened to me a lot during the most stressful times of trying to up my supply by pumping. The baby would be sound asleep, so I'd decide to go pump, and then when I'd finished she'd wake up and seem mad that I didn't have enough milk. After a while, I tried to make sure that if I pumped and baby was asleep, I only did a short time, like 5-7 minutes, so hopefully there would still be enough milk when they'd wake up. I don't know if that's the "right" thing to do, but it made me feel better!

[@llli*lllmeg]

I agree with mommal. I cannot recall your history but in general, I see no reason to not nurse your child as much as you possibly can, supplement as needed and work pumping, if it is needed, in around that. Breasts are never empty, putting your child to the breast may well trigger another letdown. Your feeling megafull does not suggest poor milk production to me, so if you had poor production, something you are doing must be working. Has someone told you to limit time at the breast?

[@llli*angeloftroy]

Thanks, I let him nurse for a long time but he got frustrated and was pawing angrily at my breast so I gave him a small 1.5oz top up. I can see reading your posts that I should have just woken him!! I don't know why that didn't occur to me!

Nobody has told me to limit time at the breast, but I guess I get stressed, because although my son is more than happy to stay there all day, his milk transfer is really poor so he doesn't empty my breast. I usually try to pump after a feed, but he often feeds for long periods of time but only actively transfers milk on and off during that time, so it's hard to tell when a 'feed' finishes.

[@llli*vwood7783]

I know my daughter did that a few times, but as long as they are content to keep nursing with minimal flow, they will eventually get another let down reflex. I read at kellymom.com that your baby gets a let down sometimes in the area of 4 times per feed. Its just not as noticeable as it is at first. But, if he is patient enough he will get the higher fat hindmilk and that should help keep him fuller.