Is my baby getting enough milk?

[katshavens]

FTM here. I gave birth to my LO about two weeks ago. Right now I'm breastfeeding first, after that I give him formula. Since the first week I had a feeling I have not enough milk. After every feeding he was crying and biting his fist. While I was in the hospital, he was crying as well, but would always be quiet and fall asleep if the nurses gave him formula. At home I began giving him formula because my nipples were wrecked and I couldn't feed him every half hour. I would give him half an hour on each breast, then 60 mL (2 floz) formula. If he was crying after that, I would give him another 30 mL (1 floz). I tried not going over the 90 mL because that is the recommended amount. Right now two breasts and 90 mL might not be enough every time bc he sometimes still cries after that.
I would like to BF exclusively, but right now I'm not sure if I have enough for him.
Did anyone have the same problem as me? What did you do?
P. S. Sorry for errors, English isn't my first language.

 

[eastmesa10189]

@katshavens Sometimes babies cry and bite their fists because they have uncomfortable gas, are you trying to burp him? I know my second (who's 3wks) does that and once she burps or farts she's instantly better.

Some people do have low supply, not sure if that's definitely you, but you're unfortunately probably worsening your supply by always following with a formula bottle. Breastfeeding is supply and demand, so if he is getting 2-3oz of formula after every feed then your breasts don't realize he needs that food and aren't making enough supply for him. BUT 30 mins per side and he's still hungry after does seem like something is up, could be low supply or could be a lip or tongue tie. Can you contact a lactation consultant to work with you? Might be more going on here than reddit can help.

Can you pump? Worth pumping to see what you can get and maybe you'll be able to replace the formula bottles with breastmilk to keep your supply up while he's getting more efficient. But I get if you just can't physically manage that right now, it sounds like a lot!

 

[katshavens]

@eastmesa10189 Yes, I do burp him.

I know I'm worsening my supply I just can't hear him cry and leave him on the breast for over an hour, since my nipples hurt. There's no visible damage, the cracks healed, but it's still hurting the same. They hurt for the first few seconds and later if I've gone over 35 minutes.
I will definitely try contacting one, I just wanted to hear if someone had the same issue.

Right now I don't have a pump, but since the cracks in my nipples healed I am searching for one. Any suggestions?

 

[mikeliznsam]

@katshavens Pumps are free with insurance ! I used 1naturalway.com to order a breast pump

 

[drkill]

@katshavens You need to see a lactation counselor, Google it or call your hospital they might have some IBCLCs that can help