Hi there!
I'd like to chat w/ other ladies who have milk supply issues and are supplementing w/ Medela SNS.
Here's my background. DS was born on Christmas Eve and I've pretty much had milk supply issues from the beginning. I was doing my best to exclusively breastfeed while in the hospital, but he was losing weight, so the Pediatrician recommended supplementation. DH was giving him bottles in the hospital in addition to my BF'ing (I knew nothing of SNS at that point--wish I had). The nurses just told me my milk was probably delayed. He lost 11% in the hospital and it took him almost 4 weeks to gain back. The times that I've tried to pump I have been unsuccessful.
When he was almost 4 weeks old I started going to a breastfeeding support group offered at a local hospital. Each week I am able to weigh him before and after feedings and see how much he is taking in. I think if it weren't for the support group, I may have thrown in the towel on BF'ing. On a good day, he gets maybe 1.5 oz of breastmilk from me in a feeding. On a bad day, about 24 mls. I also met w/ a lactation consultant one on one and started using SNS when he was 4 weeks old and also started taking Fenugreek.
SNS has really helped me continue BF'ing, but it is not w/out its drawbacks. I have a hard time getting him to take much out of the tube. There are many feedings where he only gets about a half ounce out of the tube and he is still hungry after feeding. Then there are good days when I can get him to take about an ounce and a half out of the tube. Any advice on consistency? I've already noticed that sometimes he pushes the tube to the side of his mouth and then the milk drips down my breast. When he does this, I relatch him.
Would love to chat w/ others using the SNS. I think we can all support each other to keep up w/ BF'ing!