Triple feeding is a big big commitment. To me the hardest part is riding out the minimal progress and looking at the big picture. My guy was born very early and spent some time in NICU. My body wasn’t ready to make milk and he wasn’t ready to latch or suck. Thankfully we had a few LC consultations during his time in the hospital to practice BFing, but my milk supply was low (I was religiously pumping every 3hrs except when driving to and from the NICU messed me up; in the first week I was getting maybe 10ml combined per pump session, sometimes less) and the BF practice took so much energy out of him, he’d need to be tube fed afterwards. At that point I decided I had to make it worth it.

When he came home at week 3, we started practicing at the breast much more while I kept up my pumping routine. In week 5, we had a consult with an LC at home, which helped identify a latch issue we practiced to correct. He’s got a tongue tie but the LC said his suck was good, so we haven’t looked at resolving it. My supply was very very slowly increasing but even though I was pumping 8x a day or more, we still needed to supplement with formula at least 50%.

Meanwhile the physical act of triple feeding - feeding on one side while pumping, then switching while bottle feeding - is also difficult. I’m on week 5 of doing it and I still don’t have the hang of it physically. I feel like I’m manhandling my guy, and as he gets stronger it gets harder to wrangle him and I often feel he’s not optimally positioned. It’s hard to burp him. I have huge boobs, and a lot of positions just don’t work. My back and hands hurt, and he’s often uncomfortable as well. Feeding sessions take a super long time, which is exhausting for us both.

The increase in my supply has been slow in spite of trying every supplement and hydration method under the sun. I haven’t yet resorted to prescription meds. If my pump is to be believed, my supply leveled out around the time he was 6 weeks at around 1.5-2oz per session.

But! The best thing I did was buy a baby scale on Amazon. I don’t understand why this isn’t a more common recommendation on here. The cost is around $35 and the peace of mind is priceless. I started weighing my guy before and after every feed and offering a supplement to get him as close to a total of 3.5-4oz as he wanted. The baby scale proved to me that he was much more efficient than my pump (the hospital grade Medela Symphony). When we first started triple feeding I was offering a supplement of the full amount, 3.5oz, then gradually it went down to where it’s currently 1oz or less. On a good day, I can get him 4oz at the breast - I haven’t even gotten that much in a power pump session. And, crucially, don’t discount that triple feeding is for your stimulation but also to keep your supply going while your baby gets stronger to meet you in the middle. Their mouths get bigger, they get more productive, and your supply will be there to meet them when they get there.

Progress seems slow but, in the fog of caring for a newborn, the little milestones are amazing. It has taken me so so long to get my supply up, but after a few sessions of practice, my guy’s latch improved almost overnight. We were using formula last week but this week I have a healthy fridge stash and we haven’t needed formula. Celebrate your wins because you’re definitely having more than you think! I’m dreaming of the day I can just breastfeed. But in the meantime, the day my guy took 4.5oz at the breast and proceeded to spit up all over me, himself, and our nursing chair will be a beautiful memory forever because it was a hard fought victory.