No idea what I'm doing

course11

It's been a mini-saga to get DS to breastfeed but we have made a lot of progress. I now put him to breast 9-12 times a day, with a nipple shield, and he seems to be doing well!

But now I feel really confused about pumping / supplementing and making sure DS is getting enough to eat.

I had been pumping 6-10 times per day when DS was not getting to breast very often - this was to get my supply established. I took Fenugreek for a while and then Reglan. 

Once he started nursing frequently a few days ago (i.e. the 9-12x per day noted above), I dropped the pumping sessions. Was that okay to do?  I don't pump overnight; he is up usually twice per night so I breastfeed him then.

Second question: I want to reduce and hopefully eliminate formula altogether, but that's not going well so far. I have read that every time we feed DS formula, it affects my supply negatively. Is this true even if I'm nursing him 9-12 times in 24 hours? Do I need to pump once for each time he takes formula? Do I have to match the volume of formula he takes? (This would be VERY hard for me to do, as I only have one working breast and I only get 1-2.5 oz per pumping session.)

Third question: today has been a nutty day. DS has nursed 9 times today but immediately after nursing he's still acted hungry and my husband has wound up giving him 4-6 oz of formula afterwards! What on earth is going on that he would still suck down so much formula when he's been at the breast so much today?

Basically this whole feeding my son thing feels very chaotic, I don't know what I'm doing, I have no idea if my supply is good or horrible, and I don't know what I am supposed to be doing at this point re: nursing vs pumping vs supplementing.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!