Lots of questions...

pumpkinhead4

Thanks in advance if you read all of these and answer any, here goes, I am trying to stay EBF but am hitting some obstacles. First, little one isn't "gaining fast enough" according to the docs so they want me to pump the breast she doesn't finish and feed it to her in a bottle. LO tends to fall asleep a lot and also has to be woken up to feed most of the day/night. She is going on 3 weeks old. Ok questions:

1. How would I know if the breast shields are the right size for me? I used 24MM for a while but it really hurt so now i am using 30...still not sure if it's right. It seems to pull in a lot of my nipple/aereola but also still seems restricted in the pumping. Shouldn't I have multiple streams of milk? I usually have one and then something that is dripping big drops on the bottom.

2. Is it possible one breast produces way more than another. LO seems to nurse for 8-10 min on side and be done, the other side could do 20-25.

3. Could one breast be enough for a feeding? She falls asleep so much I am beginning to think she is full somewhat early on--?

4. How can I keep her awake?! I try stripping her down, tickling her feet, blowing on her face. It's a struggle almost every feeding.

5. Is starting to workout in the future going to tank my supply?

6. Any other advice you think I could use...I want to stay breastfeeding but tell me it gets better! please---or at least more efficient? It's an hour long process lately!