My milk supply has unexpectedly gotten low..!

[Karen99]

The family and I have just gotten back from a wonderful week at Centerparcs (Longleat) - I highly recommend it, so geared up for families and was the first place I didn't feel shy about feeding in public. This leads me onto my problem....

DS is 3.5months and usually feeds for 10mins each side every 3-3.5hrs. Whilst we were away, during the day, he only managed 5mins each side if I were lucky. At night he was fine. He has always found it difficult to adjust to bfing without my nursing pillow, and prefers lying horizontally than sitting on my lap (even though the latch is ok). He may also have been distracted with everything going on.. So I didn't worry that his nappies were sometimes green as he's always put on plenty of weight and was contented most of the time whilst we were away.

However, over the last few days he's gotten quite fidgety (sp!) on the breast and goes for 8mins on one side and then maybe 3 on the second. I tried to express some out yesterday (elec pump used once a week with good results and also on holiday) but only 1oz total came out from both sides!! It looks like my body has adjusted to all those 5mins feeds last week and has started to leave me with little milk during the day. Argh!

What can I do to increase my milk again? I would try for more feeds but he is so fidgety it just gets him upset. I'm trying to express straight after a day feed, 5mins each side, but I'm finding barely any is coming out and most of the time the pump is sucking and nothing is coming out.

Is this still stimulating my breasts? Will it make my body think baby is wanting more than he is taking at the moment and start to increase?

I also know I haven't been drinking enough water so I'm going to try and squeeze in 6 pints today.

Any other advice? Sorry for the long post.

Karen, you will have plenty of milk, don't worry. Let your baby feed as often and as long as he wants to. Your body will adjust and produce the right amount of milk for him. If you want to express to increase your milk supply, I would express in the evening after he has gone to bed, or even very early morning, when the prolactin level is higher;you will get more out, so your body will make more, but also your body will be quicker at replenishing what you take off. When I was "stockpiling" EBM prior to going back to work, I would get up at 5 am, express from one side, then feed dd at 6 from the other. Sometimes she wanted both breasts and I always had enough in the one that I'd expressed earlier.

HTH

Thanks Tissy. I have been expressing after the 10:30am and 2pm feeds as its been easiest to do. Will take your advice and try later tonight, or at 5am (as we're all up at that time as ds thinks its playtime ). When you're already knackered that extra effort shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I'm amazed you managed to express at 5am and still have a good day at work! Hats off!

Sorry, just re-read and realised you were doing this before going back to work, but I'm sure those 5/6am starts didn't disappear just because mat-leave was over!

One thing I only learnt because I had to go back into hospital 2 weeks post birth with an infection, and had to use the "pump room" (for want of a better term!), where the electric expressing machines were, was that unlike "proper" breastfeeding, when you finish on one side before offering the baby the other, when you are expressing, you get better results if you do (say) 5 minutes one side (or as long as you are getting something!), then 5 minutes on the other, then 3 minutes each side, then two, then one. This was described in the posters in the room - which I had plenty of time to read! ... and it did seem to work, for me at least.

Karen99 - it sounds like your baby is doing fine, so just try not to worry. Babies go through phases of feeding for shorter times and then may go back to feeding for longer. My own dd was down to 5 minutes, and has then gone back to longer feeds at some points in the day. Your milk supply will just adapt to this.

Lots of rest of course is good for your milk supply - and I always used that as a good excuse for taking daytime naps with the baby and ignoring the piles of laundry and washing up. So that's my only recommendation!

Thanks for the replies.

I will try the 5,4,3,2,1 technique JanZ, cos I have to admit I used to do about 8mins each side and would get about 3oz out of each breast. Thats partly why I'm so shocked so little is coming out as I haven't changed technique, pump etc. so I could only think I'm producing ALOT less than I used to only two weeks ago.

Pidge, I know worrying doesn't help.. but you can't help it can you! The catnaps sound like a good idea this week. I was enjoying being "normal" again whilst we were away, staying up till 10pm most nights (soooo late for me!) chating with bil/sil/mil, but in hind-sight its just made me even more tired.

Had a moan to my mum tonight and she too said more rest and to stop worrying! Why is it that you can't take her advice yet I'll happily go with MN advice! Thanks again.

Have you tried hand expressing? a good link that mears pointed out is here
Is he feeding more frequently or is it just the time on each side that is different? He may just be getting quicker at getting what he needs. He will be much better at getting your milk out than you are so I am sure you have plenty for him. Has he finished on the first side before you change? is he happy after other side? does he still go 3.5 hrs? if so all is well and you are both just settling into a perfect partnership of supply and demand. If he needs more he will feed more frequently for a day or so and then your supply will respond. sounds like you are doing great.

Thanks KMS. It's great getting such support and reassurance all is ok. It's made me relax alot more.

I've never gotten on with 'emptying' one side before moving to the next so I've always given the first side for 10min and he usually lasts about 8-10mins on the second. Like you have mentioned he's probably getting better or not needing as much at the moment so I've gone for 6mins on each side for the last 4/5 feeds and he seems content with that. He's still 3-3.5hrs across the whole day. I was hoping he would stock up with more during the day so I could look forward to dropping one of the night feeds, but looks like we'll have to be more patient!

Expressed at 8am this morning and got 1oz from each side this time so looks like things are improving. DS isn't crying out with hunger so I know he must be fine - I just have to believe it

Thanks again.

Have you tried fennel tea? I am not normally a proponant of herbal remedies (come from a very conventional medical family..) but it really does work!

I have been taking fennel mixed in with some other herbs as a baby colic tea (my ds is 6 weeks old and still screaming) and on the days I forget to have the tea (it is disgusting) I really notice my milk supply go down. I was told it was the fennel in the tea that made the milk supply go up. It really is dramatic, within about an hour or two of a cup, I feel my breasts are fuller. You should be able to get hold of some in any good health food shop or baby friendly pharmacy. Good luck anyway x

From what I read... around 3-4 months post-partum something changes in maternal hormones such that milk supply goes from being less driven by hormones still raging in mother's body, and more driven by the demand from baby. Thus, it may well seem like the milk supply has suddenly dipped, but this is entirely normal, and the best thing to do is just keep feeding on demand, so that the mother's supply can get used to the new source of stimulus.

This was in a LLL study looking at fluctuations in milk supply and this shift from hormone- to demand-driven supply, at about 3-4 months post-partum, was one of the main findings. It also seemed to explain why "scheduled" feeding was observed to often fail at around this age.

Thanks Cha! My dh's aunt gave me some fennel tea for ds as he still suffers from colic bouts at 17wks, but he hasn't yet taken enough to make a difference. She also bought some for me, but like you hate the taste! so I haven't tried it, but after your comments I just might give it another go.

Gradually over the week I think my supply has been getting better. I started to give a couple of 2hr feeds at the end of the day and I feel alot more full in the mornings now (had to whip out the breast pads again, not having them over the last few days has been the only plus of all this worry!! )

Thanks Zebra, sorry our posts crossed and I've only just picked yours up. If my hormones are settling, I just wish the mood swings would go!

Zebra - I think you are thinking of the switch from endocrine to autocrine production. In the first weeks of bf, many women over-produce (as long as the baby is feeding effectively) as the prolactin levels in the body are higher than before and this helps drive milk production. As the weeks go by, prolactin levels fall, and supply is driven almost entirely by removal of the milk. So the more often and the more completely milk is removed, the more milk is made (not that you can ever totally empty a breast but there are degrees of fullness). Babies who are fine on 5 mins a side and continuing to thrive are not a problem - they may be feeding super-effectively and getting what they need in a short time. But if you think your milk is getting low, then you just need to feed more often. Frequent expressing does it too. But often in these instances the body is making just what the baby orders - and if it's enough it's fine.

You could try taking Brewers Yeast tablets as the Vitamin B in them is supposed to help with milk production.

Karen, any chance you are pregnant?

Jasper that crossed my mind too but didn't want to scare karen99.

God I hope not! DS is only 4months!

I'll tell you, having a baby is the best contraception you can have cos you're too bloomin knackered to think of anything else!

Milk supply seems to be on the up again. Frequent feeds and being more relaxed about it have done the trick. Thanks all!