Amount I can express dropped from 4.5oz to 1.5oz - why???!

[Saffra]

My DD is 5 wks old I started expressing a couple of wks ago. Initially I was able to express 2.5oz each go. Then, it went up to 4.5oz which was how much I give per feed in bottle. Now, it seems to have dropped to 1.5oz on the last two attempts.

DD has been v fussy over past 4 days and has been feeding lots. Lots of cluster feeding.

Has my supply dropped??? If so, why and how can I improve things??!

Btw, I pump at same time I'm feeding her - generally about midday.

Sounds more like a growth spurt then anything else so she's taking all the milk you where expressing. You don't need to worry about supply you'll make more as she demands more.

By the way 4.5oz in one seasion is a lot most women only manage a couple of oz.

Maybe your supply has simply settled down - I could never express much later on, only in the early days (although I accept that 5 weeks is still very early days).

In the early weeks most women make too much milk - your boobs start off making enough for two or even three babies!

By 4 - 6 weeks your supply settles down and is perfectly balanced to your baby's needs, which is why lots of women find they can't express much at this time.

You may find its more efficient to feed her directly from the breast than expressing - babies can get milk out much quicker than pumps can.

Cluster feeding is a good sign, and so long as you go with it then she'll get all the milk she needs to grow. Breasts are never empty. Put it this way - if the bath is only half full, keep the taps running!!

Ime the amount I could express varied wildly ? it seems much more vulnerable to external factors than feeding, so any tension or stress or tiredness would reduce the amount for example. You may find it?s temporary and it goes back up again.

At ten weeks, I still routinely express 4 oz from one side, but I've been sick the last few days and this has dropped to half the amount. Have you been feeling a bit under the weather, maybe?

I don't know if this is correct, but my doula told me to express between the hours of 2am and 10am, when milk supply is at its highest. Would this be a possibility for you?

Oh, I thought that supply gets higher as time goes on, not lower! Hopefully expressing more will help inc supply? If this is a growth spurt, does it mean that I'll be able to get more when it all settles down?

I'll try and express first thing then about 7 and see if that helps... Only expressing 1.5oz each time makes it feel unworthwhile but will need to persevere. Been v busy recently - perhaps not been relaxed enough. Who knows.

Hi Safra

I've expressed every day since my DD was a couple of weeks old (now almost 6 months).

I always express first thing in the morning - now this is straight after her morning feed but early on this would often be before depending on what time she woke. I found that the amount varied and still does from 2-6oz.

I think diet is a key factor - days when I have eaten more/better seem to help but I agree with Cosmosis that external factors are a key variable. Relaxing when you are expressing and not 'bottle-watching', thinking about your DD etc

Another thing I did for a while was that when she first started sleeping through I'd get up in the middle of the night (by making sure I drank a pint of water just before bed) to express. As during this time I was feeling very engorged I found I was managing to express 6oz in about 5 minutes!!! Was a great way to build up the freezer stash until I decided that I valued my sleep more than that

I did try Fenugreek but not sure it made that much difference for me although some people swear by it

Good Luck