how long does milk supply take to respond?

[smk84]

ds is 17 days old and EBF, we have been doing quite well after inital wight loss, then gain, then static, he is now gaining again. Have had latch psn checked several times and all ok. Yesterday, he fed less in the evening (he had been cluster feeding for several nights before this) and it feels like I have less milk today. could it be possible that my supply has dipped just because of that ? I say it feels like less milk as I seem to be getting fewer let downs on both sides (the 430 feed was fine on both sides as i was very full, but since then boobs have slowed down).
The other thing is mh RHS is so much better than the left, so I have decided to start pumping the left for 5 mins after he has fed a few times a day. Do you know how long it might take my left side to pick up? (His behaviour is so different on the left to the right and it was seeming to get worse - i.e. glug glug for 15 mins on the right, he is wide awake and active sucking til near the end, and on the left, for prob 3/4 of the feeds he seems to get initial let down, then fall asleep or pull off after 5 mins), Thank you.

just bumping - thank you

any ideas please? thank you

I seem to remember that at that stage my supply was all over the place so I really wouldn't worry about it too much as it will settle down in time.

I think it is also pretty normal to have one side with a heaver flow then then other. For me my right side is much faster then my left and I find that dd goes through phases when she likes the fast flow and times when she prefers the slower flow.

The general rule seems to be that as long as your dc is giving you plenty of wet and dirty nappies then you and your supply are fine :)

It's impossible that your supply has dipped just because your baby hadn't cluster fed one night. How full your boobs are is not indicative of how mill you're producing anyway. Empty feeling boobs make milk quicker than full boobs and the milk is richer in fat. Do don't worry. It may just be that your body is getting in tune with your baby's needs and you'll start to store less milk. This is a good thing even if it may seem scary to start with.
It's slap normal to have a "better" boob. Try to make baby start feeding from the "worse" boob until things improve rather than pumping. Babies are much better at stimulating the breast than any pump.

thank you both, olimpia i have been starting him to the worse boob for a few days (since i noticed the difference) but the difference has been seeming to get more noticable every day. tonight he has been feeding for 4 hours non-stop pretty much, so not much coming now anyway, and so i am just switching him from one side to the other. he has been sucking away with not much coming much of the time, so i think he sure has been my pump tonight !

Does he seem happy though? It doesn't matter if he doesn't get much milk after cluster feeding for hours. As long as he's not hungry (believe me you would know if he was!) the fact that not much milk comes out after a long stretch of breastfeeding is just fine.
You might get a huge boost in your supply as a result though! So prepare for some serious engorgement today or tomorrow!
I think you're doing very well but I know what you mean, sometimes you need someone to give you the confidence and tell you it's all fine.

thanks , yes he has some spells of being awake/content and sleeos for anywhere between 1.5 and 5 hours at a time. after cluster feediung in eve he was sleeping 5 hour stretches but i have been waking him recently as he wasn't gaining (he is gaining now though - he gained 4.5 oz from last mon to fri and was then half way to regaining birthweight). i am hoping fot a huge boost in supply but after doing skin to skin with him today for a souple of hours he seems to have gone into his eve mode of frantic sucking/frustration waiting for let down.

4.5 oz in less than a week is VERY good.
Keep switching him to the other breast when he stops swallowing or after a while he's slowed down on the same breast.
Sounds like you're doing very well even though you might not realise it yet

thank you olimpia :)