changing from 3 hourly to 4 hourly feeds - less milk or the same?

[Downtherabbithole]

DD is 7 months and was bf on demand from birth but when she was 5 months she got into a 3 hourly feeding routine. She has got to the age where everything is more interesting than feeding so trying to keep her on the boob is really hard, especially with a toddler around making noise too.

So I moved her to a 4 hourly routine which actually works better around toddlers feedtimes, playgroups etc anyway. She seems to actually be taking more each time so I hoped that she would get the same amount of milk overall. BUT my boobs seem more engorged between feeds, does this mean that she is actually getting less milk overall?

I'm no expert but I would say that initially she would be getting less but your supply should alter to accommodate her new routine and it would all sort itself out in the long run. Not sure how you do it by the clock though! My ds would have a right paddy if I did anything else but feed on demand!

If you're regularly engorged between feeds, that is a sign that your milk supply is adjusting itself downwards. The engorgement sends a signal to slow down rate of milk production. So I would guess that yes, she is getting less milk overall.