Dwindling milk supply at 9 months? Help!

[snoozed]

I have been trying to stop feeding at night so much in the past few days, and so have been feeding twice a night rather than 4-5 times per night.

Within 2 days I noticed a reduction at night, which I expected. However, in the daytime it feels as though my milk supply is really low - DD seems frustrated and unsatisfied.

I really want to keep bfing - plan to go continue as long as DD needs it.

But now worried and sad that my supply is dwindling... Is there anything I can do?

Milk supply is robust at this stage, snoozed - yes you will have a reduction in supply and yes it will be really noticeable if you drop 2-3 feeds, but no it has not gone :)

If you think there is a real drop that is making your baby upset, then simply offer your dd more feeds at non-night times.

It could be, however, that what you are noticing is her normal behavioural reaction to something new in her life (milk bar on restricted night time hours :) ) rather than a response to a lowering in available milk.

Hi,

My baby's about the same age and I noticed this when I got a cold a couple of weeks back. So first thing to rule out is are you unwell at all? If so, avoid using any decongestants and things with menthol or eucaplyptus in them as these can affect your supply.

Otherwise, it may be that your baby has been feeding more (in quantity) at night than during the day.

What I did to get my supply back up was to feed (during the day) every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, a few minutes on one side and then continuing for longer on the other. Just keep, keep feeding. Also keepy yourself hydrated - with the central heating going on and being busy I find I've hardly drunk a thing unless I focus. An old wives' tale is to also have oats - so I find that a good excuse to eat lots of Sainsbury's own granola flapjacks from their bakery : )

Hope that helps

Thank you tiktok that's very reassuring to hear that the supply won't 'run out' at this stage.. I would be so upset to have to stop now! I felt bad enough about cutting the night feeds down but I was not functioning well in the day times.

FreelanceMama thanks - I have been a bit under the weather but luckily had read that decongestants can mess milk production. Have been eating a lot of porridge.. Flapjacks sound better though!
Will try frequent feeding for the next couple of days to boost production.

Thanks again I feel much better!

Glad you're feeling better about things. Having a cold in itself can affect it - I wasn't taking decongestants either - and a couple of my friends found the same thing happened to them too. But only for a couple of days.

Prolactin levels are much higher at night - and that is the hormone that tells your body to make milk. So dropping night feeds can have a brief dip effect on your milk supply, but you should find as long as you keep feeding frequently during the day your supply will readjust itself.

Oats, flaxseed, fennel, figs and apricots are all good foods to eat to help boost milk supply.

Good luck and happy sleeping :)

Thanks Spoonpaws seems to have levelled out again now. She was feeding all night last night with no problems.. so no sleep again but at least the bfing continues!