Dwindling Milk Supply!

[sazzerbear]

I have a 6 week DS and have been breastfeeding which is now well established, he also has the occasional bottle of formula at night which is only recently introduced. All was working well, however over the last couple of days my milk supply seems to have dwindled, I am continuing to bf as well as expressing to top up his feeds and only offering formula now if really necessary. Is this just a blip or have I affected my supply too much by him having formula as well? I know others doing the same who are not having these problems at all.
Would love to hear from anyone else who has been in this situation!
Thanks

Lots about this in archives Sazzer but in a nutshell,by offering formula you are decreasing demand placed on breasts which invariably leads to less milk and there does the vicious circle of dwindling supply=more formula=less breastmilk=more formula and so on start.

If you really want to boost supply,the best thing to do is to commit to a few days of 'access all hours' breastfeeding,letting the baby suck as often as he wants.If he still seems hungry,put him back on the breast.Once the breasts get the message that demand is higher then they will in turn produce more milk.

It's economics really.

I would even forget about the expressing for a bit too.Much easier to increase supply in way outlined above,by simply putting baby to the breats.Why make things more complicated??

Good luck.

sazzer, some mothers' bf can be unaffected by the occasional formula bottle, and other mothers' bf can be affected in the way yours appears to me. 6 weeks can be a bit too soon to 'challenge' the supply in this way.

What you are doing now - topping up with ebm and/or formula - will reduce your supply even further.

It is by no means too late to save it.

Moondog's suggestions are good ones - but start putting them into action today

Thanks guys!

sazzer,

Eat porridge oats EVERY morning and this will naturally increase your supply. Also ditch the topups and nurse nurse nurse from the breast only as this is the best way possible to increase your supply.

In worst case scenario you could use herbs for increasing milk supply;

Check Here

hi sazzerbear, just wanted to say make sure you drink a lot as well. in the early months i'd be drinking what felt like gallons of water everyday.

just reading through that link, what a lot of herbs! which ones would you recommend or does it vary from person to person?

SInce when did you need to have porridge every morning to increase milk supply? you only need to drink to thirst, really.

hercules,

Porridge has been used for decades for increasing milk supply.. it is the oats that do it. Read this link

I think porridge is not going to harm, and there's anecdotal evidence that people feel it does good....but honestly, there's nothing really solid to back up any particular food or food group.

We do know about water, though, and that drinking a lot more than what your body tells you it needs can actually reduce milk (it's something to do with the way the body reacts when over-loaded with fluid).

I have to admit my toes curl a bit when I read about all the things a mother is supposed to eat/drink/supplement with when breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is as natural to the body as breathing and walking. Our bodies are made to do it. Some bodily functions - including breathing and walking - need support and help from time to time in a very few people but mostly, breastfeeding is just something that you do - and long lists of foods to make it happen just make it sound difficult and fragile and unusual....

Eat porridge if you like porridge! But as far as I can tell there's no good evidence it will help your milk any more than muesli or cornflakes