Have I f#cked up my milk supply?

[TheRookieMum]

Long story short, DS is nearing 7 months and my period has returned 4.5 weeks after starting weaning and 2.5 weeks after starting sleep training. I worry this has caused my milk supply to drop. There is a lot going on for DS atm and I just don't know what's chicken & egg.

Here's the longer story & questions:
DS was fed to sleep almost every single 40 minutes overnight for about 3 months, but as soon as he hit 6 months, we sleep trained and dropped to 3 feeds, then 2 feeds a night. He is sleeping really well.

In the last week, during daytime thankfully, DS has been demanding almost double the amount of milk feeds from me as he used to, and is putting more solids away. We feed solids twice a day, a mix of puree & sticks/florets etc.

I think there are a thousand things happening for him at the moment, he's near crawling, he's babbling more, he's doing well with all sorts of sleep, physical and mental skills and the weather is hotter so I can think of a lot of reasons for the extra daytime feeds.

But... does the return of my period confirm my suspicion that my milk supply is dropping?

He's never successfully taken a bottle so it's been a while since we tried formula. I'm very tempted to try to get him onto that ASAP to combi feed, but I know that could cause my milk supply to drop.

Have these changes in my feeding/sleeping methods caused my milk supply to start dropping cauaing DS to be hungrier, is it just a growth/developmental spurt, should I get DS onto formula for combi feeding asap?

Interestingly there was an influencer recently who published a video saying her milk supply 'dropped' when her period returned and she had to stop breastfeeding....

Lots of people commented that she was spreading mis information. Return of your period does not mean you milk supply has gone. When your period returns is very individual. Mine came back at 6 weeks and 10 weeks and I was EBF at the time too!

At 7 months your supply is well established and will quickly adjust to meet baby's need. If they are dropping feeds, your body will adjust to that. Same if they up their feeds one day your body will adjust.

Thanks @Twizbe. Is it possible it's time to up his dairy and introduce protein to his solids diet?

My logical brain tells me to just go with it, feed him more milk as he needs, but of course once worry has set in, I can't help but question if my body is keeping up with his demands. My period returning was a bit of a surprise so I think it's caught me off guard.

I'm not on social media, other than MN if this counts, so can't say I've heard of this influencer or their views.

It's so hard! I question everything and think this is where formula could be easier as you can measure volume, something I've not been concerned about before! But grass being greener and all that, maybe that's not true/fair to think.

If he is naturally feeding more then your supply will go up to meet that demand. So he might not be getting quite enough now which is why he might be feeding more but that will trigger the supply to go up. Therefore I should think in a week or so your supply will have gone up to meet his needs and he shouldn't need to feed so often.
I fed my second until he was 3, obviously it wasn't a lot past a year old just really bed time and sometimes at nap time. I was on the depo injection so I didn't have a period so don't know if that's linked or not.

With weaning, go with the flow. From 6 months they can basically eat what you're eating including protein.

My two took to weaning very quickly and we're on three meals by 7 months. They loved their food.

If you're following his lead then all is good.

Even with formula things change with weaning and they drop or increase milk intake as they want.

Try not to overthink things. Your milk is well established and will adjust super fast to what he needs. Milk production is a river not a lake, it's always flowing.

Don't overthink it, go by nappies and your sense of how he is (a hungry/thirsty boy is not a happy one!)

With both my kids, my periods came back almost immediately (2 months ish) and they were EBF well past 12 months.

I fed both of mine for a year. Periods came back at about the 6 month mark and had no effect on supply at all. Just carry on!

Good ol' mumsnet. Thanks all. It's good to have a sense check sometimes & hear other people's experiences. I will carry on & feed as he demands.

Baby can have some fussiness when on your period as flow can be a bit slower but it's not a given and dependent on the woman.

My periods came back around 8 months and 7 months with my two, still had milk supply fed DS1 til 21 months and DS2 is still feeding at 14 months.
Your boobs just adjust and if they are ill they feed more and you get a up which then settles back down after a few days. They really are very clever!

Yeah like a pp, there is a lot of "period must mean drop in milk supply" online that I've seen recently. I've bf 3dc. First my period came back at 11 months pp and I bf until he was 2yo. 2nd and 3rd, period returned around 8 weeks pp and I ebf until 6mo and bf dc2 until 18mo. Still bf dc3 and he is 16mo. I've never heard of this period meaning lower supply thing (until the last couple of weeks) and certainly haven't experienced it myself!

DD2 woke up every 3 and half hours except for 2 nights in a row and my period returned at 4 months. I was gutted, I had a baby feeding every 2/3 hours and horrific periods. I found my supply dropped when I was on my period, which is just when you could with them feeding less not more. Apparently some supplements help with this.

I'm so sorry I've added to the "periods mean lowering/dropping/dying milk supply" ideas online. Promise I've not heard of this. It's just me trying to work out what my DS and my body are up to! And what is best for DS if things are changing for him/me/the combination. I will have to leave both be, stop trying to understand either and just get on with feeding baby as baby wants. Plus plenty encouragement for solids.

I don’t think that your period returning has anything to do with your milk supply. Mine came back at 7 months first then at 3 months with my second and I was still feeding multiple times through the night both times 🥴