Increase supply when baby stopped wanting breast

[Tiredmama94]

I think my supply has recently dropped and I have quite a milk obsessed baby. He’s 3 months and I have always fed on demand. I think I’ve always had borderline supply because he always gained weight very well but I was never able to express extra. I was fine with that provided he was happy!

over the last week/two he has started being more and more fussy at the breast and not taking in feeds - he just gets frustrated at less milk and then unlatched so I can’t increase my supply by feeding him more. I invested in a hired spectra gold pump and have a medela hands free. I never still express more than 5ml!! I’m really worried my supply is slowly going and need some advice how to get it back up using a pump - I would love to have him increase it and offer the boob super regularly but he just doesn’t take it! Most days now I can get him to feed on there twice at most when he’s sleepy and have to supplement with formula.

i am trying to pump regularly with some power pumps in between also emptying the breasts with my hand after each feed and pump but nothing seems to be working.

can anyone recommend what I can do? I will pump hourly if that’s what it takes to keep going but I just don’t know and am feeling quite down about it. They said it could be because I started my period but it should be going back up now and nothing

any pumping routines which have helped you build supply back up at 3.5 months? Also how long did it take??

any advice will be taken with open arms!

Have you tried a breastfeeding cafe? My local one was really good when I was having feeding problems. I also found fennel tea q helpful.

How much you can pump is absolutely no indication of your supply @I was equally as worried as you but looking back I had a perfectly healthy baby

As above pumping doesn’t equal supply but something to check is flange size does it fit your nipple properly? Get lots of skin to skin and go back to basics with positioning and latch etc. breastfeeding support hubs are fab for support and advice. Also lots of ibclc on Instagram with lots of helpful content

Sorry posted accidentally too soon @Tiredmama94.

Also, becoming fussy at the breast is totally normal and no indication that anything is going wrong. He's probably just a bit frustrated that the milk isn't straight there because he's hungry. You could always try a few Breast Compressions.

Also, your supply will be much more in tune with your DS' demands so that might be the reason that you're not able to pump much.

If you think you really do have a low supply, the article Is my older baby getting enough milk? should help.

And Kellymom also has another excellent article Increasing Low Supply.

Do you go to any of the BFing Support Groups too? I found those were really helpful for reassuring me what was normal and what might need a bit of support

Oh and if you're using formula, he might just be showing a preference for the bottle.

If you want to continue BFing, I'd talk to a BFC on one of the Helplines, you will probably need some RL support. Tell the BFC what's going on and ask her if there's a BFC in your area.

Weaning from formula top-ups might help too but definitely speak to a BFC

Don't worry. You're at classic supply crisis point but the good news is - supply naturally regulates around this age and it doesn't mean that anything is wrong or that you're not providing enough milk. It's simply that you've moved from the hormone driven post birth oversupply, which means that you'll probably leak, your breasts feel like they "fill up" between feeds, baby is very happy at the breast, if you express you'll often get loads out etc.

Your body does this initially because it doesn't know how many babies you have and what their appetite is. But by the stage you're at now, your body is looking to curtail this overproduction because you don't need it and it's just wasting your energy. Biology doesn't like waste, so at around this age, you'll find that commonly your breasts will start to feel softer almost like they are "empty" between feeds, you might leak less or stop leaking altogether, pumping output typically drops down to around 40-60ml (total from both breasts combined) per pumping session.

Added to this, babies often start to become more alert, curious and active at this age. They don't want to snuggle in feeding for hours, they want to look around and see everything! They have come out of the newborn sleepy phase and are ready for more stimulation, they are often bored if you try to continue all the lovely sitting around that you might have been doing so far.

But all of this is normal and doesn't mean that your supply is failing or going away. You're still producing what your baby needs, just more efficiently.

Try tinkering with nap timings and in between naps, take your baby out and about and let them see and experience as much as possible. You'll probably find this helps with the fussiness and you don't have as much of a worry about your milk.

Sorry I have just reread your OP and I see you refer to only getting 5ml pumping. I seem to have this kind of supply too, never had much luck with a pump, I did seem to get a bit more with DC1 but the other two, barely a drop. I still continued to feed successfully for over 2 years each. I think some people just don't respond very well to a pump. Perhaps I could have experimented with flange sizes but honestly I just never bothered about it. DC2 had some formula when ever I was away from him, DC3 was so attached that I barely ever left him so I can't remember if he had any, I had bought a couple of those little ready made ones but we used them in weaning I think.

Pumping is no indication of supply.

Your baby is gaining weight and (presumably) has wet nappies. That means he’s getting enough milk. He doesn’t need formula or top ups of any sort. He’s not ‘milk obsessed’ , he’s a normal breastfeeding baby.

At three months he’s very good at nursing and getting more interested in the world beyond boob. So he takes what he wants then he’s done. Yes he’ll want to nurse again soon: that’s normal. Your boobs are never empty: if he wants more, he’ll nurse more and you will produce more. If he’s had enough and isn’t interested, then he’ll stop - till the next time. That’s the essence of demand feeding - he leads, you follow. Keep offering, but don’t worry if he’s not interested, just offer again later.

personally, I’d say ditch the formula, stop pumping, and just feed the baby. If he keeps gaining weight and having wet nappies, all is well.

@ForthegracegoI thanks for this but unfortunately as I said in my original post he is refusing to eat when the flow is slow. I got my period which they said may have caused it. His skipped feeds have depleted my supply and it’s been a downward spiral of he’s feeding less then there’s less supply the best day so he fusses more and each day he feeds on me less and less. If he was feeding to regulate my supply that would not be an issue. I also can’t seem to pump so I can’t keep up my supply through pumping either. A BFC has asked me to try a supplementary nursing system to try and get my supply back up by keeping him on the breast. Thanks though