milk supply dropped off after being ill- advice please on how to get it back up?

[suey2]

I had flu followed by a chest infection. I had absolutely no appetite for a couple of days and my milk supply really dropped off. I am down to my last frozen EBM before i have to start supplementing with formula. DD is 4 months old and has been exclusively BF.

I am expressing after every feed. Eating and drinking as much as i can stomach. Any other advice? Have been trying fenugreek but it doesn't seem to work.

feed lots and lots! encourage dd to feed frequently
feed (or express) at night time, this has very positive effect on supply
various food stuffs are recommended for supply - oats, sesame seeds, etc
I think a lot of it is old wives tales but they do contain excellent nutrition and will help you to recover from illness

F&Z is right - the only sure thing you can rely on to increase your supply is to feed a lot. If you do this, your supply will right itself with no problem at all. Giving EBM (or formula) will slow this process down, so just feed direct as much as you can.

thanks guys. Quite depressed now as i BF her with nothing, had to top her up, expressed and there was 10mls from each breast only. I am offering her the breast first each time, but there is just nothing there!

what you are able to express from the breast is not an indicator of what your dd can get
she is much more efficient at removing milk and feeding her stimulates your letdown in a way that doesn't happen when expressing
it sounds like it could be a tricky few days but you can get your supply up - just keep feeding - feed whenever she asks and feed for as long as she wants - babies often seem unsettled on the breast anyway during feeds around this age - it doesn't mean she isn't getting anything from you - but your supply can't last indefinitely if you keep topping up

good luck, let us know how it is going

could the antibiotics be exacerbating things? I am on amoxycillin

suey - antibiotics are not known for having an effect on supply, no.

F&Z is right - expressing is no indicator at all...just keep on with the feeding, feeding, feeding and things will return to normal. In fact this is the only way to be sure they will

thanks a lot . The irony is, when i first got sick a week ago, the baby was also sick and i was overproducing and freezing 200ml every day! i'll stag on and try and keep the faith. thanks again

People tend to stop overproducing as the baby grows. You may be producing less, so what....you don't need to have 200 ml extra a day and your body 'knows' this. All you need is enough for one baby

hi suey!

hope things are going better for you and dd - just wanted to say that i feel a difference when using this - i know everyone is different, but might be worth a try?

oo thanks caz- will give it a go

thanks for all the advice- milk supply back to normal in 24 hours! silly me thinking that expressing would be more effective! no formula necessary