help am i not producing enough milk???

[mumtojames]

my lo is 4months and for the last week she has returned to feeding every two hours even through the night! today she has been really unsettled when feeding, coming off and on, crying getting into a real state and i worried there isnt enough there for her. i really wanted to carry on, but thinking now i should supplement with formula - but then i wont increase my milk!! i dont feel as full anytime any more not even in the morning and was wondering if i'm drying up? help any advice appreciated. thanks emma

It is a typical age for this type fo behaviour . They have a growth spurt (commonly mistaken for the need to wean ointo solids) and are more alert and distracted. So no it isn't a reflection of your supply, fullness isn't common by this age, and formula may just make things more difficult. Should pass eventually.

as Lizs says, really
hang on in there

Sounds like a text book growth spurt - the increased feeding will increase your supply and it will all settle down in a few days..

My LO is 6m currently and has just come out of one, wearing isn't it!

I could have written exactly your post mumtojames! My 4.5mo ds has been doing this the last week. Really draining. Can't offer any idea of how long it will last, but can say it must be normal. Hang in there

thanks for all your support, i just feel that shes not getting enough. You soon get used to a full 7hours sleep, and suffer when it gets broken again!!
doesnt help been abit stressed lately and trying to shift the baby weight - not very sucessfully going up not down!! so was worried maybe when ive cut food down i've caused problems?? kicking myself again!!
thanks again

I feel the same. I've been saying to dp the last few days "what if my milk's running out?" But a week later, ds is still going strong, happy and healthy and active. If he wasn't getting enough he'd be slowing down by now, I'm sure. That our dcs are doing this at the same age, and lots of posts in sleep topic about sleep going haywire about this time reassures me it's just what happens at this age.

agree with others that it sounds like a growth spurt and also that your boobs kind of know what they are doing by this age so you don't feel as engorged as usual. I started a similar thread but also saying that I'd "lost" my letdown as my previously quite painful letdown just wasn't there any more.

I fully appreciate the disturbed sleep again thing. DD had been going 11 till 7 and then started waking again at 1 and 3. The mad feeding passed after about a week and we went back to something like normal again.

Try to keep going without formula; you have done great to get this far, and as you realise yourself, introducing formula won't help.....extra feeds will

Hi mumtojames - I agree with all the good stuff about growth spurts, and the lack of fullness really doesn't mean your supply is drying up; your body has just become more efficient as you and the baby have become more familiar with each other. One good way to make more milk if you feel it's needed is to lie down as much as possible - something to do with the horizontal position making it easier for your body to produce milk. Sorry about the lack of technical info - it's been a long time since I breastfed. If you want to read up on it (in your spare time!) Shiela Kitzinger recommends having a 'baby honeymoon' at these times, can't remember the name of the book, but she was pretty hot on breastfeeding, even tho' she was writing a long time ago. Hang in there, it's very common at this (or any) stage.