How to increase evening supply?

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Ds is 10wks old. Bf has been going well and Ds is putting on over a pound a fortnight. The last week he has been really hard to settle in the evening. I always do bath, feed then bed but he is falling asleep on me then waking when I put him down. My boobs feel quite empty in the evenings and Ds seems to want to feed constantly. I have started giving a top up of formula at 10pm and then he goes into a deep sleep and sleeps til 4 / 5 am, bf's then goes back to sleep til 7.30/8.30am. (He's only been sleeping this long since the not settling til ff prior to that he was waking 3 hourly). I almost feel he is hanging on for that bottle and I am not producing enough milk to satisfy him in the evening. So how do I increase my evening supply? I certainly don't want to go down the path of more formula as want to bf as long as possible but don't want Ds to go hungry and would also like a bit of an evening back. Any ideas? Sorry for rambling and hope this makes sense!

you have to let him suckle to increase your supply.

even when your boobs feel empty, just let him suck and keep swapping sides if necessary.

eventually it will and you'll get your evening back!

Thanks Lady. I have been letting him feed ad lib especially with this heat. Actually the problem seemed to coincide with if getting hot. Does how much I drink make a difference to my supply? I certainly eat enough but can 'forget' to drink as much as maybe I should!

i don't think it does but you should def drink lots in this heat for your own sake.

when ds was this age he used to feed from 7-10 pm almost constantly. it is hard work. make sure you have drinks and snacks and the remote control and just settle down for a feed in

i find chocolate helps

also feeding ad lib is great for keeping up your supply.

Hhmm never been one to not take advice - will go stock up on chocolate immediately!

increasing demand = more milk

either the baby needs to be at the breast for longer/more often or you could use a pump as your body will think its the baby.

Are you sure your lo is not just stating to use you as comfort to go to sleep???

Unfortunately Ds has only ever fallen asleep on the boob. Even as a nb he never used to fall asleep by himself. I'm a nanny and know quite a bit about settling babies to sleep but LO has been having none of it! I've been getting 'grief' from people because he's not sleeping thru yet but all my charges were ff so I'm not worried!

I let him feed for as long as he wants and as often. I think he gets a bit frustrated as my let down is abit slower in the evening. He head butts my boobs like Woody Woodpecker! In the morning he's more likely to get a facefull ..... Will try expressing as suggested. Thanks.

Do you feed downstairs on in his room? For me the last feed used to be in his room with just fairy lights and bach on the cd player. Hardly ever woke up again then and if he did i simply gave him more boob. He would then sleep til around 12 or 1 (from 9ish)

I used to feed in his room with low lights etc but after a few nights of sitting in the dark for 2 hours I have given up and taken to feeding him downstairs so at least I can spend some time with DP! I'm hoping once it gets cooler he will go back to settling at 7ish like he used to.

in the early days i used to feed downstairs until baby was drowsy/asleep. Then we'd go upstairs + change his nappy + then feed him again. Fed from 5.30 til 9ish in total but only the last half hour was upstairs.

sometimes they do it when having a growth spurt too, not just when it's hot.

maybe bring the basket downstairs and just not worry about his 'routine' just yet. he is still so young.

i think i didn't start a routine til about 4-5 months.

i found in the early days when ds was cluster feeding or trying to increase supply, it was simply easier to accept it and have him near by otherwise you get knackered going up/down stairs all night.

don't worry about sleeping through! it will happen

Hi, my DS was exactly the same and the cluster feeding went on and on (it felt like it at the time!).

I will probably get slated, but once I was getting really tired of cluster feeding, I let my DS feed on me for 45 minutes x 2 times between 5 and 7pm and then I topped up with expressed milk (from that morning). I still did a top up bfeed at 11pm. Was a faff, but it worked for us.

Every so often, I woke up to express during the night (mad I know, but got loads off after a few hours kip).

Some other things I have read to help:

Eating protein at lunchtime
Rest (hmmm)

But ultimately, I agree with everyone else, just let him feed when he wants to. It goes so quickly and I promise you will get your evenings back!

Hi StarlightMcKenzie,
If rest doesn't affect supply, why is it that lots of bf mums say that they have less in the evenings and more in morning?
I personally found that eating protein and snacks helped (i.e. the days I didn't eat as much, the less I expressed off). Maybe it was just psychological.
But I guess everyone is different and just need to find what works for you.
Dawnie

The diet aspect interests me as I'm veggie. The midwife really grilled me on my diet and was keen to make sure I was eating enough protein. Maybe I should try eating a bit more of a substantial lunch?

From what I've read, you'd have to be extremely malmourished for your milk supply to be affected - babies are very good at taking what they need.

Eating well and resting will make you feel better, which is A Good Thing when you're dealing with a tiny baby all the time.

Oh, and I eat a mainly veggie diet and had plenty of milk for DS. hth

thank you for all your help and advice. I know this phase won't last forever so will enjoy all the extra cuddles while I can! Watching him feed and just stare at me is very cute and when he breaks off and smiles well....... He's got Mummy round his little finger already!