my number one priority is that she actually FEEDS, lol. she really isn't doiing. northernlurker linked to a jack newman page further down and it's exactly dd2. (actually dd2's worse...) the problem is that i'm already familiar with newman's advice on how to increase milk and am pretty much doing it all. i pumped last night after giving her formula, she had a couple of fairly okay feeds this morning but now she's back to just refusing to stay on and so i've given her what i'd expressed last night. i just don't get full breasts, ever. it's deffo my supply. i reek of fenugreek, probably giving myself breast cancer with all the domperidone... blah blah blah. basically i can't see how we can recover from this. i could keep going if i knew she was feeding, but we're in a worse place than we were a week ago. oh poo.
"10. Sometimes the milk supply decreases, particularly around 3 months for no obvious reason. It is likely, though, that you will find the reason in the next paragraph.
One more reason requires more explanation. In the first few weeks, babies tend to fall asleep at the breast when the flow of milk is slow (this slowing of the flow occurs more rapidly if the baby is not well latched on, since the baby depends on the mother?s ?letdown? or milk ejection reflex to get milk). The baby will suck and sleep and suck, without getting large quantities at this point, but the mother may have a letdown reflex (milk ejection reflex) from time to time and the baby will drink more. When the mother's supply is abundant, the baby usually gains fine, though he may spend long periods on the breast despite the mother's abundant supply. However, by the time babies are six or eight weeks of age, younger sometimes, many will start to pull away from the breast when the flow slows down, often within a few minutes of starting to nurse. This is more likely to occur in babies who received bottles early on, but can occur even without the baby?s having received bottles. The mother will then likely put the baby to the other side, but then the baby will do the same thing. He may be hungry still, and may refuse the breast, preferring to suck his hand. He won't get those extra letdowns that give him a few extra gushes of milk that he would have had if he had stayed on the breast. So he drinks less, and the supply also decreases because he drinks less, and the flow slows even earlier in the feeding (because there is less milk) and you see what may happen. It doesn't always happen this way, and many babies may gain even if they do spend only a short period of time on the breast. They may still pull off and suck their hands because they want more sucking but if their weight gain is good, there is no need for concern.
The way to prevent this is to get a good latch from the very first. However, many mothers are being told the latch is good even if it isn't. A better latch can help, sometimes even at a later date. Using compression will often keep a baby drinking (see Handout B: Protocol to Increase Breastmilk Intake by the Baby).
Sometimes domperidone will increase the milk supply significantly. Do not use it if you are pregnant, however (Handout 19a: Domperidone-1 and Handout 19b: Domperidone-2). "