Milk supply decreasing or baby just very efficient?!

[Mary3324]

My son is now 5 months old and has been exclusively breastfed. So far I've had no problems with breastfeeding, but he is now only doing one or two big feeds a day of 30 minutes or more, and is perhaps only feeding for 5 minutes at most of his regular feed times. Most mornings I'm still able to express somewhere between 50 - 140ml out of one breast, but I do feel that my milk supply throughout the rest of the day is possibly decreasing and I'm concerned that his feeds are shortening because he is not able to get enough milk.

Does anyone know how likely it is that my milk may be drying up or if babies at this age have just become more efficient and actually don't need to feed for very long to get what they need? Also, any thoughts about switching breasts? Sometimes he'll do this a few times, but most of the time I get the feeling he just doesn't want to breastfeed - he is quite happy to take a bottle of expressed milk instead!

They can get very efficient by that age - my baby has never fed for more than 5-7 min.
If he's not yowling for more at the end or before you normally feed again, I'd assume he's happy!
(no expert!)

Have you noticed any change in his nappies - is he still having plenty of wet and dirty ones? Does he still look nice and alert? Happy in himself? Plenty of signs of him getting milk - milk in mouth etc? If so I would presume he has just got a lot more efficient and so have you so to speak. My daughter has never fed for very long but can easily do a feed in 5 minutes at 6 months.

My guess would be that if there wasnt any milk then he wouldnt be coming off happily - he would be latching on and off, getting frustrated, beating you with his little fist etc etc lol.

I presume he is still having lots of regular feeds - if he was dropping feeds as well as length then he may be missing out but sounds like he just knows what he is doing now. Just realised you are giving expressed milk as well though - how often are you doing that? There is the possibility I suppose that he finds a bottle easier so holds out for that instead...but presumably if it is expressed milk you are stimulating your supply through expressing. A pump doesnt tend to stimulate as much as a baby though.

Your breasts also usually sort themselves out by this point and dont get so full so it can seem sometimes like there is nothing there.

It is around this time that your milk supply regulates itself such that it works on a true supply/demand fashion. That coupled with their increased efficiency can make it fell like things have reduced with your supply.

As peppapig says, if he is weeing and pooing and gaining weight and seems happy and is sleeping well and he is feeding with a similar frequency to previously then it is proably down to his efficiency rather than a reduction in supply.

and he probably is happy taking a bottle of expressed milk because it is much less work for him in that the milk is just there.

they also have a huge growth spurt around this time, so his swapping from breasrt to breast will most likely be him dialling up an increase in your supply.

I think also, that at this age they tend to get a bit distracted when feeding as they would rather be exploring the world that is suddenly there as if by magic. I would imagine that a bottle feed means that that world can be got at all the quicker.

I also remember feeling like this when I was feeding my DD at around the five month mark as I had stopped getting engorged and wasn't feeling my letdown in quite the forceful way that I had before.

Thanks for the advice and reassurance; all that seems to make sense! I'm actually wondering now if part of his fussiness with feeding is a sign that he is starting to teeth as well, so we'll see how that develops