Please help, milk supply dwindling. PLEASE HELP

[iMum]

Im breast feeding my 3rd son aafter breastfeeding my other 2 for 1 and then 2 years. My ds is 5 months old andover the past few weeks ive noticed my milk supply decrease until last night and tonight there was nothing there, nothing to express and he was getting nothing. He is 13lbs and so quite little but he was a month early and on scbu to begin with as he had digestive problems and other things. Other than that he is a healthy happy baby, perfectly proportioned, feed on demand, for comfort to pacify whenever he needs me basically. but tonight there really is no milk there, no let down and if i do get let down it lasts only a very short while and then he is back to dry sucking. I have recently started going to the gym about 4 times a week and also have been watching what i eat, not dieting but just not snacking. I have an underactive thyroid and tbh am useless at taking my pills and havent had them regularly since he was born. I am also childminding and generally exhausted.
Does anyone have any idea why this is happening or how I can boost my supply again, dh went out and bought formula tonight as ds was so hungry, but he wouldnt take it as he has never had a bottle-in desperation i fed him some baby food tonight to and I so wanted to last the whole 6 months.

what makes you think there is nothing tyhere? apart from not feeling the letdown?
expressing is absolutely no sign of how much milk you are making, some people have tons of milk but just can't express any.

it is highly unlikely that your milk would just dry up like that, and I am sure your baby would be letting you know about it if it had!

I wouldn't have thought going to the gym or watching what you eat would affect your milk - unless your thyroid condition is relevant? Are you sure you have no milk? I can't express anything at all but I do have milk. I also don't always feel letdown. Is he definitely crying from hunger? Could he be teething perhaps?

Am sure an expert will be along soon, hang on in there.

He is letting me know, thats the issue-lots of head shking at the breast, arching back crying and searching for more, asking to feed near on all the time. Ive fed two other babies so I know what im doing here, my boobs are bare and im very worried. when he suckles and there is milk i can hear the swallow and also feel the draw, he is dry sucking, my nipple is just clicking in his mouth, no swallow and no draw.

in that case I would phone a helpline now and speak to someone there. Will look for a link.

www.laleche.org.uk/pages/about/helpline.htm hope you can find some help

Thankyou humphrey

Hi iMum I just wonder if you can eat more for the moment? Like NOW? if you are so worried and your supply is dwindling then surely it doesn't matter about gym/weight/not snacking, and just getting enough milk to your DS? joking apart i really found cake (!!) to help!

plus... not sure if this helps but I also had this problem massively at 5.5 months, my supply completely dwindled, DD was sooo hungry and doing the same as your baby and i just had to keep feeding and feeding and eventually it came back up...i gave up expressing because it made me cry, so useless! but it did come back up and she was really happy again. (there's probably my panicky post somewhere on here from then!!)
you can make the 6 months, honest, you just need to hang in there and try not to watch the clock too much.
and drink lots of water! you might as well put lots in your body now so that at least it can do something whilst you wait for a proper person (unlike me) to help you
good luck x

iMum, just a thought. have your periods returned? I always used to get a drop in supply when my period was due

fwiw though eating and drinking really has very, very, very little bearing on how much milk you make.
after all, plenty of mums in third world countries breastfeed, despite very poor diets and little food.
your body looks after baby first, then you. so it'll make milk no matter how little you eat

i would ring one of the breastfeeding lines though, the thyroid thing could be playing a part, although you'd have expected it to do so all along, not just all of a sudden. but it's prob worth being extra vigilant with your medication just in case

Nope, still no periods and tbh with the other 2 they didnt return until i stopped feeding all together.

I could have written your post. DS, 5 months, seems starving after feeds, is waking at night etc. I posted about it the other day. HV advised weaning/solids. I gave formula a few times as he seemed starving and like getting nothing out, his weight dropped etc. Anyway, I increased feeds from 2 hourly to 1.5 hourly and feed later the last feed at night. I find feeding him when he is asleep/near asleep he is less frustrated and stays on longer.

I also pump after and in between feeds, little comes out but it is getting more. My milk seems to have increased abit due to this. I also have thyroid issues and am anaemic so these problems don't help but I would try increasing the feeds and trying to feed when he is asleep/very tired. I also try rest and eat loads calories, will prob be massive in few weeks! My DS hates the slow letdown too! Not sure what can do about that though. Good luck, stick with it!