worried about supply in breasts...

[missytequila]

My baby is 9 weeks and I feel as if I am not making enough milk. Is that possible?

I am on demand feeding, but in the afternoon and evening my breasts no longer seem to fill up..they are floppy and sometimes she wants to feed again after 1/2 hours and I feel that there is no milk in there..

I have also noticed that she is pooing less, sometimes only once a day... she is however still gaining weight and seems happy...

what if my milk is not enough? what can I do?

Missy, that all sounds perfectly normal.

Your breasts will not get that very full feeling now (unless your dd suddenly goes longer between one feed and the next) as your body has regulated how much milk you supply in relation to how much she demands.
At this age my ds was still feeding at least hourly but I did notice that the frequency of his poos reduced, from about 5/day to 1 or maybe 2/day.

If your dd is happy, growing and has wet and dirty nappies then you are both doing brilliantly . Just remember that if she seems at all hungry then put her to the breast, ignore anyone who says anything like "she can't be hungry again??", and most important of all trust in your body's ability to nourish your baby.

If she is gaining weight and seems happy then you ARE producing enough milk because you only have to produce enough to satisfy her hunger. If you were producing much more than she required you would be v uncomfortable. Sounds like your breasts have got it right!

I remember that feeling of having 'run out' in the late afternoon/ evening and DS used to want to feed for hours. Didn't know about it at the time but the frequent feeding is called cluster feeding and is totally normal. I believe that the composition of your milk changes in the evening too so they get more of the rich, fatty milk but less in volume. This could be rubbish, though- hopefully a proper expert will be along soon!

There is also advice here on whether or not you need to increase supply and how to go about it.

If you want to speak to someone, try one of the breastfeeding helplines. It's nice to speak to a sympathetic, RL person sometimes.

Congratulations on your baby and good luck

ladidadi-- yes my hubby and my mom have both said 'she can't be hungry again!"

but i know my baby and she only screams when she wants to feed. so 1 maybe 2 poo a day is normal now? that is reassuring.

hairy-- thanks for those links they answered my doubts

This is all absolutely normal, and you are doing fine.

This sentence is the clue: "she is however still gaining weight and seems happy".

By now your supply will be settling down. At first you often have an over-supply, as your body learns how much to produce. The way it learns, as I'm sure you know, is buy replacing what the baby removes. So, because you are now producing what your dd needs, your breasts will no longer feel full, especially in the second half of the day when she will feed more often than she probably does at night. This is not a sign of lack, but of you and your baby being in synch with each other.

Babies often feed more frequently in the later hours of the day. They may be topping themselves up for the longer gaps at night. They may be comforting themselves after the exhaustion of the day. They may feel your stress as you are tired, and this, too, may lead them to feed more in order to help discharge the stress. It's all normal and fine. There is milk there.

Breastfed babies often get into a pattern of pooing much less frequently than when newborn, and certainly less frequently than ff babies. Breastfed babies may poo anything from at every feed to once a week. Again, normal.