Will a day or two of minimal nursing affect supply?

[jessafina]

Yesterday DS hardly nursed at at all. He's 7 months and eats minimal solids... they don't really interest him much. Today he nursed a bit more and seems very content, definitely not hungry. For some reason this stresses me out, I worry about my supply. What happens if he just doesn't nurse much for a few days? Will it go down? And if he starts nursing more will I produce more? I know it's demand/supply... I just sometimes worry about my supply going down. I'm small-chested (i know that means nothing) and my boobs feel pretty empty and i keep thinking I should pump in between, but I've never had a supply issue and my baby is a very big boy. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who worries about this, but should I worry? As long as I'm breastfeeding, will my supply continue to go both up and down depending on my babes needs?

[kismetbaby]

I'm not an expert, but when I asked a similar question at my local LLL meeting, I was told that only the first few months are really critical for supply. Once you are past this your supply isn't easily shifted, a couple days of minimal feeds should be okay. . .your body will easily adapt to his needs. I really do believe that our bodies and our babes are quite in tune and as long as you haven't had real supply issues before and it isn't a prolonged nursing strike, its nothing to worry about.
My DS had a cold and didn't nurse much for two days and I was worried. . .I did pump, but was told at LLL that I only needed to do this if I felt uncomfortable/engorged. But that my supply wouldn't significantly tank in a couple days. And he did go back to nursing as much as before after the cold and my supply kept up just fine. But if you can pump and it eases your mind about things, I would do it.

[boobs4milk]

it depends on your body and your situation. if you've never had lows you should be fine. just be sure you offer as much as you can and get him to a low stimulus place if he's distracted.

[Hannah'sMommy]

Originally Posted by kismetbaby

My DS had a cold and didn't nurse much for two days and I was worried. . .I did pump, but was told at LLL that I only needed to do this if I felt uncomfortable/engorged. But that my supply wouldn't significantly tank in a couple days. And he did go back to nursing as much as before after the cold and my supply kept up just fine. But if you can pump and it eases your mind about things, I would do it.

Thanks for answering this, I was just going to ask about the same thing! My DD has had a cold all weekend and didn't nurse much yesterday, so I was a little concerned. But I'm at work today, so I'll be pumping today anyway. I always get concerned when she doesn't nurse much for a day or two due to illness or because she's too interested in the world around her.

[jessafina]

Originally Posted by boobs4milk

it depends on your body and your situation. if you've never had lows you should be fine. just be sure you offer as much as you can and get him to a low stimulus place if he's distracted.

Thanks--- and you're right about the low-stimulus place. He's so distractable-- sometimes he has just a few sips and then pops off and finds something else more interesting and there's no luring him back.
Thanks ladies, for answering!