When should I expect my milk to lessen?

[Family4Christ]

I'm nursing an 18 month old and she nurses at night and once or twice in the day. Any idea when I should expect to lose my milk or have it reduce and be noticeable?

Thanks!!

[etsdtm99]

i noticed a slight supply drop around 5-6 weeks with my 2nd/3rd pregnancies.. then a serious supply drop at 13 weeks..that is also when the sore nipples became consistent ..

[Shannie77]

Originally Posted by etsdtm99

i noticed a slight supply drop around 5-6 weeks with my 2nd/3rd pregnancies.. then a serious supply drop at 13 weeks..that is also when the sore nipples became consistent ..

That was pretty much my experience. I stopped making milk entirely toward the end of the first trimester... it didn't stop DD from continuing to nurse. My nipples were extremely sore, until I started making something again when I was about 30 weeks or so.

[mosesface]

Same as the above! I was completely dry by 13 weeks.

At 22 weeks I started noticing a tiny bit of colostrum and dd has swallowed a couple of times while nursing at bedtime this week (25weeks).

[Family4Christ]

Oh man! That's going to be rough! I wasn't ready for her to stop nursing so soon.

She's the type that is sooooo impatient waiting for my milk to letdown. I can't imagine she'll continue to try for too long if things dry up. She doesn't comfort nurse at all. No milk, no dice . Gosh, I hope I keep enough for at least one feeding at night!

Thank for your replies! Does anyone ever keep milk for longer than the 1st tri?

[Lauren31]

Originally Posted by Family4Christ

Thank for your replies! Does anyone ever keep milk for longer than the 1st tri?

My mom did. She kept her milk for almost 2.5 years following every pregnancy. We are all 2.5 years apart. She never tanden nursed though. I was 2 and 1/2 when my brother was born, when his actual milk came in I guess I made a face and weaned myself. Same thing with my older sister.

[aikigypsy]

I'm at 15 weeks or so (dates vague) and haven't noticed any significant changes, but my nipples are getting more sensitive again. I'm nursing my 2.5 year-old about 3 times a day. I want to wean her, but she has other ideas.

[apmama07]

I'm only 5.5 weeks and my supply has dropped dramatically already. From everything I've read & heard, it really varies woman-to-woman and pregnancy-to-pregnancy. Some lucky mamas never lose their milk! I know what you mean about weaning worries, I've been struggling with that too and it's heartbreaking. But you never know, your body and/or DD may surprise you.

Adventures In Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flower has a lot of great info - your local LLL will have it or you may get lucky like me and find it in the public library.

[umsami]

I nursed two of my babies (well toddlers technically ) through pregnancies. Both of them self-weaned when I entered the third trimester...so I'm assuming that's when something happened... either the milk lessened...or the flavor changed or something. I never noticed any supply issues, but then again, I never pumped. I never really noticed an increase in nipple tenderness either.

And I definitely second the reco on "Adventures in Tandem Nursing." It was so helpful with my first guy. SO much good info... and encouraging info in it.

[~Demeter~]

I noticed a bit of a dip between 4-6 weeks along, my nipples were extremely sensitive at that point but my supply bounced back up again and the sensitivity decreased a bit. My supply seems stuck in a yo-yo cycle up and down, up and down. It's nowhere near as abundant as it was before I was pregnant but there's still milk, occasionally I hear her swallowing. I was eating oatmeal when I thought about it and that has boosted my supply some.. I'm only 10 weeks but it's not too unbearable just yet. I guess we'll see what the future holds.

[porcelina]

I noticed a drop in the first trimester, and was sure mine was dry by about 16 weeks, when DS started saying, "there's no nothing in there." He still swallows every once in a while, so I have to think maybe something is coming out from time to time, but not sure. Also, nipple pain was bad, then went away, and is now back again . I would love to be able to nurse him through the pregnancy, but it is really getting pretty painful with just dry nursing. He was nursing 2-3 times a night and 2-3 times a day before I got pregnant.

[Family4Christ]

Thanks for the information! I guess every women is different. I'll be curious what my body ends up doing. She seems to want to nurse more often, which I find strange, but otherwise, things are still going. No major nipple pain yet, but it does feel different.

[MacKinnon]

I had a steady loss of supply through about 20 weeks and was then totally dry. I really did not like nursing during pregnancy, and weaned DS (who was 3) within weeks of my positive test this time around. I get an awful creepy-crawly, yucky feeling. And nipple pain. It was just not at all something I could tolerate. I hope things go better for you! Congrats on the new baby and best of luck!