Supply down?

[organicmom3]

Dh is four months old and the breastfeeding itself is going fine. I WAS, in a addition to his usual feedings, able to pump at practically anytime and get anywhere from 3-7 ounces at a time for storage.....note the word WAS....

Now that I have been on an elimination diet for just a couple days, I have needed to reestablish my 'frozen stash' and am having a heck of a time doing so. All of a sudden it's taking me ten minutes just to get an extra ounce. And I'm trying several times a day....sometimes I can only get half an ounce out of BOTH sides! What is going on???

Dh seems to be getting enough, at least according to his wet diapers and lack of fussing.....but I'm getting no extra and that concerns me.....not just that I have no emergancy stash to use, but what if it continues and won't be enough for him?

Is there anything I should do besides trying to pump more frequently?
Could it be for some weird reason related to a food I'm giving up? That seems absurd to me....but....I've given up (for hopefully just a few weeks) dairy, wheat, soy, eggs, citrus, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant,peppers, peanuts, .... I'm still eating the same quantity of foods though, so I doubt that would be it.....

Thoughts?

[Quinalla]

Sounds like your supply has just leveled off and that you probably had an overabundance when you started. Right after birth, you have a big hormone surge that drives breastmilk production, but as that starts to wane, it is driven by supply/demand and breasts tend to be very efficient, if you were taking out 30oz and now only 25oz, they quickly adjust to make 25oz instead. So no cause for worry on your supply just from a change in pumping output as long as your baby is still doing fine.

As for how to increase your pumping output, try and pump at the same time(s) each day. This will signal your breasts that you need more milk at those times and they should be quicker to respond and start making more milk. It can take a few days for them to adjust. You can also try "power pumping" where you pump for 5-10 minutes, off for 5-10, pump for 5-10, etc. This better signals that you need more milk, but can be annoying. Don't worry if you don't get a lot of milk at first at any of these pumping sessions, it will increase.

And depending on what your diet looks like now, the elimination can effect supply. Even with the same calories, if your protien/fat/carb ratio is significantly different, for me anyway, that can affect my supply.

[organicmom3]

Thanks so much....I really appreciate your thoughts! And by the way, I just realized my typo! Obviously I meant Ds....NOT DH! LOL!

[lovetolaugh]

I'm having the same problem. My freezer stash is down to just 7 ounces!!! I'm on an elimination diet similar to yours....no wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, citrus, berries, chicken, beef, corn, oats, tomatoes. I've been on this since DS was 1 month old. (He's now 10 months) So, I've never been able to get more than 3 ounces combined when I pump, and it's usually just 1/2 to 1 ounce. Sooo frustrating!

I'm going to try the power pumping!

[organicmom3]

I think I might too....this morning was frustrating...I'm usually able to pump a good 4-6 oz in the am AFTER his feeding to have for anything we do in the a.m. in case it isn't a place for public feeding..... I couldn't do it...I only got about 2 ounces which just isn't enough and I only have 4 ounces in the freezer now that's usable. Looks like It will be the same problem Sunday morning for church....that's just one place I will NOT breastfeed in front of people...not in the church itself...I guess I'll go downstairs, but I sure hope this changes back to the way it was....didn't realize I had it so easy before NOR that it would change so QUICKLY!