how to increase supply

[ebbb]

hi. I am concerned that I am losing my milk supply- I exclusively breast feed my 3 1/2 month old DD, and up until the last week or so, I have always seemed to have a great supply- most days waking up with very full if not leaking breasts, and occasionaly leaking during the day, but that seems to have stopped and now I am worried that my milk supply is decreasing. I still nurse pretty much every 3 hours around the clock, and try and use both breasts an equal amount of time. My DD seems pretty content, and is a little chunker- weight gain so far has not been an issue.

Am I just being paranoid and this is normal for this stage in the breastfeeding cycle?

If it is a problem, what can I do to increase supply?

Thanks for any advice for a possibly over paranoid first time mama

[Llyra]

I really think it's probably NOT an issue of not enough milk. This is a very common time for mamas to suddenly suspect they don't have enough milk-- the breasts stop leaking, they're softer, you don't feel uncomfortably full between feedings. That's because your supply is shifting from being hormonally-driven, to being demand-driven. What's happening is that your supply is regulating to meet baby's needs exactly, meaning you're only making the amount of milk baby is demanding. This is a positive step! But it can be scary if you're not expecting it to happen.

Watch baby-- if baby continues to gain well, and is peeing frequently, and pooping regularly, all is well. (Keeping in mind that less-frequent pooping is common too at this age-- some kids go every week or less. As long as it's soft and ample when baby does go, that's all that matters. And keeping in mind that it's normal and expected for weight gain to slow down slightly once baby reaches about four months.)

It can't hurt to offer to nurse more often, especially in the daytime, if you are really worried. Three hours is a long span of time; my kids at that age only rarely went that long without nursing. But honestly, with a baby who's gaining beautifully, I would just say follow baby's cues.

And really, it sounds like you've just arrived at that normal transition time of your supply regulating itself.