Supply & time of day question- need advice

[lizsky]

I've made it to 6 months BFing! However, I've noticed lately that DD is most interested in eating late in the day when my supply is low and not very interested in eating in the morning when my supply is high. (We just introduced banana and avacado, but I don't anticipate solids will be a significant part of her diet for a while.)

When I nurse her before bed she seems frustrated, as though she wants more and I don't have more to give her. I tried offering a bottle of expressed milk the past few nights when she has grown frustrated with my breasts and she downed the bottle and seemed content. I REALLY want to make sure she has plenty to eat before bed, as she is a poor sleeper and I want to ensure that she is at least starting the night with plenty in her tummy.

I suppose I can keep supplementing expressed milk at night, but is there some other way to encourage my body to have more milk to offer in the evening?

[Buzzer Beater]

Going through the same thing, dd is 4mo. She is refusing a bottle tho, and not feeding her solids yet so don't even have that. Hopefully somebody will have some ideas, but from what I've read it's normal for supply to be greatest in the a.m.

[Parker'smommy]

The best way to increase your supply is to nurse more> If you supplement, nd not nursing, you are telling your breasts yo not make more milk, kwim? Your babe is most probably going through a growth spurt. You need to nurse more, and get through the rough afternoon/evenings and your body will adjust to making more milk. Yes, your body makes more milk in the morning as prolactin levels are highest in the middle of the night, but if you nurse more in the afternoon/evenings and don't supplement, it will tell your body to make more milk at those times too.

[lizsky]

Originally Posted by Parker'smommy

The best way to increase your supply is to nurse more> If you supplement, nd not nursing, you are telling your breasts yo not make more milk, kwim? Your babe is most probably going through a growth spurt. You need to nurse more, and get through the rough afternoon/evenings and your body will adjust to making more milk. Yes, your body makes more milk in the morning as prolactin levels are highest in the middle of the night, but if you nurse more in the afternoon/evenings and don't supplement, it will tell your body to make more milk at those times too.

Thank you for your reponse...I just don't understand how to implement your advice. I feel like I'm already nursing so much. In the mornings DD nurses every 2 or 3 hours or so, and if I offer her a breast more often than that, she gets grumpy and pushes it away. But in the afternoons and evenings we often nurse at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm and then she's asleep...So when exactly should I be nursing more? Usually somewhere in the last hour before bed she seems hungry and frustrated with nursing.

[SilverFish]

you are offering her frequently, and on demand.

is she gaining well and staying on her weight curve?
is she wetting and pooping frequently?
is she generally alert, happy and energetic?

if you've answered yes to all those questions, what leads you to believe she isn't getting enough? at 6 months, she could be fussy for any number of reasons, not necessarily related to being hungry at all. my dd is 6 months and fusses because her gums are bothering her, because she's tired, because she's working on new skills etc. she is sometimes very fussy near bedtime because she's getting sleepy, wants to nurse but is having a hard time settling. it's very common, lots of babies like to nurse a lot at night. just because it is *generally* true that milk production is higher in the early hours (like 3-5am) doesn't mean your baby isn't getting any milk at any other time. if you give your daughter expressed milk at night, it's fine, if it's to give you a break... your body is still making all that milk anyway (just at a different time), but i don't think you need to do it. if she's having a growth spurt, it's best just to try and ride it out, since your production will catch up pretty soon.