Silly question, sort of,...

[mkpgoddess]

...but is there a way to increase supply during a certain chunk of the day without pumping?

The reason I ask is I am exclusively nursing an almost 7 week old and she has been cluster feeding like mad (normal, I know) from 5pm until I give up and go to bed with her somewhere between 8-9pm where we continue to nurse until she falls asleep which is anywhere from immediately to 11 pm (again, normal...ish). I'd say she's been doing this for about 3 weeks?

If she were copacetic and happy, I'd be fine with this, but she can't settle and seems to try to stimulate letdown over and over as if there's nothing there. I can also feel a particular "emptiness" to the boobs that the rest of the day doesn't have. I know that my pumping output during this time is down to a mere trickle and I might get a whopping 1/2 oz total from both breasts after pumping for 20 mins (and I'm aware that pumping output has no bearing on how much she's getting, but still...)

So, empty-ish boobs and unhappy baby = unhappy mommy.

Suggestions?

TIA!

[Quinalla]

Are you making sure to have something to drink at hand when you settle in for the marathon? Are you eating enough in general? And are you getting enough rest (yeah I know this one is impossible, but is the biggest factor for me for supply dips)? If she's been doing this everyday, I'd say our supply couldn't be stimulated more, if she skips days, maybe do a pumping session at that time on those days? She may just be generally fussy though (normal) at that time and you are interpreting it as her being frustrated with your supply.