Milk supply question

[lrgs]

I have a milk supply issue and was hoping someone might be able to help. With my first DD I suddenly had a milk supply drop when she was 4 months old. She had  been a pretty content baby who slept through the night and suddenly became miserable, crying all the time, never sleeping and didn't gain any weight for 2 months. I didn't know anything was wrong until she was 6 months old. We started to supplement and she gained a pound in a week and was immediately back to being happy and sleeping through (I know sleeping through was an exception and don't expect babies to do this). I was prescribed Domperidone for my supply but at the time was fighting PPD so I decided to just wean her. I regreted this but have made my peace with it......I did what I felt I had to do at the time. This time around with YDD I did things different to try and avoid having the same problems......she rarely gets bottles (maybe once or twice every 2 weeks) and I pump for any missed feedings. She also nurses all the time......doesn't sleep through the night like her sister. She's 4 months old and I'm having the same supply issues! This time around I know more what to look for and caught it earlier, I can tell when she's getting and swallowing milk and noticed a decrease in urine output. So I started on Domperidone and was doing better but then I got my period and started having trouble again. Yesterday afternoon was terrible. She was nursing and nursing but wasn't getting anything, she was getting really upset and starting to clamp down on my nipple (ouch) and was very fussy. We ended up giving a couple oz of formula. Later that night I seemed to have some more milk available for her. I'll keep taking the Domperidone and I guess try some other stuff (oatmeal, pumping, etc) but is there anything else I can do? I really want to keep breastfeeding for an absolute minimum of a year and hopefully a lot longer then that.

[lrgs]

Nothing???

[CherryBombMama]

nak

are you SURE its just not a growth spurt? have you weighed her before and after a feeding to see how much she gets?

[Marissamom]

I agree that it could be partially a growth spurt. and I always had a decrease in supply with my period, and as long as I was putting DD to the breast really often, my supply would pop right back up after my period was gone. I would try to stay away from supplementing with formula, because when you do it tells your body that it doesn't need to make as much milk. have you tried switch nursing? nurse one side until the milk slows down, then switch sides, once the milk slows down on the second side switch back to the first side, keep switching until the baby won't nurse any more. also, put the baby to the breast every 30-45 minutes if she'll take it. the more stimulation you have, the more you'll make. and try to relax. when you're stressed you don't get as good of a let-down. listen to relaxing music while nursing. sit back and close your eyes. or nurse in the bath. the fact that you're looking for a supply problem may be worsening the problem because you are stressing about it. if you can, take a baby-moon. leave everything else be for a couple of days, and just spend as much time cuddling skin-to-skin with your child as possible. and make sure you're nurturing yourself. lots of water and nutritious foods. 

[lrgs]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't think it's a growth spurt because I can tell when she's getting milk (can hear the swallowing) and she was definitely getting much less and at one point she couldn't get anything......she was just frantically nursing.......combined with the decrease in urine output. She's peeing more now that I've been on Domperidone (back to about the same level as she was before). I did try nursing back and forth on both sides and will try it again......I'm going to take the advice about putting her to the breast as much as possible. She does like to nurse a lot so she should be good with it...........although she is 4 months now so getting a bit distractable. When dh gets home I'll have him take over with ODD and take her to bed with me........good excuse for some baby cuddles anyway.