Milk supply dropping

[Kadieladie]

Hi All -

I have a 10 month old daughter and we've had a great breastfeeding experience - a little rocky at the get-go, like most, but after the first few weeks old things have been smooth sailing.

I went back to work when she was 5 months old, and pump 3 times during a 7.5-8 hr day.  She drinks about 12 oz of milk while she's at day care.  She eats semi-solids during the day and we nurse at night and in the mornings before work.  She sleeps for about 4 hours at a go at night.

The thing is, I am not expressing as much milk and it's starting to worry me.  I've got some storage in the freezer, but for over a week now, it seems like getting 9 oz in a day is a stretch.  I'm upping the number of times I'm pumping, but so far have seen no difference.  For the past 3 days I've been drinking 'mothers milk' tea like it's going out of styles.

So, in an effort to head off a problem or find a better solution, I'm putting this out on the forum.  Have others hit a low spot?  Is there something more to do to up my supply/production?  Do I just keep the pump hooked up all day (just kidding - but even just pumping 3 times already seems like it's most of the day)?  Anything I'm not thinking of here?

Thanks for any input!

[remymom]

Hi Kadieladie,

DS started daycare at 10 months and I had quite a stash of my milk in the freezer. I never pumped during the day at work (which probably decreased my production). I pumped every evening. Sometimes I got 5 oz, sometimes only 2.5. When he was about 11 months and a bit, I was barely able to pump 2 ounces in 30-40 min (I have a sucky pump!) and I was SO fed up of pumping. The supply in the freezer was becoming dire. I wanted to wait until he was 1 to start cow's milk but decided 2 weeks early would be ok. I also realized there would be a transition phase to cow's milk and really wanted to stop pumping as of his 1st birthday. He's transitioned well and drinks more cow's milk than he did my milk (maybe because the supply is bigger). It's quite a relief to me. I don't know if it's because I was barely pumping much, but I get the impression now he doesn't get much milk from me. Well he drinks when I get home but before going to bed it seems like maybe there's not much. I started giving him some cow's milk before bed so that I wouldn't have guilt during his night wakings (slowly trying to night wean here) that he's hungry. I'm not sure if giving him cow's milk when I'm around is going to make my supply go down. I'm guessing it will. 

Good luck!

[foreverinbluejeans]

My dil went back to work when my grandson was 10 months and never pumped. He ate solids when he was with me and nursed when he was with her. He nursed "all night" but it wasn't a problem for her. He nursed until he was 2.5. This is called reverse cycle feeding. 

[roch]

Hi,

My milk supply started dropping when my son was around 10 or 11 months.  I took Nature's Way Fenugreek - 2, 610 mg capsules, 3 times a day.  Within 1 or 2 days my milk production increased substantially (which is typical for this herb).  He's 12.5 months now and I'm still taking it and I still have a really good supply.  Blessed Thistle is another herb that you could try if the Fenugreek alone is not good enough.  Usually the amount of herbs in "milk teas" is way below therapeutic level; so capsules usually work a lot better.

Good luck!

[3girls1boy]

Don't forget that the pump is never going to be as effective as the baby in extracting milk.  I found that pumping while the baby nursed on the other side yielded much more milk.