supply issues and nothing is seeming to help!

[mamamelia]

so my supply is going down. ever since my dad passed away on 25th Feb, i have had supply issues. that day, i was so distraught i did not want to pump, and so dd had a bottle of formula (i already had one spare of breastmilk and when that finished she had formula). from then onwards, my supply started to decrease and nothing it seems is bringing it back... i've tried fenugreek, nursing my 30mo on top of pumping etc. i've also had a flu twice in the last month and on top of it i'm stressed, very upset, and i think heading towards depression yet again. today all i could manage to pump out was 6oz. i used to do 35oz. that is a HUGE drop. i am scared that i will totally lose my supply. my dh is going to china (business trip, can't be cancelled) from this sunday to next friday and i will be alone which makes it even harder for me to pump (both my kids seem to love going to bed for the night at 12-1am which is CRAZY and doesn't leave me time to do ANYTHING). i am also still sick and extremely tired. i think my body has just had it with stress and being sick and is giving in. my dd2 will latch on a little and pull off. sometimes she will hang around, but when she does (even for 3-4 hours)... she still barely wets the diaper which lets me know that she isnt really extracting anything. dh is going to take me to see a LC on the 2nd of april to help dd2 latch on properly... but not before then (just not possible). the problem is, if everyday my supply is getting worse, what happens if i totally dry up before we get to go? i am really worried that by the time he comes back, i will have no more milk. even when my 30mo is nursing, my breasts take a very, very long time to replenish the milk.. and she has a great latch (boobie addict). could my body just seriously stop making milk due to stress? is that even possible? i thought it was based on supply and demand but now i'm not so sure.. i really feel like i am no longer making anything no matter what i try. what can i do??? i'm very worried about losing my supply altogether and putting dd on formula alone. her body doesn't tolerate formula well (she is constipated at just one bottle a day).

[alegna]

First- get all bottles out of the picture. If you have to supplement, do it at the breast with a lact-aid or sns.

Make sure that all sucking is at the breast- sucking is much better for supply than pumping.

good luck!

-Angela

[gwynthfair]

Are you pumping because you're working outside the home?

[MaryJaneLouise]

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

has excellent information about helping your supply.

The LC is a really good idea; if you can't make it before then, can you call your local La Leche League? they may be able to help with your latch too.

Have you tried breast compression with your youngest babe?

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/15bre...mpression.html

Be sure to keep up with your B vitamins, they help you deal with stress.

[thepeach80]

Here's what I'm doing right now. I'm taking blessed thistle (can't do fenugreek) and pumping for 10mins after every day time feed when I'm at home. I'm also power pumping 1x a day, 12mins pumping, 12mins rest, then repeat till you've pumped 3x. I supplement w/ any bm I get when pumping and formula as needed. We use the Playtex Ventair small bottles as nothing comes out of those nipples unless you suck on them and it's hard to do so it makes her work, which was part of our problem, she's a lazy sucker.

What pump do you have? I'm renting a Lactina to try and help since all I had was a hand pump. I would try and get something like blessed thistle to take and look for mother's milk tea if you can stand it. There's also more milk plus too. It'll be o.k. It's a hard to thing go through, especially on top of everything else you've had going on, but I think slowly my supply is getting better.