dwindling supply...

[maisiedotes]

Help! I nurse my daughter for about 45-60 minutes at a time (till she loses interest) but then she gets off the breast and wants more. I can't pump anymore after she takes it all. I was able to pump about 70cc every 3 hours as of last week but I am now at about 40-50cc if she has not nursed beforehand, but if she has nursed beforehand I get almost nothing.

I am a little panicked because for a few days in a row I didn't pump every 3 hours (we were out and about and there were a few times that I went 4-5 hours) and I am afraid I will never get my milk supply back up! Is it possible, if I start pumping every 3 hours again, that I can build my supply back up? Also, my left breast, which was always the more productive one, seems to be giving out much less milk now. The baby prefers that breast but I don't think she is getting much out of it. I had been pumping the right one more because she was not on it for as long. UGH. This is so stressful.

[studentmama]

The best way to keep your supply up is to nurse frequently. Are you pumping to build a stash for work or something? If not, I would just hold off on pumping and try and nurse frequently. If baby is getting fussy or falls asleep you can try breast compressions(do a search on http://www.kellymom.com). Also, if you baby wants to nurse freuqnetly, that does NOT mean you don't have enough, it just means your baby is normal. If you are concerned about supply, the surest way to tell is by keeping track of the wet/dirty diapers. Again, check out kellymom, there is a section on the first six weeks which is fabulous(well, the website is fabulous). Good luck mama, you are doing great!!

[kathteach]

Maisiedotes when you say she wants more could it be that she ate enough but still wants to suck for comfort??

[Ruthla]

Why are you pumping after nursing her? Pumping is rarely an accurate measure of how much milk you're making. And with a baby that little, I don't understand why you're pumping every 3 hours AND nursing her on cue- my understanding is that frequent pumping is only needed to build up or maintain supply if the baby isnt' able to nurse.

Besides frequent feeding, what makes you think you have a low supply? It sounds to me like your baby is in the middle of her 2 week growth spurt- which is perfectly normal and is your baby's way of getting lots of milk and encouraging your breasts to make even more milk. Wanting to keep on sucking after nursing doesn't mean that you don't make enough milk- it just means that she wants to suck more!

[maisiedotes]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Besides frequent feeding, what makes you think you have a low supply?

Well, she is nursing for 45 min to an hour and has not been gaining weight, and she wants more. Plus, after meeting with the lactation consultant and having her weighed, she was not taking in enough to maintain her weight. I brought her in hungry and she was taking in about half of what she needs to maintain her weight. She swallows about every 4-5 sucks instead of every 1-2. I have tried everything- I stayed in bed with her most of yesterday skin to skin and she still didn't seem to be getting enough. I currently have her skin to skin in the moby wrap and although she is nursing, she seems to just be sucking and not taking much milk in. :

ETA: I have been manually expressing milk while nursing but even in doing that she does not seem to be swallowing much more. She is also still doing the fast sucking and not the slow suck-pause-suck-pause.

[studentmama]

Originally Posted by maisiedotes

Well, she is nursing for 45 min to an hour and has not been gaining weight, and she wants more. Plus, after meeting with the lactation consultant and having her weighed, she was not taking in enough to maintain her weight. I brought her in hungry and she was taking in about half of what she needs to maintain her weight. She swallows about every 4-5 sucks instead of every 1-2. I have tried everything- I stayed in bed with her most of yesterday skin to skin and she still didn't seem to be getting enough. I currently have her skin to skin in the moby wrap and although she is nursing, she seems to just be sucking and not taking much milk in. :

ETA: I have been manually expressing milk while nursing but even in doing that she does not seem to be swallowing much more. She is also still doing the fast sucking and not the slow suck-pause-suck-pause.

Is she getting any kind of bottles or pacifiers?

[MaryJaneLouise]

Did the LC do anything besides a test weight? Did she evaluate her latch? It sounds like you are doing breast compressions, that is good. Did the LC suggest some sort of suck therapy from a speech therapist or occupational therapist?

[shortpants]

Please excuse any typos, I spilled tea on my keyboard!

I think you should be able to get your supply back up. Keep nursing as much as possible. Have a nursing "marathon". The stimulatiion should give your body the message to produce more. Did your LC mention supplements? Fenugreek can increase your supply. After a nasty cold a few weeks ago my supply seemed to really drop. I started drinking mothers milk tea and saw a huge difference. It sounds like supply may not even be the issue though but more an insufficient latch. I'm sorry to see your having problems mama, I hope you can get it sorted out.

[veganone]

I had to make DD nurse for shorter periods early on - she'd nurse for an hour and would get so tired nursing that she never was effective or seemed to get full. What helped for me was to nurse a reasonable amount of time (15 min) on each side and then pop her off. Nurse again if she's still clearly hungry. I was really surprised at what a difference this made for DD when our LC suggested it. She actually was less hungry (or acted it) because she figured out how to eat more efficiently.

Nurse every 2 hours during the day.

Can you get her weighed to see if she's gaining well? If she is, you're probably fine, too. Most LCs have access to scales that can tell how much she's getting in a feeding - that was very comforting to me at first.

I agree - frequency is much better than length... You may not be getting much pumping because your LO is being effective at draining your brests, which is the best thing for increasing supply.

It does sound like a growth spurt - normal and often at that age. Or she's just wanting to comfort suck. DD did that too and we finally gave in and gave her a paci at around 9 weeks (not suggesting this until she's got a really solid latch and is gaining well!).

I'd bet that your supply is just fine.