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sudden drop in supply  

post #1 of 11
6/23/08 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 
hello all,

im wondering if anyone can give me some advice/hints as to why my supply would suddenly decline rather rapidly. my baby is 5 1/2 months old. i have always had a ton of milk, and still need to wear nursing pads as i was leaking constantly. breastfeeding has been going great till now.

this week, my supply has dropped off rather sharply. im working about 3-4 nights a week (for the last 2 months or so), and usually have been able to pump a bottle between being at work and when i get home. i have tried pumping throughout the day to stimulate production to no avail.

my daughter has just started sleeping thru the night, and wonder if this has anything to do w/ it? the first few times she did it, i woke up totally soaked. now i wake up and theres almost nothing! same for work ... im just not filling up! im usually with her all day, and have been offering her the breast as often as i can. she is eating a few solids, and we have been having to feed her more bc i just cant pump enough.

im really scared i wont be able to feed my daughter! am i drying up? im going to go eat some oatmeal and try to pump again, as i just tried to feed her and there was nothing there, even though it had been 2 hours since the last feeding.

thanks, mandy

ps what is dom?
post #2 of 11
6/23/08 at 4:24pm
Yes, your supply can go down if she is sleeping through the night. Once that happens, AF might be returning soon.

Kellymom has a hint on calcium helping with menstrual related low supply:

http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/natur...s.html#calcium

You probably have enough when you are directly nursing, but not for pumping (which is much harder for most people). Also many women notice a "6 month slump".

Read the "low milk supply" stickie at the top of this forum for more hints on increasing pumped milk output.
post #3 of 11
6/24/08 at 3:59pm
Thread Starter 
wow that is so interesting, thanks! i must admit i havent missed my aunt very much, though.

im eating oatmeal and ovaltine and taking some fenugreek and cal/mag etc, but here is the thing that still worries me (doubtless im just over sensitive about it but hey): when im at work, im not filling up at all, that is to say after 3-4 hours theres really still nothing to pump. is this different when my baby is nursing? does my body know the difference and let down milk just for baby?

thanks so much for your input, i found it very helpful!
post #4 of 11
6/25/08 at 8:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mandyhask View Post
wow that is so interesting, thanks! i must admit i havent missed my aunt very much, though.

im eating oatmeal and ovaltine and taking some fenugreek and cal/mag etc, but here is the thing that still worries me (doubtless im just over sensitive about it but hey): when im at work, im not filling up at all, that is to say after 3-4 hours theres really still nothing to pump. is this different when my baby is nursing? does my body know the difference and let down milk just for baby?

thanks so much for your input, i found it very helpful!
Most women's bodies respond better to a baby than a pump, provided the baby is latching well & has no structural mouth, palate, or tongue tie issues. There's just something less inspiring about a pump than a child, KWIM?

So nurse as much as you can when you are together. If you are REALLY worried, you can wake in the middle of the night to pump. Or, you could cosleep to get your child to nurse in the middle of the night easily.
post #5 of 11
6/26/08 at 9:15pm
Same thing happened for me at 8 months with baby sleeping through the night - and my cycle coming back. The motherlove herbal tinctures worked wonders. www.motherlove.com
Good luck!
post #6 of 11
6/29/08 at 12:41am
To answer your question, dom is domperidone, which is a medication used in other countries to stimulate gastric motility and move things along in the gut. It has an interesting side effect of increasing prolactin levels, which for many nursing moms, helps boost supply. It is not approved in the US, but "ve have vays" of tracking it down. However, it is the "big guns" and there's a lot of other ways to boost supply, chief among them being more frequent emptying of the breast. How many times a day would you so you are currently nursing? How many times a day are you pumping? Has this changed in the past 4 to 6 weeks? What kind of pump are you using?
post #7 of 11
6/29/08 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RootSnort View Post
How many times a day would you so you are currently nursing? How many times a day are you pumping? Has this changed in the past 4 to 6 weeks? What kind of pump are you using?
right now, during the day im nursing 4-6 times before i go to work (usually around 6), which has pretty much been the norm. im trying to offer more too. i usually only pump when im at work a few times and theni pump when i get home if shes asleep. i just use a little medela handpump ... we do cosleep and often she will fall asleep still latched on after nursing - she just likes it for the comfort factor i think. so, every time she wakes up (sometimes not at all, sometimes 2-3x) she just sucks away, even when shes seemingly asleep.

i also read that article at kellymom and have started upping my calcium ...

things appear to be getting better actually! : im getting at least a little when i pump now. the only thing that is not improving is that she has become increasingly fussy at night. i work nights (3-4 per week) and when my husband tries to put her down, she often wont go down or wakes up hysterical. she has taken a bottle from him for 2 months+ now but shes not really feeling it at night. i think he doesnt have enough milk to give her enough to feel full at night, beofre bedtime. often he is running out and shes not able to be fed to sleep like she normally likes. poor guy. but we are improving our supply so i hope that will be resolved too.

like i said, i really appreciate all the input and i m totally psyched to have found this great community of mothers!
post #8 of 11
6/29/08 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RootSnort View Post
How many times a day would you so you are currently nursing? How many times a day are you pumping? Has this changed in the past 4 to 6 weeks? What kind of pump are you using?
right now, during the day im nursing 4-6 times before i go to work (usually around 6), which has pretty much been the norm. im trying to offer more too. i usually only pump when im at work a few times and theni pump when i get home if shes asleep. i just use a little medela handpump ... we do cosleep and often she will fall asleep still latched on after nursing - she just likes it for the comfort factor i think. so, every time she wakes up (sometimes not at all, sometimes 2-3x) she just sucks away, even when shes seemingly asleep.

i also read that article at kellymom and have started upping my calcium ...

things appear to be getting better actually! : im getting at least a little when i pump ... the only thing that is not improving is that she has become increasingly fussy at night. i work nights (3-4 per week) and when my husband tries to put her down, she often wont go down or wakes up hysterical. she has taken a bottle from him for 2 months+ now but shes not really feeling it at night. i think he doesnt have enough milk to give her enough to feel full at night, beofre bedtime. often he is running out and shes not able to be fed to sleep like she normally likes, or when she wakes up,he has not mmilk to cofort her with. poor guy. but we are improving our supply so i hope that will be resolved too, if he can just hang in there. although my mom did say she has noticed a 1000 percent increase in her responsivesness to hime since i started working, so im happy to see their relationship is being strengthened by this.

like i said, i really appreciate all the input and i m totally psyched to have found this great community of mothers!
post #9 of 11
6/30/08 at 12:40am
I would try to get 2 more nursing or pumping sessions in daily, try to get your average back to 8 times a day, if you can.
Any way you can rent or purchase an electric double pump for work?
post #10 of 11
6/30/08 at 10:40am
I agree, a double electric pump would do you wonders, I didn't think to ask. You can get an Ameda PY for $150 w/free shipping.

http://shop.happymothers.com/Ameda/B...ampaign=AMPY70

Plus when you are done you can pass it on with a clear conscience to another pumping mama, these are closed systems so no chance of milk bacteria or viruses backing up & contaminating the pump.
post #11 of 11
6/30/08 at 3:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaryJaneLouise View Post
I agree, a double electric pump would do you wonders, I didn't think to ask. You can get an Ameda PY for $150 w/free shipping.

http://shop.happymothers.com/Ameda/B...ampaign=AMPY70

Plus when you are done you can pass it on with a clear conscience to another pumping mama, these are closed systems so no chance of milk bacteria or viruses backing up & contaminating the pump.
Amen, the PY is my favorite, and I am a former PIS owner. I've been around pumps for a while!
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