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10 Month old, does BF'ing more often cause loss of supply?

747 views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  katelove 
#1 ·
...or is it that loosing supply causes BF'ing more? I have noticed that my son, 10 months old, is suddenly wanting to nurse more often. For awhile we were doing 5 feedings in 24 hours, sometimes 6, and it seemed to be what he would naturally want. Things were going great; he would be so busy playing, he wouldn't think to nurse otherwise! :) We stayed at 5 feedings for quite awhile. Supply was fine. I guess that ended up being nursing about every 3-4 hours, maybe with an 11 PM feed.

Anyways....he now will go 3 hours, but it's difficult for him, and the only reason I stretch it out that long, is that otherwise I seem to have very little milk for the feeding at all and he gets even more frustrated. He seems frustrated at the end of feedings now, instead of happily pulling away. I feel like the past few days, I am nursing him even more.....like every 2.5 hours, and doing maybe 2 feeds at night (we were down to 0 or 1). It seems like he is naturally now demanding more feeds, and I think my supply seems to be decreasing. I "think" he is wanting to nurse more BECAUSE my supply is naturally dropping (darn!!!!!), but I want to make sure that it isn't that I am feeding him too much and thus it only seems like I have no milk....because come on, who "would" make much milk if you try to do 7-9 feeds in 24 hours at 10 months, suddenly?

What do you think is happening?

I feel like this is my milk supply dropping drastically....and nursing on demand is the only thing keeping it going.....but I wanted to see if yes, I'm right, or if no, he is trying to comfort feed and my body can't keep up, so it only seems like I'm loosing my supply.
 
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#2 ·
So frustrated!!!! I went through a few days of high anxiety....but that has happened like...20 times or more since I've been breastfeeding! LOL! I wonder if this finally did me in? I was eating less, but that has happened quite a few times too, and it was never an issue. So honestly, I think this is HORMONES. I think my fertility is returning, and that's what's doing it. Does this sound like something that happens? I am frustrated because I feel like I have been doing everything within my power, but now....not sure what to do. :(

I am eating a lot more, drinking Gatorade, taking fenugreek and blessed thistle, resting, nursing on demand, except when I know there is nothing in there....?, I feel like meeting his demand is leaving both of us frustrated and exhausted. It isn't fair for him to feel frustrated constantly either, trying to get milk out of me when there isn't much coming out. :( What should I do?
 
#3 ·
I just read that essential oils of basil & fennel applied to the breast and/or ingested (which I can only recommend doing with doTERRA oils) is a great way to quickly increase supply. One gal said she felt her breast refill w/in 30 min of applying the oils!

ETA-I would still nurse on demand and just talk your LO through it and empathize w/him. That you understand he's frustrated and that you're doing everything you can to help make more milk and soon there will be more, etc etc
 
#5 ·
I'd nurse him MORE often. That's the time-tested way to up your supply. My DS is almost a year old, and he nurses a lot more often than that! He comes to work with me, so sometimes he'll go a couple of hours without nursing, but he makes up for it later on in the day and at night!

Good luck! :)
 
#9 ·
I'm confused by your assertion that if you nurse you DS more often than every 3 hours there is not milk available to him. In my experience, nursing causes milk production. Meaning that while your LO is nursing you are Already making more. Then when you nurse again you have another letdown. My DS is nearly 10 months old and barely eating a few bites of food now and then, so mostly EBF. He nurses every hour or two, day and night, most of the time. Some days he will go as long as 3 hours without nursing, or 5 hours at night, but that's rare. When he does nurse I frequently have 2 or 3 letdowns in one nursing session. (in case you're wondering, he's huge)
So maybe that's just me, but I would say that if you're at all concerned about supply and you don't want to wean (I wouldn't) nurse more. Nurse as much as possible. Take a couple days off from everything else and just cuddle and nurse with your LO. And possibly drink mothers milk tea, eat lactation cookies, take fenugreek, or whatever seems right to you.
 
#10 ·
Sounds like he might be having a growth spurt and your supply is taking a while to catch up to the new demand. I agree with continuing to feed on demand and trying foods which help with milk production. Lactation cookies, as PP mentioned, are great. And oats are good as well, if you like porridge.
 
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