Decrease in my milk supply

Minnie - posted on 06/17/2009

I think you misunderstand. There is no requirement to confining yourself in bd- but nursing frequently must be the main goal. That and resting.

Shannon - posted on 06/17/2009

Let's be realistic here... it is a 10 month old child. They crawl, are active.. want to see, feel etc EVERYTHING! How or why would you make them stay confined to bed for 3 days....
My son is 9 months old.. we have a similar situation. I have to work 3 to 4 days a week, so I do pump a couple times a day. However, when I am home... I nurse only and limit the food intake. He nurses at 630, eats breakfast at 8, nurses at 1030, naps till 1200... eats lunch at 1230, nurses at or around 3, naps till 430 or so... dinner at 530, nurses at 8, bed time... then gets up to nurse at midnight, and 4 am... Somewher in there... I pump about 6 oz a day to freeze on my days off so that I have it while I am working. The days I work are much differnt for him.
Eat plenty of oatmeal, take the fenugreek till you smell sorta like maple syrup... try mothers milk tea too, and I think apple juice helps too.
One other thought... only because I just went through it... is she sleeping okay?? Teething at all... my son had an ear infection that appearently only bothered him while he tried to nurse....

Alison - posted on 06/17/2009

Quoting Lisa:

She does not NEED solids. Who told you that? She won't starve. Your milk is not water, it's full of vitamins, minerals, fats, protein, carbohydrates!

Solids are for practice only for at least the first 12 months. If you want your breastfeeding relationship to continue you need to make breastfeeding the priority. Logic says if she's filling up on solids she's not going to nurse.

Yes, of course- if you nurse her first, she will not eat as many solids- that's the whole point. You're trying to increase your milk supply. Again, she does not need solids right now. Seriously. My eight month old gets nothing but my milk.

Solids are complementary only until at least 12 months. That means they should never be offered before or in place of a breastfeeding.

You are still having let downs, they just become more subtle as you progress in your breastfeeding relationship.

She's frustrated at your breast because she's 10 months old and is on the go and distracted. That's just the normal course of things. You can massage your breasts before nursing her to get things going (for a minute or so), and you can nurse her lying down in bed in a dark room to minimize distractions.

Another great way to increase your supply is to wake her once or twice a night to nurse as well. Those night time nursings are usually quite effective.

Oh, and my first post I had a typo: I meant to say, if you're nursing as you should to increase your supply you shouldn't have any time to PUMP (not nurse, like I typed).

i 100 % agree. ive heard the same thing about the solids. breast milk is your babys main source of nutrition untill 12 months of age.

Minnie - posted on 06/17/2009

She does not NEED solids. Who told you that? She won't starve. Your milk is not water, it's full of vitamins, minerals, fats, protein, carbohydrates!



Solids are for practice only for at least the first 12 months. If you want your breastfeeding relationship to continue you need to make breastfeeding the priority. Logic says if she's filling up on solids she's not going to nurse.



Yes, of course- if you nurse her first, she will not eat as many solids- that's the whole point. You're trying to increase your milk supply. Again, she does not need solids right now. Seriously. My eight month old gets nothing but my milk.



Solids are complementary only until at least 12 months. That means they should never be offered before or in place of a breastfeeding.



You are still having let downs, they just become more subtle as you progress in your breastfeeding relationship.



She's frustrated at your breast because she's 10 months old and is on the go and distracted. That's just the normal course of things. You can massage your breasts before nursing her to get things going (for a minute or so), and you can nurse her lying down in bed in a dark room to minimize distractions.



Another great way to increase your supply is to wake her once or twice a night to nurse as well. Those night time nursings are usually quite effective.



Oh, and my first post I had a typo: I meant to say, if you're nursing as you should to increase your supply you shouldn't have any time to PUMP (not nurse, like I typed).

Amber - posted on 06/17/2009

I exclusively pump and have recently had problems with my supply and like you no matter what I did it didn't seem to help. I tried everything and then some with no help. I had problems with my supply because of work and being unable to pump regularly, but I finally gave in and took a prescription Reglan. I only took it for a couple of days twice a day the directions were take for 7 days every six hours, but I didn't need to and it began to help immediately. I now am producing enough milk that I don't have to suppliment like I was before. It took me a long time before trying it but it worked.

Courtney - posted on 06/16/2009

Cut out her solids at 10 months? Wouldn't she starve? So I guess she will nurse more bc she is hungry and that will add to my supply.
The reason I think that I have no milk is bc my daughter is getting really frustrated while she was nursing, she would cry and cry and keeping popping off. Also, I have no letdown. And they are a lot smaller and there is nothing in there. She is nursing about 4 times a day. When she wakes up, before naps and bedtime. You think I should nurse her before I feed her her solids? Then she doesn't want to eat any solids.

Courtney - posted on 06/16/2009

Cut out her solids at 10 months? Wouldn't she starve? So I guess she will nurse more bc she is hungry and that will add to my supply.
The reason I think that I have no milk is bc my daughter is getting really frustrated while she was nursing, she would cry and cry and keeping popping off. Also, I have no letdown. And they are a lot smaller and there is nothing in there. She is nursing about 4 times a day. When she wakes up, before naps and bedtime. You think I should nurse her before I feed her her solids? Then she doesn't want to eat any solids.

Minnie - posted on 06/16/2009

What makes you think that you have NO milk? Because you couldn't pump anything? Pumping is no indication of your supply- it's not effective at expressing the milk. Was your baby nursing frequently? That's how she stimulates your breasts to increase production to meet her growing needs.



Is her urine dark and smelly? If it's not, you're producing fine.



The best way to increase your supply is to shun housework, get someone to help with other kids (if you have them) and retreat to your bed with your baby for three days. Do nothing but take care of yourself and her, and nurse. Spend lots of time holding her without a shirt on, her naked against your chest. Nurse in the bath tub. Get a mei tai, wrap, or sling, and wear her skin to skin. Nurse, nurse, nurse.



If you're nursing as you should to increase supply you shouldn't have any time to nurse. In fact, if baby needs more from you, she will want to nurse as much as possible. Pumps complicate things and aren't needed.



Cut down on her solids. If you're offering them before nursing her that's a sure-fire way to reduce your supply. Cut them all out if you can. Then once she's nursing frequently again, you can reintroduce them in small amounts.



http://www.thethinkingmother.com/breastf...