Breastfeeding - Beaufort, SC

Are you working? It was hard for me to keep my supply up d/t work. Pumping after every feeding and at breaks was the only way I could make it to 9 months, if not I would notice an immediate drop. Then I supplemented my saved milk with formula until one year combinining the two. I think this may have helped with my daughter transistion to milk. Good luck.

My son was born in January. We are experiencing something similar except that I am not working outside the house. It seems that my once overabundance of milk has dwindled. I think we have just balanced out. When I got really worried about it I increased my caloric intake and started eating lots of oatmeal and drinking more water. It worked well for me. You can also try fenugreek, milk thistle, mint leaves, and/or parsley. Good luck. Keep up the good work.

Hi A.,

I experienced the same thing. My son is 5 and a half months. My milk supply started to diminish once I had been pumping for a few weeks and then it diminished even more once I went back to work and even recently I've had issues getting a let down at all and have been engorged throughout the day at work. It's all tied to supply and demand and now that you are away from your baby more your supply will go down and then you add in stress, fatigue, etc. At any rate, don't give up. I was at the point that I was about to and responses from this site actually are what encouraged me to stick to it. Also remember that as your baby gets older and starts to eat more that there should also be a decreased need for milk. Things shoud somewhat level out but try not to stress about it because that could lead to the issues that I've had of not getting a let down. Keep up the good work!

6 months is always the month that is hard. I struggled here as well. Do you have a LaLache league breastfeeding book or can you call one of the free support moms? Either that or visit your local health store (wilner chemist in Buckhead is really good if you are close). There are many supplements that help with the milk supply.

Best of luck, way to go hanging in there, it is such a special thing to do with your child and so important for health.

It might not be you at all, so to speak. When my last child started eating solids, my milk supply started diminishing. I took Fenugreek...it got me by, but didn't give me an ample supply. I'm pregnant with my 5th and I plan on making sure that I have Blessed Thistle on hand. I'll probably start taking as soon as my baby is born.

I'd definitely recommend what the previous person said with taking Blessed Thistle. Blessed Thistle has been known to work for adoptive mothers to begin lactating as well.

A.,
I would not worry too much about not producing as much milk. I'm thinking he's probably eating a good bit of table/big people food now and while you can certainly breastfeed until he's one (I did with both of my boys, too) it won't be the only thing he's eating so he won't eat as much. Add yogurt to his diet for calcium/milk goodstuff and water to drink with lunch. Check with his pediatrician, of course, and keep up with your prenatal vitamins and drink plenty of water just to make sure that's not what's causing this. But I'm thinking it's your body's natural way of weaning him, a LITTLE at a time...
M.

Don't give up - maybe you just need to let him nurse more and longer to increase your milk supply again. Your body adjusts based on demand - I have heard of supplies decreasing from using a breast pump - I read that you should let the pump run for several minutes after you're 'empty' to help prevent this. I had a huge supply at first too, but it gradually decreased until it matched my son's demands more closely. Sometimes it seemed I wasn't making enough when he was going through a growth spurt, but I always seemed to catch up again after a few days as long as I let him nurse as long as he wanted at each feeding. Good luck ...

A.,
If your son has started eating solid food, he does not need as much milk and you will produce less. I think that your supply goes up and down according to how much the baby needs. I hope this helps!

As your baby eats more and more solids and drinks more liquids like juice and water, he probably won't nurse as much, therefore you won't produce as much milk. But, as long as you continue to breastfeed on demand and pump at work your milk shouldn't dry up unitl you permanently quit nursing.

I experienced a similar problem with my second child. I used fenugreek for a while. It is herbal and you can buy it over the counter. My OBGYN also perscribed Reglan which helped more. He also told me to drink dark beer-- not a whole six pack!! Just 1 every day or 2. It actually helped. Good luck! However much breast milk your son is getting is really helping him so, just feel good in knowing that!

Your ob/gyn can prescribe a medication that you take for a couple weeks and it will increase your milk supply quite a bit. There are also a few other things you can take regularly which may help. You can drink Mother's Milk Tea or take fenugreek. There is also a product called More Milk Plus that is a combination of fenugreek and some other herbs which is more helpful for some women. More Milk Plus can be purchased at Whole Foods. I have found that a combination of all of these things at different times has helped my milk supply.

Hey There,

I had a similar experience. When one of my sons was 10 months old, my milk supply nearly dried up. Turns out I was pregnant again! Have you tested?

The same thing happened to me. I'm no doctor, but I think it is just the change in the child's eating routine (moving from just formula to solid foods). Around 7 months old my son only wanted a bottle (or breast) for nap time or night time and ate baby foods or strained "real" food for his other meals and snacks. I slowly increased the amount of time between pumping during my work day so that I pumped in the morning before I left for work (7ish) and pumped when I got in (3ish). Then I would nurse at night (7:30-8). From my doctor, he said that any breastmilk throughout the first year is beneficial. For me, however, my son quit nursing at 8 months by his own choice. I still have some leaks from time to time and it's been almost 6 months since I stopped breastfeeding. Hope that helps!

Hello A.! You do not mention how much solid food your son is eating, but he is entering the transitional period between milk and food. Perhaps he needs less milk if he is getting his fill at the dinner table (and that's a good thing!). It's just something else to look at in conjunction with the other ladies' suggestions.

I wish you the absolute best of luck!

I stared to dry up too around 6 months for no reason it seemed. Fenugreek is a natural supplement that seems to work for a lot of people. My dr said it was fine to take. Make sure your dr approves it too. good luck!

Is he eating baby food now? If so, he will be drinking less milk, thus your supply will decrease. Talk to a lactation consultant if you are truly worried he isn't getting enough to eat.

Good for you! Pumping can be tough.

Try eating a lot of oatmeal--the real kind, although instant is better than nothing, and get some brewer's yeast (Whole Foods or a nutrition store, and make sure it is brewer's yeast) and add that to everything. Fenugreek and blessed thistle can also help.

You might also try pumping one side while he nurses on the other.

Working and breastfeeding is certainly not an easy chore. I was very fortunate and was able to supply my little girl with just breastmilk for the first year and still continued to nurse just a night for a few more months. I think some thought that I was crazy and I'm not sure that I even knew what sleep was at that time in my life. I too became short on milk about halfway through. Let me restate, I was not short on milk but each time I pumped I got less and less. Well, since this is your second you are probably no stranger to supply and demand. Obviously since he is 7 months old he is not constantly nursing any more and therefore your supply is diminishing because your body does not think that you need the milk anymore. Also understand that the pump does not compare to him nursing. I am sure you can tell that. So you want to make sure that you have a good pump, Medela's work very well.

Well, this is how I did it. Luckily, I was able to do this and I can't say that I could do it now based on my current job. My job at the time allowed for me to do what I need to do, more or less. So when I started back to work Jasmine was 7 weeks old. I pumped four times per day. Then for a very long time I went down to three times a day at work because I thought that I was going to go crazy. But since she was also sleeping a lot longer I had to do something to alter that as well. So I would wake up in the middle of the night and pump again, because I just felt the urge if you know what I mean. Eventually at the very end I went down to 2 times per day.

Sounds crazy I know, but like you it was 1 yr or bust. But again not sure if time or energy would allow for me to do that for my second child.

Good luck and if you want to talk about it anymore just let me know.

Hi there! It's great that you have made it to the 7 month mark!

1.) Is your son beginning to eat solids? Perhaps he isn't taking in as much as he was when he nursing exclusively. That is normal.

2.) When did you return to work? A pump is nowhere near as efficient as the baby at your breast.

These 2 things combined could cause a dip in your supply.

Also, night nursing is great for boosting your supply.

A great site, that I have used, is Kellymom.com

You might look there for more answers.

A.,

It is summer and I hope you've adjusted your fluid intake to meet the demands of the heat. Also, you may want to consider what the other responder said about hormonal medications such as the pill, which can drastically cut back your milk supply. Though nothing much may have changed in your diet, have you been eating foods with sage or other things that curtail milk supply? If your son is still doing well, he may be getting the same amount and this would point to something at work.

Sometimes, women become so complacent about pumping at work that they don't really get as much of a let down and the pumping is not as effective. That doesn't mean your son's nursing is not effective, though. You may want to nurse him more often at home and even pump a little more at work. You could consider looking at a picture of him while you pump or even listen to a recording of him during that time.

Some moms end up only nursing when they're home and even nursing all night, but I suspect, with a little work, and investigation, you can build your milk supply right back up.

D. S (mom to 5, granny to 1, CLC)

I nursed my first baby until 4 months and then went back to work and pumped and nursed. After 2 months of pumping during working hours my milk supply went down as well. I was nursing and having to give him a bottle to feed him. It ended up being too much so I just stop nursing at 6 months. Great job for trying to breast feed, it is alot harder that people think...you have already nurse longer that the average! Don't beat yourself up if you decide to stop nursing.

It's so frustrating. Same thing happened with me. With retrospect, I think it's because I went on the minipill. Just try looking at everything in your universe from the heat and your not drinking enough fluid to compensate to his not taking as much to your taking hormone to ? Sometimes it just happens. I wanted to nurse until at least a year and by 10 months, we were done.

My OB recommended these herbal suppliments to me when I had the same problem: Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. Take them together--they can can tell you how much at the health food store. It works pretty quickly to increase milk supply and is safe for the baby (as far as I know anyway--I have a happy and healthy 2 year old now and I took a LOT of those herbs!). FYI: the fenugreek makes your urine and sweat smell like maple syrup, so if you or your husband start craving pancakes, that's why:)

A., you poor thing!!!! I don't know if i have any advice other than adding more and more pumping/nursing sessions as you can. Maybe that will help. How much are you getting when you pump? and how often is your son nursing? What else does he eat? I have had some problems in the past nursing with my first daughter and I called a lactation consultant. She is really nice and will do a consultation with you over the phone for free. if she comes out to visit you, then of course, there is a charge. But it helped out a lot to talk to her. Her name is Denise Altman with All the Best. The phone number is ###-###-####; email is ____@____.com and website is www.FeedYourBaby.com. I hope this helps a little. Good luch and you can do it!! Don't give up!! :)

That sounds like what happened to me: I have an 8 month old son. I did not have quite the amount in the freezer that you did, but I did have a nice little stash. Anyway, I basically had to start adding pumping sessions to my day. Here is a typical day: pump with hand pump around 6; nurse at 7; pump with electric pump at work at 8:30, 10ish, 1ish, and 4ish; nurse at 7; pump with electric pumpt at home at 10. I do this both during the week and on the weekend. Now, I do not have to dip into the freezer to finish up the 3 bottles I send to daycare. And, I can now usually put some away in the freezer over the weekend. Also try this website for some good advice:
http://www.kellymom.com/index.html This is mentioned in one of the articles in the site, but once my body was not producing enough to complete the bottles and I was dipping into my stash in the freezer, my body did not know it was not producing enough. So, in addition to pumping more, I also started to take some Fenugreek on a daily basis. That, along with making sure I get enough water and rest, has really seemed to help. Good luck.

____@____.com

a little about me: 36 year old working mom to a beautiful 8 month old son, my first.

You probably have a lot more milk than you think actually. When you go from an over supply to a normal supply it can be very disconcerting. But trust that your body is adjusting to your baby's needs. I would put all of my money on the fact that you are still producing more than enough milk for your little guy. As long as his diapers still get wet and you can hear/see him swallowing when he's at the breast, things are fine. Pumping does tend to get a lot harder (even if you have an over supply) as the months go on. The body gets more an more accustomed to the baby and less and less willing to let down for the pump. You will easily make it to a year...and perhaps beyond!

Hi! congrats on our new baby...I am also 34 and a R.N. I nursed my daughter till she was 3+ and it was a wonderful experiance(most of the time). I couple things... there is a supplement called "lactate support" that you can purchase at Earth Fare for around $20. Which will increase milk production. You can also buy a tea w/ simalar properties called "mamma's milk" and I have used Brewer's yeast, about 1 tbls per 8oz. of juice,.. (careful it can make you flatulent!) all of these will help w/ milk supply Hope this is useful, good luck, kind regards C..

sounds like you are regulating your supply, that is normal. It would be highly unlikely for you to run out of milk. To up the supply, try an alfalfa tincture and more water.

I produced less with my second child. We ended up having to substitute a feeding with formula because I wasn't producing enough. I was a basic milk factory with my first one so much so I didn't even have to pump when I had extra milk. You produce less now because your son is breast feeding less because he is eating baby food now. Pumping is not the same as having your son breastfeed. The pump just doesn't have the suction like a baby. This might be another reason you are producing less. I made it to a year with both of my kids. At 7 months I think I was down to 3-4 breastfeedings a day. People always told me to not worry about it because the body still produces enough for the baby's needs. It adjusts as the baby's needs adjust. Good luck!