Low Breast Milk Supply After Illness

If baby doesn't seem to be getting enough (not putting out enough wet diapers...) you can increase your supply a few ways...

-Fenugreek is a good go-to supplement to take to increase milk supply. If you like tea, Mothers Milk tea is made with it.

-Drinking one beer each night supposedly helps. I never tried it, so I can't say for sure...

-have a nurse-in. Lay in bed with baby, and encourage as much skin-to-skin contact and have him latch on as much as possible.

-pump after each nursing session, to trick your body into thinking Baby's demand is greater than it is. Even if you aren't able to pump much out, your body will register that it needs to produce more.

Also, breast milk "evolves" with your baby, as your breasts become better at doing what they do, so you may well be producing enough, just not feeling it. It was around 7-9 months that I FINALLY stopped feeling so engorged all the time and worried I was losing my supply... but my baby was still thriving and nursed until 16 months.

I agree with everyone who wrote that the 'feeling of fullness' is not necessarily an indication that your supply is down. You body does get more efficient with time, and that fullness feeling does definitely goes away. Unless your baby is actually fussing that he's not getting enough to eat, then your supply is fine. I think I stopped every feeling full around 6 months - and yet I nursed baby #2 for 17 months.

If you are really sure your supply is down, then you are doing all the right things. The most important thing you can do to increase supply is nurse more. If you can, take a nursing holiday - lie around, drink lots of water, and nurse about twice as often as usually for a weekend.

Oatmeal is thought to help, as is Mother's Milk Tea if you are a tea drinkers. For more tips, be sure to check out Kellymom.com, which is the bible website for nursing moms, IMO.

It may not actually be that much of a reduction.....

Often at a certain point, your breasts also get more "effective", and while you don't feel the fullness, there is plenty for your little one.

Let him nurse as often as he wants, as frequency (rather than length of nursing time) is what helps determine amount.

Keep drinking plenty of fluids, eat healthy, and don't stress about it..... your supply will bounce back up.

I'm glad your little one is feeling better. You always feel so terrible when they are sick and there's nothing you can do.

Don't worry about the amount of milk he is getting when he nurses. Breasts work on the rule of supply and demand. Just relax and do what you've been doing. Let him nurse as long and often as he wants and your supply will pick up to meet his demand.

Are you sure there is an actual reduction? Sounds like they are getting all they need. I can't remember at what point but somewhere past six months I no longer had that over full feeling, ever, none of the other issues you have in the beginning. Couldn't tell you why but it had nothing to do with the amount of milk being produced.

Watch baby's output for the indications of input. I had a really horrible flu (and so did DD) when she was about a year old. We both got through it, and were able to continue to nurse. Kellymom.com has tips for increasing supply. You might just need to give yourselves a few days to readjust. You can also pump some, to make your body think that it needs to get back up to speed. I wouldn't worry too much at this point. There is also a 6 mo growth spurt, so maybe your body was revved up for that, and now is evening out again after baby no longer needs quite that much.

Try not to stress! Stay well, and hope your baby is well soon, too.

At a certain point your breast no longer have that heavy feeling to them. I noticed this around the 7 month mark with my daughter. She is getting milk out of them, but they just don't feel like they have milk in them, if that makes sense. :-)

My supply dipped pretty low at 8-9 months. My lactation consultant recommended More Milk Plus, a vitamin supplement that you can find in most healthy groceries (Sunflower Market, Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc). It helped a lot and I was able to nurse my daughter until she was 15 months when she quit on her own. Good luck!

Fenugreek until your sweat smells like maple syrup and pump, pump, pump. Night nurse if you can. Reestablished me every time.