Dramatic Decrease in Breastmilk Supply

Not to freak you out or anything...but my supply took a nosedive the second I got pregnant again.

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The La Leche League website has great info, for example this article - http://www.llli.org/FAQ/increase.html

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With my 2nd child I would get a significant drop in supply for 2-4 days before my period started. Once my period started my supply would go back to normal. I did have to supplement some but I might have been able to build up my freezer supply if I could have pumped a couple of times over the weekend or an extra pump at night. I couldn't make myself pump at home this time. I was able to find a balance with nursing, pumping and a small amount of formula. I just tried to give her as much breastmilk as I could and tried to let go of the rest.

For me, my milk supply production depended on how well I ate, how stressed I was when trying to pump, if I was working out or not feeling well. SO I would think if you are experiencing any of those that could be the reason the supply is down. You really have to have a balance to keep your production up, especially eating and allowing your baby to nurse as much as possible, the pumping only suffices during the times yall are not together. Only give your baby bottles for daycare not at home.

First of all - KUDOS to you for exclusively nursing this long so far! It is not always easy! Huge Congrats!!! To answer your questions - Yes, your period returning can take that long and most definitely yes, it affects supply significantly. I nursed both of my girls 1 year (which meant 9 mos of pumping at work) and, both times around 9 mos into it, noticed a decline in production. I never noticed much of a difference with fenugreek, but I took domperidone (aka motilium) and had phenomenal results. I became engorged again and my supply increased 50-100%. I ordered it online via inhousepharmacy.com and received my order within 7 days. Hope that helps! You're doing a great thing for your kiddo!!!!

Are you pregnant? This happened to me also, and I could not figure what the heck was going on because I had never had problems with my supply with any of my other babies. Turns out I was pregnant. I tried all of the normal things suggested to me by a LC, but to no avail. I ended having to wean my son at 4 months, which just about broke my heart! You might want to take a PG test. Good luck. :-)

K.

You could call a lactation consultant from the hosptial where you gave birth. they are usually very receptive to support BF moms. I also remember that when I was stressed at work I saw decreases in my milk production. If you have been extra stressed or have large projects, etc, could be the culprit.
I made sure to keep myself extra hydrated and when I pumped, I would pump a few minutes past getting anything to hopefully simulate the supply/demand issue. After about a week or so of "overpumping" I found that a second release of milk came and started to overflow the medela bottles.
in re: to period, I didn't have one until my kids were almost 2 yo after giving birth and they tended to come back when I weaned them.

I experienced this with my first when my cycle came back. It decreases each month. Also, a major decrease at 6 months for me - turns out I was pregnant. With my second, the decrease came with my cycle. Sometimes I have to supplement with formula during the month - sometimes I don't. More Milk Plus also helps me. You can get at Whole Foods.

Good luck!

Your period could be coming back... 8 mos is about average, mine came back at 4mos with my oldest, 11mos with my youngest. And right before it came back my supply dipped. You will have to continue pumping, and add in another session, like 5am so you can pump both breasts and then still feed your baby when he wakes to nurse before you go to work/before daycare.

I have a very sensitive milk supply. After much research, I decided to go on Domperidone. You can get it at inhousepharmacy.com . It took about 4 days for it to work and there are some mild side-effects that go away after about 1 week (slight headache). It helps my milk supply stay up and I am not such a nut-case when it comes to nursing. I've been taking it for 6 months now and wish I had started a lot sooner. You can find great information on Domperidone on Dr. Jack Newman's website. He is a renowned lactation consultant who runs a lactation clinic up in Canada.

I can't answer the question about the period.

However, If he's started on solid food, he might be getting too much solid food. Even if he's nursing for the same length of time, he maybe not nursing as "hard" (sucking as much or as strongly) because he's getting solid food and is feeling more full, and means less stimulation and reduced milk supply. If that is the case, remember that at this stage, solid food is just an "extra" -- he should be relying on breastmilk or formula for his nutritional needs until he's 1. So maybe try cutting back on the amount of solid food.

Your period shouldn't affect your supply, but diet and stress do. Eat and drink a lot, especially in the summer. Around 9m many kids go through a big growth spurt. They nurse more efficiently than you pump. Nurse as often as you can to get the supply up. As for periods, many women don't get theirs back till several months after completly weaned.

I had the same problem. My advice would be to drink more water and try to pump before you go to bed.

Hi there,

One think that I have always heard of is drink plenty of fluids, if your not drinking enough water that can decrease the amount of supply. Check with your ob on how much water your body needs. The typical amount is 8 , 8oz class a day. My son was in the NICU and I was pumping and started to have a decrease and the stress was a contributing factor and was drinking enough water. Talked to the nurses and they recommended increasing my water and seem to do the trick.

Hope this helps..

This may be unlikely but I had the same thing happen when my baby was 8.5 months old (last month). I used to pump twice a day at work at get between 12 - 15 oz. All of a sudden I was lucky to get 8 oz. It turns out my breast pump wasn't working properly. As a last resort and after trying teas, pregnancy tests, etc. I remembered the store I bought it from does free checks and it turns out some parts needed to be replaced. After I fixed it my pumping was more productive. I did take me a few weeks of pumping more frequently (3x/day) to get my supply back up.

If you don't have a store that does this I realized later I should have known something was wrong with the pump because I kept increasing the power and it seemed to make no difference.

Hope your issue is something easy like this....