Calling All Breastfeeding Moms........

G.,

I thought the same thing and now my son is almost two and still breastfeeding. I Was told that it is just that the production is changing and also the type of milk is changing to suit their needs as they change. I did not think my little guy was getting enough but then one day he threw up all over and I say how much he was getting. Keep it up. You are doing great.

I'm not breastfeeding anymore since my son is 2, but I had major probs with supply as well. I was told a lot of what the other moms said- lots of water, fenugreek, etc... I was also told some other funny anecdotes like drinking Blue Moon beer and eating oatmeal. I guess the oats in the beer and cereal help boost the supply. Just a tidbit.

This is a really common problem after returning to work. A few things you might try (one or all):

- Pump more often (I found I needed to do 3x when away for 10 hours)
- Take fenugreek - it is a supplement that helps increase milk supply. I think you need to take 3x a day but check with your local vitamin shop
- Breast feed exclusively on weekend and before/after work to keep up stimulation of milk supply
- Mix breast milk with formula to get her to take the formula. Start with majority breast milk so she gets used to the taste of formula (eg 5oz breast, 1oz formula to start). Assuming she takes that you can gradually decrease the proportion of breastmilk.

Good luck and be proud of yourself for taking the time and effort to pump at work!

G.,

The same thing happened to me when my son started on solids.
When babies start solids, they take less milk.

Babies drink more from a bottle than when they breastfeed. It is easier to drink from a bottle. It's less work than drinking from you! This is one reason formula fed babies tend to be heavier than breastfed ones.

A few things you can do
1) make sure to breastfeed immediately before you to work and when you get home.

2) If you will be home soon, have the caregiver feed the baby one ounce at a time and wait a bit.

3) Replace the valves on your pump and make sure the parts are all clean and well put together.

4) Take some "more milk plus" or fennugreek. It can increase milk supply.

5) Drink lots of water and get as much sleep as you can!

6) You can mix formula and breast milk.

7) Call La Letche league. They are super helpful (and free!). They may have more suggestions. The yahoo group "pumpmoms" is also super helpful.

Babies have growth spurts, and time they gain less weight. If you baby looks good and is gaining weight, don't worry about the lower milk production.

Your concerns about your daughter not sleeping very well are very normal for her age. Most new parents don't realize that 5 consecutive hours of sleep is considered sleeping through the night, and a lot of moms aren't honest about how long their baby DOES sleep!!! They say, "Oh, yeah, she's sleeping through the night and has been since she was a month old." To which I would respond: Is she getting enough to eat? And is she getting adequate stimulating play while she's awake? As a general rule, babies who sleep a lot (ie: "sleeping through the night") aren't getting enough to eat.

You also should remember that breastmilk is digested more quickly than any other food (soft, formula, etc). Also, I became pump resistant around 9 months after my son was born. I just wasn't getting ANY, but I found out that this is fairly normal. Your baby is more efficient at the breast than any pump on the market! I encourage you and applaud for breastfeeding this long! You go girl, and go as long as it's comfortable for you and your daughter! (I'm still nursing my 2 year old son at night)

It's supply and demand. As she begins to eat more solids she will consume less breast milk and you will produce less. IF you want to get your supply back up let her nurse more and eat less solids.

Pumping for me always diminished my supply!

G.
I could have been reading my own post right here!!!! My son turns 7 months in a few days, and I have recently started back to work. With my first son I was pumping 10 oz. per pump session, and now I only get 5. My son also does not like the formula and actually refused the bottle for the first four days we offered it to him!! The only advice I could offer would be what I have tried myself, and it has increased a little. Make sure you are drinking A TON of water. I try to drink an 8 oz glass each time I nurse/pump. Also make sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. And stress can also diminish the supply. For me, I think that my breasts had to get used to the pump again (after staying home for six months this time as opposed to three with my first), and also the anxiety of starting back to work might play a role in the less amount of milk. How often are you pumping?

Good luck and I'm curious to see what the other moms post! You've got a wealth of knowledge in the ladies on this site! I have always gotten such helpful feedback when i've posted.

I was in exactly the same boat at 6-7 months, and despite my best efforts, I had to start supplementing my milk with Enfamil. Fortunately, we kept the formula to a minimum (1 bottle a day). Keep trying different formulas until you find the one your child likes. You may want to look into low-iron formulas. My son was sensitive to iron and this worked for us. Around 1 year, I ran out of milk completely, but by then he was transitioning to cow's milk. It was really, really hard for me emotionally when we stopped breast feeding, but it is part of the growing process. Good luck.

I think that is fairly normal. I am still nursing my 11 month old and she seems to get plenty of milk when she nurses, but my ability to pump has steadily decreased. It takes a little longer for my milk to let down now too. My daughter will have nothing to do with formula of any kind, but I'm lucky enough to be able to continue to nurse, so we haven't had to do anything drastic to get her to take formula. Good luck and I hope you find a way to continue breastfeeding!

I have a 6 month old and the same thing happened to me. I am going out on a limb on this one, but I assume it is because our bodies get used to the breastfeeding and pumping is, no matter how good the pump, not the same. I have a Medula pump and it has two stage pumping. I notice my baby does the first stage more than the second, like a rapid suck, so I started cycling back to the first stage on my pump and find that I get more milk that way. Good luck to you and I definitely know that frustration!

Hi G.,

Same thing happened to me and probably all bf moms. The fenugreek worked but I often would forget to take it so I just added another pumping session and also pumped longer for all of the pumping sessions. That worked great - and it's cheap too.

Also if she's sleeping through the night or more at night that is probably affecting your supply. Mine really suffered from that.

Good luck to you and way to go! BF is the best! :)

xoxo,
T.

Hi, my children didn't like or take formulas either. I suggest drinking lots of water, trying to get your rest (not easy I know), and pump more frequently. Also breast feed as much as possible, no pump gets milk out as well as a real baby. Are you pumping and freezing the milk? That will help. Also, there is at least one tea that is supposed to help with milk production...I am sure you could do a quick google search. Stay at it...it is important for your little girl, and a wonderful connection for you. And congratulations for breastfeeding as long as you have! That is a real accomplishment.

G.,

As a breastfeeding mother, I understand your problem. I have a 5 month old and a 29 month old, both girls. When I began feeding both girls food, my milk production decreased. I believe this is a ntaural process where the body reads the babies needs and accomodates accordingly. My words of advice are to continue to breast feed and pump, what you produce will most likely meet your childs needs.
- T.

This happened to me when my son was about 4-5 months old. For a few days I pumped an extra session at work, and after he nursed I'd pump for a few more minutes to try to signal to my body that it needed to make more. I also took high doses of More Milk Plus capsules, which worked really well in a matter of a day or two. Good luck!

Hi, first off I wouldn't worry too much. Nature has a way of fine tuning our bodies to adapt to our circumstances. Since your daughter has an alternate food source your milk supply is changing. I was told by a lactation specialist that what you pump is more than likely not the same amount as when you breast feed naturally. In doing some research I've found articles that have stated that your body will produce on demand and that it's not true that if you pump and try to feed your baby shortly thereafter there won't be enough milk. It's a constant process. I've also found articles that stated that after time your body also stops responding to the breast pump as strongly. This happened to my with both of my children. If you do a Google search you'll find tons (too much) information. Maybe I would speak to a lactation consultant to put your mind at ease. The one really big factor is what does your ped say about your daughter's weight? If she's on track I wouldn't worry about it. If she's not complaining - wouldn't worry about it. She's just going to start eating more foods in the near future anyway. You can take fengugreek tabs or tea. There's another tablet out there called More Milk Plus by Motherlove. I have heard people RAVE about this increasing milk production. I am not noticing such a significant increase in my breast milk supply - perhaps a little more. Also you can try oatmeal. Don't worry, it sounds like you're pretty normal and doing great providing for your baby. :-)

Now that your baby is starting to eat foods it is typical for your milk production to go down. Your body will produce what your daughter needs. Keep doing what you are doing.

The same thing happened to me. If she's eating food she needs less breast milk. Therefore you're going to make less. If she doesn't want the formula she'd probably not hungry. If she's not acting hungry after you nurse her she's probably getting enough.
S.

I have an 11 month old that I'm starting to wean--she has never had bottles. I've started trying to give her food, but she seems to show no signs of weaning. I started reading some books. One the other day said that moms in Mexico used to put chili on thier nipple and then feign surprise when it their breastmilk tasted badly. I have two other children I breastfed (now 14 and 4) and I used goatmilk in a cup for the 14 year old. Goatmilk is easier to digest than cow milk. The 4 year old wasn't weaned yet when I was hospitalized and my husband started giving her a bottle with cow milk at 11 months because he didn't know what to do. She hadn't had any bottles up until that time and she ended up on a bottle until 2 years old after never having one until 11 months. Anyway, you could try goat milk.

Sleep is tough - my daughter is 14 months and still nurses every 2-3 hours all night.

As for nursing, it's normal to have supply dips from time to time. If you keep going, and increase pumping frequency, it should bounce back. It's not like once it declines it's destined to continue to go down. I've had several supply dips over the last 14 months (still nursing) and it has always bounced back within a week or two. Keep going! You're doing great!

I second the recommendations of drinking more water, taking fenugreek, More Milk Plus, eating oatmeal, pumping more and longer.

But I also wanted to chime in about the weight charts - don't freak out if your daughter isn't gaining weight according to the charts your ped will reference - they are thrown off by the large number of formula-fed babies in this country. Instead, go to the World Health Organization website to get their growth charts which are more in line with breastfed babies. You can also get this type of information on www.kellymoms.com (which is easier than trying to find the WHO charts). Anyway - my daughter was falling just below her growth trajectory on the US charts (causing me to worry) but was fine on the WHO and breastfeeding charts (which greatly eased my mind).

Good for you for keeping up with the breastfeeding! My daughter is almost 7 months and I finally had to start doing SOME supplementing with formula - luckily, she doesn't have issue with it. Thankfully, she hasn't needed as much as I thought she would. I make sure to try to nurse more often when I'm home to ensure she's getting enough. Good luck!

Hi G.! I am currently breastfeeding my 91/2 month old daughter. I also breastfed my son until he was 15 months. When my daughter was first born I had a plentiful supply of milk as you did. I would get about 10oz. Now, I get about 6 oz if a miss a feeding and 3oz. if I try to pump extra milk at night. It is frustrating, but normal as your milk supply lessens when the baby gets older. As long as you are not missing feedings and your baby seems satisfied, she is getting enough milk. I also wondereded if my baby was getting enough milk because of what I pumped, but there always seems to be continuous milk from me when she is nursing. Well good luck! You are doing great!

hello G.,
My name is A. and I wanted to let you know something that i heard about. I heard there are these all natural drops that you put in water and drink, i think it was called lacta flow or something like that. its supposed to to increase your milk supply i was around a group of women when it was brought up and they all said that it helped them a ton!! feel free to email me at ____@____.com you want i can figure out the exact name of it if you're interested.
Hope it helps
A.

Hi there, I have a 10 month old that is still nursing and since he's been on soft foods, I've noticed that my supply has gone down too. Sometimes I wonder if I have enough for him. Sometimes he'll nurse and then I'll be pretty empty feeling and then he'll turn around and want to nurse again and I wonder what the heck he'll get out of me. BUT... so far he's always seemed to get enough. Your body makes milk on a supply on demand schedule. If your baby only drinks 6oz at a time, that's what you'll get when you pump for the most part (some women get more) but that's all you need. Now it's different if your baby is sucking, more milk WILL come out, even if it doesn't for your pump. It will be slower but your body will keep making it as long as he's sucking. Anyhow, some days I think I'm bone dry and others I am so large I can't wait for him to eat. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, as long as your feeding her both soft foods and breast milk, I'm sure she's getting enough. If she isn't screaming like she's hungry and not getting enough then I'm sure she's fine, she'll let you know if there's a problem. Sorry for rambling. Good Luck.