Sudden drop in amount of breast milk.

WTH? I was getting 5oz each time I pumped and now I am lucky to get two?!?!? This pretty much happened overnight!? Lactation never retuned my call... So I am turning to you brilliant women to tell me it will all be ok.... Right?

[scrub-jay]

You will be fine. Try to keep up on your sleep (as best you can), drink more fluids, and eat more calories. Although this doesn't work for everyone, I found that if my supply started dipping, I needed to up my water intake and eat cookies. Supply will fluctuate, possibly add in another pumping session (or put A-M on the breast a little more often) to increase supply.

[diggitydot]

My supply always varied, but also always bounced back. I second the more water/calories/rest (hah!) advice while you're waiting to hear back from your lactation consultant.

[HouseofWool]

I also found that if my supply dipped, I needed to add more water and calories. My favorite was a spoonful of peanut butter liberally sprinkled with chocolate chips.

Is A-M nursing at all or are you pumping and bottle feeding? If she is nursing, your body may be adjusting to that stimulation instead of the pump. I found with my first that once he had the hang of nursing (he didn't nurse at all until he was 7 wks old) my let down reflex just didn't respond as well to the pump.

I also found that if my supply dipped, I needed to add more water and calories. My favorite was a spoonful of peanut butter liberally sprinkled with chocolate chips.

Is A-M nursing at all or are you pumping and bottle feeding? If she is nursing, your body may be adjusting to that stimulation instead of the pump. I found with my first that once he had the hang of nursing (he didn't nurse at all until he was 7 wks old) my let down reflex just didn't respond as well to the pump.

Still pumping and bottle feeding. She will bfeed for about 3 min. LC said since she was a premie It would take a little while for her to bfeed for an entire meal

You can also try fenugreek to increase your milk supply - along with the calories & hydration.

[Meenah]

Maybe it isn't a drop in pumped milk, but an increase in milk consumed by your DD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe it isn't a drop in pumped milk, but an increase in milk consumed by your DD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish. But she doesn't breed at every meal. We are slowly working our way to that. She and I are both still easily frustrated with bfeeding. ESP in the middle of the night

Fwiw, I never, ever got much with the pump. I would never have been able to do the pump exclusively thing Nothing will help to increase your supply like the baby at the breast.

[Michele]

Does it hurt when you pump? Can you increase the suction? Are your flanges the correct size? How often are you pumping for how many minutes? Both at the same time? Which pump did you get again?

Pumping shouldn't hurt. Sometimes increasing the suction can help with milk ejection. If your flanges are too small your pump will put too much pressure on your nipple and not stimulate the berate enough. Pumping for 12-15 minutes every 3 hours, both breasts at the same time is the general recommendation. A Pump In Style or Purely Yours pump are your best bets.

[HouseofWool]

Michele - correct me if I am wrong, but the flanges should be putting pressure on the outer edge of the areola, basically where baby's gums/lips would be. It is important that they be the correct size.

[scrub-jay]

Also, anything you do to increase your supply (increase calories, stimulation, etc) it will take a couple of days to see the results. Two bits of advice I remember from my LC: (1) Your baby (or pump) is putting in an order for more in a few days (especially true with cluster feeding) and (2) Never worry about how much you pump out - it is not indicative of your supply.

Remember, breastmilk is not consistent, sometimes I get a lot that is watery and other times I'd get only a little bit, but it was pure cream.

Just keep doing what you are doing and get A-M on the breast as much as possible (even 1 minute will stimulate your supply more than a pump can).

((hugs))

[Michele]

Breast not berate. Silly autocorrect!

HoW yep. The flange should fit similarly to the baby's mouth. Just as their gums/jaws compress the areola, the pump should elicit pressure from the flanges in the same-ish way. The nipple shouldn't really contact the inside of the flange-tube part. It should be kinda suspended in the middle. Lactation consultants should check the fit of your pump. My LC w D was who told me they come in different sizes. Makes sense since nipples and breasts come in different sizes too!


One other thing I noticed with D, I think it took a little bit for his suck to be strong enough to get enough milk from the breast. Getting the milk out of the breast is harder than from a preemie bottle. The preemie nipples basically slowly drip milk into their mouths, so the preemies don't waste precious energy/calories trying to eat. The slow flow nipples are closer to the breast but the milk will still drip out for them. The fast flow will usually give too much milk too fast for the little ones. You may try pumping a little to get the milk flowing and then try latching her. She might last longer if the milk is already flowing and she doesn't have to work as hard. Or she might just have to grow a little bit more and become a little stronger.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Supply is back. DH thinks my drop was caused by how stressed put I got over his parents (mainly his moms) visit at tgiving. I was so stressed I woke up hyperventilating tgiving morning.

[scrub-jay]

Good to hear it!