BF 3 month old 6x a day?

[WishfulSleeping]

Hi,

My second son is three months old, and he nurses about six times a day. He's always a very happy baby. I haven't forced a strict schedule on him at all (I learned better with my first) but he has naturally created his own schedule nursing about 5x a day, and once at night. I've noticed though, that after the fourth day or so, my milk is really low. I end up waking him at night to nurse him in order to boost my supply back up. For instance, yesterday when I was putting him down for the night (it had been about 2.5hrs since his last feeding) I began to nurse him, and realized that I was on E. He only nursed for about a min or so on each side, and then started to fuss. I ended up de-thawing some pumped milk and gave him another oz. He fell asleep, and I woke him twice in the night to feed him to boost my supply. My question is...is this "normal" for my supply to dip with only six feedings? I was thinking of pumping around 11pm every night, but I'm afraid if I do so, that he'll wake around 12, and I won't be able to feed him. I could give him the bottle, but then that defeats the purpose of pumping an extra session to increase my supply. He's a really good baby, and hardly ever fusses at all. He sleeps 6-8 hrs at night, but I feel that my supply suffers because of that. I know it's a blessing that he sleeps so well, but I find it hard to keep my supply good for him when he does, and I end up having to wake him. Is their another solution?

Also, He just went through a growth spurt four days ago. He boosted up my supply because he was demanding it. But then he went back to feeding 5x a day (8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm) and once at night...now four days later, I'm back in the same boat with it being low again. After he eats, he's awake for about an hour and a half, and then he naps for an hour and a half. I've tried nursing him before he naps to get some more feedings in, but he's not interested. He has plenty of wet and poopy diapers. I change him before he naps and when he gets up and they're always drenched (we use cloth).
He's a really big guy too...he was 10lbs at birth and weighs in the 16lb range now. So, he's not malnourished by any stretch, but I just don't understand why it keeps dipping when I'm doing 6 feedings. Is that not enough to keep my supply up or something? I've also noticed that my let down takes about 2 mins to happen when I'm low. I just don't get it. I can't help that he wants to sleep for a long time... I'm guessing I should just pump a feeding to help my boobs keep up.

Thanks!

[WishfulSleeping]

Does someone want to take a stab at this?

[~ Vik ~]

I'll take a stab

It is normal for our supply to dip in the evenings.  For hormonal and other reasons our supply tends to be highest first thing in the morning and gradually decrease as the day goes on.  By bedtime, I know I always felt much emptier.  However, what you're describing seems to be a bit more than that...  I would say that since the extra feeds you do seem to be enough to boost your supply back up, an extra pumping session would probably help keep your supply on an even keel.  If you're worried about pumping too close to his night feed, could you feed closer to bedtime?  So if bedtime feed is 730, could you pump even at 930 or 10?  When is the earliest your ds wakes for a feed?  Just remember that even if he wakes right after you pump you can always offer the bottle - a bit of a pain, but really not a problem, yk?

What do you think?

[WishfulSleeping]

Yeah, I'll probably just have to pump...ugh, what a pain. I have a 20 month old too, so I can just give him the milk if my youngest doesnt end up needing it. It's just a pain to pump. I just wish my supply would adjust to his needs. Hopefully I'm not getting my AF. I did at 3 months with ODS.

[~*Nicole*~]

Vicki-Can she also use those other supply boosting ideas such as eating a lot of oatmeal, taking fenugreek, drinking tons of water, etc.  (I don't remember anything else off the top of my head)

[~ Vik ~]

Absolutely - eating oatmeal (the real stuff, not instant), fenugreek/blessed thistle, skin to skin contact (especially during nursing sessions), etc. are all great ways to increase your overall supply. 
Here are a couple links with those ideas:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65905.0
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#increase
If you find those ideas easier than adding a pumping session then I would definitely give them a try! (Though lots of nursing skin to skin or a nursing holiday might not be possible with a toddler running amok ) You may find that an herbal supplement like fenugreek is enough to keep your supply on an even keel without pumping.  But just keep that pumping session in the back of your mind - it just seems that if that one extra feed keeps your supply where it needs to be, adding in that pumping session should solve your problem.

Also, make sure that you're not actually drinking too much water - that can alter your electrolyte balance and decrease your milk supply.  It's definitely important to keep hydrated, so keep water handy to sip on and drink whenever you are thirsty.  But don't force yourself to drink when you aren't; listen to your body.