HELP!! sudden milk reduction at 5 mths

[toffer]

I am really feeling like my milk has reduced to the point of being very little. My LO is 5 mths old and has been exclusivly breat fed and was gaining around 8 oz a week until a month ago. All of a sudden he stopped gaining weight. He was 18 lbs at 16 weeks and is still less than 18.3 lbs at 21 weeks. He is not producing the heavy wet diapers like he was. Also my breasts are feeling empty. He used to nurse one side only at a feed and I could pump some after he was done. Now he nurses both sides and there is nothing left in there. I used to have full hard breasts before a feed and now they are empty feeling. It is so scary feeling like I can't feed him. He is not on a bottle and doesn't really get how to use a sippy cup yet. Should I go on domperidone, rent a scale to double check what he is getting, introduce formula/bottle?? or all of the above?
It is almost DF time and I feel like I have nothing to give him

[Vicku]

Hi there and {{hugs}}

Have you seen a health professional about the weight gain? What does he/she say about it? Is your LO healthy, happy and meeting milestones? There is often a slowing down in weight gain around 4-5 mos in EBF babies, but I don't know how much/little is 'acceptable'.

Have you seen these links?
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=94121.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65905.0

A few questions for you.. did you go through the 4mo GS at 4mo and did you feed on cue at that time to build your supply? Around 4mo there's a huge GS that often has babies feeding around the clock again and it is common for mums to feel as though they don't have enough milk. In fact the baby's feeding around the clock again helps to build the milk supply. See also http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=66001.0

Let me know what you think after reading this hun. If supply does seem to be low there is plenty you can do to increase it and most women can build back the supply and not have to supplement.

[toffer]

I don't remember a growth spurt at 4 months. I started TBW program around that time and went from feeding him probably more than he wanted since he was snacking a bit, to stretching him out to a 4 hr routine. He was not asking to be fed more so was fine with 3.5 to 4 hrs between feeds. He was waking up at night and only snacking also, it was at the same time each night so seemed habitual, so I started doing PU/PD instead of feeding and he since has not been fed after the DF until 7 am.
For more than a week now he has been sick so has been feeding more often again, 2.5 to 3.5 hrs between.

[Vicku]

It seems likely that the stretching out of feeds along with stopping night feeds would have reduced your supply. It can be harder to maintain a good supply without night feeds as they are very good for milk production due to the high levels of prolactin that are present at night. If your routine and feeding schedule is working well for you and you want to continue feeding 4hrly with no nightfeeds apart from DF, you could try taking Fenugreek to increse milk supply. Eating real oats also helps as well as making sure you drink enough water (although not too much), and perhaps do some pumping in between feeds to build up the supply.

[toffer]

That is probably why alright...
I do eat oats and drink lots of water. Not too much I don't think, just as much as I crave. I started taking domperidone again and my breasts feel fuller, but I do pump after each feed and don't get much more than 1/2 oz. I think I will get more blessed thistle and fenugreek again and take those too. I just started solids also and baby seems satisfied and not hungry like he was...