Supply again.....

[besjoux]

I am getting, sadly, ready to throw in the towel because I can't seem to find a reason this time and having a fussy hungry baby during the day is no fun. I thought, for sure, it was because my period was due (I had my first cycle 1 month and 3 days ago). It's been a week and no period and my supply has not increased. I am feeding every 2 hours now, pumping 30 minutes after nearly every feed (may miss one or two a day), and taking 12 fenugreek and 12 blessed thistle a day! We started solids 2 weeks ago, however, only once a day and has not affected any of what he is drinking. He still eats every 2 hours and drains me. Plus, we are only doing solids once a day as an activity. The only other thing that I can think of is that he is sleeping wonderful at night. He sleeps, on average, 12 hours without a feed. I suspect he is hungry all day because he isn't feeding at night anymore and I just can't keep up. This is what my gut is telling me, however, I would also suspect my extra work would yield some supply boost a bit faster.

Has anyone experienced this? What did you do? I never parented my baby to sleep at night, he just wanted to. In fact, I fed him every time he woke up.....so I am stumped.....again. Also paranoid because my previous son was a failure to thrive. My youngest seems to be growing very well. He's in the 25% but I believe that my kids are naturally in this %. My other son is too and he is a wonderful eater.

[~ Vik ~]

Wow, 12h STTN at less than 5mo old makes me a little jealous!

Do you pump at all during that 12h STTN, like before you go to bed yourself, for example?  It may be that you're noticing an impact on your supply because of that long stretch between feeds.  Or, as you suggested, because of that long stretch of sleep he needs to catch up and get those calories during the day.  When you pump 30m after feeds, what kind of output do you get?  Do you feel full in the mornings?  In addition to the pumping and supplements, have you tried eating oatmeal (real stuff, not instant!)?  How's your fluid intake?  (It's important to drink to thirst!  Too much water can actually have a negative impact on milk supply, but often moms ignore thirst if there's nothing handy to drink nearby).

[besjoux]

Well, I DID just get my period...grrrrrrr and clearly the kids want's more from me. Clear as day.

Yes, I pump 3 times at night before bed and then I get up at 5:30 to pump in the Am (2 1/2 hours before he wakes). Lately I have also been pumping 4-5 MORE times a day....so a total of around 8 times a day (exhausting). When I pump 30 minutes after I get 1/2 oz each side...sometimes 1/2 on one and 1 on the other side. I haven't felt as full in the AM's as I did....well this AM I felt a bit better but we just had the time change and I just got my dar period. I haven't done oatmeal yet and my fluid intake is around 80 fl oz a day. I only drink when I'm thirsty or (TMI alert) if I notice that my urine is even a bit colored.

Yeah, I think this is period related.....and the thought of dealing with a low supply and fussy baby for 1 week a month is (TBH) too much to bear. I'll have to use up my freezer stash and maybe pray for an oversupply the rest of the time so I can freeze some....but I haven't froze a thing since the beginning of October. I wish I could get Domperidone here but we only have Reglan and I'll NEVER use that again....severe depression and anxiety resulted and too many other awful side effects. 

[~ Vik ~]

Grrr to AF right with you

I'm going to throw somethin out there - take it FWIW as I'm really just trying to come up with a different solution for you. You seem to be doing the right things to regain supply, so I wonder if trying something different would help. I wonder if you're pumping too much... You're pumping at 530am before he even wakes up - and that only gives you about 2.5h to make enough milk for a full feed after your ds slept for 12h!  So he doesn't take a full feed (because it isn't available) and is hungry again sooner, so you feed sooner, and then pump more, and then feed sooner again, and pump more... Kwim? I wonder if you eliminated that early pumping session, giving him a fuller feed in the morning, if that might help reset your day feeds...  Just thinking out loud, but you're pumping SO much that I wonder if the pumping is taking from his breastfeeds. Like I said, just trying to come up with something different for you, but it might be worth a shot. If it doesn't help you could always reintroduce the early morning session.

A couple other things - 80oz of water a day is A LOT, and according to current research it may be too much. A study I read showed that women who drank that much water showed decreased potassium levels and reduced milk supply. If you cut your water intake a bit, and added oatmeal to your diet, that might help too.