drop in supply after STTN

[mini_egg282]

My 3 1/2 month old has started sleeping through the night sometimes (yipee!!!), and I've noticed a pattern - he will sleep through for two nights in a row and then he starts waking up again. I realized that it's because my body quickly realizes that it doesn't need to produce as much milk since he's going for such a long stretch (10:30 pm - 7:30 am) and the supply drops. I started offering the second side after he drinks from the first side for 45 minutes or longer if he still seems hungry, usually starting mid-afternoon. By the time bedtime comes I'm pretty empty on both sides. Tonight I offered him a bottle of expressed breast milk to confirm my suspicion and sure enough, he drank another 2.5 oz.

Is there anything I can do, short of waking up at night to pump, to keep my supply up during the day? I would rather top him up with formula in the evenings if I have to. I do the dreamfeed from my breast right before bed and he often takes both sides then as well.

We're on a 4 hour EASY routine.

[Hester]

Maybe go back to a 3 hour EASY? Your body shouldn't be producing less milk, it should adjust the consistency of the milk, so it's more fatty for him.
Topping him up with formula will change your milk even more, so I wouldn't recommend that. If you offer every 3 hours for a while,  you will change your milk to suit his needs.
Then if that has worked for a couple of weeks you can maybe go back to 4 hour EASY.

Hope this makes sense. I am always reluctant to offer formula as a solution, unless you want to wean or need to because of work or something. Topping up doesn't help your body recognizing the need for change.

[Tay]

Hi there,
 agree with pp that maybe you should try a 3 or 3.5hr EASY to see if it makes any difference. Most babies can't go to a 4hr EAY until they are 4 months old and EBF babies tend to be even later.
what do you think?
xx