HELP! breast milk dried up

Re: HELP! breast milk dried up

• katlizabeth member

  June 2011

  How do you know you're dried up?  I'd keep nursing (like marathon nursing) and only do formula if you're really desperate because it will hurt your supply not to nurse.
  

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• rosiemomma member

  June 2011

  the following things do NOT mean that you have a low milk supply:Your baby nurses frequently. Breastmilk is digested quickly (usually in 1.5-2 hours), so breastfed babies need to eat more often than formula-fed babies. Many babies have a strong need to suck. Also, babies often need continuous contact with mom in order to feel secure. All these things are normal, and you cannot spoil your baby by meeting these needs.Your baby suddenly increases the frequency and/or length of nursings. This is often a growth spurt. The baby nurses more (this usually lasts a few days to a week), which increases your milk supply. Don't offer baby supplements when this happens: supplementing will inform your body that the baby doesn't need the extra milk, and your supply will drop.Your baby nurses more often and is fussy in the evening.Your baby doesn't nurse as long as she did previously. As babies get older and better at nursing, they become more efficient at extracting milk.Your baby is fussy. Many babies have a fussy time of day - often in the evening. Some babies are fussy much of the time. This can have many reasons, and sometimes the fussiness goes away before you find the reason.Your baby guzzles down a bottle of formula or expressed milk after nursing.Many babies will willingly take a bottle even after they have a full feeding at the breast. Read more here from board-certified lactation consultant Kathy Kuhn about why baby may do this and how this can affect milk supply. Of course, if you regularly supplement baby after nursing, your milk supply will drop (see below).Your breasts don't leak milk, or only leak a little, or stop leaking. Leaking has nothing to do with your milk supply. It often stops after your milk supply has adjusted to your baby's needs.Your breasts suddenly seem softer. Again, this normally happens after your milk supply has adjusted to your baby's needs.You never feel a let-down sensation, or it doesn't seem as strong as before.Some women never feel a let-down. This has nothing to do with milk supply.You get very little or no milk when you pump. The amount of milk that you can pump is not an accurate measure of your milk supply. A baby with a healthy suck milks your breast much more efficiently than any pump. Also, pumping is an acquired skill(different than nursing), and can be very dependent on the type of pump. Some women who have abundant milk supplies are unable to get any milk when they pump. In addition, it is very common and normal for pumping output to decrease over time These things can cause or contribute to a low milk supply:Supplementing. Nursing is a supply & demand process. Milk is produced as your baby nurses, and the amount that she nurses lets your body know how much milk is required. Every bottle (of formula, juice or water) that your baby gets means that your body gets the signal to produce that much less milk.Nipple confusion. A bottle requires a different type of sucking than nursing, and it is easier for your baby to extract milk from a bottle. As a result, giving a bottle can either cause your baby to have problems sucking properly at the breast, or can result in baby preferring the constant faster flow of the bottle.Pacifiers. Pacifiers can cause nipple confusion. They can also significantly reduce the amount of time your baby spends at the breast, which may cause your milk supply to drop.Nipple shields can lead to nipple confusion. They can also reduce the stimulation to your nipple or interfere with milk transfer, which can interfere with the supply-demand cycle.Scheduled feedings interfere with the supply & demand cycle of milk production and can lead to a reduced supply, sometimes several months later rather than immediately. Nurse your baby whenever she is hungry.Sleepy baby. For the first few weeks, some babies are very sleepy and only demand to nurse infrequently and for short periods. Until baby wakes up and begins to demand regular nursing, nurse baby at least every two hours during the day and at least every 4 hours at night to establish your milk supply.Cutting short the length of nursings. Stopping a feeding before your baby ends the feeding herself can interfere with the supply-demand cycle. Also, your milk increases in fat content later into a feeding, which helps baby gain weight and last longer between feedings.https://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-gain_increase.html
  

  
  
  
  Little Rose is 2 1/2.

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• fluffybuns

  June 2011

  I'm curious too, why do you think your milk dried up?

  

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• dixee.deluxe

  June 2011

  Hi, I'm lurking here.  My milk also dried up at 4w post-partum.  I got my period the next week.  I wasn't able to find much support because not many breastfeeding women experience ovulation/menstruation so soon.  I kept it up and followed all the recommendations for an additional 2 months (and 2 cycles).  I threw in the towel at around 3 months.  Bottom line, if you get your period, that can impact your milk supply.

  

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• Mom MD (in-training) member

  July 2011

  Have you eaten any sage, parsley, or peppermint? These will dry up milk supply.  

  

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• starlily313 member

  July 2011

  dixee.deluxe:

  Hi, I'm lurking here.  My milk also dried up at 4w post-partum.  I got my period the next week.  I wasn't able to find much support because not many breastfeeding women experience ovulation/menstruation so soon.  I kept it up and followed all the recommendations for an additional 2 months (and 2 cycles).  I threw in the towel at around 3 months.  Bottom line, if you get your period, that can impact your milk supply.

  I had a similar experience, except my drop-off occurred at 6 weeks pp, two weeks before my first pp period. It was a drastic drop & all the home remedy tips didn't work; the only thing I didn't try was medication. I did the same and kept nursing/pumping through my cycle, while supplementing up until the 3 month mark. By that point I was producing less than an ounce of milk per day.

  And ditto, ditto, ditto to the bolded portion.

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