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starlettedir
member
please help =( my supply seems to be rapidly dropping
starlettedir
member
Kiddo is just over 8 months.
I've been back at work after being off for the summer for 2 weeks. Before summer break I was able to pump over 5 ounces(what the kiddo eats) each and every time. The first week back I was *just* getting 5 ounces if not a little less.
I try to pump every 3 hours. Sometimes it's 4. I got just under 5 oz on my 1st pump this morning. The kiddo eats every 3-4 hours at home. She does not STTN. I've been feeding her when she wakes at night(usually once).
I've pumped twice in the past 6 hours and have gotten a huge #$%^#$^# total of 2.5 ounces.
I drink almost nothing but water. I've been popping Fenugreek like it's going out of style. I've been drinking Mothers milk tea. I made some oatmeal muffins this weekend to eat for breakfast. I eat more than enough calories.
A friend suggested calling Medela about my pump. It's fairly new. I used it for about a month this summer(here and there on vacations). I just got new membranes about 3 weeks ago.
I wanted to cry last week when on her day care note is said like she wants more after she finishes a bottle. She gets 5 ounces right now....I can't even make more than that. =(
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Re: please help =( my supply seems to be rapidly dropping
First don't beat yourself up. I'd check the pump but it may just be the stress of work. I did everything you listed above and even took Reglan for a bit before I (we-doc) decided that it just wasn't going to happen. That was a little later than you but remember I work at home.
i can't imagine doing your job and with DH's schedule. That alone makes my boobies hurt.
Hang in there and if you can't produce any more milk, it's okay. Maybe not your ideal plan, but completely okay.
I'm actually for once not stressed about work LOL
DO you think I should put in a call to my OBGYN or C's pedi(can't they prescribe)?
Your OBGYN. Mine was mad at me because I waited so long to call. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong.
I'm sorry. I had some big fluctuations right around 8 to 10 months too, I'd always had oversupply until then. I don't really have much advice beyond what you're doing. Fenugreek, a swimming pool's worth of water, extra sleep, less exercise, more nursing (weeks when I was really low I'd try and nurse him an extra time after work but before dinner) and new membranes were the things that worked for me.
Hang in there, my supply would dip for a few days to a week but it always came back. Have you gotten your period back yet? That causes major supply issues for some women so it could be that Aunt Flow is on her way.
The good news is that the amount of milk she drinks will start to go down as she eats more and more solids, so your production won't matter so much. You're really close to the "finish line" (assuming your goal is to pump until she's a year?).
Have you considered increasing the amount of solids you send to school? I think I sent an extra "snack" (usually yogurt) when I knew I was a little short on milk.
Take a deep breath.
All of us at some point or another have dealt with a supply change. Mine took a hit around that time and then I basically dried up for good at 10.5 months. I was sad but did the best that I could. Here is what I did to try and help my supply any time it decreased.
1. Stay well hydrated - it's hot outside. Minimum of 100 oz water a day but you'll likely need more with your job and this heat
2. Eat oatmeal every day (I personally like lactation cookies) and make sure you're eating enough calories. Dieting of any kind killed my supply.
3. I always found that Fenugreek helped me when my supply dipped
4. Nurse as often as you can at home (unless you're EPing)
5. Pump more often for less time if possible. Pump in the car to and from work.
6. Power pump in the evenings
Good luck! Remember that your supply continues to regulate itself. I found any drastic change in my schedule, stress, etc really affected my supply. Eight months is awesome; just keep at it and don't stress.
I sent an extra meal today. She had been on just two meals. One there and one and home and then puffs or mum mums at school.
I'm trying to make it to a year.
I was spotting this morning but I swear I just had my period 2 weeks ago.
Gah. I don't even have enough for her bottles tomorrow. I'm going to have to try and pump before I go to bed.
C never seems hungry after done feeding.
Almond-Can the doc prescribe over the phone or do I have to go in?
My doc wanted to see me. Then refills were over the phone.
honestly, I'm feeding her in the MOTN because of my dropping supply hoping it'll help boost it.
She's been getting closer to STTN though. Inn the past 3 weeks we've had about 4 nights where she went 12 hours. She usually does an 8 hour stretch before waking.
This is just a little thing but it could help a lot. The Phillips Avent Pump is so much more freaking comfortable than the damn PISA. I bought the single manual pump because my PISA and I were divorcing.
What makes the Avent so comfy is this soft plastic insert thing that goes inside of the horn, between the horn and your breast. I swear, it feels *just* like Eliza is nursing.
I can't find them online at the moment, but I'm pretty sure I've seen them sell just the cushion at Target and it can fit inside your Medela horn.
And when I was going through supply issues (at four and nine months) my LC told me I would I know I was taking enough fenugreek when I smelled like maple syrup. It helped tons the first time but not the second, so you might want to check your dosage.
j+k+m+e | running with needles
If you aren't ready to quit, then just keep working at it to see if you can turn your supply around. Pump extra times, if you can. It sounds like you are staying hydrated - make sure you aren't skimping on calories.
HOWEVER, my supply took a nose dive around 7-8 months, and I was ready to be done, so it was a good thing for me. I was hoping for 6 months and made it 8, so I was happy with what I had done. So, I tapered off and was done with no guilt. So, if you can't get it back, please don't make yourself feel bad - what you did was AWESOME and you should feel proud at how far you made it!
Good luck!
Please, before taking Reglan, do some research and consider all the side-effects. It has some fairly significant ones (fatigue, irritability, depression...to name a few).
Just FYI.
It sounds like you are doing absolutely everything you can at this point. Even though you don't feel stressed, you could be subconsciously stressed about returning to work and leaving DD after being with her all summer. Any little thing can affect your supply and it's hard to pinpoint what it is if you're already doing all the right things.
Others have said don't beat yourself up but I'll echo it. I hope BFing to a year (or however long you are wanting to nurse) works out for you and your DD but if it doesn't it's ok! At the end of the day if you're doing all you can and your supply just isn't cooperating, and she's still hungry you've got a personal choice to make. Sending an extra meal to daycare may very well help but if it doesn't, formula is not the end of the world. It's hard to accept and it's hard to keep yourself from feeling guilty - I've been there...my supply tanked to almost nothing around the 7 month mark. But if she's got a full belly and is a happy baby then you're doing the best for her!
Good luck...I know it's hard and emotional and frustrating!
What I've bolded above is exactly correct. Not feeding her in the night (since she's up anyway and you're wanting your supply to rebound) will tell your body to make less milk, it won't "save" additional milk for when you pump like Bin suggested. And obviously letting her nurse as much as she will when you're together will help as well.
Besides the Fenugreek and the Tea, the More Milk Plus supplements really help some people (they contain Fenugreek, but also other herbs, and for some people the, combination is more effective).
Also, it sounds like she's well on her way to truly STTN (although at her age, an 8 hour stretch is considered STTN). Letting her get there on her own seems to be working out pretty well, so I wouldn't screw with that for no good reason.
I wanted to forward you these two tidbits of information...herbal galactagogues, prescriptions galactagogues.
In addition to that, I also wanted you to consider hand expressing. Sometimes that is an easier way to get milk. To learn how to hand express, see here, or here, or here. I was one of those women who could BARELY pump more than an ounce after my milk regulated... so I had to hand express. It saved my milk production and bottle feeding, though.
Honestly, the more you freak out about it the worse it gets. When mine started dropping I started freaking out and it just got worse. I switched from Fenugreek to More Milk Plus (i bought it on Amazon). I also added in power puming in the evening and that sucked big fat donkey balls. But it helped a little. And the tea - I did the Mother's Milk tea every time I pumped (4-5 cups daily) and had 100+oz of water the rest of the day.
In the end, it was at about 8 months when I finally threw in the towel. In hindsight I could have probably worked harder and kept at...but I don't think I would have been able to not send formula. At 6.5-7 months we had to start supplimenting because my supply had dropped around 6 months. That's when I started doing all of the tricks to get it back where it needed to be. I never really did, and one weekend at about 8 mo Cooper decided he just dind't want to nurse. I didn't want to EP, so we just quit. I planned on quitting a month later, so it really just worked out.
Hard to complain about that