help me reestablish supply-building schedule? sorry. .. long

jely26 · September 2013

Hi ladies. It's the middle of the night here and I can't sleep because my supply seems to be tanking exponentially by the day. Today things were particularly bad because we went out to run errands as a family and I was not able to nurse exactly when baby needed it (timing ended up off by more than an hour). Then tonight when I pumped before bed... less than three ounces when I used to get nearly eight every time. It has been on a slow decline for the past few weeks.

I don't know what to do. Is not just the pumping; I also feel like I don't have enough "in the tank" for baby at each feeding. I drink a ton of water and eat enough calories. I think what has happened is that I've somehow gotten off of a good schedule. Baby has slept through the night since two months, so I've always pumped just before bed because he needs what I have "on board" in the morning and during the day. .. nighttime is the only time I can pump to save it.

So the schedule right now is:
- Wake and feed BM at around 6:30am
- solid foods for breakfast at around 8:00
- BM at around 9
- Bm about every 2.5 or so hours until 3:30 or so.
- solids at dinner around 5:30 plus big "top off" bottle of 6 oz. (I think baby is only getting around 3-4 oz. a feeding from me, so this is to help get him through the night)
- bedtime around 7 pm
- pump at around 11:30 or 12 pm

I used to pump three times after baby's bedtime (pumps at 7:30 pm, 11:30 or 12 pm, and 1:30 or 2 am) , but was getting next to nothing at the first and third pumping and was getting so tired from waking up at night to do that last one that I thought it was counterproductive.

I need some advice about how to right the ship. Should I go back to three pumps in the evening? Should I be doing something else during the day? I feel like if I pump during the day there won't be enough left for him to eat directly.

By the way, the reason I need to pump is to get that big bottle and so that daycare has bottles for when I cant feed him myself. The daycare is in the same building as my office, but sometimes my schedule makes it impossible to come feed him personally and they have to give a bottle.

Thanks in advance for your advice. I may pick up some mothers milk tea or something tomorrow, but so far haven't needed anything like that, so I'm thinking it is my schedule that is really throwing things off!

jkuhmann · September 2013

My pedi recommended giving any solids immediately after a nursing session, so that he wouldn't fill up on actual food and drink less BM at the next session. Maybe he is not nursing long enough at your sessions post-solids and it is sending the signal to your body that he doesn't need as much? I know that when I get off on one feeding, it affects every other feeding.

I know what worked for me when my supply tanked was really keeping to a regular, baby-led schedule as much as humanly possible and then pumping after each feeding to make sure everything was getting out, even if it was only half an once, and absolutely pumping if I couldn't be around him when his next feed would be.

If it were me, I would suspend the solids until my supply came back, then start again. They aren't terribly necessary and BM is still much more important at this stage. Good luck mama!

ally2011 · September 2013

I would nurse at 5:30 before solids and then pump at 2 hour intervals until you go to bed. I think you are going too long with no stimulation from 3:30 on. Baby is best so I would do that before solids at 5:30 and then the pumping every 2 hours. You could also try a dream feed before you go to bed. Don't worry about how much you are getting, just try to make sure something is signaling your body to make milk more often....hopefully your supply will catch back up. My sister had luck with the mm tea.

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help me reestablish supply-building schedule? sorry. .. long

Re: help me reestablish supply-building schedule? sorry. .. long

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