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Am I drying up? :(

EricaOOEricaOO member
in Breastfeeding

During my 3 months of maternity leave I was breastfeeding AND formula feeding DS.  She took both the breast and bottle just fine.  I've been at work for 2 weeks and I pump while at work and nurse in the mornigs, evenings, and during night time feedings.  I just went to pump and panicked a little because I produced only 1 oz. I got NOTHING from one breast.  I usually get 2 oz from each side per session.  Was this pump session just a fluke or am I drying up?  I'm afraid that I may be losing my supply because I don't pump frequently enough at work.  I've also noticed that it's taking a longer length of time for my breasts to feel full between feedings, i need several hours to replenish. I know I need to stay hydrated but I did nothing differently today.  Yesterday everything seemed normal.  What do you all think?  I will be extremely sad if this is it for breastfeeding.  DS is 3.5 months old.  TIA!

Married June 23, 2012
 
TTC #1 December 2012
DD born December 2013 
 
BFP  January 2015
Due October 2015


 
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Re: Am I drying up? :(

  • ncbellencbelle member
    How often are you pumping?  If you are supplementing and not pumping often then, yes, you are telling your body you don't need that milk so it will stop making it.  The only remedy is to nurse more, pump more, and cut back on supplementing.


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  • rm2013rm2013 member
    Agree with PP 100%. with adequate supply you should be pumping every 3 hours at work. Since yours is dropping You may need to do every two if it's feasible to try to get your supply back up. And also curious why you are supplementing? Keeping your milk up is all about supply meeting demand. I would recommend on the weekend no supplementing, even if it means you have to nurse every two hours. Hopefully a few good days of exclusive nursing should get you back on track, and then do that every weekend to keep it up.
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  • rm2013rm2013 member
    Had your period come back? That will cause a supply dip (hopefully temporarily). Oh and also is your LO STTN? If so make sure you do a bedtime pump to keep up your production (and then when you don't need it for daycare bottles you use it to build your freezer stash)

    Here's my typical weekday schedule:
    6am - nurse
    9am, 12pm, 3pm - pump at work
    7pm - nurse
    10/11pm - pump

    On weekends it's nurse on demand all day and pump before going to bed.
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  • EricaOOEricaOO member
    Thanks for the advice that this isn't irreversible and that there are things I can do to increase my supply.  I supplemented formula while on maternity leave because DS was born 5 lb 15 oz, dropped a lot of weight and was gaining it back very slowly.  I was afraid she was always hungry, fed her formula one time, she gulped it down, weight shot up, and i continued wtih the formula.  I am only pumping twice a day at work because I find it hard to get away sometimes but that's my own fault.  I'll need to check out my pump because i did notice it doesn't seem as strong (if that's the right word).  Thanks so much for your input.
    Married June 23, 2012
     
    TTC #1 December 2012
    DD born December 2013 
     
    BFP  January 2015
    Due October 2015


     
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  • SadieBeeSadieBee member
    AmyG, what bottle nipple do you most recommend? I have found that many nipples labeled slow flow are actually not slow at all.
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  • MyaflowersMyaflowers member
    I had to supplement with formula in the beginning due to low supply, which I ended up taking domperidone to address and was able to stop supplementing. I always pumped when giving a bottle, even though I barely got anything. I also had to pump 4 times during the day once I was back at work to get enough milk for LO. I eventually got to where I was able to pump a little extra for a small freezer stash. I agree with PP that pumping every 3 hours while at work is a must. You may have to pump every 2 to 2.5 hours for awhile until you can increase your supply. I know it's hard to find time to pump, but it's a must if you want to continue breastfeeding. I'm a therapist and my schedule is crazy. It was super hard to fit pumping into my schedule, but it gets easier once you get used to it, and it's totally worth it. Hang in there and pump as often as you can!
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  • cinderincinderin member
    I use dr brown bottles with a premie nipple.

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  • CLLDLLCLLDLL member
    AmyG* said:


    SadieBee said:

    AmyG, what bottle nipple do you most recommend? I have found that many nipples labeled slow flow are actually not slow at all.

    Check bfing board, which brands are truly slow flow changes a lot, and I don't have a little one to try them ou ton anymore.


    DS Did really well with the Platex level one nipples. He also did well with the Tommee Tippee slow flows.
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