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Breastfeeding
rcultrona
member
I think it's over...
rcultrona
member
I planned to BF for a year but my supply apparently disagrees.. The first 6 months I had more milk than I knew what to do with so I thought it would be easy. LO is 8.5 months and for the last 2 months I've been living on fenugreek, water (so much water), oatmeal and dark beer and still no increase. Most days I am lucky to get 5-6oz. I don't have a problem nursing but I'm failing at the pump so I have to suppliment one bottle a day. Of course I will continue to pump anything I can but it doesn't look like I am going to make my year 
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Re: I think it's over...
Did you build a freezer stash when you were getting extra initially? That's what bridged the gap for me in the homestretch to make the full year. I've read posts from a lot of women who have a hard time getting as much pumping when their LOs are around 8-9 months. I think production just starts to dip as LOs start eating solids and AF sometimes starts to rear her ugly head again. You can still make the year. You just may need to work a little harder (like pumping on the weekends too, or adding in an early morning extra pumping before work) if you don't have a stash. If you do, start taking from it. That is what it's there for.
**DD1 - 7/9/98**
**DS - 11/9/00**
**DD2 - 4/30/13**
This is just my own research as I struggled the same when my supply dropped around 8 months. Why fight it by trying to boost supply again? If your supply is naturally dropping then it means your baby is likely taking less milk when you nurse her. I know this was the case for me because no matter how hard I tried to boost supply it never bounced back so I took it to mean my body was doing exactly what it was supposed to be doing because it was a baby-led supply drop.
I just read this piece from Dr. Jack Newman who is the breastfeeding guru and he says that babies don't need a set amount of milk after 9 months. See #4. My Pedi essentially said the same thing to me. https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-WFBW
I've questioned quite frequently for the past 2 months if I should continue to provide the same quantity of milk even if my supply is gradually decreasing because I'm certain now that my supply drop is baby-led so why would I keep giving her more milk at daycare than she's drinking at home? I do supplement a bit with my freezer stash since I know the pump doesn't get out as much as my LO does, but just not as much as I used to supplement. My Pedi NP told me that there is no set amount of milk an older baby needs and that I should provide what I pump and not supplement with freezer stash so long as she's getting a good variety in solids. It goes against so much of what I hear "Under 1 just for fun", but as I've learned more and questioned it I come to realize that there is this tendency to over-think it--our babies know what they're doing. That's why I like baby-led weaning because she gets to feed herself with her hands.
So much of how we guide infant feeding practices has been shaped by baby food makers and formula companies. It's not as though 1 year becomes some magical age where they just start knowing how to eat--it's just a gradual process and I think the 9-12 month point (according to BLW experts) is when kids really start learning how to eat. I suspect that if you provided less in daycare bottles your LO would take more from you morning and bedtime while nursing if LO was needing those nutrients. This is all my own un-expert opinion so I don't want to mis-guide you by going against any advice our Pedi has given you, but for me I think I stressed way too much about my supply after 8 months before I consulted my Pedi NP about my concerns. After reading Dr. Newman's take on it (the Midwives who delivered DD commonly refer to Jack Newman so I trust him) and having my Pedi NP validate all of this I think it's the best choice for my DD. She still gets the majority of her calories from breastmilk.
Your LO's feed schedule is pretty close to mine. I've gradually been putting less in each of her 3 bottles and monitoring her weight and satisfaction and so far she is as she's is still doing well.