Low Supply

My second baby cried on the breast - but I felt it was because she was really uncomfortable. She had reflux and putting her on medication made everything better. Good luck.

I have boosted my low milk flow by drinking healthy nursing tea by secrets of tea.

Sounds like your supply may be leveling out. When you first have a baby you have enough milk to feed an army. After a while it only makes as much as demanded. Also your baby is much more efficient at getting milk out than a pump. You may only pump 3oz but your baby could be getting out 5oz. How long as the fussiness been happening? There is a growth spurt around 3 months old which could cause excessive fussiness. If you want to pump more than make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids (especially at work), feed your baby on demand when you are home and make sure you are pumping as often as she would feed while you are working. If you are not pumping at work your supply is going to drop.

I consistently got about 2-3 ounces when I pumped, both at the beginning and even a year into pumping. I think it doesn't really show how much milk you make. Try drinking lots of water and eating oatmeal. Sleep is important. When you pump, head off somewhere quiet. Freeze what you can. DON'T GIVE UP!

This happened to me with my first child at about the same age. I read at the time that it can be related to reflux but he was already on medicine for that and doing quite well. I thought that my supply was low as well but he would fuss before he started to feed which didn't make sense. I finally chocked it up to teething. Many babies begin to teeth at about 3 months old and latching on can cause discomfort at times. Although he would cry and fuss I would persist and he would eventually latch on. I would tend to think that it isn't a supply issue. Breastmilk changes over time in quantity and quality. When you first start breastfeeding, especially first time moms, you become engorged for many weeks - often with oversupply. As time goes by your milk supply stabilizes and you don't necessarily produce as much excess milk. Try and relax - stressing about this might indeed affect your milk supply. Keep trying and I'm certain you and your baby girl will get over this hump. Hope this helps!

I totally understand where you are coming from. I had very low supply too and I was sooooo upset about it. Try Mother's Milk tea (you can get it in health food stores). It did help me a little. I breast fed my son for 3 months and it was torture. He was soooo ravenous and needed formula for supplement. But, you know what, he is a beautiful, bouncy happy 13 month old now who is 95% in height and weight. Don't take it so hard. If you have to, supplementing with formula is REALLY no big deal.

Cathy if you feel your suply is low just try supplementing with formula after you breastfeed.I had to do this with one of my boys. He was a very hungry baby. i did continue with both untill he was six months. I also discovered that he was lactose intolerant and had to switch to soy without corn syrup. Is any one in your family lactose intolerant. You might want to start asking family members if they had similar problems. Hope this helps. Carol D

Sleep is critical! That being said, I have a chiropractor friend who put her stressed cousin on protein shakes from Isagenix and her milk came rushing in. Really good nutrition is important too. You can contact me for more info if you are intersested.

Don't worry, it could be many things. If she needs more, your body will adjust accordingly. Several things could be going on:

1)She could have acid reflux- mine did and was crying and arching her back and spitting up a lot)
2)She could be reacting to something you ate-sometime dairy can be the culprit- ,monitor your diet without milk and milk products for a few days and see if you get the same reaction.
3)She could be wet, soiled, fussy or just not hungry at that time

I too went back to work and my supply varies daily from 3-6 oz. each time I would say drink fluids, also Mother's Milk tea (sold in lealth food stores ot perhaps even supermarkets with health foods sectionsd) to increase your supply.

Good luck- it can be hard at first but it is worth it in the end!

M.

PS Feel free to email privately if you want to speak more.

Hi Cathy,

I had the same problem, and rarely pumped more than 5 oz. A while after I started working f/t again, it was more in teh 3.5 to 4 oz. range. I did have to start leaving a bottle of formula on most days. I also nursed as soon as I came home. You're a nurse, so you probably know that breastfeeding is a supply and demand issue, the more the baby nurses or you pump, the more milk is produced. I took Mother's Milk herbs by Motherlove. I also found helpful information at the website www.kellymom.com. Good luck

I have really bad low milk supply. My LC told me to try an herbal tea called Breastea. After the first day I went from pumping 1/2 ounce to 3 ounces. I'm now up to 5 ounces a pumping. You have to order it from their website at breastea.com but boy has it made a big difference. Just make sure you are breastfeeding or pumping alot.

With my last two boys, my supply was running out by the time they were three months. With my third, my midwife told me about Fenugreek which is a herbal supplement and it did bring in a lot of breastmilk and liasted until my son was 8 months old and was gone. Stess does horrible stuff to people and I drank a lot of water, I mean a lot and still didn't get a lot of milk coming in. I had two other ones and around the time my third was 8 months, my second son was admitted in the hospital and of course I stressed out and didn't get much sleep and food (food because I was not a patient there) because I was there with him day and night for more than 48 hours, almost 72 hours. I defintely have any milk at this point. Pumping does nothing for me. I would get only 2-3 ounces and a lot more would come out when I breastfed when I didn't have any problem getting a lot milk coming in. You may want to try Fenugreek. I got it at healthfood store and I also occasionally drank Mother's Tea from healthfood store. Want to talk more, let me know privately.

cathy,
I have the same problem- I find that my daughter will cry when I am low- I had low supply with my son and had to start supplementing. also try fenugreek