Milk Supply - Houston, TX

I am so glad you asked this question, because I KNOW lots of moms struggle with this. I am a labor and nursery nurse and kind of a breastfeeding fanatic. (Don't worry, no millitant BF lectures here.) What you are describing is totally normal. You body is adjusting its suply to your baby's demand. The more solids your baby eats the less milk our breasts need to produce. Also the reason you do not see much milk when you pump anymore is that your body has also adjusted the type of stimulation it responds to. Do you notice that you don't have that strong letdown anymore when you hear a random baby cry in the grocery store? That is because now your baby is old enough to send other signals when she is hungry, and her suck is also much stronger now that she is bigger. Your pump is probably no longer powerful enough to replicate your baby's sucking strength. However if you were to try to manually express some milk with your own hands, you would probably see some come out. As I recall I was at just the same stage with both of my kids when I no longer saw any milk in the pump bottles. However I breastfed them until they were 16 and 19 1/2 months. Everything you describe sounds totally normal. Like you said before...she has wet and dirty diapers and is gaining weight. She is definitely getting the right amount of milk. Happy breastfeeding.

Your breasts change over time and while you may have been engorged earlier, you may find that it doesn't happen as much. This is pretty normal from what I understand. I know my experience at 1 month was different from 6, 8 or 18 months but it doesn't necessarily mean you're "drying up". Also, pumping is a really poor way to assess supply. Babies are way more efficient getting milk than any breast pump. Please don't use your output as the sole indicator of supply.

You say she's gaining weight and producing the right number of wet and poopy diapers. That's a better way to determine. It's common for supply to go down a bit as solids are introduced, but as long as she's nursing and you're pumping in addition this should help your supply. Some foods and suppliments can also increase supply (oatmeal, fenugreek for example) that you could also use. Also, when you offer food, be sure to do so only after she has nursed.

I'd suggest you contact your local La LEche League or a trusted LC if you are still concerned. They should be able to help you better assess your situation. You might check out these links too:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

Good luck and congrats on making it this far!!

why didn`t you take Herbs tea:Healthy nursing tea?????

Your body makes the amount she is using. IF you want to make a little more, then start pumping really often and you'll build it back up. If she is wetting her diapers on a regular basis, not fussing and is gaining weight, there is nothing to worry about. What seems like not enough to you is plenty to her. Don't feel like you have to quit nursing. Good luck!!

Hi Elizabeth,

I have breastfed three children and was never able to pump more than half a bottle at a time (if that). Often I was frustrated and doubted whether I was doing the right thing, if the baby was getting enough, etc. If breastfeeding is important to you just keep doing it God made our "ninnies" (as we call them in our house) for that very reason. She is having wet diapers and is gaining weight so there is plenty of milk. It might help you to feel better if you schedule the feedings at specific times throughout the day; this way the milk supply will be more regular. Oh and drink lots of water!!! Keep your chin up, you are doing an awesome thing for your daughter!

Have a blessed day,

G. R.

It's most likely that your body has just finally become adjusted to making just the amount of milk that you need. Engorgement is a sign of overproduction and is most common in the first few months of nursing. As long as you continue to nurse, and are not taking any medications that could affect your milk, you should be producing just fine.

Hi Elizabeth,

When my dd was 8 months old we were in similar situations as yourself but my dd would not go down for her naps very well; she would cry and cry and cry. And then finally after the went to sleep she would wake up 45 minutes later crying. This went on for about 2 weeks or so. I was at my wit's end, not knowing what was going on. I thought maybe it is because she is teething but then I had to stop nursing because her top teeth were coming in and my nipples were so cracked and bleeding. It hurt so bad to nurse. I was so afraid of getting mastitis! I kept putting lanolin on and thinking they would heal soon but after several days of that, they were not getting better but worse - with scabs. I know this is probably more than you wanted to know but I so wasn't ready to stop nursing and I so didn't want it to end this way.

So after talking with a lactation consultant, I stopped cold turkey. She said I wouldn't heal as long as I was nursing because every time she nursed she was 'nursing' my wounds further. She told me to immediately call my ob and get an antibiotic so that I wouldn't get mastitis (I did that but did ever take the antibiotic; I had it before so I knew the early signs and thought I would take it if I really needed to. Ended up I was fine.).

Well guess what, I couldn't pump hardly anything like 10-12 ounces within a 24 hr period. With my son I could pump like 24 ounces. And they day I stopped my dd slept! She went right to sleep every time and slept for like 2-3 hours which was normal for her. So it turns out my milk was drying up and I just didn't know it. And it could have been why she was nursing so hard which led to tearing my nipples apart!

I know everyone and every thing you read will say that you will keep up with her demand but in my case I wouldn't have known had I not stopped cold turkey.

My advice (after all of that):
Go with your gut and with how your baby is. Is she happy? Is she crying more? If she is doing everything she is supposed to be doing and nothing new has come up then I would say she is getting what she needs.

Hang in there!
M.

I've always been told that bfing is 'supply and demand' so when my dd started eating more solids I started losing that full feeling also. If she is still gaining weight and doing well, i'd not worry too much. Some people people that babies don't self wean this young, but i've had more than one friend whose child did about that age. You might visit kellymom site if you want more technical answers though. They have a ton of info there.