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I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this. I know how frustrating it can be. I had a significant drop in my supply when K started only feeding 5-6 times a day and only feeding once a night. I also went back to work at the same time and usually don't pump as much as he eats in one day.
I have never been one to produce much extra milk so I have to work extra hard to keep my milk supply up when I can't be with him all day. The biggest thing that I have found that helps me is power pumping. K goes to bed around 7 and I sit down to pump around 9. I put on some good tv or get a good book and spend an hour pumping, alternating 10-15 min pumping then 10 min off. It's boring and I find it takes a lot of determination to do it but it after a few days I always notice that my milk goes back up.
I also eat oatmeal at least once a day, sometimes twice a day. I supplement a few ounces here and there with formula but if I pump as much as possible on weekends then I find I am able to keep up with him during the work week.
Good luck. Also read up on hand compression after pumping. My right side never pumps as much as the left but I always get more out by doing hand compression after pumping.
Also here a link to where I got my info when I started having problems...
http://www.justmommies.com/forums/f1050-pumping-tips-and-tricks/
I started my period again last month and I seem to be having the same problem... so I can totally relate! I've had to bust back out the hand pump and do that once a day and I think (maybe?) that's helping. I'm thinking about getting out the electric pump that I've never used and give that I try as well. Do you find that your milk supply decreases only when you have your period? Because I heard that's pretty normal. Sorry I can't help more, but I can commiserate with you.
You could always try these!
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/lactation-cookies-recipe-increasing.html
There is a lot of other good breastfeeding info on drmomma you can check out as well.
The best site ever for Breastfeeding help, advice, tips and tools is Kellymom.com. Make sure you drink enough water, and EAT as well. You need to be sure to drink a ton, which will help up supply. Try steel cut oatmeal (not instant), and drinking guinness beer seems to help.
This link specifically helped me (I'm still nursing my 14 month old, she has been exclusively nursed).
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html
ETA: Could it be a growth spurt which makes him seem like he needs more food?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html
Good luck!!
I needed this post!! I guess my supply hasn't 'dwindled' yet as I nurse exclusively and he's satisfied - but it has totally adjusted to what he needs. I used to pump once a day and get a decent amount to freeze - but I stopped doing that because I'm lazy. Well now we have a 5 day trip planned and I have a month to stock the freezer for while I'm gone. I'm getting NADA while pumping! I'm going to use all the tricks to increase my supply a bit!!
Also I might be going to work full time out of the home soon so I'm worried about being able to pump then to keep up with him. I need to get back into my habit of daily pumping (maybe 2x/day) and pray my supply picks up!
I'm looking forward to making those cookies!! YUM :)
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Hi all - so I breastfed our son, Ryan, exclusively until he was 4 months old. Around that time I found I couldn't keep up and we quickly went through my meager freezer stash. The peditrician told us it was ok to start supplementing with formula, which we started just in the evening, but then it turned into multiple times a day as Ryan was constantly hungry after nursing. My evening pumping output dwindled from 5 ounces to 2-3. I should also mention that the decreasing supply coincided with getting my period for the first time post-birth and this was also around the time that he started only getting up once a night to nurse.
My question is whether anyone else has had a dwindling supply and managed to increase it this far in ( he is almost 6 months old now)? I have tried pumping more, using Fenugreek and nursing more, none of which seemed to help much - and now Ryan is getting so frustrated with how little he gets when he nurses that he often times refuses or only goes for a few minutes. Should I accept that I have much less supply or is there hope to get it up?? thoughts?