Breastmilk Supply Diminishing

I had trouble catching up to my daughter's intake so I tried Traditional Medicinals "Mother's Milk" Lactations tea. You can get it at Sprouts. I know it is tough to pump too often, but my doctor said to pump for just 5 minutes after a feeding or 2. good luck.

Hi K.,

Hops is an herb that increases milk production.If you like the taste of beer You can also get it in alcohol free beer.

Hi K. - I had problems with low supply when I went back to work when my daughter was about that age. What helped me the most was eating oatmeal every day for breakfast and drinking Mother's Milk tea. Good luck!

I had the same problem when my oldest was the same age. I drank Mother's Milk tea. You can get it at Whole Foods. I also had to make sure I ate enough, drank alot of water and rested which is not easy to do!

There is a store in the Southlake town center called The Mom's Place that specializes in helping breast feeding moms. It is owned by a pediatrician.
Be sure you are drinking enough fluids.
If you could pump just once during the day it would help. Also if you pump after every feeing, even if you don't get much, it provides additional "demand" so your supply may increase in response to the increased demand.

Hi! I had great trouble with my milk supply, starting from day 1. My son's pediatrician recommended either Fenugreek (available otc from places like Whole Foods) or perscription Reglan. I tried the Fenugreek and it had a modest effect. My friend, however, noticed a HUGE increase with Fenugreek, though it took a week before the change happened.

Good luck!

My supply never seemed able to keep up with my first baby's needs, and on top of that, I was trying to pump to have some bottles on hand. I took Fenugreek and noticed a big increase. A side effect is that I smelled like maple syrup. I think drinking milk helps too, but you won't find that in the LLL Book. Supplements will increase your milk supply round the clock, so be prepared with some extra towels and breast pads.

If you need to increase your supply just for that nighttime feeding, let her have another round of nursing 10-15 minutes after she finishes. That will tell your body that you need more milk at that time, and its better than trying to pump.
Bless you for being a dedicated mommy!

Here is a great website you might find helpful.

kellymom.com it is a great resource for breastfeeding... hope it is helpful

M.

I took fenugreek while I was nursing and that seemed to help. You might also try nursing her more often - she may be hitting a growth spurt and your body needs a chance to catch up with her needs.

You may wish to call La Leche League, they are incredibly knowledgeable and experienced (and free!). Good luck!

Hi K.,

I had the same problem with my second child. I remember that "Blessed Thistle" is an herb that you can take that is supposed to increase your milk supply. It seems like there was another, but I can't remember ( my second child is now 7! ). I bet they could tell you at a health food store. You probably already know this but make sure to drink alot of water. I even tried drinking an energy drink like "Boost" once a day. Also, being a mom of two little ones can cause stress which in turn can lead to a diminished milk supply as well. So try to reserve some down time for yourself to take a bath or just relax for a bit. I know that is easier said than done :)! Ultimately you may need to consult a lactation specialist if you continue to have difficulty. Good Luck and let us know how it goes!

C.

Good Morning!

My nutritionist told me to eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies along with brewers yeast and fennel.

Good luck to you!

L.

It's not unusual for your milk supply to be low in the evening. The supplement is Fenugreek. But, you also should make sure you're drinking enough water and limiting caffeine, which just dehydrates you (or drink twice as much H2O as the caffeinated beverage). Also, you could try nursing more during the day (when my son was that age, he was nursing 5x/day and once at nite and I was working fulltime). The baby nursing is the most effective builder of your milk supply. With an older child, you may just be too busy during the day to nurse as much as you should. I found that reading to my older son while nursing my younger son was a good way to get in that extra nursing.

Hi, I had supply problems from the beginning because I had a reduction when I was younger. The doctor put me on reglan. I doubled the supply. The herb everyone is mentioning help but the reglan helped the most. It's supposed to be for your tummy but they found it helped with milk production tremendously. I was ok with taking it because I did some research on it and it does not get into the milk and It enabled the baby to get 9 months of nursing which I would of not been able to do before. You have to drink lots of water though. Tons and tons of water. :)

take care

W.

Hi K.
i'd like to share my experience with you if thats okay and then you can make the best decision for yourself! i found that Fenugreek, Marshmellow root and Mothers Milk Tea worked quite well for me. My son was born 2 months early and spent that amount of time in the NICU so i had to keep my supply going which wasn't a problem really at first. It wasn't until he came home and actually started nursing that my milk started to run out. The less you pump, the less milk you have. The only reason i had an over abundance of milk was b/c i was pumping everything out every 3 hours. I know you probably don't have that amount of time (who does unless they are home really). I was tired of my almost double D breasts so as soon as my son finally got the hang of nursing i stopped pumping and just let him eat what i had to offer. 3 weeks later i ran out completely even though i took all the above mentioned vitamins/tea. My sister-in-law however almost ran out and she also started the same regimin but pumped and her milk seemed to come back. As long as you're pumping, your milk will most likely stay! Good luck to you, i know for me it was hard when my milk ran out; i felt in-adequite as a mother.
take care
S.

are you drinking enough water? taking a quality vitamin supplement could help (I like Shaklee.) I see you have a 2 1/2 yr old...could you be stressed out?...if so, maybe take a nap when the 2 1/2 yr old takes his/hers. It could be that the baby is not really 'trying' to eat at night, but is using you more as a paci. Maybe pump after the evening feeding until your milk is built back up (storing the milk, even if it is very little at first.) Once you see that your milk is built back up, start to eliminate the mid-night feeding by stretching the baby 15 minutes at a time (let him/her cry it out for the 15 minutes, until he adapts, then start the process over.) If you do not want to do this, you could start waking him 15 min. before the time he normally wakes during the night until he adapts, then continue this process until it is an evening feeding only.

When I nursed my girls I would drink this herbal tea from Whole Foods grocery store called "Mother's Milk" it is specially for increasing your milk suppply. I also found it at Tom Thumb. They might have it at other stores also. But Whole Foods always carries it.

Hi K.,

I will probably be repetitive considering the other responses you have gotten, but I have found that if you hear the same things over and over again from different moms it probably works. I am a mother of two boys. My older son just naturally weaned at about 6 months. You have been breastfeeding for 10 months and that is great. Congratulate yourself for going so long and know that you are a great mom! 3 different pediatricians have told me that 90% of the benefits of breastfeeding are gotten in the first 4 months of baby's life.

I now have a 4 month old that I am breastfeeding. Breastmilk will always be at its lowest in the late evening/night. I take 5 Fenugreek capsules (bought at the Vitamin Shop) 3 times a day with 12 ounces of water. Drink at least 12-20 ounces of water, milk, juice, or any other decaffinated beverage every hour. The Mother's Milk tea is gross and the main active ingrediant is Fenugreek anyway.

Your body will only produce the milk your baby needs. If you want to produce more, you have to nurse more or pump, bottom line. How do you know your baby is getting enough? When you take your baby to her/his 9 month and 12 month check-up your doctor will tell you if weight gain is good. Also, are there 5-6 wet diapers a day?

Go to a La Leche League meeting. Look on their website for the group in your area. I have one in Denton and they are eveywhere. Usually there is a meeting once a month either during the day, one evening, or both.

I, too, suffer from a lot of guilt with the whole breastfeeding thing. I teach two nights a week and I pump before I leave but my husband has to mix it with formula to make a bottle. It is hard. But again, you have done great to keep it going so long. I have to go pump now....good luck.

I have a 9 month old son. He doesn't nurse very much at his bedtime feeding either... He nurses the most in the morning and I nurse him 2 other times during the day... I think he gets what he wants. As far as waking up... (this is my opinion) but if she is waking up in the night.. it is out of habit at this point. She should be able to go without nursing.. it has become more of a habit. There is a great website called www.kellymom.com and it has great information about breastfeeding and supplements to increase your supply.

Best of luck
J.

Keep your water intake high and your soda and caffeine intake low. The water intake will increase your body fluids and in turn help you produce more milk with out taking supplements that might not be safe while breastfeeding.

O.k I have/ am going through the same thing right now. Here are the supplements you can take.
Fenugreek
Blessed Thistle
or there are some Lactation Support supplements that have both of those ingredients plus some others. I get mine from either whole foods or sprouts. You can also drink Non alcholic beer (odules is the best...I have tried them all!)
Also there was a recipe someone on here posted for some cookies that you can make and eat that help too. I have it saved I will try and forward it to you.
The biggest thing is water make sure you are drinking enough, and you might want to increase how much food you feed her at dinner to help her make it through the night.

Hi K.,

My doctor recommended Fenugreek and it worked for me.

R.

as a mother of 3 (breast fed all of them) and a pediatric nurse of 10 years...I can tell you every baby and every person is different. I nursed my first 13 months and second weaned himself at about 7 months (He just didn't want to do it anymore...too nosey!) and am going strong with my 8 month old right now. All that said: the one and only way to "beef up the milk supply" is drinking tons of water and pumping 10 or 20 minutes in between nursing sessions. your body will only respond to the demand. If you trick it into thinking you need more supply it will respond. Also... Reglan (a medication we use for reflux with the babies) has also been known to have an effect on milk supply but it can have some neurological side effects where it might make you feel "icky" ... I tried it with my second.
It didn't work..needless to say. Also, let me say, 10 months is incredible (to say the least) to have breastfed your baby girl. don't sweat it! I have learned from the pediatricians I work with that you can actually start transitioning to whole milk after 9 months... food for thought.
E. Baird, RN. Medical City Children's Hospital.

Lots of things can make your milk supply diminish, but the most likely is that she is getting nutrients from solids now and is in the process of weaning. That doesn't mean you have to switch to a bottle, just keep nursing and give her more solids and water at mealtimes.
As long as she's gaining weight and staying hydrated, you should listen to her.

I agree with the other Fenugreek posters...It helped me in the same situation, and was recommended by a lactation consultant. And as far as 10 months being too old for breastfeeding, as I read in one response...It is best, if possible, to give your baby the benefit of your breastmilk for the 1st whole year of their life! Obviously by age 10 months, it's not their sole source of food, as they have been introduced to cereal, etc. but they are still reaping the awesome benefits of mom's milk. Good luck! I had to stop at 7mo. with my 1st daughter because she was having none of it anymore after being away from me for 2 days and drinking expressed milk from a bottle. But with my 2nd and 3rd daughters, we went for 13-14 months, which was the norm for the nursing moms that I knew.

Hi, K., I'm a realtor, too.

It's been many years since my kids were nursing, but I loved the experience. As far as your milk supply goes, I found that pumping just once in between feeding could help to increase the supply. I may have only gotten an ounce or so, but I saved them up in the freezer until I had a full bottle or I'd use the small amount for mixing cereal.

Generally, reducing stress, eating well and drinking lots of fluids helps to maintain and increase the milk supply.

It could also be that your baby is starting to wean itself especially if you are introducing foods and other liquids now. I was surprised that my first daughter just quit nursing on her first birthday. My second daughter weaned herself from breast milk at about six months. My supply had decreased because of a combination of factors and she preferred formula to nursing.

I'm sure you know that one of the "down sides" of nursing is that you can't tell how much they are taking or you are producing. I called the doctor once early in my older daughter's life in a panic because she had spit up what seemed like a gallon of milk after nursing. All I could think of was projectile vomiting! They calmed me down and I only called the doctor in a panic one or two more times before I settled into motherhood.

Hey K., I took Fenugreek when I was trying to boost my milk supply with my son. However, it had some very undesirable side effects. I also tried the mothers milk tea which you might find at your grocery store or definitely at Central Market or Whole Foods. I didn't notice any results with it, though. If its any consolation, my son did very well when we started supplementing with formula and slept especially well at night.

You can go to GNC and buy a tea called Mother's Milk. It's very helpful in increasing your supply. Also, I know there are many German tea's that do this too. Don't quit yet. If you breast feed your baby until it is 1 year old it DECREASES YOUR CHANCES OF BREAST CANCER! Good luck.

I tried the herb, Fenugreek. Don't know if it really had any effect, but it can't hurt to try. Make sure you are taking in enough water during the day too. HOpe this helps. HD

K.,
I have always taken Fenugreek. It is a natural suppliment you can get at a health food store (Sprouts). Take it 3 x a day then you can diminish it. It has always helped me. Also, eat and DRINK a lot. I am nursing my 3rd right now. I hope this helps.
K.

my pediatrician gave me a prescription for domperidone (I can't remember but I think one of the things in is fenugreek). It has to be made by a compounding pharmacy and is about $75 for 30 pills. it worked for me.

Hi, K.. My milk supply typically waxes and wanes, and on the times that it isn't so great I will load up on the water, get rest, try and eliminate stress and relax, and take 2-3 Fenugreek supplements (610 mg) twice a day, and my milk supply rebounds pretty quickly. Good luck. If you determine that Fenugreek works for you, you can typically find it cheaper via an online merchant than one of the other stores. Puritan's Pride typically has some good online sales. You can find it in the physical stores at places like GNC, etc. Good luck!!!

I found that Fenugreek works great. You can find it at the health food store. Take it as directed on the bottle and your milk supply should be up in about 3 days. Its a herbal supplement that even the LaLeche League reccommends. Goodluck!

K.,

First, I would question why you think that you have low supply. It is normal for you supply to be higher in the morning and lower in the evening, because of your hormone cycles, but that does not mean that it is low overall. My nurslings tend to wake for a middle-of-the night feeding as long as they are nursing, even at 2years old, even though they are not actually "hungry", so I wouldn't take his night waking as a sign of a supply issue.

Second, before you resort to pumping, drugs, or herbs, the easiest thing to do to boost "supply" is just to increase "demand" - add another feeding, especially in the late afternoon or early evening. And make sure that he nurses from both sides at a feeding, even switching back and forth two or three times. This will send a signal to your body to make more milk.

Otherwise, does your baby seem happy? Still interested in nursing? Since he is 10 months old, I wouldn't be too worried about supply at this point.

10 months is a bit old-- I know few people who breast feed for that long. Why not just switch to the bottle and start on cereal and some solids? It may be your body's way of telling you that your child needs more nutrition than you can provide. Think about it. Good Luck.

I am trying 'mother's milk' organic herbal tea from sprouts. It works for me. I am also in FlowerMound.