Milk Supply Dwindling After 8 Months

Hi there,
I'm very impressed with the advice offered to you! I personally live by oatmeal, vitamin C, and lots of liquids, but so many variables effect of milk supply.

Whenever I have problems, I go to the message boards at www.kellymom.com. It's a wealth of information and a great place to look up answer to questions!

Good Luck!

Try taking Fenugreek capsules...available at Wholefoods. I was able to pump 3 times a day for the whole day...Dosage? There doesn't seem to be a set amount...try taking 3 capsules 2x/day....that was what I did.

I had the same thing happen with me. I ordered a product called More Milk Plus from motherlove.com that helped. The tea has fenugreek in it that helps with milk production. The other thing that you might try in conjunction is Blessed Thistle. The product that I am talking about comes in a lot of forms, but is essentially one tablet that contains both the Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. I think I became immune to the tea after some point and just had to switch up every few months. I made it to 13 months and then she self-weaned.

in my lactation group meetings (over at Fairfax INOVA) the nurse suggested to another woman who is having the same aparent problem as you that she have a "nursing holiday"
Basically, the nursing holiday means you clear your schedule for 3 solid days and lay skin on skin the entire time and nurse on demand. After the third day the woman noticed a huge change. I hope it helps, but understandably it is difficult to open up 3 days solid for doing this.

Hi,
Caraway seed (in bread, soups) will promote breast milk production, and also beer (something lite)..... it has been a while since I was breast feeding my babes, but try these old world remedies and the mothers milk tea,or other teas, and just drink a lot of fluids..... a lot more than you would normally. Good luck,
A.

First, congrats on breastfeeding for 8 months! You may want to contact the LLL at http://www.llli.org/ there is a help discussion forum there that I am sure would be of help to you.
Best wishes in your continued breast feeding.

Are you drinking enough water? You must have enough fluid intake to produce. Also, this is a supply and demand system so more pumping or nursing will generate more milk.

One mom mentioned birth control...with my first child, my dr put me right back on the pill I took before I was pregnant and my milk supply really decreased soon after. Also, important to note, if you ARE on the progesterone-only pill (I think that's the one) and you stop breastfeeding (or start slowing down), you need to start a new pill because that minipill is not effective. I had no idea about this fact with my last child!

Also, is she starting to really get into solids? She may be full from that and less interested in breastfeeding and therefore changing the cycle of supply and demand (lower supply due to less demand). If that's a possibility, breastfeed her before you give her solid food (plus then you avoid nursing a messy faced baby!).
Good luck! I hope you can nurse as long as you'd like to!

Try fenugreek. It's natural and safe and it works great. You'll get that sensation of feeling full all of the time and it doesn't take long to work. The mother's milk tea is similar because it has fenugreek in it, but you would need to drink 20+ cups per day to equal taking just the fenugreek.

Someone mentioned these:
Have you recently started taking birth control pills or any new medications? Sometimes those can affect your milk supply. I would add that discontinuing your prenetal vitamins or multivitamins in general may affect your supply especially if you become anemic (low iron). Make sure you are eating well and drinking lots of fluid.

Try replacing the valves on your pump. This always made a difference for me. I also had to buy wider pump flanges for my Ameda Purely Yours becuase the pump was drawing my nipples too far into the tube. I was on high suction and getting little milk. If your nipples rub on the inside of the pump, you may need a wider flange.

I am nursing my 17 month old a few times a day, but if I go away, I can only pump an ounce or two. In late-stage nursing, your body doesn't respond as well to the pump, possibly because you carry less milk in your breasts. Your body makes milk faster during feedings instead.

I always have a major dip the week before my period too.

Hey E. -- Get a Fenugreek supplement at your GNC or vitamin store! It does the trick to increase your milk supply. When I had low supply with my first daughter, my pediatrician recommended it, and it worked like a charm. However, I can't remember the dosage, so I would call your daughter's pediatrician. I know I took it three times a day, and I believe I took two capsules.
I hope that helps!

you need to realize that nothing is as efficient at emptying a breast as a baby. I have known working moms that left more solid foods for their babies while they were at work and then nursed more when they were home including sleeping with baby so that she can night nurse. That can help with increasing your supply without effecting sleep all that much. I would just hang in there with the breastfeeding the longer you nurse the better it is for you and baby.

Milk supply works on supply and demand. Drop the bottles of formula and go back to pumping and breastfeeding. Your supply will recover.

It is normal for your supply to decrease as your child increases her intake of solids, but by putting the formula into the mix, you tricked your body into thinking even less milk was required.

Also, give your pump a thorough cleaning and possibly replace the valves. When pumping, try to think about something else other than pumping. Distraction aids the letdown reflex. I used to web browse. If I sat and watched the bottles, I didn't get as much. Finally, drink plenty of fluids.

E.,
Have you recently started taking birth control pills or any new medications? Sometimes those can affect your milk supply.

Also, try replacing the valves and tubing in your pump. I had to do that a few times while nursing my daughter and it made all the difference in the amount of milk I was able to pump.

Also, you could consult a lactation consultant if none of this works.

Best of luck.

Here are a few things you can do nutritionally:

Oatmeal is a godsend for me. I go through about two packages of iced oatmeal cookies a week and I notice a huge drop in supply when I go a few days without my cookies.

Drink extra water. Fill a large glass and chug it down. Refill the glass and take it with you to sip on. When it's empty, repeat the process.

Mother's milk tea has herbs in it that will help you to produce more milk without having to guess at which ones to take in capsule form. I suggest the Traditional Medicinals brand. You have to drink 3-4 cups a day for optimal results.

Avoid rosemary and peppermint.

Also, your milk supply will start to decline as baby gets older and starts taking other foods and drinks. If she's still at the breast when you're together I wouldn't worry. Also, when your period returns, it is a sign that your body is making more estrogen, which inhibits lactation, so it's natural to see a dip in supply at the pump when it's that time of the month. If you can afford to rent a medical or hospital grade pump for a month, you might be able to regain some of the supply you lost. Your pump might be wearing out and creating less suction.

I also worked and breastfed, and it is more complex to manage. However, there is nothing wrong with letting things take their course. If the milk slows down and you and your baby are okay in all other aspects, don't fret about the reduced volume. Recommendations aside, 8 months of breastfeeding exclusively is wonderful. Be proud of what you have accomplished by holding down 2 full time jobs, and if the weaning stops early, so be it. Don't let anyone tell you that is not good. Best of luck!

All I can tell you is what I do. My son is 7 1/2 months olds, and I feel the reason we're still going strong breastfeeding (with no supplementation with formula at all) is because I come home every day at lunch and nurse him. When I was having slight supply issues, I would pump at home at lunch on the other side while he ate (or right after he ate if he was too interested in the vacuum tube). My lactation consultant at that time recommended the Mother's Milk tea to me, but I never ended up using it. She had also recommended drinking more water, getting more rest, and taking prenatal vitamins again. I DID try to get more rest and started taking a women's daily vitamin since that's what I had.

I don't know if it's possible for you to nurse at lunchtime, but it really does make a big difference.

Hi E.,
the same thing happened to me and I told my OB/GYN nurse about it and she prescriped me a pill called "Metoclopramide" and that brought back my flow in both breasts. It didn't give either of us any side affects but you each persons body is different. I hope that helps you out.

I drank Healthy nursing tea 3-4 times a day. It's at target and I produced enough milk supply for my DD. Also, pumping for 5 minutes right after breastfeeding 2-3 times a day at the same feedings helps. I take a week or so to start getting more, but it works. Also, drinking water constantly is key;)

E.,

I would suggest you try to get her to nurse as much as you can when you are around to see if that will increase your milk supply. Nursing often even for short periods of time may get your body "back on track". Also, when you're not around your baby, you can also try pumping more as well. I know that pumping can be very time consuming (I hated pumping personally), and it is not necessarily indicative of how much milk you are actually producing. Babies are much more efficient than a pump (even if you have been pumping for a while). I would also suggest getting in touch with your local chapter of La Leche League. One of the leaders can go into greater detail with you as to what could be causing the problem and offer advice on how to get your milk reestablished. You don't need to join to get advice, and I have always found them to be really helpful.

Good luck,

V. F.

I use essential oils and I've had great success with Fennel essential oil. Just drink a few drops and you should be engorged the next day. You can also buy the fennel plant from the grocery store and eat it raw. It should have similar effects, but just be sure not to buy oils from the health food store, there are a lot of bad brands out there. If you want just send me $1 for postage and I can send you a perfume vial full to try it out. Check out www.oil-testimonials.com and search under lactation to see some results from other people. Good luck!

Hi E., I am an experienced nurser (with my oldest I was in the military and still nursed for 2 1/2 years), so I have a few suggestions as to "cause" and "solution". Cause is the simple part. You know the maxim, the more they take, the more you make. I'm sure supplementing with formula is at least partly to blame for the drop in your supply, unless you're still pumping just as much as before to keep the stimulation going. Here's another possible cause. I noticed both times around that at about 8-9 months (or when baby was taking more solids) my sensitivity to stimulation and therefore my supply took a brief dip. I think this is fairly common (especially with the return of "mother nature" every month). Another possible cause - it may very well be that you're not pumping very much any more, but I'm positive that when your daughter nurses, she's getting plenty - The stimulation from a breast pump and a baby are very different, no matter how much R&D the pump company does.

Here are some tips and some advice. Nurse, nurse, nurse. The more you nurse, the more you will be able to make. Actually that ties into my other advice too, hydrate, and schedule. Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water all the time, and try to work your schedule so that your daughter is receiving mostly solids and water during the time you are at work. Or rather, arrange your daughter's schedule. I know how difficult it can be to try to arrange a work schedule, so work with the one you have the most control over. When my oldest was at about 8 or 9 months, he was only taking one bottle a day of pumped milk and the rest of the time was getting solids and water. They're old enough at that age for this to work. I nursed him in the morning before I left and the moment I got home. Then he nursed several more times before bed with one more solid meal in between. This way he got all of the milk he needed and all of the solids. In this way I managed to keep up because I didn't have to pump as much and my body "learned" the schedule and so would produce the most between the hour I got home from work and the hour I had to leave in the morning. (This could also be what your body is already doing, in which case, I would try a different pump, actually I recommend manual pumps - the Avent Isis series - because you can manipulate the suction on a very fine level and most closely simulate your child's nursing rhythm.)

Hang in there, your child won't need even that one bottle during your working hours soon. You only have a few months to go until she's one year old, then you can nurse only when you get home. I'd encourage you to nurse for as long as you can and don't draw an arbitrary line at one year. Yes, the AAP recommends at least one year, but did you know that the World Health Organization recommends at least two? Think about it.

Best Wishes
D.

Hi E.,

One that thing that worked WONDERS for me was to take Brewer's Yeast tablets, you can get them from health food stores. You can take up to like 50 a day, I think the most I took was about 15, I would take about 5 at a time and then 20 minutes later I could actually feel my breasts sort of fill up with milk, it was great! Also, make sure you are getting well and drinking LOTS of water! You might find more good info at www.llli.org and www.mothering.com.
Good luck!
S.

The same thing happened to me when my older son was 9 mo. I was not supplementing at all and I did everything the lactation consultant/lelache etc told me to do and nothing worked (pumped 6x a day, drank and ate enought etc.) One thing I didn't try was fenugreek. I hear that can help. One side totally dried up and the other side was barely producing any at all and would not increase after 3 wks of trying. I was really sad about it but I felt I had tried everything. If you have to stop after trying everything within reason, know that you did a wonderful thing for your daughter nursing her for 8 mo.

I nursed all 4 of my children. I found that they actually were part of the reason my milk dwindled. When they were eating, they would not do the full suck. They were getting enough from other sources and didn't eat as much off of me. Even though they would stay latched on and suckle they still were not fully eating. I know it is very disappointing to not be able to nurse as long as I would have liked to. My first child nursed for only 5-1/2 months. Stress was also a factor in a couple of them. If there is anything new or concerning, that could cause dwindling. My 2nd child nursed for 6-1/2 months, the 3rd for 8-1/2 months, and the last (which was a boy) nursed for 10 months. I think the 3rd and 4th were my most fulfilling. Also, I rarely pumped. I never had great success with the pumping. I will pray for you.

Unfortunately sometimes this happens to the best of us. Just be sure to know that you have done a great job mom, okay? And if it comes down to it, keep nursing her for what feedings you can. Even if it may only be before bed and in the morning. Something is better than nothing. And we all have heard of moms who's milk never came in for whatever reason. And their babies are healthy too. I too thought I would nurse my second son until he was a yr old but he had another idea. He didn't want it any more. So we just do what we have to do to get the best outcome for our little ones, right?

Keep up the good work Mom!

Take Care,
N. :)SAHM homeschooling 3 boys 12, 8 & 2 yrs old and married to my Mr. Wonderful for almost 15yrs. We love to help other moms, who want to become SAHMS, reach that goal. If you, or someone that you know, want to be a SAHM, please email me at ____@____.com. Thanks!

do an online search for blessed thistle and goat's rue as well as fenugreek. the motherlove.com website carries lots of solutions with these herbs. sometimes fenugreek alone won't do the trick, but blessed thistle and goat's rue help a lot. it can taste terrible, but it will be so worth it! are you near a whole foods or a vitamin shoppe? these usually carry at least 2 of the 3 herbs. good luck!

blessed thistle should only be used with fenugreek, although fenugreek can be used on it's own. Contact your local LLL.

I would just assume your body is done Breastfeeding. Pumping, unfortunately doesnt have the same effect on your boobs like breast feeding, I am convinced of that. It seemed the more I pumped the less milk I got over time.
I too started my period just a couple months post partum, and after about 2-3 more months of having my cycle and BF'ing, my supply dwindled as well. There might just be a hormonal connection, and it could be normal.
Its also just my opinion that pumping and working is stressful, which can affect your supply. If youve tried the old home remedies and its not working, then it might just be time to wean. If your baby has issues w/ formula then I'd suggest to start the weaning process asap, so she will have time to adjust.

I had that same thing happen, but at around 12 months so it was time to wean anyway. I gave up on the L boob, and just worked off the R boob. She may be taking less and naturally weaning. I know it's emotional for you, but she's the boss!