Milk Supply Is Going down & Just Started My Period for the First Time

I wanted to breast feed my son but i didnt produce enough milk for him. The doctor told me to go to Trader Joe's or Henry's store and buy some vitamins called Milk Supply. I would produce milk so that it would feed him. Maybe trying those..
sorry if i was not much help

Hi A. :)

Pumping tends to lower milk supply i've notcied. One thing that has always worked well for me and others is oats. Cheerioes, oatmeal, oatmeal cookies etc. :)

Good luck!
M.

Milk thistle works great. Buy it in the drop form, you can get it from Henry's or any other place where they sell vitamins and natural products. I have a 3 month old and I totally saw the difference. It's a little expensive so buy the store brand if you want. Let us know if it works.

Best of luck!

Howdy!

I had a similar experience with my first (who is now 5). I called a lactation consultant, who was extraordinarily helpful and didn't charge me anything for the phone consult. The gist was that as your milk matures (at around 3 or 4 months), there is often less milk to pump and your breasts can feel less full. I was a bit skeptical (being a quantifier by nature) but everything worked out fine.

Good Luck! and don't forget to breathe!

I just had the exact same thing happen to me and I found out that your period DOES indeed effect your milk supply - it will be back up in a few days as your period starts to lessen...

To make enough breastmilk, you need to have a bottle or glass of water in your hand literally at all times. It wont matter if you take Fenugreek or mothers milk tea if your body does not have enough extra liquid to make the breastmilk - you need to drink water constantly, and eat many small meals throughout the day so that your body also has a constant source of nutrients in order to create the milk as well. I went through my milk supply going down when my daughter was about the age of your child - and I had already gotten my period twice up to that point - and no, your period has nothing to do with the amount of milk you make except in terms of blood/liquid loss that comes with menstruated. SO DRINK A TON OF WATER, and try to keep it up for awhile - I was able to drink more water and eat more, small meals during the day and my milk supply went right back up within a week or two.

Chances are your supply is not going down but, adjusting to what your son is eating. Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand basis, if the baby needs more milk your body will make it, it the baby is drinking less milk the body will adjust. Giving him a bottle every night decreases your supply because he no longer needs that feeding from you. How much you are able to pump is no way in determining your supply, i was never able to get more than 2oz from one side and about 1/2 from the other at any time and i breastfeed for 13 months. I remember for the first few months my breast always felt full but as my body adjusted that fullness went away and i believe a lot of mother believe that because they no longer feel that fullness in their breast that they aren't producing enough milk.

You have tried both fenugreek and mother's milk tea, both of these could take a few days of using them to begin to increase your supply. I would suggest drinking lots of water like maybe at least an 8oz glass before every feeding. Also if your needing to pump enough milk for the feeding on the one day you go to the office i would suggest pumping after every feeding, even if you only get 1/2 and oz, that will add up and also help to increase your supply. I hope this helps.

I first want to ask, why are you giving him a bottle? Then you pump later, does he nurse at all during the night? Do you put him to the breast or do you only give him bottles? Only the child can stimulate breastmilk production, not a pump. The breast responds to a child's demands which are different than a pump. If you only work 1 day a week why are you pumping so much? If you want to keep "nursing" you need to put him to the breast and more often. At his age he should be waking at least every 4hrs to nurse. All the herbs and teas are useless until he is allowed to create his own demand. Try contacting a local LaLeche group for more help. BTW- your periods don't decrease milk production, pumps do.

http://www.bflrc.com/newman/articles.htm

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

Hopefully the two links above will help you get some reliable breastfeeding information. I don't have a lot of time to write, but I agree with other response - your supply is probably not going down... just adjusting. Or it may be a temporary decrease due to your period. Did you just start your baby on solids? Babies should now wait until six months old to begin solids. The reason I ask is because women tend to start their periods around milestones such as baby starting solids or baby sleeping through the night or baby walking. (for me it was walking.)

But the article on wakeful 4 month olds is EXACTLY what happened to me. But at that time, I was only giving bottles while I was at work. The best way to induce supply is to have the baby nurse at the breast, in my opinion... and that's based on what I've heard and read. Are you exclusively pumping? There are helpful message boards on kellymom.com for moms who are pumping or inducing lactation. Also try that resource or a local lactation consultant if you can. Try a non-profit hospital... I never had to pay for a consultation through a non-profit.

Good luck to you though and stick with it!! Four months old is a big developmental stage starting as the above article describes. Also...the jack newman articles have a ton of breastfeeding topics and myths you can also read about it. Those resouces have been lifesavers for me!!

I just got my period back this month, too, and found that there was a reduction of my milk production during it. Then after it was over, my milk supply increased again. I read that it's very common for that to happen, and you can try to boost it, it just takes a couple days to start going back up. For increasing your supply, I agree about retrying the Mother's Milk tea, and also I find that eating lots of oatmeal works for me, as well as nursing more frequently.

This webpage I just got from my AP list says that the dip is temporary since it's hormonally influenced. It also gives the dosages of cal/mag that can help. http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/menstruation.html

I had trouble nursing both my little girls. I never had a great milk supply. I tried everything under the sun to increase it from fenugreek to a prescription med-reglin (sp?)- to teas and pumping, ect. One of my friends recently had this problem and she was told to drink root beer, any brand, to increase her supply and IT WORKED!!!! I will TOTALLY try this next time!!! Good luck!

A.:

Hi. You've already gotten some great advice. I breastfed my son for 7 months. I agree with the prior posters that not giving your son the bottle and breastfeeding at that feeding is one way to ensure that your supply stays regulated. Pumping just isn't the same to the body so doesn't really take its place. I was never able to pump a ton either 2-3oz at a time but never had any supply issues when breastfeeding although at times I thought I did. Don't base what you think your supply is based on how much you can pump - I don't think it is related. If you are concerned at all go and see a lactation consultant. They will weigh the baby before a feeding and then right after and you will know how much your baby is getting. I did and it was very reassuring and really helped me to relax on the issue. One of the frustrating things about breastfeeding is you never know how much your baby is getting. People say you will know if he isn't getting enough (temperment, weight gain, etc.) I can also attest to the fact that your supply regulates - its pretty amazing. When I returned to work at 5 months I transitioned to only breastfeeding in the morning and at night and my supply regulated very quickly to this and it worked out great. The body is an amazing thing. Ok sorry this is so long - I just wanted to reassure you that 1) everyone who bf's goes through periods of time where they think their supply is messed up and 2) everything is probably fine. Good luck!!!