Running out of milk!

[lorraineliyanage]

My daughter is nearly one and has recently started at nursery, as well as sleeping through the night (hooray!). As a result of this, I'm breastfeeding her less as she has formula when she's at nursery, and we've dropped the nighttime feeds, so this means that I'm hardly producing any milk now. As it is, she only feeds from one boob, so the right boob dried up months ago, but now the left one seems to be following suit.

Any tips on how to keep the milk supply up as I wasn't planning on stopping breastfeeding anytime soon? Is it worth getting a double electric pump? Thanks

[womanofdulwich]

Anything after 6 months is a bonus in my opinion. I think your body and daughter have naturally stopped and just enjoy the fact that your boobs are no longer milk bottles. I think I am writing what others are thinking. If she has only been taking from one then I see no point in trying to get them both into action again. Sorry to disappoint you, but nothing wrong with stopping breastfeeding, you were a star to do it in the first place.

[Fuschia]

Why do you think your supply is dropping? it's natural not to get engorged any more as they demand less and less frequently but they can still get what they want and your body will up production if the demand is they're, for eg if they're ill...

i think if you don't want her to wean at this point.. and womanofdulwich, many women do want to continue long term, due to health and other benefits.. then expressing so she has ebm rather than formula would help...

though dropping nightfeeds... wish mine would... does signal a drop in prolactin/supply/ and end of the contraceptive effects, too

[Fuschia]

you're welcome to borrow my double electric pump for a while...

[womanofdulwich]

Please do not be kidded into the contraceptive bit- I know 2 people who children are 12 months apart who conceived while breastfeeding at 3 months.Hard work.

[Fuschia]

womanofdulwich Wrote:

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> Please do not be kidded into the contraceptive

> bit- I know 2 people who children are 12 months

> apart who conceived while breastfeeding at 3

> months.Hard work.

It's effective till 6m if you are night feeding, periods ahven't return and you're not supplementing.. the point I was making is that night weaning of an older baby certainly signals the end of this period and is nature's way of spacing a family...

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/breastfeeding/contraceptionexpert/

[Citrovie]

I heard the following can help increase milk supply: oatmeal (not the odd oatmeal biscuit but a proper porridge breakfast), Gatorade (similar to but not same as Lucozade. I believe Sainsbury's have it) and motilium (generic name: domperidone). Not sure whether they actually work and the chemist will not endorse the motilium claim as it's meant to cure nausea but you may find some information if you google it...

Again, not claiming any of those work magic but it may be worth trying one or more of these "remedies".

[trinity]

I fed my lo perfectly well for 6 months using just a morning and an evening feed. Your supply can adjust to this and it doesn't mean it will dwindle away to nothing.

It should also come back relatively quickly if you want to go down the expressing route. If you want to continue it is perfectly possible.

[toast]

Fennel tea is supposed to boost production. My milk dropped when i started back at work and when i moved houes, but it did come back. The best way to keep production up might just be getting enough rest and reducing stress. Difficult with a busy life and a baby. Good Luck.

[The Nappy Lady]

Hi Lorraine,

Are you sure your milk is 'drying up'? Don't assume because your breast (s) feel empty that they are. At this stage you will not be producing and storing milk as you do in the early days, but when baby feeds she should still be getting as much as she wants.

My little one is now 11 months and my breasts generally look saggy and pathetic but I'm still feeding fine, and actually last month when in Spain my baby went back to b'feeding a lot (almost like a newborn) due to the heat and for a while I went back to being really full, which was a bonus on the bikini front!, but the minute we came back here her feeding dropped back to 3 or 4 feeds per day and I've gone back to having a couple of old saddlebags. I remember with daughter number 1 it was pretty much the same and I fed her up to 16 months old without any problems, and for years after that I could if I wanted get milk flowing if I wanted to. This sounds bizarre, but I was curious and so remember trying it and was amazed the milk just seems to sort of stay there once you've ever produced it at all....not massive amounts, but I could get a few drops, so I guess it would have come back if I'd had a baby to suckle.

Oh and I've always had one side that produces much more than the other, and I think you naturally tend to favour that side which sort of encourages the whole thing, I have to be really carefully to ensure I feed equally on both sides despite one side always feeing much more full.

Expressing should increase your supply, if you feel you need to, though I do think if you simply feed your daughter when you want to it will happen naturally. Azazingly there have even been cases of grandmothers breastfeeding their grandchildren as a result of being around them and allowing them to suckle. The human body is an amazing thing.

Molly

[lorraineliyanage]

hi everyone, thanks for the feedback.

yes fuschia i'd love to borrow the pump. i have a single electric pump, but i only get about 50 mls out of it. your pump might help get the other boob flowing again. there is a miniscule amount of milk there so it's still working (just about). am also fed up of being really lopsided!

when i got back from holiday last week, she did a couple of long feeds in the night and was sucking away but it wasn't filling her up, i had to end up making formula in the middle of the night as she was feeding for an hour which is unlike her, so i just presumed there wasn't any milk coming out for her as she never feeds for more than ten minutes. maybe it was just because we were both jetlagged so our body clocks are messed up.

perhaps the engorgement days are over. molly - i know what you mean about the saggy boobs, mine are like fried eggs now!

womanofdulwich - as we do lots of travelling, i can't be bothered with the hassle of bottles, breastfeeding is just so much easier on the go, so i'm planning on feeding for another year or so as we've still got plenty of travelling to do. also, i'm finding formula quite expensive so would prefer to give her expressed milk for nursery feeds.

as for contraception, my periods came back at 2 months after giving birth unfortunately!!

i'll also try and brave the fennel tea, i had heard that works, although i hate the taste of it - blah!

[womanofdulwich]

Ohh- I must have forgotten- I am sure we were on teacher beakers at one year old- and normal milk- but fashions/ health advice changes. Know what you mean about traveling I breast fed around Australia it was so easy compared to anything else. goodluck.

[lorraineliyanage]

we're off to south asia (and australia too!) next year for a couple of months to see our family, and the only type of milk that is readily available is UHT cartons which i wouldn't want to give her, plus i like to travel light, so carting around tins of formula takes up too much space. i have an idea in my head that i can backpack with a baby - it might be possible!

[ThePrincessBride]

Hi Lorraine,

If you've got a couple of days to spare, loads of skin-to-skin cuddles and encouraging her to suck could help with increasing milk supply. If work and stuff get in the way of this during the day, perhaps a couple of nights with her sleeping in the bed with you skin-to-skin could be an alternative. The body is quiter capable of producing more milk, with the right type of encouragement. As long as she's happy to suckle, encourage her as much as possible to keep at it. Goodluck.

[lorraineliyanage]

anything involving lots of cuddles sounds good! i'll try that, thanks

citrovie - thanks for the foodie tips, i think i've heard something about oatmeal. will google the other tips!

MyFamilyDoula Wrote:

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> Hi Lorraine,

> If you've got a couple of days to spare, loads of

> skin-to-skin cuddles and encouraging her to suck

> could help with increasing milk supply. If work

> and stuff get in the way of this during the day,

> perhaps a couple of nights with her sleeping in

> the bed with you skin-to-skin could be an

> alternative. The body is quiter capable of

> producing more milk, with the right type of

> encouragement. As long as she's happy to suckle,

> encourage her as much as possible to keep at it.

> Goodluck.

[Helen GV]

And don't forget to drink loads of water!