HELP. NO MILK LEFT

Anonymous
Guest

Sun, May 21 2006, 10:32 am

Good for you for persevering in your nursing relationship! It can be so frustrating to have a precipitous drop in supply.

Breastfeeding is a supply/demand thing. If your baby has recently begun sleeping longer stretches *and* eating more solids, your breasts won't be getting the degree of stimulation they need to maintain supply.

A baby under a year old should have primarily mother's milk in his/her diet. Solids should comprise a small percentage of the baby's diet/calories during the first year. They are more for "practice" than nutrition.

One way to re-build supply is to make sure you nurse your baby *before* feeding solids. Additionally, give a couple nursing "snacks" during the day; and if possible, make sure pacifying takes place at the breast rather than a pacifier. As much sucking as possible should take place at the breast.

A pump is never going to be as effective at stimulating your breast as your baby; this is because a pump can use only suction, while a baby uses a combination of suction, mechanical/jaw pressure, and hormone exchange (via the saliva) to stimulate your milk supply. If you feel you need to pump and have expressed milk, try pumping on one side while you nurse on the other. That way the let-down will be enhanced by the baby's nursing and you should get a bigger yield.

Recent research also shows that an extremely good predictor of high supply is emptying the breast during the night hours 10 pm-2 a.m. If your baby is no longer waking to nurse at that time, you may want to have a pumping session at least once during that period to really empty your breasts as much as possible. This can be very important to building/maintaining a good supply.

Also, I don't know your specific situation, but if you have recently gone on hormonal birth control (even the "mini") this can have a dramatic effect on supply for some women. Just something to consider; also obviously if you have become pregnant this will be a factor.

There are herbs you can use to enhance your supply that some moms find work really well. They are fenugreek and blessed thistle. PM me if you'd like more info on these.

Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have more questions. Kol tuv!