supply ?

PrairieMom wrote: How do you know for sure that you are producing enough milk?

Ally has been crabby and not sleeping well for the past few days, and last night when I pumped I only got about 1 1/2 oz combined from both sides.(2 hours after her last feeding) she is still making wet diapers and all that, but usually I am able to pump about 3 oz from each side. this morning I pumped and got about 1 1/2 oz combined again.
I ate some oatmeal this morning, and will eat oatmeal this weekend, and will try to drink more water. Any other suggestions?

When I was exclusively pumping my breasts quit producing when The Boy was about 4 months old. Ally is now 3 1/2 months and I am worried my body is quitting on me again.

amynicole21 replied: As long as she's gaining weight and having plenty of wet diapers, you are making enough. You may be just adjusting to her appetite. You may also be *shudder* getting ready to start AF! Aaaaah!

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I noticed a drop around that time too, but Naomie was just being fussy because she was TEETHING!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck... Fenugreek seemed to help me, but it made me smell like Maple Syrup.

PrairieMom replied:
Are you kidding me?! I haven't missed a beat. I am currently having my 3rd AF. does that make your supply go down?

amynicole21 replied:
Aha! Yes, that explains it. I ALWAYS had a dip in supply around AF. Karen said she used to use calcium/magnesium supplements around that time and it seemed to help. I never tried it though.

sammiandsarah replied: Remember, too, that your baby is way more efficient at extracting milk than a pump. Don't use your pump as an indicator of what your body is producing. Nursing directly at the breast is the best way to boost supply, if that's possible. Are you doing this as well as pumping? If the first time around you exclusively pumped for your baby, that's likely why your body stopped producing milk. Oatmeal is good, as well as fenugreek. Good luck and HTH.

Mary
Mom to Sammi and Sarah

PrairieMom replied: I have been basically exclusively nursing. she gets one bottle at night so DH can help with bed time routine. I have actually been really lazy about pumping. (I hate hate hate it) I am supposed to pump once a night.
Poor girl nursed all the time yesterday and was so crabby and wouldn't sleep so I was wondering if low supply could be the cause.
I latched her on and we took a little nap together this afternoon. hopefully that will jusp start things a little. nothing like being a human pacifier!
I know that I don't drink enough fluids either, so I have been basically drowning myself today.

ZandersMama replied: I would say teething, Zan used to get like that when he was teething, he got his first tooth at 3 months or so , maybe a bit younger.

BabyOwen427 replied: Well sometime in the 3rd month a baby goes through a growth spurt, and again at 6, and 9 months. She may be fussy, because she is hungary because she needs more food for growing. I'd offer her food often. And you never know she might be teething also, my ds just cut his first two teeth lastweekend and during so feeding was a fussy event.
HTH

PrairieMom replied: I know I can't compare the two, but The Boy didn't get teeth until he was 10 months old. She sure has been sucking on her hands a lot lately, I figured it was because she could finally get them into her mouth. I'll have to wait till she wakes up and take a closer look at her mouth.

holley79 replied: When AF rears her ugly head my supply dips also. Hope that is all it is. I have been taking Fennel and drinking TONS of water.

kimberley replied: definitely keep well hydrated. and yes, AF will dip supply a bit.

every kid is different with teething. jacob was 1mo, james was about 6mos, jade was 5mos and kaleigh was 8mos, so it could be she is nursing more to comfort the pain of teething. kaleigh does it all the time then gets mad if i get a let down cuz she didn't want milk, she wanted comfort

PrairieMom replied: I just checked her mouth, and there are no signs of teeth. no bumps, or swelling or redness none of that.

okay, so what should I try?

fenugreek
fennel
magnesium/calcium suppliments
hydration
oatmeal

do these things really work? I have been eating oatmeal,and drinking like a fish, and I am on a calcium suppliment, is that the same thing as the mag/cal suppliment, or is that something different?

I'm almost done with my AF hopefully things will streighten themselves out.

KeanusMomma replied: I'll second what sammieandsarah said. A pump doesn't even compare to what a baby can do. That's a hard part about breastfeeding--you don't have concrete numbers to go by. While nursing, look for signs of sucking and swallowing. Her chin should move up and down, and you should hear her swallow every couple of sucks. She should gain weight regularly, and produce 6-8 wet diapers a day and bm regularly. As for pumping, if you have to for work or something, I've heard bringing a picture of baby to look at during can help with the mama feelings. You might even try recording your baby's cry or other sounds to listen to (maybe with headphones) while you are pumping.

Nap nursing and night nursing are good for stimulating supply. The more milk you need, the more you make. Low milk supply happens waaay less that people think it does.

PrairieMom replied: I think i was just not frinking enough. I am eating oatmeal for breakfast and trying to drink water until I just about drown myself and my supply has gone back up. Working on the weekends throws things off a bit becuase I work overnights and my sleep schedule gets thrown off.

holley79 replied:
I remember those overnights. It threw things off for me also. I saw that I was not taking in enough fluids when I was at work as when I was at home. I have been drowning myself also.

coasterqueen replied: The amount you pump has NOTHING to do with what you are producing as a baby can effectively get the milk out 100x better than ANY pump. A lot of people quit 'producing' when EP unless they are pumping a TON of times a day for 20 to 30 minutes at a time and not many are that committed.

After reading your other post I seriously believe your supply is just adjusting to what she needs and you just don't feel like you are producing enough. Anyone who BF can tell you they freaked out at about 3 months or so when they realized their breasts weren't as full and baby was fussy and felt like they weren't making enough. Very common

PrairieMom replied: This is an old post. that problem resolved itself with a little time, water and oatmeal. Now I am on to a new problem.

coasterqueen replied:
actually they do really go hand in hand though