Another low supply question, sorry!

[Cal&Camsmom]

I posted earlier this week about my milk seeming to change. It seemed that my milk was going away. I tried Fenugreek & started eating & drinking a lot of water, I have bronchitis & wasn't eating as much. There hasn't been a change & I've been on Fenugreek for 4 days now. I know that sometimes it doesn't work on everyone, but I was wondering what I should do next, or if everything is normal. I still have yet to try oatmeal, I'm going to get some tomorrow.

This is my first time bfeeding. My dd is 8 months today & I have always bfed her, no bottle after the first month. She never liked them. So, I'm not sure if this is a normal thing where all of a sudden you don't feel letdown & your bbs are soft again & aren't as heavy. Does this happen? & it's just normal? I am getting milk to her, & I do see a tiny bit of a change I guess from the Fenugreek. But this is the first time in the whole 8 mos. that I've felt this.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. I'm new at this!

Jenn

[paradisemommy]

well, i am by no means a pro at this but that is about the same time that i "leveled" out and stopped feeling the engorged..your body should adjust to the needs of baby and come to a point where you won't feel the fullness as much (at least that is what i experienced)..it doesn't mean the milks not there because it is and i'm sure you can hear her swallowing to give you another clue..

other things to try if you don't think the fenugreek is working..i eat oatmeal every morning - i used to hate it but they have these oatmeal bars now and the oatmeal and raisin one is pretty darn good! peanut butter is supposed to help too.

i don't know if i helped you out or not but i'm sure some other pros will respond!! good luck!

[Maya's Mama]

It sounds like you're doing all the right things. As long as your dd seems full and satisfied, I wouldn't worry about it. Leveling out is normal from what I've been told, where the body seems to switch from constant supply, to supply only on demand. Hang in there!!

[DansMom]

I definitely "leveled out" at about 5 months---everyone's time is different, but I can tell you that for me it was a dramatic change, and sounds very much like what you describe. I thought I was losing supply, and then developed problems pumping at work, which compounded my anxiety. I started taking Brewers Yeast, Fenugreek, everything I could think of.

I'm never engorged now, no matter how long I go without nursing, and my boobs are always soft, even though they deliver milk just fine these days. During the leveling out process I had some extreme difficulty getting the milk to drop for my pump, and this lasted for WEEKS, although it was fine for Daniel. Later on, at about 7 months, I had the opposite problem where it took FOREVER for my milk to drop for Daniel, and he would get frustrated while nursing, but it dropped quickly for my pump every time! I remember posting about this at the time, and lots of moms said they never feel their milk drop at all---I can always feel it come in, like a tingling.

Anyway, those were both very frustrating, confusing adjustments for me, but they did resolve with time and just continuing to nurse and have faith in my body. I agree with the other moms that if you can tell she's swallowing, and if she appears to be satisfied after nursing, things are probably happening. I remember thinking Daniel wasn't getting any milk during my second let-down crisis, pulling him off the breast and seeing milk dripping down his cheek!

I hope this helps!

[MommyToAshley]

I think I leveled out at about 6 months. Same thing you described... I never felt "full" like I did before and I also thought I was losing my supply. But, Ashley was still nursing every two hours then and I am sure she was still getting quite a bit. She always had really wet diapers. So, I agree with the others that it might jsut be that you are leveling out.

[coasterqueen]

I agree it is probably leveling out, too. You also said you had had bronchitis, sometimes after sickness it takes awhile for your supply to bounce back. Especially if you took an antehistamine (sp?) or something like that

[Schnoogly]

How much fenugreek are you taking? You really have to take a lot--enough so that you smell like fenugreek. 3 500mg tabs 3x a day is the usual dose.

And how is she acting? Fewer wet diapers? I would go by how she is acting. Also is she eating solids? She might be drinking less milk if she is eating solids and you would naturally be making a little less.

[Cal&Camsmom]

Hey! Thanks everyone for your replies! It's funny cuz today I was feeding her & I totally felt a letdown. So I guess everything is fine! I guess I'm just leveling out. I've just never done this before so I just thought it was wierd. You guys totally made me feel better!




Jenn