Breastfeeding/Lactation Consultant

Hi mama. ((HUGS)) You sure sound frustrated.

Can you clarify how you're determining that you have low supply? Is it that baby is fussy combined with low pumping outputs?

Was today the first time he's gotten cereal, or has that been happening for a while?

Is baby sttn? How many sessions are you getting in 24 hours?

I'm also interested in the diaper output. If he's meeting milestones and gaining weight, those are the real signs that he is getting enough milk, no matter how little you pump.

This is a tough time with teething too; are you using any remedies for that?

Hang in there, mama!

 

Can you clarify how you're determining that you have low supply? Is it that baby is fussy combined with low pumping outputs? Yes and due to the pack thet he is constantly unlatching and crying and relaching and unlaching and crying and relaching...you get my point. also the girls aren't as firm as they used to be, they always feel empty...and I really don't get the letdown feeling anymore.

Was today the first time he's gotten cereal, or has that been happening for a while? no today is the first time for cereal. He has bad reflux and the doc suggested we start @4m but i was trying to push it as far as I could.

Is baby sttn? How many sessions are you getting in 24 hours? no he doesn't STTN, but he is HATING night bursing and is absolutally refusing to sidelaying burse anymore. which mean I have to sit up...YAWN...he normally wakes at 1, 3 and 7. the nurse at 9ish and naps till about 12ish. nurses and then we play, nurse some more around 2 then again at 4 and he will nap again till about 5:30-6ish, then more nursing and then he will nurse again aroun 9ish and normally down till 1 and start all over again...so that is....what about 9x or so...give or take a session here or there.

I'm also interested in the diaper output. If he's meeting milestones and gaining weight, those are the real signs that he is getting enough milk, no matter how little you pump. He only poops about every 2 weeks or so. But today he has had about 6 changes and they have all been pretty wet.

This is a tough time with teething too; are you using any remedies for that? for teething I have been doing tylenol every 6h and then the hyland teething tabs too. Also I have been giving him as much cold stuff to chew on....ie. teething ring or a cold wash cloth. This is a first for me causse my middle one was a comfort nurser. when he was teething nursing was better than motrin for him! No with Cooper it is almost the opposite.

I will say though today we had a beautiful session at 4pm where he snuggled up with the girls and nursed for almost an hour...10m on the left (the appatizer...it produces les and no a nice flow) and the rest on the left and he had some really good long sucking moments which made me tear up. Oh the things we do for our children....I hope they remember that!

   

I will address some of your concerns but I leave i up to Theresa to chime in again the other issues she asked about.

<<Yes and due to the pack thet he is constantly unlatching and crying and relaching and unlaching and crying and relaching...you get my point. also the girls aren't as firm as they used to be, they always feel empty...and I really don't get the letdown feeling anymore.>>

Constantly unlatching from the breast could be a sign of overactive letdown. The following links explain the issue in more detail:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/oversupply.html

Now as far as how your breast feel and the fact you no longer feel letdown, neither of those are good indicators of how much milk your producing. A full feeling in the breasts is often a sign of being engorged, something you don't want to be feeling after the early weeks. As your breast regulate your supply better the engorged feeling goes away and your breast will feel softer. While this can mean your making less milk then before, it does not mean you not making enough milk. As far the feeling letdown, it is perfectly normal for some BFing moms to feel letdown in the beginning but not feel it latter after several months. This in no way indicates that your not making enough milk since it not necessary to feel letdown for it to occur. Also, if you have BF'd at least one previous child then there is a greater chance of not feeling letdown with subsequent children.

From Kellymom - "Is my milk supply really low?": http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#supply

<<He only poops about every 2 weeks or so. But today he has had about 6 changes and they have all been pretty wet.>>

It's perfectly normal for a 5 month old to poop only very week or two until he starts solids regularly. Since he is still producing at least 6 sopping wet diapers day then I wouldn't worry about his output.

Normal wet and dirty diaper frequency in older babies (6 weeks plus): http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enoughmilk-older.html