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What the hell???
I've been working on building my supply and it's been going well. Last night I was able to express 80mls in about 15mins as DS was having a dream feed. Well today my milk is gone! I've been expressing on and off for about 3 hours and I'm lucky if I get 10mls from each breast.
What has happened here? I've done nothing different. I feel so defeated.
Help anyone. What could have caused this?
Please don't panic, it's probably just that your supply is settling down and therefore it is getting a bit trickier to express. What you can express is not a good indication of how much milk you have. If you are stressed and worrying about output then that will not help you get more milk. Have a break, make sure you drink lots, and try again in a few hours (maybe in the bath when you are nicely relaxed). Good luck :)
:hug: hun, your milk might not be gone so please try not to stress yourself too much as it wont help.
I had days i could get 100ml and others where i was lucky to get 10, i found i had to express at certain times of the day or in a particular position.
I am sure someone can some in here and give you some proper advice, i just wanted to say PLEASE do not stress yourself just yet, it might not have dried up at all.
:hug:
DS has been super unsettled too. Where before he would feed for about 10-15mins before getting annoyed about a slower flow, today I was lucky if he was on for a couple of minutes before he started fussing- which is his way of saying "no milk!".
I just feel like I can't win.
It's more likely a problem with your letdown than with your supply - it won't just disappear overnight but your letdown can certainly be affected by all sorts of things including stress (about your milk even), illness, dehydration, etc.
Any change in the number of wet nappies today?
Hi,
It is so frustrating when you have worked so hard and things seem to take a giant step backward. But while you are continuing to feed your little one then your milk just *can't* dry up - it's not pysiologically possible. Generally babies fuss at the breast or off the breast to tell us a lot of things - it is a subtle art, understanding babies. He could have been telling you he has a tummy ache or a blocked nose - a lot of things. If he has been unsettled today it's likely that he has been feeding more often, when he feeds more often even though your body is making milk just fine - he is drinking it. It's generally easier to express when your breasts are relatively fuller. Have you had a friend or relative question your supply? That can often be an underlying stress that turns into a self-fulfilling prophesy. Tomorrow will be another day.
I hope things are more settled for you today :hug: So many mums worry about their supply at this age - there is just so much going on and it can really seem that there is no milk there. But as Barb has said, your milk can't just "dry up" so hopefully you relax a bit knowing that. Fussiness at the breast at around the 8 - 12 week mark is really common. If you did a search on here you could probably find a heap of posts about just that. It can be a common time for a wonder week which leads to more frequent feeding for a few days, babies can start to be more aware of their surroundings at that age and be too distracted to feed for long, and many babies are even finishing a full feed in under 5 minutes by then. Mums often also stop feeling full between feeds at around this time, and it is common to start getting less when expressing. Any one of these things can dent your confidence in your supply, two or more of these signs together make it seem like for sure you have run out of milk. Luckily that's not the case, all these signs are "normal", but your mind can take some convincing. It might help to know that as long as he is still having wet nappies then there is milk going in.
To increase supply, feeding more often is always going to work better than expressing between feeds, although expressing does help as well. If you want to keep expressing to build up a store, just keep going, the yield should increase again, and even little amounts can be mixed together (when both are chilled) to make a bigger batch. Some mums find that a warm compress or a warm shower or bath before expressing can help them get more milk, gentle breast compression can also help. And the thing that worked best for me was to distract myself with TV or a book while expressing so I wasn't focused on what was or wasn't coming out. The let down reflex is a conditioned response so expressing in the same place that you usually breastfeed can help too, and probably doing it at the same time each day might if you can manage it with two kids.
I hope today is a better day for you :hug:
The only things I know of that can make milk "disappear" (or reduce a lot) suddenly for real rather than for appearances are:
* pregnancy
* pseudoephidrine or phenylephrine (the stuff in some decongestant cold tablets)
*the very specific medicines that are given to Mums who need to dry up their milk rapidly
THat said, I did the same as you, and rang the ABA when I wanted to go out one night and suddenly couldn't express a darn thing. And I was very very good at expressing - bub had just started drinking all that there was, and was feeding lots and being a bit grumpy as a way of making me make more. A day later all was well.
Your milk may taste a bit different or let down differently when your period returns too - but bub will get used to that and feed OK after a bit.
Well today my supply is still low so I have set it aside to get up close and personal with my pump. As DS won't feed/ suckle for comfort I will pump at every opportunity and hopefully get some results quickly.
Wish me luck!
Good luck :D Make sure you remember to eat and drink plenty today too xx