supply diminishing

[dml9280]

I stopped putting my baby on my boob at about 2 months. due to he was ripping my nipple off. I have continued to give him breast milk exclusively by pumping and putting it in a bottle. I was doing amazing I had a freezer full as well as a fridge. Now I have no more frozen and I only have his next feeding in the fridge. I am pumping every 3-4 hours during the day but at night since he is sleeping through I don't get up to pump. Sleep is too precious. I do great in the mornings but through out the day my amount drastically drops. He takes about 5 oz every 3 hours.He is 6 months and wont eat vegetables and can't eat other foods or formula it makes him vomit. I am starting to worry that he will soon starve if I can't produce more milk magically. Any suggestions.

[trylyn5]

You might need to pump more often. When I am away from dd for three feedings, I have to pump 4 times to have enough milk. Since he is eating every 3 hours, you probably need to pump at least that often.

[KerryS]

Yes, I think the problem is that you haven't been pumping enough. You should be pumping at least every 3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night (yep, even waking up in the middle of the night). I would increase the frequency of pumping, as well as look into taking herbs like fenugreek and blessed thistle, and/or domperidone.

Breastmilk production is supply and demand. You won't make more unless you pump more. You should make a target goal of pumping at least 7-8 times per day.

[Amy_G_]

add oatmeal to your meals several times a day,
consider fenugeek to give you a boost
pump more often, and pump one side, then the other side, then repeat on both sides. that's what a nursing baby would do, they would nurse on one side, then want the other side, then go back to the first one again. after a few days of that the supply would be upped naturally if baby were nursing. so consider making your pump act like a hungry baby and pump more often, pump a bit longer and pump back and forth and back and forth.

[Stephanie]

I agree with pp. As hard as getting up in the night is, that would be an easy way to increase supply.

The pattern of having more milk in the morning and less through out the day is completely normal. That is why a lot of babies want to nurse more frequently in the evenings.