My breasts are empty, help!

QUESTION: This is my third child and everything seems different with each child. Alicia latches on well and my mature breast milk seemed to be in place. But for the past two days my breasts are empty - not completely, because I can hear Alicia swallow. I'm eating OK, probably not resting as much as I should, and still taking vitamins, she also nurses about every 3-5 hours. Any ideas why my supply has gone down? Alicia really seems hungry.

Dear Carol,

I really doubt that there is anything wrong with your supply. If your baby is only 12 days old, but has already exceeded her birth weight, then you are doing great! What doctors would like to see is a baby regain back to birthweight by 2 weeks of age.

You said you can hear swallowing, and that is very important. It lets you know she is eating! Is she having at least 6-8 soaking wet diapers per day and multiple stools? If so, then those are the three best indicators of all that she is getting adequate milk.

The reason that your breasts may seem "empty" to you is because she is doing such a good job of emptying them. Mother Nature gives moms far more milk than they need early on (in case you have twins, triplets, or more). As your baby gets into a daily pattern, the supply begins to meet the baby's need --we call this supply and demand. It is a wonderful concept! As the baby goes through fast weight-gain periods, she will demand to nurse more often, thereby increasing your supply.

The reason she may seem really hungry right now is because she is probably going through one of these growth spurts. Spend a couple days nursing her very frequently (as she demands) and you will see your supply go up. I do have one concern from your note--you said Alicia nurses about every 3-5 hours. During the daytime, it is best to feed your baby every 2-3 hours if possible. Going for long periods (5 hours) will cause your hormone levels (prolactin mainly) to fall. It is the hormones that are responsible for keeping up a good supply. Going one long period at night is certainly OK, however.  Hope this is helpful.


Cher Sealy, RN, BSN, IBCLC, LLLL

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