not sure about milk supply

I was always able to pump at least 4 oz. My milk stash ran out in the
freezer and the baby won't drink anything but bm. For some reason I can
barely get an ounce. One side I can't get anything. He doesn't nurse from
that side. The good side is 3 times the size of the other and he nurses
often. Is it possible my milk is drying up? I wonder if he even gets enough
to eat when he does nurse because he does it so often. I never had a problem
pumping before. He is 8 months old.
Kris

K.B. wrote:
I was always able to pump at least 4 oz. My milk stash ran out in the
freezer and the baby won't drink anything but bm. For some reason I
can barely get an ounce. One side I can't get anything. He doesn't
nurse from that side. The good side is 3 times the size of the other
and he nurses often. Is it possible my milk is drying up? I wonder if
he even gets enough to eat when he does nurse because he does it so
often. I never had a problem pumping before. He is 8 months old.

If he never nurses from one side, it seems fairly likely that supply on that
side would be low or nearly non-existent. If possible, you should try to get
him to nurse from that side. I'd suggest always starting feedings with that
side; even if he doesn't nurse for more than a few minutes on that side,
he'll start inducing more supply there.

As to the other side, I don't think you've dried up there because your
pumping output as dropped. It's much more likely that you're running into a
problem that a lot of women experience at around 8-9 months post-partum, and
that is a combination of pump resistance and the fact that a very settled
milk supply tends to be made more "on the fly" than in storage. IOW, when
you start pumping, you don't have as much milk in storage in the breast
because your body has grown accustomed to making the majority of milk for a
feeding *while* the baby is nursing and because you're becoming resistant to
the pump, your body doesn't make milk during pumping the way it does when
you're actually nursing.

I experienced something very similar with my first baby, and the only things
that helped me were pumping first thing in the morning and pumping less
often during the day (I worked out of the home). Ironically, I seemed to get
more milk from fewer pumping sessions as long as I added the session in the
morning.

Good luck and hope this information helps you!
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [22 mos.] mom)

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This info was helpful and reassuring that I'm not drying up. There is no way
he would nurse on the small side. He just won't have it at all. We work with
only 1 boob. It's a completely different looking boob too.
Kris
" If he never nurses from one side, it seems fairly likely that supply on
that
side would be low or nearly non-existent. If possible, you should try to
get
him to nurse from that side. I'd suggest always starting feedings with
that
side; even if he doesn't nurse for more than a few minutes on that side,
he'll start inducing more supply there.

As to the other side, I don't think you've dried up there because your
pumping output as dropped. It's much more likely that you're running into
a
problem that a lot of women experience at around 8-9 months post-partum,
and
that is a combination of pump resistance and the fact that a very settled
milk supply tends to be made more "on the fly" than in storage. IOW, when
you start pumping, you don't have as much milk in storage in the breast
because your body has grown accustomed to making the majority of milk for
a
feeding *while* the baby is nursing and because you're becoming resistant
to
the pump, your body doesn't make milk during pumping the way it does when
you're actually nursing.

I experienced something very similar with my first baby, and the only
things
that helped me were pumping first thing in the morning and pumping less
often during the day (I worked out of the home). Ironically, I seemed to
get
more milk from fewer pumping sessions as long as I added the session in
the
morning.

Good luck and hope this information helps you!
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [22 mos.] mom)

This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop:
"Call anywhere, any time...virtually from any phone" -- prepaid phone card
dispenser

Daddy: You're up with the chickens this morning.
Aurora: No, I'm up with my dolls!

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman

K.B. wrote:
This info was helpful and reassuring that I'm not drying up. There is
no way he would nurse on the small side. He just won't have it at
all. We work with only 1 boob. It's a completely different looking
boob too.

Can you "trick" him into thinking it's the "good side" by using a hold that
has him lying on the same side of his body? I don't know if I can explain
this, but I've heard that other moms have managed to overcome a preference
like this by using the football hold or by having most of the baby on
pillows so that the same ear is pointing down when the baby nurses on both
sides. A lot of babies get a preference for one side or the other because
the prefer lying on a specific side of their bodies. If you can keep them
lying on that side, then they'll nurse happily on both sides. It may be too
late to trick your baby this way, given his age, but it might be worth a
shot if it helps you get the breasts more even!
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [22 mos.] mom)

This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop:
"Call anywhere, any time...virtually from any phone" -- prepaid phone card
dispenser

Daddy: You're up with the chickens this morning.
Aurora: No, I'm up with my dolls!

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman