Been Sick, Milk Supply Almost Gone, Going Back to Work on Monday :(

Eating oatmeal seems to help me (and others, see kellymom . com). My son is 9 months old & I pump at work. For a while I wasn't being able to pump enough for him to have enough bottles while I'm gone, but someone recommended oatmeal to me, so I started having 2 packs of the instant for breakfast & am able to pump about 4-5 oz at a time now (a huge improvement from 1-2 oz). I can really tell a difference on the days I skip the oatmeal. Hope this helps!

That is so tough!!! Try not to worry about your supply. Just give hiim as much breast milk as you can and know that that is still a positive thing for him.

When my younest was 1 month old we found out he had a swallowing issue (it was going into his lungs and not his tummy) and he had to be bottle fed (long explanation). That weekend, I got very sick, and my husband was taking care of the boys. I pump every 3 hours and didn't get much, even though I would usually get 8-10 ounces (I think. It's been awhile.) I just kept at it, and as soon as I was recovering from the illness my body began producing more.

I wonder if part of the supply issue is simply this bug you have. LIke your body isn't giving as much to baby because you need it. As soon as you start feeling better your supply will go up. That doens't necessarily mean you won't need to supplement a bit. Just do what you can and try not to stress.

You're doing great!!! Hang in there.

Can you pump at work? Wouldn't that help with the supply? I worked part time and pumped at the times when I would be breastfeeding so my supply would stay up.

I took fenugreek and alfalfa supplements. I'm not sure that they made a huge difference for me but maybe they would for your body.

My MIL told me to drink milk, which I did.

And finally, this is a TMI story, but I remember that when my husband and I would get frisky I would start engorging and leaking, regardless of when I'd nursed last. You might ask the consultation if sexual stimulation stimulates production--it always seemed to for me!

Good luck--I support your goal of breastfeeding for 6 months but if it doesn't work out remember that love is the food that will make the biggest difference right now and it sounds like your son is getting plenty of that! :)

Aww, you poor thing. Can any friends come over to help??? Go out to your local vitamin store and buy a bottle of FENUGREEK!! I made it 5 months longer because of Fenugreek. I took 3 capsules with my three meals and tried to take 2 capsules in between. I pumped 3 times a day at work and was able to keep it up pretty well for a while. In these next few days you should do as little as possible around the house except for taking care of your babies and resting. Order in food. Let the toilet stay dirty. Take the babies to bed to watch movies. Rest, nurse and pump. Don't pump at night when you should be sleeping. I think pumping a few times a day will be very beneficial and all you can manage with a full plate. If you can get a friend or two to come over that'd be even better. Then you can pump every hour to really tell your body to crank up the production. Just give the baby whatever you pump. If you could do that for a couple days, that'd be amazing! Best of luck!! Every drop is precious, so even if he's not getting much keep it up :D

Are you sure that he's getting NOTHING from your breast? Have you squeezed it to see if anything comes out? I ask because at one point my baby--brief period--would get the letdown and then get annoyed with having to suck for the good stuff. It threw my body off for a while. If you want to continue to nurse, then "wear the baby" as much as you can, and pump on a schedule. It's hard, but I set my calendar to pump three times a day at work. I feed him at about 6am, pump at about 9am, noon, and 3pm. Then, I am back home at 5pm. If he's not ready to eat after so long, then I just pump. When I can't get to the pumping area at work exactly when I want to, I sit at my desk and squeeze, just to give it some stimulation, so my body knows that there is a demand, even if it isnt' always the same. I have a good electric pump and a hand pump. I use that hand pump when I don't have time to set up the big one or when I just want more stimulation or to empty out after a feeding. If you have a hand pump, use it for a few minutes while you walk around doing...whatever. I use one hand for that and the other for pouring juice. It doesn't take much, and it doesn't seem like much, but it does make a difference.

Don't beat yourself up for having to supplement with formula. We do what we have to do to take care of our babies, and that all depends on what works for our families. Stay encouraged and feel empowered to do what works for you.

I know how you feel. I would get a supplement ASAP. I did the feeding, then pumping, then offering bottle with my first (from month 4-13!). I just couldn't do it with my 2nd. I got sick and my period around my 2nd's 5th month and noticed a serious drop. It did recover somewhat, but never like it was (as I had an oversupply prior to getting sick/period!). I took go-lacta because I couldn't take fenugreek. i also tried More Milk Two which is similar to More Milk Plus without the fenugreek. (Fenugreek is also contraindicated in pregnancy, and since I wasn't using any type of birth control it also seemed good to avoid it for that reason.)
Nurse as often as you can so that your baby can help your body rally. Supplementing will unfortunately work against your efforts as baby will get used to the ease of the full bottle. My son wouldn't take a bottle, so we had to just press through the low times. It actually happened every month that I got my period as well, until I started taking high doses of Calcium/Mag/Vit D. (At least 1,000mg Cal and 500mg Mag/day) You might try adding both the go-lacta and the cal/mag supplement. I figured that paying for the supplements would be similar to (or maybe cheaper than) formula. I just weaned my son at 16 months. I took the go-lacta till he was a year and then stopped knowing that it was more supplemental at that point. Also when I pumped with my 1st, I didn't pump at night. I had finally gone to a LC after my peds did not reassure me with "she's just long & lean" after gaining no weight her 3rd month! The LC found that she was only taking 1.5 oz in a feeding! So I was instructed to feed her like 10 times a day and pump after each feeding during the day, but not at night. It was a lot of work, but we made it exclusively til 10 months. THen I added 1, then 2 bottles of formula/day because I just couldn't pump enough extra. But I knew that I had done all I could. Neither one of my kids slept at night for a LONG time, so I know what being crazy tired is. I am sorry that your support system is lacking this week! That only makes it worse. Just do the best you can. Milk supplies can definitely be brought back, so give yourself some time. Praying that things turn around for you!

What lactation consultants often neglect to include in their advice is herbal supplements. Fenugreek, Mother's Milk, More Milk Plus-- these are all great ways to increase your milk supply. They work quickly and you can adjust the dose yourself without a doctor's prescription. If you have a Good Earth store nearby, they usually have a nutritionist who can point you in the right direction. Fenugreek can be found OTC at just about any pharmacy. You can solve this without spending every waking moment breastfeeding or pumping. Seriously, I really wish someone would have told me this with my first baby.

Honestly, I found breastfeeding easier with my first (rocky process all around BF him) when I got back to work. At least then I had uninterrupted time to go pump at regular intervals. I had a huge old mug of water and I even took 30 min power naps in my car - I know a regular spa day - LOL!
Keep doing your best and hopefully when you get to work your schedule will even out a bit and give you a little reprieve.
I second the fenugreek!

So so so sorry to hear this! Sounds like you are in a really tough spot!

I was never able to get me daughter to take to the breast so I had to exclusively pump and feed her. When my little one was about 5 months old I went on medication for post-pardum depression. My doc told my she wouldn't have any reaction to it - BOY was she WRONG!! I felt so guilty having to stop pumping but at least I had enough milk stored up for the next month.

If you can't keep your supply don't be too h*** o* yourself. Your health is important too. You've done such a great thing breastfeeding for as long as you have. Good luck! Hope things turn around for you soon and you can get some rest!

Good for you! I know they say "hydrated" but for me, that meant 1-2 gallons of water and fluid a day. It seems like a lot, but if you keep a full glass of water by your nursing chair, or by your pump, and drink 10-12 oz each time, you'll be on the way to easier everything:)

At night, I was just lazy, and thought it was best for baby and milk to co-sleep. I went to work fulltime with each after 3 months, and didn't have trouble once I got into these two things, nursing until 15 months.

Good luck -- it's good for you both to keep up the nursing:)