Expert: ruth kraft - 8/25/2010

Question
Hello Ruth,
My baby boy is now 5 months and I have been successfully exclusively nursing him for 4 months. I returned to work in July and now he gets breast milk in the bottles during the day. I work 8-5 and and I pump 3 times a day. Up until now have been able to pump more than enough milk (3-5 oz per breast) at each session. Now that my son is 5 months (birth date March 8)the last two weeks he has been less and less interested in eating. He's easily distracted and pulls off the breast and does not want to return.  So he not eat as much as he was. As a result my milk supply has gone all the way down. I was barely able to pump 1oz from each breast. He already only nurses in the evenings and weekends. How do I get him to eat? How can i quicky increase my milk supply? My goal is to continue nursing until he is 12months. Please help.  Also, he has not been given solid foods and if you can give me some suggestions for nursing moms that want to continue nursing.

Answer
Hello :) First I will say that he may be eating more in the evenings , weekends and in the morning before work to make up for any missed feedings during the day. it is very age appropriate for him to be distracted and want to play more than eat. It will likely stay this way for a while as he will soon learn to sit, crawl and cruise. one of the most helpful things most women find is going to another room to nurse him so there are no distractions.  

It does explain why your milk supply has gone down some as well. This is also fairly normal as the baby gets older he is just much more efficient at nursing as well. You can increase your supply by making sure that you have a good grade pump like the medela, hygeia or ameda. Check the valves to make sure they have not become weak from a lot of use which will often not be efficient in pumping enough milk out. If all of that checks out ok, then you can do several different things like trying supplements like mothers milk tea, or fenugreek. You can also increase your fiber. Take metamucil, or eat a lot of fiber in your diet. The more your intestinal movement you have going on, the more milk you will make.

Pump in the morning either before or after you nurse him and again throughout the evening for the next few weeks while he is also nursing. this will help your milk increase as well.

I hope that helped
Ruth Kraft CD CLD HBCP FOCEP
Mother of Emma & Jacob
www.honoringwomen.com
http://welcometotheworld2.blogspot.com/
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