# Please help asap! My milk stopped coming in! ds is 7 weeks old...



## seahorsie (Jul 1, 2003)

My ds is almost 7 weeks old and today my milk supply just stopped completely! Ds has not had any milk since this morning and began screaming at 4pm. Out of desparation, I gave him formula. I am devastated, this never happened with my dd. I have been drinking Mother's Milk tea, just finished my 3rd cup, been drinking tons of water, but my breasts are like 2 deflated ballons. I can't believe this! My ds has had a cold for 3 days, last night he slept almost through the night for the first time - can this be why? I also am sick with a cold...Please help quickly, what do I do to get my milk back??? The thought of ds on formula is making me weep.


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## annekevdbroek (Jun 5, 2005)

HI seahorsie - Well, keep nursing - even if you aren't sure that milk is there. Did you take a decongestant or any other type of cold medicine? If so, stop. Drink lots of fluids. Instead of a bottle try to use an SNS or dropper if you need to supplement. An SNS is nice since you can but the tube at the nipple and your child's nursing will help stimulate your milk supply.

I'm not an expert in this at all - I would suggest contacting a lactation consultant or LLL if the problem continues.


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## jaidymama (Jun 18, 2005)

I don't have any cure-all ideas... are you taking any medication for your cold? maybe a decongestant could have done something?? No other good ideas except to keep him at the breast when possible... like you said, he may get upset if he's hungry, so that's something to consider... but you want him to keep suckling. What signs are there that there isn't any milk? I mean, you probably know this, but maybe there's still milk there even though they don't seem like they have filled up?? ???

Also, make sure you're eating plenty and well hydrated. I'd look at kellymom.com to see if there is anything mentioned on their site... http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html

Good luck... sorry this is so basic, wish I could think of more.


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## Shanana (May 11, 2005)

I know some cold medications (Sudafed, etc.) can cause your milk supply to decrease. Sage is also a drying herb, so if you've been eating a lot of leftover stuffing, I would stop that.

I know after a few months my breasts seemed to totally deflate, and I was freaked out that my milk was gone. But I think it was just the transition my body was making ... in the early days milk supply is regulated by prolactin (if I recall correctly), which is a hormone left over after giving birth. At a certain point, the levels go down and then your supply is dictated by supply and demand. When this happened to me, all of a sudden my breasts stopped feeling "full" all the time, and I started leaking a lot less.

I do remember that dd seemed fussy around the time this happened, further scaring me that my supply had dropped. But after a few days, everything seemed back to normal with her, so I wonder now if it was just coincidence.

I don't think sleeping through the night could have caused this. The few times my dd slept longer than usual, I just got engorged. Are you positive there's no milk? Have you tried pumping (not a surefire thing, though, since it's less effective), or maybe hand expressing?

Do everything you can to keep your babe at the breast. Not nursing will definitely decrease your supply.


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## seahorsie (Jul 1, 2003)

No, I've had no drugs except 1 advil 2 nights ago. Ds also slept most of the day today. I have been drinking a Cold Season herbal tea by Yogi Tea. Maybe one of the herbs in that tea was drying me up? I just found that if I squeeze very hard on the milk ducts, milk will come out, but no letdown as of yet. Even after using an Isis pump. Just took a hot shower too. I have been drinking Mother's Milk like crazy plus water. I'm guessing it's mostly stress - ds's cold has been worrisome, & dd has been regressing & unhappy with ds. Plus no sleep since ds has been born, of course. Could stress alone do this? Or are my ducts clogged or something since I have to squeeze so hard to express the milk?


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

Stress can decrease production. Does your cold tea have mint in it? Some women are very sensitive to mints, and they can decrease milk supply. An Isis pump really wouldn't be enough to increase your supply, it's better then nothing, but a heavy duty pump would be best. How much was your ds nursing before the cold? Try fenugreek 3 pills 3 times a day, most moms notice a difference within 48 hours.


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

Kellymom has great info about milk supply as suggested by the poster above
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

I have to ask...is a change in letdown or breast fullness or fussiness the reason you say you've lost your milk? Because these things do not always indicate losing your supply. Of course you want to make sure your baby is fed, but as the early weeks pass, some women stop feeling a letdown. Some women have breasts that seem to feel less full. Some babies fuss for other reasons, such as illness, growth spurt.

You may already know these things. I just wanted to make sure you are judging by things like not hearing the baby swallow as often, fewer wet diapers, etc. (See Kellymom for a lot more information.)

And don't hesitate to get real life help if you need it by calling a La Leche League leader or board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) if you need to.

I hope everyone feels better quickly.

I just heard a thud outside in the high wind, better go check the trash cans!


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## seahorsie (Jul 1, 2003)

You know, ds has been a sleepy nurser since birth. His latch & sucking is poor, but it never presented too much of a problem until now because my flow was so forceful all he had to do was open his mouth to nurse and let it pour in. Now he has this bad habit of being rather lazy about nursing, so he's not helping me get my milk back to the flow it was, if it can get there again. If all else fails, I will resign myself to pumping and bottle feeding. How do you teach a baby like this to suck? With his cold, this is even more of a challenge - he just wants to sleep.


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## psyche (Apr 6, 2005)

A pump is not a good indicator of milk supply because your body knows it is not your child. Likewise, feeling "deflated" might just be your body's adjustment to not having an exreme-newbie newborn anymore. Furthermore, if he has been having a stuffy nose he might not have been sucking well for a little while so that could contribute to a dip in supply.

The only real way to tell if it's a real dip in supply (which could be his lack of intake from the cold) is to assess how many wet diapers he has had. Input=output.

How have the diapers been?

Can you hear him swallowing when he is nursing?

Other than the cold, does he seem okay or does he seem dehydrated?

Nurse, nurse, nurse. Take him to bed and strip down so your skin is touching his skin. That stimulates babies to nurse more. Your breasts are always producing milk as he is sucking so he is almost certainly getting something.

If he does become severely dehydrated, formula is a last resort. I'd suggest quitting the bottles altogether and finger-feeding or cup-feeding. However, it's all supply and demand so if he demands less because of formula then your supply will be negatively affected. So - nurse nurse nurse.


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *seahorsie* 
You know, ds has been a sleepy nurser since birth. His latch & sucking is poor, but it never presented too much of a problem until now because my flow was so forceful all he had to do was open his mouth to nurse and let it pour in. Now he has this bad habit of being rather lazy about nursing, so he's not helping me get my milk back to the flow it was, if it can get there again. If all else fails, I will resign myself to pumping and bottle feeding. How do you teach a baby like this to suck? With his cold, this is even more of a challenge - he just wants to sleep.


If he's having latch problems I really encourage you to see someone in person like an LC or LLL leader to help you out. Again, you can look this up at Kellymom.

Exclusively pumping can be extremely difficult and hard to keep up a supply with and while you can find moms here who have done it, it is a last resort.

And by the way I love your user name!


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

You've gotten some great advice here already, especially the part about relaxing as much as you can and a pump not being the best indicator of supply.

It might be helpful if you could list the herbs in the tea. A few more questions, if you could answer would be
1. How many wet dipes is baby having in a 24-hour period?
2. How have you been supplementing (bottle, cup, etc)?
3. Is baby gaining?

Many moms find that their supply varies at different times of the day, so it's not uncommon to feel less "full" in the evenings.

Also, there are lots of false alarms regarding supply, including a baby who wants to nurse often or seems hungry an hour after being fed (these could be signs of a growth spurt), baby suddenly wanting to nurse longer or more oren (often happens as baby becomes more aware of the world around him or has a growth spurt), baby is fussy, mom isn't leaking as much, mom doesn't feel let-down, mom's breasts feel softer (this can just be a sign that the supply-demand relationship is regulating), baby will take a bottle after nursing (many babies will suck even after they're full, simply because they like to suck) or mom can't express/pump a lot. These can all be false signs of a decreasing supplies.

My advice would be to get naked and crawl into bed with baby. Have some water/tea close-by and let your baby latch of and nurse as much as possible. Cuddle, have skin-to-skin contact, relax, and get better. Ditch the bottles and formula and keep an eye on those wet diapers. Make sure Baby's nose is clear either by running a steamy shower and sitting in the bathroom, or using Little Noses or a similar saline solution to clear the boogers. Relax as best you can and try not to stress out--easier said than done, I know!

Peace to you!


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## seahorsie (Jul 1, 2003)

Thanks mamas, we just returned from a doctor - ds indeed does have a cold, not in his chest, thank goodness, but we have to watch to be sure it doesn't get worse... & hallelujah! the milk is flowing again! It occurred to me that another change that had happened is that we decided to put ds in his carseat between my dh and I on our bed to help him breathe at night through his congestion. It did help, but the downside is he nursed far less at night. We did need that proximity we had before being side by side, so we ditched the seat last night & I put him prone right on top of me for the entire night. Just to answer those questions - ds diapers, constantly wet, no problems ever there, he's determined to break the weight-gain record (gained a lb. a week after birth), and no other supplements, only breast. I only gave him formula once last night, never again, I hope! I really did have no milk for a long period in the evening last night - ds was sucking frantically and nothing but air - he began screaming after each attempt failed to draw milk - no swallowing, no signs of any milk, so I panicked. I do think that my supply has changed though from that huge overabundant supply that you get at first - I've had no leaking for the first time since my milk came in - so a lot sort of happened simultaneously to make it difficult to know what was happening. I'm just happy it resolved itself. Thought maybe I had exceeded my nursing time since I nursed my dd for 3.5 years... she weaned just over a year ago - I thought maybe the breasts decided they had had enough! lol. She was so easy to nurse, I didn't realize how challenging it could be.


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## Shanana (May 11, 2005)

Glad to hear that things are going better!


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shanana* 
Glad to hear that things are going better!


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## bamamom (Dec 9, 2004)

oh yeah, being sick can cut your supply back a tad if you dont take extra care to baby yourself.

I remember being really sick with a stomach bug when ds was a tiny baby, and I sat on the edge of the rocker, shaking violently from a fever, and trying to hold onto Ds. My milk couldnt let down b/c i was so sick and shaking so hard, and he was crying, but I had dh pile blankets around us, and eventually he got a little and dh was able to take care for awhile.

Rest, and get better mama!


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Hooray! I'm so glad you seem to have figured it out. Here's hoping that you all feel better soon.


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

Glad things are better! I have an 11-week-old, and right around 7 weeks, I remember thinking something was wrong with my breasts, too. But it's just your body figuring out supply and demand issues - so keep nursing, and your supply will be there!


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