Getting your period can be unpleasant anytime, but breastfeeding adds an additional challenge because it can affect your milk supply. Here are some things you can do increase your milk supply during your period.
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How does having your period affect your milk supply?
Some people see no difference in their milk supply when they have their period, while others have a drop that can last a few days to a week or more.
This change is caused by hormonal fluctuations. Most of the time, when you finish your period, your supply will go back up.
How can I increase milk supply during my period?
There are lots of strategies out there for getting your milk supply up long-term (including these) but what if you just need a short-term boost to get you through your period? Here are some ideas.
1. Take a calcium/magnesium supplement
The drop in milk supply that is associated with your period may be associated with a drop in blood calcium levels which occurs in the middle of your menstrual cycle, around the time that you ovulate.
To combat this drop, you can consider taking a calcium/magnesium supplement.
The supplement should be 1500mg calcium/750mg magnesium. Make sure that you buy the combination calcium/magnesium supplement, as that much calcium shouldn’t be taken alone.
In terms of timing, you can either take it every day, or from when you ovulate until the third day of your period. (If you don’t know when you ovulate, it’s generally about two weeks before you’re due for your period.)
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2. Eat oatmeal
Many people report an increase in pumping output on the days that they eat oatmeal for breakfast as opposed to the days they don’t. (I don’t normally eat oatmeal because I don’t really like it, but I did an unscientific experiment to see if it would work for me and had good results.)
While there hasn’t been a lot of research on what makes oatmeal increase milk supply or how effective it is, the anecdotal evidence is strong enough that many lactation consultants recommend it.
The good news is that this is an easy change to make to try to compensate for making less milk – just eat oatmeal when you have your period. If you don’t like oatmeal, oatmeal cookies seem to work, too, so you can make cookies and brownies to make it less onerous.
3. Pump for longer and get another letdown
It’s tempting to stop pumping after the milk stops flowing, but try to get a second (or third) letdown.
A letdown occurs when your breasts release milk from your milk ducts, and it looks like this:
If you take a break for a minute or two and then start the pump over again, you can usually get another small letdown of milk (maybe about 1/2-1/4 of what was expressed in the first letdown).
If you find that it’s taking you a long time to get additional letdowns, some things that can help include:
- A warm compress – a washcloth or Booby Tubes.
- Vibration – you can try an electric toothbrush or a lactation massager.
- Relax as much as possible and make sure you are comfortable, as stress can inhibit letdowns.
4. Do breast compressions
If you’re not already doing hands-on pumping, you can see if this helps you get more milk.
Breast compressions are just basically moving your hands around and squeezing. This pushes breast milk out of your milk ducts, and can help you remove more milk when you pump.
5. Try hand expression
Incorporating hand expression in to your pumping sessions might also help.
Some people find that hand expressing at the beginning, middle, or end of your sessions works well for them – you kind of have to experiment and see what works for you. More on hand expression here.
6. Try power pumping
Power pumping means pumping on and off for about an hour – 20 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on, and so on. The idea is to mimic a baby cluster feeding – which signals your body to make more milk.
Power pumping usually takes time to work, so you may want to give it at least a few days to see if it helps. More on power pumping here.
7. Drink nursing teas
Nursing teas contain galactagogues (such as fenugreek, blessed thistle, and alfafa) that may increase milk supply in some people. Generally, because the doses are fairly small, you need to drink the tea every day to continue seeing results.
If you track your cycles, I would suggest starting to drink the tea the day or two before you anticipate your monthly dip in supply.
If you don’t like nursing teas, try making lactation lemonade!
Do you have issues where your period reduces your milk supply? Has anything worked for you to bring it up?
References
- Flora, Becky, IBCLC. “Menstruation and Breastfeeding.” https://www.motherandchildhealth.com/breastfeeding/menstruation-while-breastfeeding/
- Bonyata, Kelly, IBCLC. “Natural Remedies for Nursing Mothers.” https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/natural-treatments/
Comments & Chitchat
Great post! Thanks a lot! I’ve got my periods due to which I have low milk supply. I used Motilium (domperidone) with great success – partially breastfeeding at six months, which may not sound fantastic but until I started the domperidone my baby may well have fed on blood from a stone. We tried the skin-to-skin, the constant feeding, the teas, the massages, but basically my milk never came in in sufficient quantity. Just as I was about to quit, a friend suggested domperidone (I found “Make24milk” in Google and got Dom very quick) ❤️. I was able to stop the domperidone after a while and supply held more or less steady.
You may have just needed some iodine! Xo
I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding for 5.5 months. So yes, my daughter is 5.5 months old. I got my period last month and everything with breastfeeding was fine and dandy and I never knew I had any reason to be worried as I had breastfed my first daughter for 1 year and 3 months. Well, 14 days after my first period started, I noticed my daughter had to start feeding on both sides in one session which was CRAZY as I’ve always only fed her on one side at a time and I always have had more than enough milk. Fast forward about week later and I tried to feed my daughter at 5 am as always and an HOUR went by of her sucking and I never let down! This continued at her 10 am feeding. After 2 hours of getting her to nurse and me pumping (I had never pumped before) I got a let down and she ate….and was still hungry. This was 5 days ago. She lost weight. My daughter who had never even seen a bottle before had to be coaxed into having formula because she was starving. This has been an extremely shocking experience.
On Sunday I found your post and started taking fenungreek and milk thistle. I also started eating oatmeal every day starting then. I’ve been drinking an insane amount of water. On monday, it got a little better, and I started to be able to nurse her successfully 2/6 times a day. On monday I started the calcium and magnesium. Now, I can nurse her about 3/6 times a day.
The calcium and magnesium seems to be very very effective. Though I know my milk supply is not even half what it was, it is SO much better than what it was on Saturday. I thought I had completely dried up. Now, though, even though I sometimes have milk, I just will not let down. I’m sure its because in the back of my mind I know my chunky monkey won’t get enough from just me sometimes. It’s excruciatingly stressful. I’m sincerely hoping that in a week, when my period should start, I can leave all of this behind me…..until next month 🙁 I hate hormones.
Oh my gosh, So stressful!!! Good luck!
So glad to hear that the calcium/magnesium helped!
I am going through the same thing right now. I have milk, but my body will NOT letdown. My daughter isn’t patient enough to sit there suckling, so we had to introduce formula today. I am stressed – eek!
Did you get your let downs back !!! As usual!!! I am a mother struggling with the same problem. Please help… though i am taking calcium tablets it is helping still evening and night let down is very delayed my baby gets frustrated!!
Hi! Love your blog! I recently got my period and I’m trying to find a calcium/magnesium supplement on Amazon that is 1500/759 mg. Do you have any recommendation? Everything I’ve looked at is around 1000/500 mg. I’m a just-enougher and I already eat oatmeal and lacataion cookies everyday so I need to get my supply back up ASAP!
Thank you!
Hi Brittany! So these are 1000/500 but that’s 5 tablets. So each one is 200/100 – I think you could do 7 of these?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00020IC3A/
Hope that helps!
Can the menstrual cycle cause a dip in supply on only one breast? My left breast is suddenly producing half of what it normally does. Signs say clog but I don’t feel any lumps and both before and after pumping, both breasts feel about the same.
I’m 10 weeks pp and haven’t had a period yet. My boobs have been sore and I’ve had some discharge (so I’m thinking I’m ovulating or period is about to start) this is driving me crazy.
Ugh that’s so annoying and supply is so weird! I’m sorry. I hope it’s not your period. I’ll post a link to some info on how to fix a slacker boob that might help while you wait to see if this is the issue:
https://exclusivepumping.com/how-to-fix-lopsided-breasts-when-breastfeeding/
Yes absolutely. When you get your period your hormones are fluctuating and it’s normal for your supply to dip a little. It’ll bounce back in a few days. It may or may not happen every month. If your body gets used to it it might not be as noticeable. For more you can calculate your ovulation from https://calculator-online.net/ovulation-calculator/
Am 4 months PP and got my period due to which I have a dip in my milk supply. When can I expect my milk supply back to normal? I got my period on May 26th and it’s 4 days. Still I don’t see any improvement . I have been power pumping from last 4 days to keep up my supply. Please help!
Mine came back up about when my period ended. I know this is super stressful!
It’s so funny that this website came up while I was doing a search for something else. I thought I was going crazy! I got my cycle back soon after delivery. My baby is currently 14 months and we are still breastfeeding! She has never taken a bottle as our efforts to transition her when I went back to work were futile. It became too much torture trying to get her to take the milk from the bottle so I decided it was not worth it and my husband just brought her to me to feed at work. I continued to pump and we continued to try and bottle feed to make it easier on him, but it continued being a struggle for her and wasted milk for baby and I. With that being said I noticed on my cycle days when I pumped it was significantly lower than normal. I was not putting the two together, but always felt like there was some correlation. Thank you for the tips on what to do. Wish I had known this when we started out. I absolutely hate oatmeal, but anything for the baby 🙂 I will let you know if it works.
I hope it works!! Good luck!
I started on the 16th and still have a period as of today (22nd) my supply is really low. I was doing at least 5 to 6 oz per pump, now only 3 per pump if I’m lucky.
… I forgot to say I am 7 months PP.
That stinks. I’m so sorry. Have you tried the cal/mag?
I feel ya. I am the same way. went down to 2.5 maybe 3 ounces. I haven’t noticed much difference taking the mag/cal as it’s only been 4 days. Today I pumped left side only since baby fell asleep on the right and only got 2.5oz. This was after not feeding from that side for 7 hours. I am on the tail end of my cycle so hopefully things will pick back up and I know next month to tackle it sooner. Keep pressing mama, you’re doing amazing!
I’ve found this thread for obvious reasons…LO is 5 months today…i had 2 light periods at about 2.5 and 3.5 months pp (4 days not 7, light flow) then this month I was 2 weeks late (even took a test – not that its much of a risk haha – amd passed yay!) so period showed up 2 days ago and that day i realized i had very little milk…could usually feed off one side and alternate between feedings. Now am using both sides and she is pulling and fighting for more…she won’t take a bottle so I haven’t had much saved.
I’ve pretty much been able to start all the recommendations over the last 2 days, latching her lots, both sides, got up extra overnight to feed, oatmeal today, tea and started supplements. Haven’t gotten fenugreek yet.
My question is this: How long did these things take before you saw results? This period is way heavier and seems more normal for me. She’s still has wet diapers and had a large #2 today, so I know she’s getting something…I didn’t have this happen with my first…so frustrating!!
Hi Marlie! It sounds like you’re doing everything right! The oatmeal works the same day for me, supplements might take more up to a week. Did you get the cal-mag one? I hope it works!
Hi, i got my periods right after one month of having baby, everything was going ok, than my baby got sick, i was stressed and my periods came as well, shes 4 months old and my brests feel so soft, when i try to hand express no milk, shes having fewer wet nappies, doc recomend torricelli’s medicine to make mpre milk, it does have side effect and she doesnt take formula or bottle at all, im so stressed, im having fennel tea, fenugreek capsule, usually i always have full engorged breast. Any help please
Hi,
My baby is 2months old now. He cry loudly when I offered him a breastfeeding. So I changed to pump for him every feed instead.
I wonder if this also cause period start earlier?
Hi Riya! I have heard this before but am not sure if there’s any research on whether it makes a difference. I hope pumping works better for you! 🙂
Is the idea that your milk supply comes back after your period finishes? Or do you need to take action to get it to come back?
It should come back on it’s own – these tips are to help you keep it up as much as possible while you have it.
Thankful for this article. My baby got sick and wanted to breastfeed instead of take a bottle. She’s a bit lazy on the boob. My pumps dropped to 4 ppd. Then, I got sick AND I got my period for the first time – I’m 5mpp. Ug. I’m working my tail off to get supply up. Moringa, tea, heating pad, hot tub, water, magnesium, d. What I need to get is some calcium. I’m praying I can get my supply back up. Wish I could hear from mkre women to see if the calcium mag worked.
So sorry your dealing with this – so annoying to get sick AND get your period back at the same time. I hope the cal-mag works – let us know!!
I’m 6 months PP and have been exclusively pumping since my baby was 3 weeks old. I got my first period two months ago and it was super light and my supply dipped slightly so I followed your tips above, supply after was fine. My next cycle was awful – heavier than ever before and my supply really tanked despite doing all of your tips. I started pumping 2.5-3 oz a session. Luckily when my supply was being established I had enough to freeze Some milk. Supply increased a little after but I’m still using 6 ounces of frozen milk daily. The freezer milk is depleting and as I prepare for my next period I am wondering if adding back a session will help? I already do 6 pumps daily for 30 minutes each, so over the 120 recommended. Can I pump “too much”? I would add back my middle of the night pump if it would help. Thanks.
Hi Kim! I think it would be okay to add back that session, I don’t think you would be pumping too much. I would try it for a week and then see what happens. Good luck!
Jumping in here to see if anyone has any suggestions! I have been pumping for nearly 8 months – for a good stretch, I was getting enough milk to only have to supplement with formula periodically, later on, we had to supplement about one bottle a day. At around the 6 month mark, I dropped my overnight pump and did not suffer any loss in supply. At about the 7 month mark, I started going to every 4 hours which left me at about 5 pumps a day, sometimes 6. Again, supply did ok, I lost a couple of ounces but I was ok with that. Then…. I got my period, likely because of reducing my pumping sessions. I had a dip when that started which I expected after reading lots on this website, but instead of ticking back up, it has just steadily been decreasing. I went back to every 3 hours and it’s still been on the wane. I’m now down to 17-18 oz a day after 5-6 pumps – eating oatmeal, drinking Mothers Milk tea, hydrating – and nothing seems to be helping. I tried fenugreek and blessed thistle early on and had no change in supply, so that’s not a viable option. I have been sick with one cold after another since my son started day care, I’m not sure if that is having an effect. We are just about to the 8 month mark and I really wanted to make it to a year – starting to feel like it’s not worth it so I’m reaching out here to see if anyone else has experienced a steady drop in supply after starting their period and if they found anything that helped bring it back? Thanks!
Hi Maggie! Have you tried the calcium-magnesium supplement at all?
Thank you for the quick response! I take magnesium but not mixed with calcium. I could try that for sure – is there a ratio you’ve found to “work” better?
Kellymom says between 500 mg calcium/250 mg magnesium and 1500 mg calcium/750 mg magnesium –
https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/natural-treatments/
Good luck!
Thank you very much. I didn’t even think of the fact that I started antibiotics right around the time I started seeing the steep decline. I haven’t seen anything about that having an effect, but the coincidence seems strong! I’ll try the cal-mag for sure and stick it out through this course of antibiotics and hope it starts to go back up. Thanks again!
Good luck!
I have been exclusively pumping since my LO returned home from the hospital. I have an oversupply (like I literally pump 60oz a day now and about 80oz to 96oz before I went to every 5 hours ). I was pumping every 3 hours and would get 12 ounces pumping for 15-30 minutes at a time. I have since decreased my pumping to every five hours. I didn’t make this decrease all I once, I did it over 2 months so that I wouldn’t loose my milk supply. I have successfully transitioned from every 3 hours to every 5 hours without hurting my milk supply as I still get 12oz every pump. I am still making more milk than she is drinking. But when I have my menstruation I produce less milk (about 2-3oz less) but still more than she drinks /eats. I am usually back to normal after about 3 days. Does anyone else heard of such an oversupply? It can be a good thing but I’m having to throw milk away now ? because I have no room for it in my defreezer or fridge.
Have you considered donating it? You can do it through a milk bank, or many moms use Eats on Feets. Good luck!
Milk supply is all supply and demand. the more you feed/pump the more you will make. so don’t be stressed about it…just keep feeding and even try to pump in btwn feedings. and if he doesn’t eat for you, then pump then too. make sure you drink healthy nursing tea. don’t worry, and don’t give up…it should pick back up.
***UPDATE***
After taking the fenugreek pills, eating oatmeal and pumping more my milk supply came back a little, but not much. I finally came across a page that talks about the marina IUD birth control and that is something that can cause your milk supply to drop drastically. I thought I was having a regular period, but I was actually bleeding from getting my IUD put in and about a week after that’s when my milk started dropping. So if any of you can’t figure out what is causing your milk supply to drop, and you have an IUD, then get the IUD taken out pronto. Once I found out that it might be from that, I had mine removed and gradually my milk kept coming back in more and more. It took a while for it to fully come back, but I noticed after a few days that my baby was actually getting full and my breasts started feeling heavy again and I was actually leaking on the other breast while my baby ate. Oh and I started feeling engorged again too. All these little things made me so happy and I did not regret one bit getting my IUD taken out! Best. Decision. Ever. The things on this page did help a little, but getting the IUD taken out made the biggest difference so if you can’t figure it out what is going on with your supply and you have an IUD, get it taken out asap! I hope this helps someone as much as it helped me.
Hi. I have the copper iub. (Same as iud but different shape). My milk supply dropped a little but after 4 days of feeding often, pumping after feeds, eating more and drinking my milk supply started to rise again. Perhapse consider that iud. Its not hormonal (though wjen it is put in it slightly affects the hormones)
This page literally saved me. At 7 weeks after having my baby my milk had dropped and I had no clue why until I came across this page and realized I was on my period, and that it was due to that. For the last several days my baby was eating a lot longer and when I would pump after I was getting nothing. Literally nothing. I couldnt figure out what was going on. I found this article and the following morning I started taking mother’s milk tea on day five of my period 5 times (says you can take it 3-5 times a day on the box), and Nature’s Way Fenugreek pills 2 capsules 3 times a day (says you can take 2 capsules two to three times daily) and by midnight that night I was producing more milk! My baby is also eating a lot faster. I don’t know if my supply also dropped because I was getting lazy and not pumping very much, but now that it’s coming back I’m going to pump a lot more and not stop. That and oatmeal for breakfast every day. I also want to stock up in case this happens again or if I completely dry up.
Thanks for writing this!
I have been wondering about reduced milk supply for a week while i am on my periods and came across this. Thank you so much for sharing this. My son who is 5.1 month old is low on the weight scale due to food sensitivities which he is outgrowing now. So its very important for us to up his weight and bumped to this challenge recently. He doesn’t take formula so breastfeeding has been the only source. I am starting to take all the foods mentioned and hoping to see a diff.
Again thank you so much for sharing your experience mamas, its a huge encouragement. Hope to make it beyond 6 months to how much ever we could.
I have noticed that, while not back to where it was post-period, my supply has come back up with taking the magnesium/calcium supplement and Mother’s Milk tea. I still eat oatmeal every morning, but I don’t eat the lactation cookies any longer as I’m trying to drop some of the baby weight. Supply still dips low during period, but by drinking double the amount of mother’s milk tea, not as much and then I have two days of engorgement so I pump and store that milk.
My daughter is 8 months, so I no longer worry about making it a year. I know we will. SO grateful that I found this blog!
Has anyone noticed a dip in milk supply with the mirena IUD? Just curious 10 months EBF and I’m not giving up I nurse every chance I get. It’s also around the time I’m supposed to start (I’m spitting right now ever since I got the IUD) and I’ve always noticed a dip before cycle during and shortly after
I have one and haven’t noticed a difference, but everyone is different! Especially with how hormones affect us.
I would be interested to know if the Go Lacta works for you. I’ve bought and tried so many things, I don’t want to add another thing that doesn’t work but that I just spend more money on. Sigh…
After about 2 or so months on Go-lacta and getting through 2 more periods I really think Go-lacta has made the difference I needed!! I have NOT had to supplement even frozen breastmilk! However, my LO does have 1-3 oz of applesauce or baby oatmeal at supper time.
I am religious about taking 1200mg of calcium every day, I eat oatmeal once a day and also drink mother’s milk tea besides taking Go-lacta and drinking 100oz of water daily. I feel like my body has adjusted to the routine and experimenting taking vitamins at different times to get the biggest effect and not over eating seems to have worked for me.
My LO is nearly 6 mo old and the struggle and taking all the supplements has been worth it!
Each person’s body reacts differently but I would recommend trying Go-lacta just as much as taking Fenugreek.
My daughter is almost 6 months old. I just had another period and I know that my supply dipped because she was nursing a whole lot more while we were home together during the holidays. Her first day back at the day care, she only ate 6 oz and apparently spit up quite a bit. So she nursed on both sides every hour or so until we went to bed. Then she fussed for over an hour before nursing and finally falling asleep. I guess while I’m on my period, I just know she is going to have to nurse more because no matter what I do (supplements, tea, water, food, etc) I just produce less.
Nice thing about that is because I have let her nurse as much as she wants that now that I’m off my period, my supply is higher than before. I just pumped at work, and it had only been 3 hours and I pumped 4.8 oz instead of the pre-period 3.25-3.5 that I’d been getting.
I’ll also add that after I got my first period andy supply dropped, the next week I made sure to pump or nurse every 2 hrs during the day and 2-3x at night, if LO didn’t eat much I’d pump the other side or both sides for 10-15 min. I feel like my milk ‘came back in’ after 3 days. So I have been more conscious of making sure I nurse or pump at least every 3 hrs to keep my supply up as well as taking supplements.
The first three months, I seemed to be making more than enough milk for my daughter. I was doing everything I’d read about: eat oatmeal, take fenugreek/blessed thistle/fennel, drink mother’s milk tea (4-6 cups a day), drink tons of water, eat lactation cookies, get rest, try not to stress; and I produced enough milk to feed her. At 3 months, my supply started to go down, and I had gotten my period. The decrease has lasted all month despite increasing calories/water/tea.
And I got my period again exactly four weeks after my last one (and this one is on day 7 of bleeding!)
I realized, after reading this article, that I am not drinking as much milk as I was so my calcium levels might be down. I just happen to have both a calcium and a magnesium supplement in my cupboard. I took them tonight and will report back in a couple of days to see if I notice a change.
I pray that I do because I have had to add one bottle of formula/day for the last month and I hope that I can go back to not having to supplement.
Sounds like my situation as well! My supply did go back up a week after my period though. I found out that mid- cycle (two weeks after the first day of my period) is the highest production for me probably because of hormone levels. I am ordering ‘go lacta’ (recommended by my LC) to see how that works.
I also started a 1200mg calcium supplement each day after reading this post. After 2 weeks it seems to have made a difference.
I’m almost 7 months into
Bf and been a struggle since 4. All of a sudden I had a drop – took two months of aggravation, power pumping, pills etc and it finally came back. Then all of
A sudden my period is on it’s way and it drops again. How frustrating?!? I’ve been taking fenugreek since my dr won’t allow me to have anymore reglan and I feel it’s causing my baby to have stomach aches. This happen when I took it before – she wakes up at 10’pm and cries. Anyone else heard of This?
Yes, when I take a lot of fenugreek (tea & supplements) my little guy gets really gassy. It is a common side effect of fenugreek. Some babies are more sensitive than others. Try expirmenting taking it at different times (before bed) to maximize it’s effect on your supply.
I know this is a bit old, but I’ve been taking Motherlove fenugreek alcohol free, and my daughter hasn’t been gassy at all. Maybe there is a difference? Not sure if you’re taking the pills or alcohol tincture, but just a thought.
I’m 7 weeks post and experiencing my first period. I was freaking out the last few days when milk supply started to diminish.
I’m not back to normal supply yet but improving. I have just seen this article.
Thought I would post an extra idea (I’ve decided I’m going to try this). I have decided when my period finishes I will express extra milk to be frozen down.
When my supply dips low next cycle I should have enough backup to feed my LO as a top up on what I can express at the time.
I am having the same issue. 15 weeks of nursing bliss & I got my period with what seemed like no warning and with that no milk. I am so glad I found this page and other mamas experiencing the same thing! This is my 3rd baby and he was nursing frequently, on demand, and gaining weight nicely and despite having experienced this with my first two kiddos (at 5 weeks & 12 weeks postpartum) I thought by keeping up my supply and pumping extra I was hoping to nurse exclusively for 6 mo. My body had other plans, obviously. I love the ideas & tips here and am putting them to use – hopefully they’ll work! I also plan to pump on the good days to store up for the low weeks. Thank you all & so glad there are other moms out there who are going through this too!
Just to add as an extra idea;
1. warm bath/shower before expressing to help letdown.
2. When expressing your other breast will drip. Catch the drops from both breasts. I have found I will gain an extra 30mL.
I just thought of this myself. Great back up plan
I’m so glad you shared this post. I thought that I was the only person that this happened to as no one that I know has heard of this. I got my period last month (around 5 months post partum) and did not realize that my supply had decreased. My baby girl was sucking her fingers and crying profusely and I thought that it was teething. I then realized that my feeds were getting really short and my breasts didn’t feel as full. I put two and two together and determined that my supply had gone down due to hormones and my period starting. My baby girl is exclusively breast fed and I can’t get her to take a bottle so she lost some weight and was starving for almost two weeks. I tried different bottles, syringes, cups, spoons etc and she won’t take any expressed milk. My supply went back up after two weeks. However, it’s day 22 of my cycle today and it’s happening again. Low milk supply and a hungry baby still not taking the bottle. This is so frustrating and stressful. I don’t know how to get her to take a bottle and now I have no pumped milk to give her. I am already taking blessed thistle/fenugreek capsules and tea.
It will probably be painful but how does your LO go with syringe feeds?
It is just an idea but if you could get her to suck on your finger and use the syringe to feed her at the same time.
Might create a build up of wind, if it works I would suggest burping her OFTEN.
I had to end up taking Domperidone. Made a huge difference!
Feed her with a lactation aid either ur pumped milk or formula I use the one fro. Lactaid international but Medela also has one. Theirs is called a supplemental nursing system I’ve had to use one throughout my entire nursing journey bc she’s a weak sucker and I have low supply to begin with and it’s been a tremendous help!
I have been coping with low breast milk supply and was struggling hard to establish it to exclusively bf my baby. I have tried a bunch of remedies and finally healthy nursing tea helped me boosting my supply.
I just got my period for the first time and I’m only three months post. I’ve definitely noticed a drop and I actually ran out of supply and had to feed my little guy formula! He gave me the nastiest face and started to gag… Broke my heart but I had nothing else to give him. Sadly. I’m freaking out that this drop is going to be permanent and I’m not ready to give up. I want him to have my milk till he’s at least a year. It’s too early to switch to formula. Help me please. I mostly pump and bottle feed. However recently he’s learned to latch so we do both now. I’ve noticed tho when he nurses and I pump two hours later that I pump less due to him pretty much sucking me dry. So my reserve in the fridge goes down. This stuff is so tough I give all us moms so much credit.
I’m so glad you shared this. I’m at my parents house which is a plane trip away from my massive freezer stash. (I pump most of the day and breastfeed her once a day) Day one of the trip, my supply was fine, day two and three it dwindled, day 4..barely pumping 3 bottles and started my first post partum period so I am supplementing with a soy formula 🙁
I’m not above formula at all! No judgement of formula users..im just SUPER pissed that this had to happen while I’m away from my glorious stash, and that I didn’t even make enough milk to cut it with formula, I just had to give her an immediate bottle. This is happening now so I needed a decent vent and some solidarity. Thank you.
I am soooo glad to know I am not alone. After nursing my son for 8mths, second time around for me, my supply dropped drastically last week and it made me so depressed. I nursed my daughter until she was 10mths and wanted to push for 12mths with my son. At the time I didn’t understand why my supply dropped all of a sudden considering I had been taking Milk Thistle for the last 5mths. (my supply slowed down after he was 3mths also). I started pumping more frequently only to be disappointed by 1oz of milk after 30min of pumping. Well yesterday my period came on and it all made sense as my supply started to pick back up. I’m having to supplement with formula which I dread, but happy my supply is at a decent level now. Thanks so much for sharing your stories. It definitely has brought some reassurance to the struggle I thought only I was facing. It’s tough being a mom, but good to know you are not in this alone.
I see you posted this a few months ago. Have you been able to keep up your supply? Or how did it go with the fluctuations?
Mothers milk tea really helps me to maintain my milk supply, I drink 2-3 cups a day and I notice a big difference. I also take fenugreek tablets, this helps a little but the tea might work wonders for you!
Sorry it was an old post… but did it come back? I’m also in my 3rd month postpartum and my period came and now I have like no milk…
I have been exclusively breastfeeding my little one up to 6 months and then when my periods started for the first time after baby, my supply dropped all of a sudden. That time, Healthy nursing tea did help to maintain my previous flow.
I have breastfed exclusively up until my LO was 4 months old when I started introducing solids. As soon as I introduced solids, my LO dropped a feeding at night and I started my period a week or two later. It happened that fast for me! I had already been pumping at work when my LO was about 3 months old and had never experienced a drop in milk supply until my menstrual cycle changed. There were days where I would drink tons of water and increase my calorie intake to try to produce more milk but that didn’t seem to work. I started taking 2 capsules of fenugreek 1-2 times daily and I noticed a difference within about 12 hours. It wasn’t much but every even that 1-2 ounces extra really helped. I have always eaten oatmeal or cocoa wheats in the morning because it’s quick and easy so I can’t say if it really had an impact on my milk supply. After reading the article, I plan on jncrasjng my calcium levels during my period to see if this helps. I do know the fenugreek works so I will continue to do this around the time when I notice a drop in milk supply.
the cal/mag will help you. I noticed a dip in my milk a few days after ovulation. Thinking it was because my period was about to come on, I figured it would soon return to normal. after a few more days and having to dip into my milk supply, I said ok, something has to be done. I found an article on kellymom talking about cal/mag. I purchased it from amazon on sat; got it on Sunday. I took one pill Sunday night to get started and took 3 pills Monday and Tuesday. About 2a.m this morning, I noticed my breast were full which was a feeling I haven’t felt in a while and was very excited. I pumped 9oz for my first morning session. some times I pump more in my first session but I fed my son this morning before he went to daycare. Then I discovered my period came on later this morning. but when my milk was low, I was only pumping like 8oz from my 3 pump sessions while im at work. I normally pump 16oz. I only pump at work and nurse the other times.