Diminishing milk supply at 3 weeks

P

premama

Registered User
Hello,

My baby is now just over 3 weeks and I have been breastfeeding her up until now. A few days ago when I was pumping my breast, I noticed that the milk supply seems to have decreased a lot, especially in my right breast, which my baby drinks less of (she seems to prefer my left breast). Both my breasts leak much less than before and my right breast no longer feels full as before.

I've read other threads talking about diminishing milk supply in a few months but I'm worried because it's only been 3 weeks for me.

Any comments would be appreciated.

:thanks
 
Hi premama

Try not to worry; it's unlikely that you are making less milk - it probably just feels that way. Anxiety can be a bf mother's worst enemy.

I've a couple of thoughts:
- feeling less full is not an actual indication that you have less milk. In fact, normally you shouldn't feel too full. It's just likely that your body has now regulated the milk supply and is not making too much.
- Babies have a growth spurt at 3 weeks, so you may need to feed more often for a few days. Your body will learn that it needs to make more milk.
- many babies prefer one side to the other

I just wonder why you are pumping so early. General wisdom is that it's best to get your supply well established before trying to pump - at least 4 weeks. And even then, the amount you pump is not an actual indication of the amount of milk you have. Baby can always suck more than a pump can.

Hope this helps.
:gl:
 
second everything that kashismum said...
when i first started to bf my two kids i was producing WAYYYY too much milk... after awhile, it regulated itself. my girl has been exclusively bf and is putting on weight an average of 1/2 pound/week... she's now 5.5 months old and is HUGE in comparison to what my boy was at the same age! don't worry, relax and try to get the baby on the booby at least 10 times per day!
 
Chest pains

Thanks Kashismum and carang for your input.

Did you have any chest pains when breastfeeding? Sometimes when I sleep, I have severe cramp like pains in my chest (I actually thought it was my heart) - the doctor said it must be muscle pains from breastfeeding. Any advice on how to ease the pain? It's so painful that it hurts even to move!

Thanks.
 
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