is my supply gone?

[2SPUNKRATZ]

my son is almost 4 months old. the past week he is waking constantly during the night wanting to feed. and he seems to want to feed constantly during the day to. he is constantly acting hungry. is it possible that i am not producing enough milk anymore so he has never had enough? i got DF to give him a 125ml bottle before bed last night, then he fed a little from 1 side of me. he slept better after that. but still woke after just 5 hours. previously he was sleeping for a minimum of 7 hours a night. i was thinking maybe its a growth spurt. but now i am worried its my milk supply.

HELP!!!!

jess

i thought i would also add, he has only put on about 220g in 3 weeks. previously he was putting on approx 400g in 4 weeks.

[Chickadee]

I'll say straight up that I am not a bf expert. In fact I didn't succeed at it myself. But I'll answer cause no one else has yet and I know what it's like to want some help.

From what I've learnt on here since my own bf failure, it's quite possible that he's just going through a growth spurt. It's fairly typical around that age. If you're still feeding on demand then that is the best thing you can do, as well as feeding yourself properly.

As for the 220g weight gain, were the scales used the same each time? Because different scales can give different readings, and sometimes even the same scale can be out if it has been moved or not set properly. Also, if you look at the weight gain charts in your babies record book you'll see that they curve over, and the rate of weight gain decreases over time. So I wouldn't worry too much about the actual numbers, but rather whether he is dropping from one line to another.

I'm sure another member will be on with some more suggestions, either tonight or tomorrow :)

[Funkychicken]

Hi Jess,

I had a similar experience when Hamish was four months old. I thought all was going well and then I had him weighed and instead of the recommended 400 gms he had only gained 20gms! I was so upset and convinced it was my fault, that my milk was low because I wasn't resting enough or eating well enough and I ended up in quite a state. I did a bit research and talked to the mighty, inspirational and wise women here at Bubhub and this is what we came up with.

1. It is very, very normal for babies to have a growth spurt at this time. This usually presents as bub being more hungry than usual and having a low weight gain or no gain at all.

2. If my supply seemed low, it was NOT my fault. This sometimes happens.

3. To combat a reduced supply, I did the following things. Took bub into bed all night to encourage more feeds (feed more, produce more). Started taking fenugreek supplements (chemist has them in capsules). Drank a whole lot more water and more often. Took more opportunity to rest in the day. Stopped drinking coffee.


Also, don't forget that the health centre uses charts based on FF babies and this doesn't always accurately reflect a BF baby's growth. I'll put in a link for you to the WHO's new charts based on BF babies. It might reassure you that you are doing OK.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns...wthcharts.html (http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/growthcharts.html)

By the way-my bub has a stretch of sleep of 5-6 hrs in the evening and after that he feeds every 3-4 hours as he does in the day. He is 7 months, so there is no hard and fast rules about feed spacing with a BF bub.

All the best. Pm me if you want to chat.:)

[Areca]

Just wanted to say that it sounds like a growth spurt to me too. As far as the weight gain, he is still gaining so don't worry. They can't put on the same amount of weight every week forever...imagine how big they'd end up if they kept gaining like they do in the beginning!

[2SPUNKRATZ]

thanx for that chart funkychicken. turns out DS is on average if i go by that. i feel much better now. thank you heaps. and thanks to all of you who replied.

jess

[Funkychicken]

No problem, Jess. I know how devastating it can be when this happens. See you around the threads.:thumbsup: