Is your milk supply actually low?

To start with, is your milk supply really low? Commonly, moms believe that their milk supply is low when it really isn't really. If your baby is gaining weight well on breastmilk alone, then you do not have an issue with milk supply.

It is essential to keep in mind that the feel of the breast, the habits of your child, the frequency of nursing, the sensation of let-down, or the amount you pump are not legitimate methods to determine if you have enough milk for your child.
What if you're not quite sure about child's present weight gain (perhaps infant hasn't had a weight check recently)? If infant is having a sufficient number of wet and dirty baby diapers then the following things do NOT suggest that you have a low milk supply:

Your baby nurses frequently. Breastmilk is absorbed quickly (generally in 1.5-2 hours), so breastfed children need to consume more often than formula-fed babies. Lots of children have a strong need to suck. Also, children often require constant contact with mother in order to feel safe. All these things are normal, and you can not spoil your baby by meeting these requirements.

Your infant all of a sudden enhances the frequency and/or length of nursings. This is often a growth spurt. The child nurses more (this typically lasts a few days to a week), which increases your milk supply. Don't provide infant supplements when this takes place: supplementing will notify your body that the child doesn't require the extra milk, and your supply will drop.

Your infant nurses more frequently and is fussy in the evening.

Your child does not nurse as long as she did formerly. As babies get older and much better at nursing, they become more efficient at extracting milk.

Your baby is fussy. Many babies have a fussy time of day-- often at night. Some infants are fussy much of the time. This can have lots of factors, and in some cases the fussiness disappears prior to you discover the factor.

Your child guzzles down a bottle of formula or expressed milk after nursing. Lots of infants will voluntarily take a bottle even after they have a full feeding at the bust. Find out more right here from board-certified lactation consultant Kathy Kuhn about why baby may do this and how this can influence milk supply. Obviously, if you routinely supplement baby after nursing, your milk supply will drop (see below).

Your breasts don't leak milk, or only leakage a little, or stop leaking. Leaking has nothing to do with your milk supply. It frequently stops after your milk supply has actually adjusted to your infant's requirements.
Your busts unexpectedly seem softer. Once again, this generally takes place after your milk supply has adjusted to your child's requirements.

You never feel a let-down experience, or it doesn't appear as strong as in the past. Some ladies never ever feel a let-down. This has nothing to do with milk supply.

You get very little or no milk when you pump. The quantity of milk that you can pump is not an accurate measure of your milk supply. An infant with a healthy suck milks your bust far more effectively than any pump. Also, pumping is a gotten skill (various than nursing), and can be very depending on the type of pump. Some women who have plentiful milk materials are incapable to obtain any milk when they pump. In addition, it is typical and normal for pumping output to minimize over time. asi