I thought clogged ducts were awful then I got mastitis and really didn't think I was going to survive that but the physical pain of those two combined cannot come close to the emotional pain I felt when my supply dropped.
I have always had an oversupply since Berran was born it took almost 6 weeks to not pump 6-8oz after every feeding or not have to pump after a feeding to avoid clogged ducts. Even after that I had a good supply so the last thing I would think of is it dropping.
It was the weekend which is when I work. Friday night I pumped my normal 10oz. Saturday night I went into work early and pumped 8oz. The next time I pumped it was 7oz. He doesn't usually eat at night time so I wasn't worried about the 1oz drop the second time I pumped. After that last pumping session it was like my boobs never filled back up. I thought maybe he had been eating more while we were napping that day since he sucks like im his pacifier, so after we woke up and my supply never returned I began to freak out.
What did I do wrong? Why is my supply dropping? I'm drying up! He is going to wean himself! All my plans to nurse until he is a toddler was gone. Needless to say I was really worried and it was ONLY day 1! Luckily I have plenty of people I can turn to for help and support throughout my breastfeeding journey. I feel like having breastfeeding support is important.
I pretty much knew what all I needed to do. As soon as I noticed the drop I had him nursing as much as possible everything else could wait. If he wouldn't latch when I wanted him to I would pump. I was drinking mothers milk 3 times a day and increasing my water intake. We spent 2 full days in the bed nursing. I noticed a slight change but not much.
The third day I went to the natures way store and Kroger to purchase fenugreek and items to make lactation cookies. I began taking the fenugreek immediatly 3 pills 3 times a day. As soon as I arrived home I made the cookies (will provide recipe in another post). I probably ate about 6 that night because they were SOOO good and I couldn't stop at 2 or 3!
By the next morning I was amazed that my supply had drastically increased. It was back to normal. By day 3 of fenugreek and lactation cookies I almost had an over supply.
I have stopping nursing non stop, the tea and I haven't made another batch of cookies but I am still taking the fenugreek 3 pills 1x a day. My supply is still going strong. I plan on finishing the bottle and then seeing how I do once I come off.
Hopefully all continues to go well but I'm glad that I was able to not stress out TOO bad and did everything I could to get my supply back up. If this happens to you a few other suggestions is brewers yeast in pill form and flax seed in pill form as well.
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