Milk supply decreasing

My daughter is 3 months old and my milk supply has decreased significantly. On a good day I can pump a total of 6 oz (lately). What can I do to help increase my milk supply? I want to keep breast feeding..

[tiredbuthappy]

is the baby still nursing or are you only pumping? The pump is often not an indicator of true supply and if the baby seems satisfied at the breast, then your supply may not be as low as you think.

If you are nursing- the best way to increase supply is to nurse on demand. You can pump after a session if you would like to boost supply. You can also pump if she goes long stretches without nursing.

If you are pumping only- there are a couple of things that may be going on.
First of all, do you have a good, hospital-grade pump? a cheap pump may extract milk, but it may not stimulate the breasts enough to maintain a supply long term. Even with a good pump, you have to make sure you pump long enough. At least several minutes past your last big let-down. I actually never had a "last" let-down, and if i pumped long enough would continue getting small let-downs. Anyways, the length of pumping sessions depends on how you respond to the pump and how frequently you pump. When i pumped every 2-3 hours, i would pump only 10-15 minutes. If i went 3-4 hours, then I would have to pump at least 20 minutes. When I was pumping only 3 times a day, I would have to pump for 45-60 minutes each session just to maintain the same supply as when I was pumping more frequently.
If you have a good pump, and you are pumping long enough to stimulate supply (even if you're not getting anything, you are signalling to your body to make more), then you should look at the little white membranes (if you have a medela pump). These need to be replaced frequently.
If you are nursing on demand, your baby stimulates your supply during growth spurts naturally by cluster feeding. However, if you are pumping, you are missing out on this extra occasionally stimualtion and it may help to mimic it artificially. Often referred to as "power pumping," there are several ways you can do this. Some women prefer to set aside a couple of days where they just pump as many extra times as possible. Others prefer to set aside an hour a day for a few days for some power-pumping by pumping 10 min, resting 10 min, pumping 10 min, etc... for an hour.

Finally, there are some supplements you can take for both nursing and pumping. Fenugreek and blessed thistle are available in health food stores. You should also make sure you drink plenty of water, and you can try foods that boost supply like oatmeal.

[tiredbuthappy]

is the baby still nursing or are you only pumping? The pump is often not an indicator of true supply and if the baby seems satisfied at the breast, then your supply may not be as low as you think.

If you are nursing- the best way to increase supply is to nurse on demand. You can pump after a session if you would like to boost supply. You can also pump if she goes long stretches without nursing.

If you are pumping only- there are a couple of things that may be going on.
First of all, do you have a good, hospital-grade pump? a cheap pump may extract milk, but it may not stimulate the breasts enough to maintain a supply long term. Even with a good pump, you have to make sure you pump long enough. At least several minutes past your last big let-down. I actually never had a "last" let-down, and if i pumped long enough would continue getting small let-downs. Anyways, the length of pumping sessions depends on how you respond to the pump and how frequently you pump. When i pumped every 2-3 hours, i would pump only 10-15 minutes. If i went 3-4 hours, then I would have to pump at least 20 minutes. When I was pumping only 3 times a day, I would have to pump for 45-60 minutes each session just to maintain the same supply as when I was pumping more frequently.
If you have a good pump, and you are pumping long enough to stimulate supply (even if you're not getting anything, you are signalling to your body to make more), then you should look at the little white membranes (if you have a medela pump). These need to be replaced frequently.
If you are nursing on demand, your baby stimulates your supply during growth spurts naturally by cluster feeding. However, if you are pumping, you are missing out on this extra occasionally stimualtion and it may help to mimic it artificially. Often referred to as "power pumping," there are several ways you can do this. Some women prefer to set aside a couple of days where they just pump as many extra times as possible. Others prefer to set aside an hour a day for a few days for some power-pumping by pumping 10 min, resting 10 min, pumping 10 min, etc... for an hour.

Finally, there are some supplements you can take for both nursing and pumping. Fenugreek and blessed thistle are available in health food stores. You should also make sure you drink plenty of water, and you can try foods that boost supply like oatmeal.

[bigmommylove]

I exclusively pump and noticed a big drop in my milk supply. There are different herbal things out there to try, but I have had the most increase with Breastea. I do use a hospital grade pump every 2 to 3 hours. Since I have been using it, my milk supply has increased a lot. I think it's very important to have a good pumping schedule.

[allmymarbles]

The best thing I found for increasing breast milk is 12 ounces of beer daily. Curiously I don't like beer, but when I was breastfeeding I enjoyed it. Once I weaned the baby I lost, once again, my taste for beer. Beer or Guinness Stout is the old remedy used by grandmothers and great grandmothers. It is natural, and that is important to me.