Question for TigerLady and any other tandem feeders

[iow_bird]

Hi

I have a friend who is 12 weeks pregnant and has suddenly lost her supply. Do you have any advice for her to improve her supply so she can continue to feed her 15month old? I know she was keen to allow LO to self wean, but the stop in feeding has been too abrupt for both of them and she's a bit lost as to what to do to improve things.

LO is refusing to stay at the breast for long as no milk, but wants to feed I'd love to have some advice to give her. And as we'll be TTC again very soon, this has got me worried about the same happening to us as my LO is not ready to wean from BF either!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can pass on!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Bumping this up for you, hun

 

[iow_bird]

Thanks!

 

[kermie219]

My supply died when I was pregnant too my daughter was 6 months old when I got pregnant the 2nd time....about 4 months in my milk had dried. She did the same thing, would feed, then be so frustrated she'd come off but I kept putting her on as she was willing. Unfortunately the by the end of my pregnancy she was too frustrated and to be honest so was I as it hurt me quite badly. As soon as I had my son i continued to put her on and she fed like she'd never stopped? so I say just keep it up as much as possible if it's something she'd really like to continue on with good luck!

 

[iow_bird]

Thats great advice, thankyou x

 

[Sadie79]

Can you send this as a private message for TigerLady, she might not have logged on for a bit? x

 

[Ozzieshunni]

You can also pop this in our new support thread for tandem nursing

 

[TigerLady]

Sorry!!!!!!! I don't tend to get on much on the weekends (Friday-Sunday) and if I do, I tend to stick to my User CP and not come in here again until Monday. Sorry!

I would recommend:
--eating oatmeal every day in some form. It works for many (not all) ladies and she should see a slight difference in a few days.
--upping fluids
--upping protein intake
--upping complex carbs

Protein shakes are a great way to get in some extra protein. I used to drink one for breakfast every morning. I would add fruit and greek yogurt and a big heaping bit of protein powder.

Also, if she is having trouble with her let down (also common) suggest she work really hard to be relaxed and in a relaxing environment when she nurses. Use some meditation techniques or whatever, to clear the mind. Breathe deeply and evenly, visualize a let down, almost as if you can gently but firmly will it to come. Often the mind can help trigger the hormones to get the milk flowing.

Also keep in mind that about 30% of toddlers (over 12 months) will self wean if a mom is pg. They just don't like the changes in milk supply and taste. If none of the above works, it just might be that her LO isn't interested in continuing.

HTH!

 

[iow_bird]

Thankyou so much for the reply I'll pass the info on to her. LO is still wanting to nurse just getting frustrated!
xxxx