If your milk dried up when trying to breastfeed...?

Question

I hear a lot of people say their milk dried up while they were trying to breastfeed and that they tried everything to keep it going but couldn't. If this happened to you, how did you know your milk was drying up and what did you try to stop it?

Answer 1

Well i started pumping less and less. tehn i noticed that my daughter would wake up more and more at night hungry.

I ate oatmeal, took fenugreek, mother's milk tea, drank more water.

It was not an excuse to stop breastfeeding, I cried a couple of times before I finally weaned her completely. I was not ready. neither was she. but we're ok now. she takes the bottle fine, and we're closer than before!  

Answer 2

"I hear a lot of people say their milk dried up while they were trying to breastfeed..."

That does not happen to healthy mothers nursing on demand.

However, it does happen to women who supplement with formula, women who pump instead of nursing directly, women who feed babies on schedules...

But just breastfeeding? No.

Some women may THINK their milk is drying up, because milk production eventually evens out to produce just what baby needs and no more; since there's less breast fullness, little if any noticeable let-down, etc, they believe it's gone, but it's not.

Other times, it's simply a socially acceptable excuse to switch to formula.

Answer 3

the nature takes her step in here as long as the baby suck there's milk however sometimes the baby changes his feeding times or his routine in this case he may not find milk and he will cry in this case keep giving him your breast and he will keep sucking for nothing but in a few hours your body will respond and give milk again .  

Answer 4

well...i disagree with those mothers who say that milk just doesn't dry up.  ive been trying to nurse for 8 months now.  there are many reasons i think milk does dry up.  stress, anxiety, not enough sleep.  ive had a horrible experience with breastfeeding.  and to top it off, my baby has always refused a bottle or any other source of way to get fluids into her besides to breastfeed.  my start was rough, i had got mastitis right off the bat when she was born, and a gash on my nipple, so i took antibiotics..which led to a breast yeast infection from the antibiotics...which then led to a depleted milk supply bc yeast feeds off the milk, from there my baby started to eat less and less, i tried blessed thistle, fenugreek and eating and drinking a lot.  the herbs helped the first couple times, then my body got used to them and they stopped taking effect.  i never did pump, i just let my baby nurse.  here i am at 8 months still trying to give her anything i have....and still hating the experience.  yes, you can feel when you dint have much milk, and yes you can even see a difference.  i know when i have milk and when i dint.  my baby could happily go 10 hours without eating in the daytime.  my daughter doesn't get more than acouple ounces a day at most.  i did however just start pumping to see if i could get any milk.   i can get an ounce sometimes or more if I'm full... going 10-12 hours. so milk only completely dries up if there is no stimulation.  but yea, you can tell when its getting close to being gone.  sorry if my answer was too long and pointless, thought it might help though.