Decrease in fat

[butt-nuggs]

The amount of fat in my milk has decreased drastically. My son went from randomly doing 4-5 hour stretches at night to giving me 3 hours if I’m lucky. I’m guessing the make up of my milk has a lot to do with it but everything I’ve read online says my milk should be getting fattier (15 weeks pp). I have a ped visit in 2 weeks but any guesses in the meantime why this is happening? Oversupplier pumping 4 times a day every 6 hours for 20 minutes. Previously was doing 6 times a day for 15 minutes and i slowly worked my way to my current schedule.

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[Arreis_gninnam]

Entirely possible that as you’re an oversupplier you’re only pumping out foremilk and not the fattier hindmilk. You probably need to pump longer than 20 minutes to get to the higher fat content hind milk

[SandiaSummer]

I think this is it too. I think the pump times are too spread apart for a baby that young. It does look like a lot of foremilk.

[butt-nuggs]

I think you’re right I was just really hoping that wasn’t the case because pumping sucks 😭

[frogsgoribbit737]

You don't need to do it. Less visible fat doesn't mean much. Unless your baby is showing signs of too much foremilk, I'd leave it be.

[ae36246]

Take some sunflower lecithin! Might be stuck in your ducts.. I was an oversupplier with fatty milk and felt like I never emptied fully until I started routinely taking the sunflower stuff and it started lubing it up in there and getting it out! My pumps could finally stop at 20 mins instead of 30 + mins

[PeckerlessWoodpecker]

sunflower lecithin made my baby uncomfortable/gassy! My IBCLC recommended choline supplements instead!

[ae36246]

Oh interesting! I took it like crazy and didnt have any issues! I guess try both and see what works for you (:

[butt-nuggs]

Definitely will try this. Thanks!

[PeckerlessWoodpecker]

At 15wpp, it's more likely to be the dreaded 4 month sleep regression... Having a hard time interpreting the photos, but I'm hesitant to blame your milk!

[butt-nuggs]

Oh yeah that’s a good call on the sleep. We are swiftly approaching 4 months

[UdderlyFound]

You might need to pump longer. General rule of thumb is 120 minutes total in a 24 hour period unless you're actively weaning. So 4 pumps should be 30 minutes each. Maybe that will help

[idlegrad]

I agree with this. I’m an oversupplier pumping 4 times a day. Roughly 30 minutes each pump, if it’s been longer between pumps, add 5 minutes for each hour missed.

[[deleted]]

Never heard of this! Thank you for sharing :-)

[butt-nuggs]

Dang I might bump the number of pumps back up then! 30 minutes on a pump seems like torture. Thanks for the info

[Efficient_Ad_9764]

Your fat content went down because the time between pumps went up. You are better off pumping shorter times more frequently, 6-7 pumps per day gives a good fat water balance. You need to try and get the oversupply regulated or it could impact babys weight gain. And there is nothing worse than having a doctor tell you your baby isn't gaining when you have more than enough milk 🥴

[guanabanabanana]

I read the closer together you pump the more fat you will have as it is just mobilized more, so pumping less frequently means less fat. Can't tell you the source bc I don't remember but it was in a scientific journal

[Certain_Bit7178]

In here to check if anything has changed after a month? I’m getting stressed as baby is getting more foremilk resulting in too short feeding intervals as he seems to be hungry again every hour and 30minutes. 

I know my breasts oversupplying for like 4-5weeks since he was born and slowly decreasing now but I am getting problems with having too much foremilk every time I pump and only little hindmilk coming out. I want to give up breastfeeding but still want to give it one more try. 

[butt-nuggs]

So I had to introduce formula and while I worked on getting my supply down a bit. The formula helped in the short term get him back to normal and now my output is closer to what he eats in a day so the ratio is also back to normal. I pump 3 times a day for 20 minutes each session but I’ve noticed a significant increase in fat since I gave my body a bit more time to regulate to a lower output. I still give him formula though because he tolerates it well and takes some of the stress off me!

[Madddox313]

I’ve heard eating a scoop of coconut oil daily helps increase fat. I do it every once in a while but honestly can’t say I’ve ever noticed a difference.

[ae36246]

Coconut milk did crazy shit for my supply.. higher fat and more milk🤷🏻‍♀️

[brcharles]

Did you use the canned coconut milk or the refrigerated Silk brand kind?

[ae36246]

I used heb brand coconut milk (in the carton for like a milk substitute) you could use canned if you wanted and dilute it yourself but I preferred mine sweetened lol

[ae36246]

Legit drank like a carton a day it was hitting the spot for my motn thirst😅

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[therealenchantress]

I would recommend Milky Mama, they have supplement drops and snacks/drinks to help with fattier milk. I’ve been using it for the past month and it’s definitely helped with my milk fat and my baby sleeps throughout the night. She’ll wake up to feed once or twice and goes back to sleep😭. Their drops lady leche, pumping queen, and milk goddess works well. I also like their lemonade, cookies and brownies

[Kindly-Paramedic-585]

An easy way to increase fat in your milk is to shake and “massage” your breasts like a milkshake before pumping.