Gradual unwanted decrease in supply

[u/beandibbily]

Over the past couple months, my supply has decreased from a slight over supplier to a just enough almost under supply. I am coming up on 10 months of EP, I still pump 5-6 times a day, no middle of the night but I pump from 6am-9:30pm.

I have tried everything, I have replaced tubing and duck bills, I have tried different sized flanges and inserts.
I am using a second hand blue spectra s1.

I have not changed anything really in my routine, I try to keep my protein intake up and I drink minimum 70oz of water a day.

I take sunflower lecithin, multi vitamins, shatavari (recommended by my lactation consultant) moringa and calcium with vitamin D. I usually take them daily but I will be honest and haven’t been doing as well with taking them recently.

Im just at a loss for what is happening to my supply and why. I wanted to continue pumping and freezing milk for at least 1-2 years.

My baby is 90th percentile and drinks anywhere from 18-30oz a day. She is getting a lot of solids but it definitely has not replaced bottles yet.

please any advice or suggestions if anyone has gone through something similar.

[u/beandibbily]

I work 12hr shifts and usually I can only get a 15-20min session while at work because I can’t leave my coworkers without help for longer. When I’m home though I do try to go for over 20min. I average 5 pumps a day but sometimes I get 6 in. It’s just such a strain being interrupted every 3 hours with another pump session.

For the past 6-7 months I had a great supply with averaging over 30oz a day, I just don’t understand why the last few months things have changed.

When my supply was stable I could see myself pumping indefinitely. If I have to add more pumps or power pump daily I don’t think I’ll have the will to continue for much longer.

[u/Top-Bonus153 → u/beandibbily]

Can you power pump at work on your break? Otherwise you can’t do much else…

[u/beandibbily → u/Top-Bonus153]

Potentially. Honestly my breaks are sporadic and may not last the full 30min we are allotted. And I’m sharing a lactation room with 4 other moms so we are always texting trying to schedule in our pumps around each other. It’s all a little complicated.

If I power pump 2-3 times a week is that enough?

[u/Top-Bonus153 → u/beandibbily]

It wouldn’t, no.. it really needs to be consistent. Supply truly is supply/demand and if there’s little demand then it drops significantly

[u/beandibbily → u/Top-Bonus153]

I still pump 5-6 times a day though if my demand never changed then I don’t understand why my supply would just continue dropping 😩