By delaying or skipping feedings, you are sending the wrong message to
make less milk production and your breasts will respond accordingly.
The key to both of those is to remove more milk from the breasts,
making less milk accumulate between feedings, and triggering your body to produce more based off of the supply and demand theory.
If someone else feeds baby when you are there pump during that time so your body does not think it needs to
make less milk because of a skipped feeding but try to keep baby at the breast.
If you get more milk from one breast (which almost all moms do), pump that side that
makes less milk for a longer time and / or put baby to that breast at the beginning of feedings more frequently to produce more milk.
Now he'll be full, true, but instead of getting signals to make MORE milk, the breasts will fill up more slowly and respond
by making LESS milk.
As everyone knows, breastfeeding is supply and demand — if you supplement in the first days of life, you're already telling your breasts to
make less milk so when your milk DOES come in (which takes an average of 3 - 5 days!)
The downside to doing that, though, is that with solids he might nurse less, so your body would adjust and
make less milk.
Staying full tells your body to
make less milk.
If you try and feed them less,
you make less milk.
In fact, if you do, you might be telling your body to
make less milk.
Some medications you were given during labor, such as Demerol or medicine found in the epidural, can cause your baby to have trouble latching on to your breast, which can in turn cause your body to
make less milk.
Losing weight too quickly may cause you to
make less milk and leave you feeling sluggish.
If milk is not removed for long periods, this substance accumulates and your body will
make less milk.
If not removed, special milk proteins signal the cells to
make less milk.
Basically the idea is to get your breast used to
making less milk, and because, you know, breast feeding is a supply and demand process the more demand that, that your body thinks that there is for the milk, the more supply it makes.
If you wait until your breasts feel full, you've waited too long and they're over-full and will signal to your body to
make less milk, therefore damaging your breastmilk supply — and resulting in a really hungry baby.
If you supplement with formula, your breasts might
make less milk.
If and when someone else feeds her, it is important for you to still stimulate your breasts so during those times, you would also want to pump so your body does not think it is a missed session and that it does not need to
make less milk.
The truth is that using interventions, like supplements, or skipping feedings is what causes your body to
make less milk.
If you get dehydrated, you'll
make less milk.
For some women, however, this feedback system doesn't work as designed and
they make less milk than their baby needs.