Drop in supply with mastitis at 7.5 mos?

My 7.5 mo old twins are EBF and I've never had supply problems. I was able to build a pretty good freezer stash right after they were born and my supply first came in.

I assign a breast to each twin each 24 hours - example - DS get left breast one day, then right breast the next day.

Two weeks ago I had two plugged ducts that resolved in a few hours (each plugged duct was a week apart and on a different breast). I think this was related to the twins starting solids. I only had one plugged duct ever when the twins were around 1.5 mos old.

Each twin has been down to one night feed for probably a month now. DS finally started STTN last Wed and has every night since then. The first night he STTN it was my right breast that didn't get nursed from for 12 hours. On Friday I started feeling horrible - chills, tired, then got a fever that went from normal temperature to 101 in a couple hours. I thought it was the flu but noticed my right breast had a tender spot and small red splotch so I suspected mastitis. I still felt really bad yesterday (Saturday) and my breast was getting more tender and more splotchy and lumpy so I called my OB for antibiotics. I feel almost normal today so I think the antibiotics cleared it up.

However I think my supply took a big dip. Yesterday I felt so bad, I had 102.6 fever at one point and got really dehydrated and wasn't eating much. DD was crying a lot from her last nap until bedtime and I had to nurse her three times during that span and finally after a long 3rd nursing session she acted normal. DS nursed a lot too and would nurse for a long time. When I put him to bed he was crying and I was pretty sure it wasn't an overtired cry so I got him back up and nursed him for several minutes, then he went to sleep fine.

I have been eating a lot more today and am hydrated again but the kids seem to be nursing much longer and more often and are acting hungry more when they are near me.

I don't want my kids to go to bed hungry so I unfroze 7 oz of my freezer stash to give them in bottles before bed.

What should I do to get my supply back up? I know giving a bottle won't help my supply but I figured doing it once wouldn't hurt. I have been letting them nurse a lot to get my supply back. Should I be pumping too? Anyone get sick like this? Did your supply recover and how long did it take? I don't want to lose my good supply after all these months of great breastfeeding!

 

Man, mastitis sucks! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. It's very normal to see a dip in supply after mastitis. The best way to bring back your supply is to follow your babies lead & nurse them more if they seem to want to. You could pump if you want to, but you don't "need" to.

Here's some more info from Kellymom: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/mastitis/

 

I haven't had mastitis with these two but I did have a brief stint of it with my ODD. If I recall correctly, it didn't take long (maybe half a week?) to get my supply back up. The LOs sleeping through the night could be having an effect too. My supply dipped recently as they've started sleeping more. I agree with Rachel that following their lead is the best way to get back to the normal level. I've added a pumping session but that's mostly because my supply dip is most noticeable during my pumping sessions at work.

 

The drop in your supply could also be due to the fever (in addition to mastitis) - my supply dropped significantly whenever I ran a fever. A few days after I felt better and some extra nursing sessions solved the problem quickly. I hope you feel better soon!

 

Thanks girls. I feel better and am working hard to get my supply back. I feel like I'm back at the newborn stage! Constant nursing, raw nipples and walking around the house topless! :acute:

I think the mastitis was in a wedge area on my right breast where I think I had a plugged duct a couple weeks ago (can't remember exact location of the plug). This wedge area isn't nearly as hard as it was when I had the plugged duct but it is definitely lumpy but not tender anymore. I am guessing the infected breast tissue is still inflamed and will go back to normal soon? I hope this area gets back to normal and starts making milk again.

 

Yuck.. I had mastitis at 7.5 months also. Sorry you had to go through that. Just a note if you are off antibiotics and your symptoms return, go back immediately for more or different antibiotics. It is not uncommon to need more meds than they dispense.

Exactly what you are doing should bring your supply back up. Interestingly the body recognizes 'new born' feeding patterns as signal to produce more milk. so the frequent nursing (even if / because they are not getting a lot at each feeding) will trigger you body to produce more.

The best time to nurse/pump to increase supply is in the early morning (after 1, before 5pm). This is also that 'new born' signal to produce more. Your supply should come back fine, but keep in mind the early morning feed, if you decide want results faster.

Great that you have frozen bm to fall back on! If you are going to use it I would recommend pumping if possible. Production signals more prodution.

Your supply will come back. glad you are feeling better.

 

I had a lump for about 7 to 10 days after all other symptoms were gone. I think my Dr said they wanted to see me in 2 weeks if it did not resolve.

 

Amy, did you just have one lump, like a marble, or was it more like mine, which is a region that is 'lumpy'. Mine just feels like lumpy/rough tissue.. kind of like the outside of an orange or cantaloupe but not as hard as an orange or cantaloupe, if that makes sense.

 

Did you mean between 1AM and 5AM? DS is STTN but DD is not and she feeds during this time. Last night I let her nurse as long as she wanted and offered the infected breast to her first, then the other one. I am hoping this will work instead of pumping. I did pump before going to bed, but I just hate pumping in the middle of the night as I have hard enough time getting back to sleep after the night feeds/wakings now.