Thanks in advance for any support - I'm not sure what to do in this situation and I'm worried.
The short version - my milk supply has drastically dropped over the last 4 days. I'm pretty sure I had a chemical pregnancy that ended (very VERY faint line on the test that could have been my imagination.) My "period" is almost over, and normally my supply is back up by now. What can I do to boost my supply again?
The long version:
My son is 7.5 months old, and it seems like he's starting to lose interest in nursing except at night and nap times. He's very interested in solids and has just started to eat 3 meals a day - about 7 oz of food per meal. I initially planned on delaying solids but we're going off of his cues - he's more than ready for food. He's almost 22 pounds, a big boy - he's wearing 12-18 months clothes.
I'm pretty sure I was briefly pregnant this "period," but it didn't stick. My period started and is almost over, but after it started my supply dropped. A lot. I'm worried my son isn't getting enough milk. I've started pumping after each feeding again to try and boost my supply, but I'm getting nothing but droplets 90% of the time, and it doesn't seem like he's getting a whole lot of milk when I listen to him swallow.
While I've noticed my supply dropping a bit because of his meals, this sudden, scary drop in my supply isn't making either of us happy. I've usually had so much milk that I've actually donated some 450 oz to a milk bank twice - I usually can pump 4-5 oz (at one sitting) each day.
I'm particularly scared because my son has some medical issues that we're still trying to unravel. He's been in the hospital twice since 5 months for neurological symptoms (thankfully tests ruled out the big, bad, and ugly - seizures, tumors, etc) and we're now working with a metabolic specialist who thinks he has a vitamin B12 deficiency. We're currently testing his absorption abilities with an oral supplement - if that doesn't work, we have to look into why he isn't absorbing it in his diet.
Nursing has been a blessing for both of us during this time, because he's normally in pain, especially at night. The last two months he's been on painkillers in order to sleep at night, and he's usually up (and nursing) 3-4 times a night. Although it was difficult to nurse in the hospital, it seemed to make things much less traumatic for him.
So if I truly was briefly pregnant, is this supply issue permanent? If the pregnancy ended, will my supply come back to normal? I'm pretty sure that I'm not still pregnant despite the period, although I plan to recheck with a test tomorrow just to be sure.
Any advice is appreciated!