Is it normal for your milk production to dip around 4-6 months?

Yes! This is very common. A lot of moms notice it around this time because of different changes going on. For instance, are you going back to work? or are you introducing solids into your baby's food? Different things like that can directly affect your milk supply, whether it's stress because you're going back to work, a new environment, learning a new job or new task. Also introducing solids into your baby's diet, you know they're not feeding as often, they're getting full on solids instead. So they might not be needing milk as much so your supply may naturally decrease. Another thing could be your hormonal changes and that just kind of happens as something you can't control as much but you can prepare for these different events in your life and maybe increase galactagogues, drink more water, and work on your stress a little bit if you think it could be stress related.

Is it safe to drink coffee when breastfeeding? Best to drink before or after a feed?

Yes, it's completely safe to consume caffeine while breastfeeding. You can actually consume between 200 and 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, that includes everything with caffeine so make sure you're including tea or chocolate as well. For the second part of your question, it's better to drink it right after breastfeeding because then by the time you breastfeed next, it'll be already out of your breast milk by that point. Another thing is some babies, you will notice have a little intolerance to caffeine so if you drink a lot of coffee they could be a little fussy so if that's the case you can always cut back on caffeine but it's totally safe.

Is it okay if some feedings especially night time are only 10 minutes long? 15 weeks old

Yeah, for some babies 10 to 15 minutes is enough, some feed faster, some get full faster, so I definitely wouldn't worry about that. It can be anywhere, some babies take as long as 40 minutes. I would say if it's under 10 minutes or over 40 minutes, that's when they say you should probably consult a doctor because there could be something else wrong but that's if it's you know under 10 minutes and that happens very frequently.

Is it safe to use off brand pump parts?

I would say for this, definitely do your research. If you're talking about parts to go in addition to your current pump, make sure that brand recommends that that they will work together. Otherwise, you might not want to mix brands but it's really about what you're looking for in a pump and what you need it for so i would look into that and do a lot of research. The one thing you shouldn't do and that is not recommended is buying a used pump because that would not be safe to do.

New Q and As on our Instagram (www.Instagram.com/mommyknowsbest) every single Thursday! We take new submissions every Wednesday and Thursday through Instagram.

Join our private Facebook Group - New Moms - Breastfeeding & More Support Group by Mommy Knows Best : https://bit.ly/3gQIF9z

*Mommy Knows Best is committed to providing informational, motivational, and inspiring videos to all moms. Statements in this video are for informational purposes only and are not to be taken as medical advice or recommendation. Any health concern or condition should be brought to the attention of your doctor. *This original content is from August13, 2020.