Drastically reduced supply - is this normal?

[chicagojo]

My DD is now 7 months old. When she hit 6 mos, for a variety of reasons, I "half-weaned" her so that I am now BFing morning and night only. I pump two mornings/week on days that I work and occasional evenings when I am away at her bedtime. Before the half-weaning thing, I could easily pump 8-10 oz of milk in about 10-15 min. Now, I am lucky to get anything more than 3 oz, no matter how long I pump. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Luckily, I had a pretty large supply of frozen EBM that I have been using to supplement my meager 3 oz on the days I go to work, but that supply is starting to deplete. This has been kind of discouraging, especially since I previously had a very abundant milk supply. I am starting to second guess my decision to half-wean, but not enough that I want to go through the whole process of relactating. It was my original goal to continue with the morning and night feelings until at least 9 mos and possibly 1 yr but now I'm worried that DD won't be getting enough if my milk supply is really that low. Any suggestions as to what I should do?

[Momof3Labs]

Check your pump - usually when this happens, it is a problem with the pump malfunctioning. Although because you partially weaned, it could be that your DD is relying more on her formula bottles (or solids, if you've started those) during the day and demanding less from you when she is nursing. But I'd check the pump first - if you tell us what kind you use, we can give you specific tips on the parts to check/replace.

[chicagojo]

It is the Medela Pump in Style. I wondered if it could be the pump and checked the things they mentioned in the troubleshooting section of the manual for if there is low/no suction (i.e., tubing was securely attached at both ends, membranes were attached and lying flat, cover over the front thing - I forget what it's called - was secure), but it didn't seem to make any difference. If anyone could suggest other things to check, it would be MUCH appreciated. I think this has been stressing me out more than I've been willing to admit to myself.

[Momof3Labs]

Well, stress doesn't help either! Have you replaced the white membranes recently? Even if they look okay, they might be the problem - you should replace them every few months if you are pumping regularly.

[chicagojo]

I actually have 5 sets of membranes that I have been rotating. So each set probably gets used once a week or less. Maybe I will try buying some new ones anyway to see if that makes any difference. Also - and I hadn't thought of this until you mentioned it might be the pump - maybe I will try pumping one day with my manual pump (cheap one bought in an unsuccessful attempt to help DD cope with rapid letdown) to see if I get anything more. Any other ideas of what might be going on in terms of the Medela pump?