Vivian,

First, I just want to make sure of one thing: this mom didn't put her
baby on "the program", right?  You're saying that she was feeding ad lib,
everything was going fine, and then all of a sudden things changed?  That
the baby started sleeping 10 hrs a night *on his own* and without
prodding? No maternal medications, no birth control pills, either?

Having a baby sleep 10 hrs at 3 mos could contribute to low milk supply,
but normally if they are really sleeping through on their own, they make
up for it in the daytime.  To have baby cut back to 5 minutes every 3-4
hrs.....  sounds like the supply was low and baby would take it all and
go back to sleep-- sounds almost like a shut-down behavior.

Another possibility, however-- I'm working with a mom right now, I posted
about her recently, who starts off breastfeeding like gangbusters, but at
around 8 weeks her periods return, milk supply starts a steady decline,
baby becomes fussy, and then baby's weight falls off.  Since she is now
on baby #4 with same pattern each time despite excellent bfg management,
we are pretty sure she is dealing with a hormonal problem.

While most babies become fussy and cry when they start to not get enough
to eat, others can behave compliantly and not seem to complain, throwing
both parents and pediatrician off.  Other babies can respond with
"shut-down" behavior, almost refusing to feed.  I have seen both of these
latter scenarios when babies have been put on "the schedule"-- it's as if
they've learned so well that they are to be fed only when mom says so
that they don't think to complain, they just comply or shut down
depressively.

I don't have the answers for you, but I hope you'll find some
possibilities to pursue here.

Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC