Please I need your collective brain power on this one.

Baby was born last October.  Very petite baby, just over 5 lbs, but ws full
term.  Both parents are small.  Difficulty getting baby to breastfeed at
first.  Lactation consultation, mom pumped faithfully and worked hard to get
baby to breastfeed.
Mother was an overproducer, pumping 2 to 3 times the amount baby needed.  Had
initial trouble with engorgement and plugged ducts so I was afraid for her to
decrease her milk supply to quickly.
As baby learned to nurse, mom sloooooowly allowed her milk supply to decrease
down to meet the baby's needs.  By this time she had over 300 ounces of extra
milk in the freezer when baby was about 6 weeks old!
Things went well until baby was 3 months old then she began coming into my
office to weigh baby and was concerned about baby's lack of weigh gain.
Neither of us were very concerned at first, but the baby slowed down and
finally quit gaining at all by 4 1/2 months old.  Mother began increasing
breastfeeding and even rented a pump to add stimulation.   No increase in
milk or weight gain and baby became increasingly fussy until formula
supplement was begun, and she finally began gaining again.
Mom had begun the mini-pill (progestin only) a little after 3 months, and
quit it immediately after we talked and I told her that there were some
anecdotal reports of milk supply problems with the mini-pill.
Now it is 3 weeks since she has quit taking the pill, baby is 3/4 formula
fed, although she still breastfeeds and pumps 7 to 8 times each 24 hrs.
She's been taking fenugreek, blessed thistle, and alfalfa for a month now.
All breast fullness is gone except in the morning.  Mom is crying with
frustration that all of her efforts seem to produce no results.
Thyroid tests just came back completely normal today.
What other causes for her dropping milk supply could there be?
I feel like her body just quit responding to any type of stimulation.
How could she be such an overproducer of milk and then have her milk supply
drop like a stone?  I could understand if she did not have adequate
stimulation, but she did and maintained her milk supply and baby grew for
about 2 months without the pump or other help.
Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.
TIA
Jane Bradshaw RN, IBCLC
Lynchburg, VA

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