I am looking for advice on how to increase my milk supply. I am pumping for my son and used to get about 20+ oz a day and was able to stay about a day and a half ahead of him. Recently I have been barely able to stay 2 feedings ahead and am lucky to pump 14 oz a day. Luckily my son is 7 months and eating more baby food so at least I can make sure he's eating, but I am concerned he may not get enough milk and whenever I have needed to supplement formula in the past it has made him sick so I want to avoid that at all costs. Thanks in advance for any help!
You're probably making less because he is eating more solids... which is normal to have a dip in supply. Just make sure to drink plenty of water. Try adding oatmeal to your diet, if you haven't already. Oatmeal for breakfast, oatmeal cookies/snack bars, etc. It helps to increase your milk supply naturally. Pump as much as possible, and always pump if you miss a nursing session.
Your body is amazing! It adjusts the amount of milk it makes to meet the demands of your infant (as long as you're well hydrated and not under too much stress). Makes sure you are pumping if you miss a feeding. If you REALLY want to make more milk to store...you could go back to pumping every 2-3 hours or pumping after your son eats. Your body works on a supply/demand mechanism. The more your "baby" needs (or you are emptying your breasts) the more milk your body thinks it needs to make for the baby. Good luck. You can use herbs like mothers milk tea and so on...but start from the beginning...make sure your hydrated, de-stressed and emptying your breasts as much as possible.
You've already gotten some REALLY good responses. I will just add from personal experience - oatmeal works! When my son was around 7 months I wasn't getting as much milk from pumping, so I started eating oatmeal every morning. I would sometimes eat two servings a day, and after a month I was SICK of oatmeal! :) I did have plenty of milk though..so much so that I was able to make a significant donation to a milk bank!
Hang in there. My son turned 3 in May - I can't tell you how much I miss nursing my "baby". Enjoy every moment - don't let yourself get stressed!
You can try herbal supplements. There is something called "mother's milk" which is a mixture of fenugrek (SP?) and blessed thistle, my lactation consultant recommended. I started taking it when my son was 4 months old because my supply was going down, I managed to nurse until 18 months, but I had to take the full dose everyday until then, but to me it was worth it.
My mom always told me to drink a beer. Not like get drunk, but she said one beer at night helps both of us relax and there was something about the hops or ingredients that boosts milk supply. She said this was what the "Leche League" told her to do back when I was a baby.
I took fenugreek, red raspberry tea, blessed thistle... nothing worked. Then I just increased the amount of water I was drinking every day. I was drinking so much water that some days it made me sick to my stomach. But it helped. The other thing my doc told me is that certain meds-- such as birth control pills, weight loss pills, etc, can reduce your milk supply.
Hi Jessica! I breastfed my son for 15 months and I was freaked out at the beginning that I would run out of milk, either in the fridge, or freezer, or even my body would. But, I soon found out that your body will produce what it needs. So, once Landon and I got on a pretty routine schedule I would pump in between feedings maybe once or twice a day depending on what we had going on. Or, I would pump after I fed him if he hadn't emptied me. Before too long, I had enough in the freezer that not only could I supplement with that in the bottle if need be, but I also put it in his cereal 2 or three times a day. I don't know about supplements or anything else that the other moms have suggested. But, I would just try pumping a little more often daily to get your supply up so that you have milk to store. Good luck and I know you will figure it out. It is quite a learning experience!
I can't say that I have been there done that but close. I got sick while I was in the hospital when my son was born. What I wanted more than anything was a decongestant and sore throat drops when I got home. I used some and noticed that my milk supply had gone down. This didn't make my son very happy so I wasn't very happy. We googled it and found out that there are ingredients in both decongestants and sore throat drops that will decrease milk supply. When I stopped using them my milk supply came back and we had a happy baby and mom. If you are using anything like this, I would suggest you stop and/or find something else.
I would also suggest that you google something like 'reduced breastmilk supply' or 'breastmilk supply & medications'. There is at least one list that tells you what medications(OTC & prescription) will reduce your milk supply. I hope you have time to do this and that it helps.
Our body does make what the baby needs but has to work much harder when we hinder its abilities by not staying as healthy as we should. I hope you find something that will help.
Take the herbal supplement Fenugreek, it is seriously amazing! I used it several times during my year and 1/2 of nursing when my son went on 3 day nursing strikes, and it was impressive how well it worked.
You can get it at any health food store or in the health food section. They also make a Mother's Milk Tea.
I have also heard one hoppy beer a night helps, many of my friends nursing now swear by it. If you aren't against drinking, you could do fenugreek and the beer.
Good luck and kuddos to you for trying so hard to keep this going!
Good for you! I know how hard it is to pump exclusively and it does mess with your milk supply! I only lasted 4 months b/c of it, so you're doing awesome! I agree with Fenugreek, it will make your sweat smell like maple syrup, which is weird, but it worked wonders for me. I also support the one beer a night rule. I would drink a beer about an hour or two before I had to pump and it really made a difference. One beer (even 2) won't transfer enough alcohol into the milk to make any difference to the baby, so don't worry, plus it was a nice treat after 9 long months! ;)
It's odd to me that the formula is making him sick...if you're drinking milk, etc. it probably isn't a lactose problem, you may try a different formula if you need to. Good luck!
If you aren't already going to La Leche League meetings, I would recommend that you contact a leader in your area. They have lots of great and helpful information. You should be able to look online to find the info for a leader in your area.
Do not use cabbage leaves! They reduce supply and are mainly used to when there is too much milk during weaning or engorgement. Since he is eating solids now, he may be nursing less. Adding another short pumping session might help to compensate. Fenugreek capsules and oatmeal and lots of water along with shorter, more frequent pumping sessions helped me. Also, make sure you are well rested and try to relax more. I know it's hard to do with a baby, but maybe try to take some naps when you don't get a good night's sleep.