A Boost in Breast Milk Production?

How many times can you pump during the day? Frequency has a lot to do with quantity. Try to pump every 4 hours if you can. Another trick is to pump for 10 min, then rest your boobs for 10 min and then pump again for another 5 min. One of the lactation consultants that I worked with taught me that trick. She said if you pump for say 15-20 min non-stop your breasts will be in sensory overload and not produce, so stop for a few min and then resume and you will let down again and it will be the hind milk or the more fatty milk that makes our babies so darn pudgy and cute! Good job on keeping up with the working and pumping, its hard work but so worth it!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi, there are herbs and things that may help and I am sure you will get responses on. If not I can email about those later. Just don't overlook the obvious, eating and drinking enough, sleep (ha ha)and stress. when I was in your shoes I had to pump at same time daily and use relaxing music and pictures of my son. I did not take calls or do work while pumping. ate a small snack and drank a little tea or water. have to be militant about pumping on schedule and taking care of yourself. avoid antihistamines and too much caffeine. I was never one to get huge amount pumping usually 2 oz each breast and this was with a hospital grade pump. but I kept at it and made enough to avoid formula altogether, though I would have used it if I needed it. A.

1 mom found this helpful

I had the same problem when I returned to work. The two things that made a huge difference for me was drinking more water and pumping every 2-3 hours-more often than I would nurse at home. I took a 32 oz Nalgene bottle into work and made myself drink the whole thing before I left the office. The other thing I did in the short term to boost production was spend a whole weekend (or at least a day) in bed skin to skin with my baby. He nursed more often, it was good bonding time, and my body relaxed and started producing milk in overdrive. I also found that my production was always better in the first part of the week after relaxing over the weekend then in the later part. Probably because of stress and exhaustion, but the weekend got things back on track. Keep trying, and good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I just want to second what someone said about making sure you are taking care of the basics for yourself. Pumping and working is very hard, I did it and it does take a lot of dedication and commitment. You might consider checking out La Leche League or finding other nursing support. Please make sure you are eating plenty of wholesome foods. It is so easy when nursing for your body to become depleted before you know it and this can effect your milk supply. You actually need to be eating MORE than you ate while you were pregnant, approximately 300 calories more. You will probably still lose weight even if you meet that calorie requirement, because nursing burns so many calories! Lots of water & as much rest as possible are important too, I found them very important not just for me, but for my ability to mother in the most present way, especially when dealing with the stress of work as well! I did pump while working & pumping really did increase my production. I bought an electric pump that I would use in the mornings and afternoons at home, and then I just hand pumped at work -- tried to every 4 hours. I think my production was actually higher when I was doing that then when I stopped pumping (as my daughter got older). They say it's basically a supply/demand thing so if the body thinks there's no demand supply will drop off as well. They seem to work pretty dramatically with each other. It's hard to find that rhythm that works when you're working. Congrats to you for trying, and best of luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I swear by fenugreek! its a natural herb that works wonders for milk production! I take it daily because the first 5 weeks I had terrible sore nipples so I was pumping more than I was feeding him and noticed I hardly produced anything, not wanting to supplement with formula I started taking it daily and now I produce more than enough milk for my 4 month old son. You can find it at like a GNC or vitamin shoppe for like 8 bucks. Look it up on kellymom.com to read more about it. Good luck!! Oh and I've been told to drink lots of water and pump or feed literally every chance you get as I'm sure you know :)

1 mom found this helpful

Pumping does not stimulate the milk glands like the baby does. Therefore, the reduction will take place - expected. Try to nurse the baby before/after work, if you can, and use the pump only when needed. Fenugreek is very effective. Beer will transfer to the baby; 10% of it will - unless you want to deal with the reprocussions of how alcohol effects your baby's brain, I personally would not suggest it. I never treated my kids as test subjects - to me any minute amount of negative effect on the brain is a big NO. Your decision on that. It does work though, many have testified to it. You also have to consider how beer and work/driving to work mix, etc. My take... baby as much as possible, pump when baby is impossible, lots of water, and Fenugreek. Oh! You do have to take breaks from Fenugreek in order for it to be most effective. Finish a bottle, take a week break, start another. If the body doesn't get a break from it, it gets used to it, and it becomes less effective. Last, but most important. All this is SO HARD to do. It is a HUGE sacrifice. You are an ANGEL for doing this for your baby. Your baby is lucky to have a mom like you. It is an AMAZING thing to succeed at nursing, but especially to succeed at it while working. Hats of to you, D., from a mom who nursed two for 18 mos, each, and knows what it truly takes.

1 mom found this helpful

Make sure you have enough to drink.

Make sure that you pump the same amount every time. I used to pump a few minutes after the last drop of milk to help increase demand.

Massage your breasts as you pump, you baby would be nudging your breasts while feeding, so you need to do that while pumping.

Relax while pumping, imagine all that good milk you are producing for your baby.

1 mom found this helpful

I concur with pumping more often, drinking lots of water, and fenugreek. I also ate a lot of oatmeal, which was recommended to me, but I'm not sure it helped. Just thinking something will help probably helps in this situation, since you need to relax.

A note on the beer. It's not that 10% transfers. It's that your milk has the same concentration your blood does. So if you get really pretty drunk, can't drive, .10 blood alcohol level, your milk has .1% (not 10%) alcohol. Like .2 proof. Pretty small, and that's if you have several beers. It's okay if that's too much for your comfort level, but you should base the decision on the real amount.

1 mom found this helpful

YEARS ago my boyfriend's mom told me that her doctor told her to drink a beer every day to increase production. She did and it worked.
The other thing is that pumping just doens't stimulate quite the way nursing does. It CAN have an affect on pumping. I'd try the beer!

Hi, my pedia said that the only way to ensure good supply of milk is by keeping the demand high. When you're at home, breastfeed your child as often as he wants. And when you're at work, pump as often as you can.

Never let your milk go stale. When your breast goes full, just make a quick pump to let out the old milk. Stale milk in the breast tells your body that there's an oversupply of milk so it will decrease your milk production until the well goes dry.

My son is now 3.2 years old and still exclusively breastfed. He's allergic to cow's milk and vomits at the smell of soya milk.

BTW, I am a working home-based mom.

D.,

Amy N gave you good advice. What she's suggesting is called "power pumping" and it works.

Frequency of pumping is probably one of the most important things. Since the pump stimulates you differently (usually less) than your baby, you need to pump at LEAST every 4 hours - if not 3.

Also - this is going to sound funny but every time I ate the Indian dish "Dal" while pumping (and I was a low supplier the whole time), my supply JUMPED! I think it might be the fiber or some kind of hormone inhibitor because Metamucil would do the same thing.

Beer, fennel, fenugreek, oatmeal, carrots and more are lactogen inducers.

You can get more info on increasing supply at the following websites.

http://www.mobimotherhood.org/MM/default.aspx

http://www.kellymom.com/

Great job on continuing to provide your baby with your best while working outside the home. It's a big job. Remember that the overall experience of mothering is more than milk production though, ok? You need to get rest and maintain as much balance as possible while working and having a small child.

Blessings.

There are a lot of good suggestions from a physical point of attack, i.e. nutrition/rest/liquids. I have just a quick one that is more on the psychological lines. Put a picture of your baby in with your pump and take a second to look at it and think about the child before you start. I had the same problem with production when I went back to work and for some reason this tactic worked to start he let-down process and overall output during pumping sessions. It's also a nice reminder as to why you are doing this. Pumping is a hassle. I commend you for keeping up with it. Good for you!!

Oatmeal can help...mothers milk tea. Fenugreek, goat's rue. LLL can possibly give you some ideas as well. Tons and tons of water...not caffinated beverages.

It also depends on the type of pump you have as well--a higher quality (and unfortunately more expensive) one will be better...like the Medela Pump in Style or one of their rental ones, or the Freestyle. Nursing as much as possible as soon as you get home and throughout the night can really help too (we co-sleep to make this easier for both of us). Pumping around 3 times a day can work...you're likely already doing that. A lot of it (not all of it) is supply and demand...but it can be hard to be a working mom because while they make enough milk for their baby, they don't necessarily make enough to pump...since a baby is way more efficient then a pump. HOpefully others will have some great suggestions for you, and I do recommend contacting LLL or an IBCLC who might have other ideas for you.

I agree with the fenugreek. It works wonders. The only downfall is it makes you smell like maple syrup lol. Also there is mothers milk tea. it tastes like black licorice but it works wonders. Both can be found at GNC.
Also pumping is known to decrease you milkd production, it doesnt give the same sucking reflex as babies do and doesnt get the milk out like babies do. So keep lots of fluids in you too.

There is tea called Mother's milk, it has herbs that stimulate milk production... also, you can ask an herbalist ( you can google one or if you are in Tucson there's a place called Desert Rose on Fort Lowell and Tucson Blvd.)
you'd ask for tea for milk production if you don't do well with tea, the herbs come in pill form.

DRINK LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER!!! that is always a plus especially while producing milk.
Call la leche league!!!

You know I had a similar issue and I still do when I use the pump... the pump doesn't stimulate the nipple like our babies do. the babies almost bite our nipple and milk comes much more that way, I found when I pumped, I'd only (barely) got an ounce and then I'd pinch my nipple and the milk would spray out... try it out, see if you are really producing less or if it may just be the pump... I started expressing by hand and pumping with the pump...

My heart goes out to you hope all goes well!

Two things worked for me (in addition to trying fenugeek, listening to comedy or relaxing music while pumping, and lookin at pictures of my baby!): One was to get a more powerful pump. We had bought a midrange first. The top-of-the-line more powerful pump made a huge difference. I was more powerful AND more comfortable. The second solution was to take a "milk vacation." I almost went completely dry after two weeks back at work. I took a week off to just be with my daughter and nurse "in person," and my milk supply recovered. It didn't fall again (but I had the new pump when I returned to the office).

Hi D., a vitamin called Fenugreek worked for me. I found it at health/vitamin stores. My lactation consultant recommended taking it and it helped a lot. I can't remember how many of the vitamins I took each day though. I would call and ask your hospital's lactation consultant. Good luck!