Breast Milk Shortage

Have you tried an SNS system?

http://www.piotruspan.com.pl/sklep/images/sns_system.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_nursing_system

Contact La Leche Leaque. www.lalecheleague.org
When I was having trouble breast feeding, they were very helpful. If your son has not latched on by now, he is problably used to the easy flow the bottle nipple gives him. They have to work on the breast to get the milk. It is not as easy as the bottle nipple. Good luck!
H.

M.,

I'm assuming the machine you are referring to is a breast pump. What kind of breast pump are you using? Is it a hospital grade double electric pump or some other pump? I understand your frustration. I breastfed my first two daughters exclusively and couldn't wait to nurse my third child. Unfortunately, my third child had a weak suck and I had to supplement with formula all the while pumping to increase my milk supply. My milk supply was extremely low and despite all the efforts I made to increase my supply, it just never happened. I took herbal supplements, I had a lactation specialist to work with, I pumped every 2 hours (20 minutes at a time) around the clock for 2 months. I would strongly recommend that you consult with a lactation specialist. You can find one by contacting your local Le Leche League or ask your OB/Gyn, or pediatrician. You need support with this issue because believe me, this will frustrate you to no end and you need somebody to encourage you. What my lactation specialist recommended was to pump, pump, pump, and DO nurse you baby as much as you can. Some babies learn to nurse. Others, like my third child latched on correctly but he had a weak suck. He only liked the milk when it "let down." After that, he just passively suckled and he wouldn't gain weight so I had no choice but to supplement and pump.

First of all, Kudos to you for strictly pumping for 7 months...It's a tedious task, but so worth it! I'm a working mom, so I know how it is to pump for your baby. My daughter is 8 months old now, and has never had to drink formula. I too ran a little low at one point. Try an herb called Fenugreek and/or Organic Mother's Milk tea. Both worked well for me. I did notice that the Fenugreek gave my baby a little bit of a diaper rash, but you can try it for at least a week or so. For some reason, oatmeal always works for me too. Can't explain why...just one of those mysteries. Don't forget to drink plenty of fluids. You can also look at pics of your baby while you pump. Especially pics of him recently being born. They always hit your emotional side, and help the flow of milk. GOOD LUCK!!

Hello M., I hear your heart and I hope this well help you out. I am a mother of three, a 20yr.3yr. and a 2weeks old.
I am a first breast feeding mom as well. Never breast fed any of my two children now I whish I had not given up to soon. What I know now I did not know back then. Praise God still anyway for two healthy children still. Know that you breast is never empty of milk. It could be just that your baby is not lacting on correctly,get some breast feeding books and go on line and get help on how to lacth on your baby right. What I does is I always have to eat on time and drink lots of hot chocolate tea, or milk like Milo, anything like hot coco milk tea, or hot milk. always eat every three hours or 2 just like if you was pregant.That makes alot of milk and by more pumping, and more breast feeding should increase your milk supply. as your baby grows your milk supply will meet his needs. eat right and feed him on time your breast will contiue to make its own milk. Hope that helps and add a prayer
in front of that as well before you pump or feed your baby God is the helper we need. Hope that helps, please let me know
if that works for you.

make sure you are drinking lots and lots of fluid -- lots of fluid -- not just water,but stuff like oj, milk, pineapple juice, etc. --- when i was having trouble, my dr asked me how often i was on the toilet-- he said if it wasn't "all day" then i wasn't drinking enough.!!
best of luck! and congratulations!!!! --K. b.

I don't know if you've already tried this or not, but as you probably know breast milk production is a supply and demand function. It seemed like my two boys nursed more often, so I felt like I was constantly feeding my baby. The more often you express milk the more milk you will make. And make sure you get plenty of rest and eat well.

Whole Foods sell Mother's Milk Tea and Mother's Milk Herbal Drops. They work!!! Also natural black licorice.
If you think about your baby and visualize him feeding your breasts will let down the milk.
Good Luck!

Faith Ploude
Lactation Center at Mercy Hospital ###-###-####
Faith B. Ploude, BA, IBCLC, RLC, and Anita Jiha AS, IBCLC, RLC are both International Board Certified Lactation Consultants.

Boosting Supply
I've read on 'the boards' to take: fenugreek & blessed thistle
take 3 capsules of each, 3x/day &
don't panic if you smell like syrup!

oatmeal should help too!

Pumping/breastfeeding;
I belong to a LOT of Yahoo groups- when you join one, click the option for 'Daily Digest" this way you get the day;s posts right to your inbox of your email to read- if you want to post a question/response, then you go to the web address, log on & post there...

groups to join:
PumpMoms http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/PumpMoms/

breastfeeding and working mothers: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bfworkingmoms/

I haven't read the other responses if any (it's not showing me) but, are you sure you're supply is low? You should be pumping the same amount of times are your baby is drinking. If your son is feeding every 4 hours, you must bump/nurse every 4 hours. Drink lots of water!!!! If that doesn't work, do this... when I was breastfeeding I would drink Mother's Milk tea which I bought at GNC. It helped me tremendously. I hope this helps.

Hi..
I had the same problem, but early on. I'm a 1st time mom to a 7 week old. There is an organic tea called "Mother's Milk"
You drink 3-5 cups a day, and it really did help my lactation. I am now pumping 12 ounces each time I pump. I only drank the tea for a few days before I saw real results.
Make sure you stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water throughout the day. You can get the tea at Vitamin Shoppe or GNC or pretty much any nutrition store. It tastes a lot like licorice.. I liked it. Hope it works for you as well as it did for me!!

Try fenugreek supplement or brewers yeast there is also an organic mother's milk tea www.traditionalmedicinals.com
I personally preferred the fenugreek and the tea. Some might suggest a glass of beer once a day. I don't really do beer so I don't know how well it works. Pump every 2 hours for at least twenty minutes on double pump. Or at least 15 min per breast on a single pump. It seems like a long time. But if he was nursing thats how long he would need empty the breast. The more frequently you pump the more milk your body will make and after a couple of day you can go to pumping every 3 hours. Also if you have an electric and it doesn't hurt too much turn the suction up a bit for the first pumping of the day. My first baby decided she prefered the bottle just before she was 4 months. I was determined that she would have breast milk for a her first year, so I pumped and I pumped and I pumped. I say kudos to you for doing it for 7 months now because I stopped when she was 10 months and walking, I didn't make it the year. Good luck.

I did the same, pumped all day. I gave up when it ran out.. My son is now 3 and very healthy..

Contact LaLeChe League in your are. I use to be a leader for a group in Colorado, a long time ago. But they are wonderful and can give you the support and help you need.
Good luck and God Bless.

please contact me as soon as possible and I will share with you how to boost your milk supply with herbs in tea form and acupuncture or acupressure (acupuncture works faster). I am a midwife and acupuncturist specializing it womens heath.

Yours in Health,
B. Grey
###-###-####

M.,
I'm going to say that with my first child, I thought my milk supply was decreasing at about the 8 month mark and my DD was losing interest in breastfeeding so that was the point at which I weaned her. She was taking a sippy cup during the day (with water/juice/then formula) and was less interested in BF during the day. I slowly transitioned away the first am feeding and the last pm feeding, too.
I was advised to step up my nursing, but with the attraction of foods, etc... DD was less interested. For me, my nursing goal was 6 months and I surpassed my goal. I adjusted it to "when we were ready" and took this as a signal. It was the easiest transition for both of us when I did wean her. (No engorgement issues... and she transitioned well, too.)
Whatever you decide... and however it works out, you truly must be commended for pumping for so long! (I'm back at work earlier with this babe and spend part of my lunch time everyday pumping to keep my supply up for my almost 5 month old son.) It's a lot of work and takes dedication. Congratulations, Mama for making it this far.

Woo hoo, good for you for doing the best for your son when so many women give up early one.

Get in touch w/ a Cert. LC soon http://www.ilca.org/falc.html
Attend the closest LLL meeting near you.

Here is a link from www.kellymom.com

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html

i used fenugreek (at GNC) and it seemed to work- other than that, pump OFTEN. Check with your Dr. about using anything also. :>) You can also consult a lactation consultant at any of the major hospitals, they can help you over the phone, or you could go in. Hope that is helpful!

Drink lots of water. And apparently citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits, lemons and limes can help the ducts somehow, I just read that in an interesting email. It's worth a try, right? God bless you! Breast milk is the best thing for him!

Hello -

La Leche League (or a lactation nurse) will always have a good supply of information. There are supplements you can take - Fenugreek (a herb, or at least an all natural supplement) helped me around the time my son was six months old and really nursing a lot. You can find it at Whole Foods, or probably GNC or natural food/supplement store. I know there is also prescription medication that helps with milk supply - check with your pediatrician, she should be able to prescribe it for you directly.

Good for you for choosing to nurse - keep it up!

Hi M. G.
Having 3 kids (9, 6, and 2), all with really difficult breast-feeding start ups (1 not successful). I really commend you plodding forward when so many women feel so powerless (or not supported enough) with breastfeeding issues that they give-up. Out of everything that I had tried especially with my last 2, La Leche League has helped me the most(There is a LLL group in most communities). The women came to my house when I could not move, or invited me into their own. They are truly passionate about women having successful breastfeeding experiences that they really do go the extra mile.
Not to mention the value of sitting with a bunch of other women and realizing that you are not in this alone. I know that it is not too late for you and your baby to get help-I have seen and heard many similar (and successful) stories while at these LLL meetings. Kudos to you and Good Luck. G.

Dear M.

First and foremost I would contact your local "Le Leche League" for advice. That being said, there is absolutley no harm in supplementing your baby with formula. Not to mention, at 7 months, he's going to start teething and it's probably a good idea to get him used to a bottle.

I hope that helps! Good luck...

The LLL meeting in Ft Pierce at the library is this Saturday at 10:45. They are always full of useful information. If you are willing to try anything, this is the best offer out there.