Breastfeeding and Periods

I used a warm wash rag for about a minute right before pumping. The warmth seemed to kickstart my milk! A heating pad of some type would work, also. A cotton sock can be filled with rice, tied and then microwaved for 1-2 minutes, depending on the size! Works great! (I got this idea from my lamaze class, so I know it's safe)

I had a friend who had the same issue. She knew she had a lot more milk when she was actually nursing, so as her son nursed on one side, she pumped the other to store for the next day. She would then swap and pump what was left and let him eat what was left on opposite sides.

She also kept pumping during the day as well.

Also - I have heard that increasing your clear fluids helps with your production too.....

Good Luck to you!

D. - I have an 8 month old girl and when I started my period a few months back, my milk production went down. I was able to get it back up by trying a few things. I was pumping more at work (and right before bed), taking Fenugreek, eating more oatmeal and drinking more water. I also tried taking Magnesium with calcium (was a recommendation on another site, I believe). I even tried to turn up the pump to maximum (yeow- at first). I'm not sure which worked but I am now making more milk. I know how frustrating it can be and am hoping one of these works for you!

Water, Water, Water... Drink plenty of it. Also, see if you can pump more often; like every 2-3 hours. There are also herbal supplements that you can try (check your local herbal shop; I think marshmallow root?) but start them soon because they can take awhile to get into your system and working. We typically produce based on the needs of the child and the child is better than the pump at expressing all the milk you produce. If your body produces based on the pump alone production during the day will be less unless you do the above to help.

I took a dosage of "Mother's Milk" each day...usually a 1/2 hour before my first pump session at work. This helped me.
You can get "mother's milk" online or at a natural food store. I don't think you can get it at Target or Walmart but I do know it's avaialable at natural food stores. Good Luck

The mom before me who suggested the beer... My mom told me the same thing. I never did that in fear that I would get my baby drunk or something, but my mom did that with all five of us when she was nursing us... had a beer a day to help her relax and she said it helped her milk 'let down' so I can see how that would help build milk supply lol

As for the periods, your hormones are probably just off balance from stress or something.

Have you tried drinking Mothers Milk Tea? That sometimes helps with milk production. I also don't know if your job allows it, but i would pump every chance i got sometime 6 times in 8 hour work day. I had to drink lots of liquids, pumping never seems to produce as much as the baby eats. But, you also have to remember that the baby is going to drink faster and more from the bottle than your breast.
I wouldn't worry about your period, that sounds normal, but i'd consult you obgyn just in case.

If at all possible try increasing the amount of times you pump at work. Also, you might want to try adding oatmeal to your diet (cereal, hot oatmeal for breakfast, cookies, snack bars, etc.), it can help increase milk production naturally and safely. Make sure you're drinking enough water.

Are you sure your pump is working correctly? You might have to replace a valve. What kind of pump are you using? It's possible this pump might just not be right for you... or, some women just don't have any luck with pumps at all.

Lastly, you can try an herb called Fenugreek to increase your supply. However, talk to your doc about it first. You shouldn't use it if you have certain health conditions, and it can cause side effects. http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

Or, your doctor can also prescribe a medicine that can help increase your milk production.

Here's a link from KellyMom.com about milk supply: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html

And here's another one specifically about decrease in supply while pumping: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html

As far as periods go... yes this is normal while breastfeeding. You might skip a few periods, or not have any at all until you start weaning. It's really different for every woman.

To get my breast milk up ( a long time ago says the grandma of 8), I used raspberry tea - 2-3 cups a day. I have seen a tea, even at Walmart pharmacy, named Mother's Milk which contained a lot of the herbs I used to keep my milk supply up. Decrease stress and a lot of liquids will help, also. Good luck and thank you for your concern in doing the healthy, loving thing in nursing your infant!

M. in Anderson, MO

I highly doubt youre pregnant but if youre worried, take a test. Its normal to have irregular periods after having a baby and during breastfeeding.
I would call La Leche League. They are wonderful at helping moms build up their supply. Remember its supply and demand so the more you pump regularly, the more youll produce. I unfortunately dried up after 4 months and it was almost like it didnt matter how much I pumped or fed her, my body just wanted to be done. If this happens to you just remember, any breastmilk is better than none at all!! I felt very bad only going for 4 months but I did what I could and she had 4 months of the good stuff so its better than nothing. Some moms dont breastfeed at all and theyre kiddos turn out just fine. Good luck! Call that place, they are wonderful! If you google it they may have a website too!

Best time to pump would be at nite hour or so after the last feeding, or first thing in the morning try to pump some before nursing. Drink lots of water.

D.,
Well I had the same concerns as you about not getting enough milk while pumping at work. I used to get 15-16 oz. a day, now I only get 7-9 oz. a day, and I am having to pump at night which I wasn't doing before. So knowing that he needs 3 bottles worth, I have been mixing formula into the breast milk to give him the 3 that he needs. It is very frustrating though. I may just be drying up, I don't know.

And to your second question...I have not had a period yet, and my son is just over 4 months old now. So I think its perfectly normal.

Good luck,
B.

OK I will try to explain this the best I can. Are you pumping at work as much as you breastfeed at home? When I went back to work (parttime) for 4 hours a night, I didnt pump, but at home my daughter ate every 2 hours, so while I was at work my breasts would keep getting full, I would just feed her when I got home, but eventually that 4 hours I was at work my breasts would stop getting full, thats the only time it would happen, like it just adjusted for that time frame, it was weird. I always had problems pumping enough for her, but she ate enough and gained weight like she was supposed to when she fed from the breast. As far as the period, with my daughter I had my period like clockwork while I was breastfeeding, but with my new baby I didnt have a period for 2 months while breastfeeding. It all just depends. I dont think your pregnant, or your doc has a lot of explaining to do! lol.

Drink Ice Tea and drink a beer every now and then. It is good for the milk supply. My Grandma told me that when I was nursing my kids. I didn't have a period at all when I was nursing. It all depends on how much you are nursing. You may have been nursing your son more than you realized. Also though, my sister-in-law had her tubes tied and she has had a lot of problems with her period.

I had the same problem when I started back to work. My daughter was 2 months old. I absolutely went through this so I know how you feel. I tried the Fenugreek, oatmeal, and the motherlove herbs to up my milk supply. I didn't see much of a change, but I continued to do it anyways. Drinking plenty of water did make a difference. Not a huge difference, but hey, every ounce counts right?

My milk finally increased a few months later. I pumped 3 times as work during those early months. I started to get a total of 3-4 oz per pumping session. Sometimes less in the afternoon.

My daughter is now 6 months old. I pump only 2x now and I can get a total of 5-6 oz per session.

Biggest tip is to hang in there and not give up. I know it sucks, but you are doing the right thing and it does somehow get better.

Don't know about your situation #2. I haven't had mine yet....yey!

Drink TONS of water...and do some research on Fenugreek. You can get it at GNC for about $8.

I think the other things people suggested on here are helpful (pumping more, eating oatmeal). You can also check out the website www.workandpump.com; it has some tips for increasing milk supply. One thing that I found really helpful on that website was the following advice: if you have milk stored in the freezer from pumping before you went back to work, DO NOT give it to your son as a way to make up for pumping less during the work day. I made that mistake with my daughter, thinking I needed to give her more than what I was pumping, but it actually hurts your milk supply. If you're not producing enough during the day, your son will nurse longer/more frequently and tell your body to boost its production. Also, I wouldn't recommend giving him any formula for the same reason--he will fill up on that and won't tell your body to make more milk. Of course, if he starts having issues as far as growth and all of that, then it would be a different story.

My daughter is 8 months old, and I definitely don't pump as much milk during the work day as I used to. I used to get about 15-16 oz. and now I am only getting about 10-12 oz. I'm just assuming that she is just drinking more milk in the morning since I my morning pumping is what seems to be down the most--my afternoon pumpings are still about the same. So perhaps your son is doing the same thing as his stomach gets bigger--taking more when he's actually with you. You say you nurse him whenever he wants for as long as he wants, so he may be getting enough even though you're not pumping as much at work. If he's growing okay, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm not sure what EBFm is, sorry. I do know that when I would pump I'd get less and less milk, in fact this is how I stooped breastfeeding both times: I started pumping exclusively and eventually I no more came out! :o) I woudl say to make sure you breastfeed him a lot when you are with him. Pumping has always been a problem for me, its like the pump just never did as good a job as my son could and I had very good pump, too.
I think it takes a while to get back on track with your periods sometimes, too.