How to Increase My Milk Supply

I too had problems producing milk for all 4 of my kids. I have tried the "Mother's Milk" tea you can find at Henry's or Whole Foods. Fenugreek from GNC worked best for me (as far as brands go). Blessed Thistle worked in conjuction with the Fenugreek. My most recent herbal remedy I discovered was "stinging nettle", boy did that do wonders for me. I was able to pump after every feeding and still have lots of milk for my little over-eater. To re-iterate, I took Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle and Stinging Nettle to increase my milk supply. Good luck!

2 moms found this helpful

here is my list..hope it helps...

1. rent a hospital grade pump..Medela Classic is what i used..it's
$3 a day and totally worth it! OR better yet buy one off ebay and
when you're done you can re-sell it on ebay and get your money back.
i bought one and it worked great..then i sold it for $50 more than i bought it for to the Pump Station..the medela classic is supposed to be
the best pump out there.
2. get the Easy Expression bra www.easyexpressionproducts.com it
holds both cups over you bb's and it's better to pump 2 at a time
3. eat oatmeal ....get the healthy kind i add bananas also i would
think pasta would be good b/c it retains water
4. Take "Lactation Supplement" by Gaia Herbs you can find it at the
health food store
5. try to pump at the same time every day...also try power pumping..
10 minutes pumping..then stop for 10 then 10 again and then stop and
so on. even pump if you aren't getting anything.
6. Make sure the white membrane thingies that attach onto the cups
are fairly new ..over used ones affect how much milk you get
7. Drink lots of fluids including Nursing Mom's tea or Mother's Milk
tea or the tea i prefer is www.breastea.com ..also drinks with
electrolytes like Recharge...Smart Water...Gatorade i notice on days
i drink a lot of fluids i have more milk
8. Eat barley..Barley Grass supplements are great. also..they have
barley bread at Trader Joe's if you have a Trader Joe's where you
live..or just buy barley. I buy a delicious barley tea at the
japanese market and i drink a couple of cups a day..it's decaf and
yummy.
i also drink Healthy Mom's drinks by Ensure
9.A warm wash cloth helps too ..apply to breasts before pumping or
try the breast heating pads that you heat up in the microwave.
10. Keep taking your prenatal vitamin..not getting a lot of milk
could mean a vitamin deficiency
even if you pump just a little ..save what you get and start adding
them together and then supplement with the milk that you pump..that's
why it's also good to pump after they've gone to sleep..then you help
build your supply and you also have more bb milk for baby..
11. nurse nurse nurse..triple up on nursing..you're going to have to
dedicate a week to it
the more you pump the more milk you'll begin to make.
12. LOTS OF REST..nap if you can ..milk builds when you rest
13. DHA supplements also are great for lactation..also found at the
health food store*
14. Alfalfa supplements are also great.
i think that's it..
15. Try a whey protein powder drink.. i use "Whey to Go" by
Solgar..you mix it with milk add some berries and a banana. it says
to check with your doc before using if you're bfing..so ask your
doc..i only drink one a day and i add a some Motherlove's "More Milk
Plus" to it.
16. Again you should double pump when you're pumping so make sure you
get the bra to make it easier on you!
17. Goat's Rue herb is also supposed to help boost
honestly drink LOTS of liquids
keep yourself moist ...don't take any birth control pills.
18. there is also this stuff called Motilium aka DOM a lot of mom's
use this ..it's for reflux but it builds up your supply.. you can
read about it on Kellymom.com http://www.kellymom.com/newman/19a-
domperidone1.html
and you can buy it here... http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/general/
motilium.html

pump after you nurse, using a double pump is best, just pump for another 5 minutes or so.

Hi T.:

I used Mother's Milk Tea by Traditional Medicinals - it worked great. You can get it at Henry's or Jimbo's and I have even seen it at some Ralphs stores.

When I was nursing my daughter on top of the feeding and pumping, my LC recommended a tincture called More Milk PLus. You can get it at Henry's Marketplace,Whole Foods...just about anywhere. You just put a few drops into your juice a few times a day. Within 2 days my milk flow REALLY increased.

I also took it when I was trying to encourage milk supply for my 3 week old adopted son and I was able to get some breast milk.

Call up the La Leche League, and you can get "mother's milk" tea at various natural/organic food stores like Whole food.

Eat and drink alot, every time you feed or pumkp. Also get rest.

Hi T.,

Here are some simple things you can do. First, make sure you are drinking 8-12 8 oz glasses of water per day and eating regularly. Second since milk supply works on a demand/supply system, make sure you are either feeding baby or pumping every 2-3 hours for 15-20 minutes each side. You can also use supplements such as Mother's Milk Tea by Traditional Medicinals (found at Henry's, Jimbo's, Whole Foods), or Funugreek, but this is only if you have no issues with blood sugar (ie, diabetes) because these can sometimes cause blood sugar to drop.

There are also lots of other resources out there like La Leche League, kellymom.com, breastfeeding support groups (take a look at the infromation given to you when you delivered or call the delivering hospital), and your pediatrician may have a lactation consultant to refer you too.

Not knowing the age of your baby it is hard to give more specific advice, but I hope these things help. Best of Luck!

Hi T.,

Dark Beer, sleep on your tummy with breasts smashed into the mattress, Mother's Milk tea available at Whole Foods.

All worked for me. Good Luck!

There is a tea called Mother's Milk Tea and there is also something called Fenugreek. You can get these at any natural food stores-Sunflower etc. I have done both including a beer. The yeast in the beer is what works. I have done this also, just ocassional, however I planned it right after I nursed and then drank a glass of water.
If you aren't comfortable with the beer, the tea and fenugreek work great.
Also, not sure if you pump yet or at all, I have also found that pumping works...keep in mind that your body is a supply and demand, so it will supply what your body demands, including pumping.
I speak from much experience-we are expecting baby #5. Every baby is different though.
Good Luck

the best thing for you to do is call the Pump Station in Santa Monica. they will give you all the information you need. Don't forget to ask about the support groups they offer, too!!! Every culture seems to have a solution for this, too. In some places it's chocolate. In other places it's Quinoa. Still others, it's oatmeal. I ate it all! good luck!

Things that helped me as I had some trouble with my milk supply and could only breast feed until my son was 3 1/2 months old:

Try to avoid stress
Miso Soup (at least once a day)
LOTS of water
good healthy diet
Mother's Milk tea
If you work, remember to pump at the office. it allows your body to continue producing milk throughout the day even though you are not breast feeding.

Please remember that if your body does stop producing milk, you have done nothing wrong. Formula fed kids are just fine. My son is 15 months old now, very healthy, very smart and very outgoing! Do whatever is best for you and your little one. You're doing a great job!

Breast feed more often and drink lots of fluids. Your milk supply will dwindle as baby's demand goes up. Then you need to feed more often.

Try to get a lot of sleep, lots of water. My doc finally subscribe me metoclopramide. It has helped me loads and now I have too much Milk. Only side effect was that I got tired the first week I used it but got used to it. Mothers milk works well an lots of oatmeal.

Do try the teas that promote lactation, but also drink lots of water and increase your consumption of whole grains.
You are giving your child the greatest gift there is - great job, Mama!

Supply and demand baby! Nurse, pump, nurse, pump. Right after you're done nursing, pump for 5 or 10 minutes, (longer if you want). If the baby will suckle even if there's no milk left, let them. The more your breasts are used, the more they know they're needed. There is a tea called mothers milk. Water, drink lots of water. Try to avoid things like alcohol, laying on your stomach while sleeping, loose fitting bras...etc. Although, one beer on occasion can help produce more milk because of the yeast, (I heard, I'm not a beer drinker). Good luck and don't give up. You'll be a milk machine before you know it.

Put baby on breast and leave there for 15 to 30 minuets. Drink lots of water. Make sure YOU are comfortable. Sit back in the chair. RELAX.
Good luck.
R.

Mother's Milk Tea. It worked for me, and has worked for every one of my mama friends who've had a lower milk supply. Also, when you're baby's done feeding, spend about 5-10 minutes per breast on a pump to get out the very most you can and to stimulate the breasts to fill up even more than the are. The breasts are amazing in that they will make enough to feed your baby, but sometimes, if the baby isn't a vigurous sucker or tends to fall asleep a lot, the breast doesn't empty completey and so it doesn't produce more. Start pumping and "tricking" the breasts into thinking the baby's still hungry after each feeding and you'll start producing. Also be sure that you are well-nourished with vitamin-rich foods so that your body has enough energy to make the milk in the first place.

Good luck!

The best way is to use your breast pump to increase your supply. If you pump every 3 to 4 hours in addition to nursing, then you can use what you pump from the bottle as needed, your milk will come in buckets. Don't worry about nipple confusion use a bottle if you want to at times. Drink plenty of water.

In addition to what everyone else said, try brewers yeast pills. You can get them at GNC along with Mother's Milk tea. It taste nasty but you can sweeten it with honey. I know it's easier said than done, but get plenty of rest, relax and you can't be stressed. Drink A LOT, A LOT, A LOT of water. It's time consuming, but I thought it was worth it. Don't feel guilty if you can't produce enough milk; formula is good too. Although I do all I can to increase my milk supply, I've still had to supplement with at least one bottle of formula a day. Good luck!

Eat and drink enough to maintain the calories needed to make the milk (multiply approx # ounces baby needs in 24 hrs by 22 and add to your calorie needs).

Nurse your baby as often as possible and let him/her stay on the breast longer than it takes to eat to increase stimulation.

Pump between nursings, just to the point of feeling the let down and then stop until baby feeds next. The point is not to take out milk but to increase the stimulation. If your supply is low throughout the day, do this throughout the day; if only a little low, do it just 1-2 times or you could face overproduction issues.

Agree with the advice about water intake and pumping. (I also have heard malt beverages help with production.) At the peak of breastfeeding with my baby, I was pumping after every feeding (so, about 5 times a day). It's a major hassle but by emptying the breast of milk, you are sending the message to your body that you need more. Once you're past the peak (for us it was about 6 months) pumping after the morning and last feeding at minimum with help you keep up.

Best of luck to you,
M. W

T., You can drink lots of water and you can pump inbetween feedings. I don't know how old your baby is, but in the beginning for me, I had a ton of milk, I am serious, I was blessed with enough milk for my babies and then some. I got sick with a cold or maybe flu when my baby was around 3 months old and I neglected myself, didn't eat right or drink water and my milk supply went down. So, for 24 hours, I let my baby nurse whenever she wanted and then drank lots of fluids. She would not take a bottle, we tried, so I had no choice but to let her keep sucking. You can try that too! You can always call the Le Leche League and they can also help you. (I think I spelled it wrong, but you know what I mean)

Good luck!
M.

Hi T.,

Here are some things that help increase milk supply, at least for me.

Fenugreek is the main ingredient in Mother's Milk Tea. Some women simply take the fenugreek supplement alone. Others use the tea, which you can get at: Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Rainbow Acres, or The Vitamin Shoppe (the least expensive place to get it).

My lactation consultant suggested I use More Milk Plus drops by Motherlove. These work well too. The drops are sold at some, not all Whole Foods & Wild Oats, but I became fed up with going to the stores and not finding them. So we have begun to order them online and can get a 4oz (and there are bigger bottles) for the same price that Whole Foods sells it a 2 oz bottle.

The Sears Baby Book says that drinking almond milk also helps keep a good milk supply.

Also Calcium Lactate helps increase your supply--this I stumbled upon and one can find in homeopathic remedies books, this is one thing that helps as well.

Hope this was helpful.

L.

Hello!

I was in the same situation and I tried some herbal pills called Milk Plus (recommended by my lactate specialist), and it worked great for me. You can get it at Whole Foods or Mother's Market.
Good luck!

Hi,
Get a bottle of Blessed Thistle tablets and Fenugreek. Take 3 of each tablet 3 times a day. Yes, that is 18 tablets a day. Do it for 5 days and your milk supply should increase. Keep nursing frequently because of supply and demand as well. Drink lots of fluids. I had to do it twice, but was able to keep nursing. My son is over 10 months now and no problems with milk supply.

Eat oatmeal for breakfast, and get fenugreek capsules at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or a health store near you. You need to take at least 6 capsules of the fenugreek a day for it to be effective. Drink Mother's Milk tea with your breakfast. Breastfeed as often as possible - the pumps never get as much milk out of you as the baby does. Try pumping after each feeding or after the baby goes to bed at night.

Fenugreek (____@____.com food stores), lots of water, and more nursing. Good luck and way to go for sticking with it! =)

I recently read in "Bottom Line's Best Ever Kitchen Secrets", a book whose authors claim to have researched and offer only tried and true remedies, secrets, etc for home and family. They refer to DrBenKim.com and re-printed his Korean seaweed soup (Mi-Yuk Gook)recipe. The following is the link: http://drbenkim.com/recipes-seaweed-soup.html Good luck to you!

T.,

Visit www.kellymom.com and search for "low milk supply" and you'll get a really comprehensive list of all the things you can try. It is a great site for breastfeeders.

:-)T.

according to our doula, via lac expert kitti franz, the only drink proven to help is one dark beer a day. (and the only thing guaranteed to dry you out is parsley, so avoid the tabbouli.) since it's alcohol you may want to get the approval of your doc, but i drink one 12 oz. guinness every evening and i am a big over-producer. maybe coincidence, maybe not. good luck!

Oatmeal in the the mornings will do it also take 3 cups of the mothers milk you can get that from a wholefoods store or Walmart in the tea aisle is called MothersMilk. or if you drink beer that has something that increases the milk also or if you dont drink beer like me then try the non-acoholic brew i forgot the brand but i think it starts with an Medue or something just go and ask them which one it is.
This is the information that my lactation coach gave me and if you can find one in your area i am sure they'll tell you the same thing.
Good luck
MA

Drink lots of water and nurse, nurse nurse!! THE best way to increase your milk supply is to nurse more often (at least every 2-3 hrs and pump in between if you're not nursing that often - depending how old your baby is)If there is more demand for milk, you body will make more! :-)

i have a friend who increased hers with chinese food herbs. if you want more info, let me know.

God bless!

J.

take fenugreeek (a supplement, they have it at Whole Foods), eat oatmeal daily, "Mother's Milk" Tea (even saw it at Ralph's), Lactation cookies (many recipes online if you search it...they all include Brewer's Yeast, Oatmeal & Flaxseed meal which all help with lactation). and above all, lots and lots of water, all day you should be drinking, drinking, drinking!

Water, water, water!

Drink tons of water, eat a balanced diet, drink Nursing tea (you can find it at health food stores) with a few drops of Mother's milk thistle and just relax :) www.weelicious.com

Hi T.,

I've had a tough time nursing both my boys and nothing really seemed to work for me--drinking lots of water, nursing more, fenugreek, blessed thistle, or mother's milk tea (which I hate the taste of). My lactation consultant put me on Goat's Rue and More Milk Plus and that has really helped me this time around! You can order it through Amazon--the company that distributes them is Motherlove. These come in capsules, but they are more expensive than the tinctures. You can start with the Goat's Rue first and see if that does anything, or you can try both together (I took the capsules since I don't like tasting it--the More Milk Plus I took with a cookie.) I just wanted to share with you since none of the common tricks to increase milk supply worked for me. Good luck and happy nursing! :-)

One more thing, the fenugreek in Mother's Milk tea isn't that much, so if you do try fenugreek, just get the capsules (Whole Foods has it).