Increasing Breast Milk Supply - Irving,TX

HI L.!
I hope some ladies have some great advice for you. I just wanted to add one thing:

If your milk supply gets too low, don't stress yourself out or go to extreme measures just to avoid giving your baby formula. YES breastmilk is much better for him, but formula isn't bad for him. And, yes, it's expensive, but so is mental health counseling for you! ha ha LOL If you continue to nurse your son when you two are together, but give him formula when you're away, he will still be breastfed and he will still reap all the benefits of breastfeeding as if he were exclusively breastfed. He will get all the immunities from you, all the nutrients, etc. even if you are only occasionally breastfeeding.

I just wanted to put this in, because some militant breastfeeding mommies have turned formula into a bad thing and really it's not. Breastmilk is better, but formula is another way to nourish our babies. Plus, a healthy mommy (physical as well as mental) is just as important.

Hope you and your son continue to do well!

1 mom found this helpful

I have an 8 month old and in the last 6 weeks my supply plummeted. I tried fenugreek and oatmeal and they helped a tiny bit.

I asked my OB to let me try domperidone and it has made a HUGE difference. After my supply dropped, I was lucky to get 8oz over 5 pumping sessions per day.

Now, in the morning I am getting 8-11 oz and each session during the day I fill up a 5oz bottle. Domperidone is somewhat controversial and you have to get it from a compounding pharmacy (Randol Mill Pharmacy. 1014 N Fielder Rd Arlington, TX ###-###-####). It took about 4-5 days for me to notice a big difference. You might want to check out what Dr. Jack Newman has written about it (http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/domperidone.shtml).

Good luck and you should be proud of yourself for keeping with it this long. Many working moms find they can't do it.

1 mom found this helpful

I had a lady at the wic office tell me to do this and it will not hurt the baby (verified with pediatrician) drink a beer (the darker the better) while nursing or pumping the alchol will leave your system before the next feed and the hops help produce more milk. I swear it worked. It took one to see an improvement by the third one (and i only did one a day) I had more milk than I knew what to do with!

L.,

go to www.breastea.com order the tea bags they work wonders!!! continue to pump frequently and be sure you're drinking a plenty of water. congrats...you're doing a great job!

well, first of all, big-time kudos to you for breastfeeding and for working so hard to persevere through difficulties and keep providing the best you can by your baby!
i'm far from militant (lol), but i can tell you - from experience - that formula can indeed be bad for your baby. it depends on the baby, and you might not know until it's too late whether or not it's bad for *your* baby.
having said that, it's worse for your supply to stress than to not stress. however, it's far worse for your supply to not change anything and stick your head in the sand.
my advice? check out kellymom.com and see what you find that might work for you and your situation.
nursing more is #1, followed by getting plenty of water, sleep, and nutrients. i found oatmeal and fenugreek helpful as well as some other things, but really, check out kelly mom -- i bet you'll be glad you did! :)

HTH!

edited to add: and yes, ditto on the mother's milk tea!

Sorry Chica, you're going to have to pump more :( I frown b/c I hate pumping! Use the Fenugreek like the other ladies said. ANd also, there is a tea called "Mother's Milk". It has the fenugreek and blessed thistle and some other stuff in it. Yes, the drug the other ladies mentioned will help too. But it can have some nasty side effects for mama, like fatigue and constipation. Plus, once you stop taking it, that's it. You're milk will dry up super fast. You just can't make it on your own anymore.

So...I would certainly try the natural routes first. But also know that milk supply tends to drop after 6 or 7 months for everyone. If your son is on solids, he may not need as much breastmilk. And I so don't blame you for not wanting to do formula. I NEVER did it with any of my 3. But if I needed to supplement some I used goat milk, preferrably raw. It's the closest thing in nature to human milk.

Also, I have some great recipes for increasing supply. One is for some yummy cookies and the other is for a smoothie. Send me a message if you want them.

I have that same problem, only I am unable to pump at all at work and have to wait until I get home! I bought some tea called my mothers milk at Central Market and it works really well! It doesn't taste all that great, but since I started drinking one cup a day I have noticed a very big difference! I went from only getting out like 4 ounces when I got home to pumping 9 ounces last night! Another thing that seems to help is if I drink a TON of water! I work in a restaurant and try to drink like six glasses while I am there! Keep going, you are doing a great job!

hi L., you can get a tea from your health food store called "mother's milk" or you can buy fenugreek. they both help with milk production. hope that helps!

Pump like a mad woman, and feed him as often as he will take it. That milk will come right back in 2-3 days.

it is possible. Just keep pumping (and nursing) and do it frequently. Stress is not going to help increase your milk supply, so do what you can to alleviate it. I used to nurse my child at 8:30, put her to bed, and then pump again at 11 when I was going to bed. When my milk got super-low I would wake at 2 or 3 and pump. However, you may need your sleep more than you need to pump. Call the lactation consultant at your hospital and ask her for advice. I hope this works! Peace to you.

Just to add, my lactation consultant told me to take Blessed Thissle with the Fenugeek.

Yes, you do need to pump or feed at least 4-5 times per day, but you can also pump for longer. By pumping for at least 15-20 minutes each time, you should experience a second let down of milk. After you pump off the initial batch of milk continue to pump and, usually, after about 15 minutes, you will experience that second let down of milk which you will definitely recognize. The milk feels like it is coming from much deeper from within your breast, which it is. By regularly accessing these 'reserves' you will be telling your body that baby is much hungrier and your supply should perk right up in no time. MAKE SURE to take your prenatals and drink lots of water while doing this to protect your own health and the quality of the milk.

I took took domperidone and have had great success with it! I had it compounded at Drug Crafters in Frisco.

Wow you are so lucky you were able to pump 2 bottles in one sitting!! I'm lucky if I can get 3 or 4 ounces in a 30 minute sitting!! But I seem to be producing enough for my 3 month old son he is now 14lbs! Anyways I do have some advise about increasing your milk supply and it seemed to work very well for me, I was having to pump and use a bottle in the first month because of sever sore nipples and I wasn't producing enough milk after that so I started taking fenugreek, check these websites out...
1. http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_fenugree...

2. http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

Within the first day of taking it twice a day my breasts were full just like when my milk first came in. I will tell you though it makes you and your milk smell like maple syrup! :)