Milk Supply - Dublin,OH

Stop supplementing. Just let your baby nurse as long and as often as he wants. Remember that you are never "empty". The flow may just get slower, but you are always producing. If the pump isn't getting anything, thats ok because the pump isn't nearly as effective as your baby. The more he nurses the more milk you will have

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You have a great opportunity to be a SAHM. Use this to your advantage. Stay skin to skin with your baby as much as you can - cuddle! Listen to his cries and let it affect you. Especially being your first those cries and cute faces and baby noises will help you produce milk. Really.
Funny story: 3 months after I had my first child my hub and I went to Mohican to go horseback riding and see the leaves change. I pumped like crazy because I was breastfeeding as well. In the room next to us in the lodge was a family with a baby and everytime she cried I would let down and cry! I missed my baby - my body missed my baby!
The moral? Get so attached and realize the ultimate gift you are giving your son. A gift that no formula can give him. Pump just to encourage your milk supply. While you pump watch your baby whether he is sleeping or awake. Just fall in love with him.
The only word of caution is this: If you are feeling stressed out for ANY reason don't try to pump. You'll get frustrated and blame it on the milk or worse, yourself.
Just love that little baby. Contact the www.lalecheleague.org for more info. They are the leaders in helping women breastfeed. This is not my personal opinion, it is a fact!!!
Much success to your son and you!
~R. B

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wow. all these ladies said what i was thinking, except for one thing. i dont know your sleeping arrangement but i know that if i sleep on my belly that have much less milk when my son wakes me up. so try not to sleep on your belly, i think its putting all that pressure on the breast makes for less milk. otherwise, like the ladies said, try on demand feeding (even though its really difficult sometimes) or check out kellymom.com, they have lots of milk suppy info, lists of herbs (including fenugreek) that will up the supply. something that works for us is cluster feeding . . . feed every 30 mins or an hour . . .oh yeah, and no paci's, let him suck on you instead (goes with the supply n demand thing).

good luck and congrats on both being able to be a SAHM and on your decision to breastfeed. enjoy that little bugger, they get so big so fast!

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You can talk to your OB/Gyn or your child's pediatrician's office may have a lactation consultant on staff. Most recommendations involve not supplementing just nursing alot more (supply and demand theory). Also additional pumping to mimic increased supply. There are also some supplements you can take like mother's milk tea and fenugreek (I found this only at GNC) the fenugreek will make you smell syruppy , yes as in maple syrup, and works really good for some women, it didn't do anything but make me hungry for pancakes! My ob put me on Reglan which is a medication for stomach problems that has the side effect of significantly improving milk supply. It really worked great for me, but lots of doctors don't want to prescribe it as another side effect is sleepiness and depression which is already a problem for most new and nursing moms. So my advice is nurse and pump often and see if that helps and try to not supplement if you can help it. Give it a few days and if you don't start seeing an improvement contact a professional.

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Fenugreek suplements or Mothers Milk Tea works wonderfully. I used MMT while breastfeeding my daughter and ended up with more milk than she could ever use so I donated quite a bit to the NICU where she was when she was first born. Both Fenugreek and MMT are completely safe for breastfeeding mothers and actually used to boost milk supply. Many women use MMT or Fenugreek to induce breastmilk without pregnancy (for adopting mothers) I've done quite a bit of research into it because Ben and I will either be adopting or using a surigate mother in the future to have a child and I'm a firm believer in breastfeeding. In time, as long as you show your body your child needs more, (which will take some extra pumping at first) your body will adjust and create more milk. It just takes a little time. :)

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Yes, it will get up there, but it will take a little time. I would recommend pumping between feedings to build your supply (milk works on supply and demand, the more demand the greater your body will supply it.) It doesn't matter if you don't get hardly any milk when you pump, your body will think the baby is hungry and start to produce more. I would reccommend going to the La Leche meeting this week - there is one Thursday night 7 pm at the Strongsville library for more help. The best thing to do is relax and know that your body WILL adjust and you WILL be able to do this!! Stress cuts milk supply. La Leche also has a good website www.laleche.org

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Most likely, your milk supply is staying low because you are supplementing. If you just completely stop supplementing and spend a day devoted to nursing, your supply will increase to what he needs. Spend the day in constant contact with your baby (you may need a sling or baby carrier) and nursing at the first cue. It may feel like you are doing nothing all day but nursing at first, but this is good for building your supply. It works on supply and demand you may have heard. That means, your body replenishes what is taken out. You are never "empty". Breastmilk is like saliva in your mouth. It is constantly produced. But, you can feel full when your milk ducts fill up.

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Call a la leche league counselor right away--you can find tham in the phone book. It is easy to lose your milk supply in this situation--so you need quality advice right away.
Good Luck
C.

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I kind of went through this with my daughter. My son unfortunately lost interest, but any how try pumping after feedings. It will help your body realize that you need to produce more. Also try to wean him away from the formula, he is getting filled from that when he should be filled from you.
Just know that he is at least getting the best from you, also drink lotrs of water. That may help.

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Pumping works sort of like 'supply and demand'. The more a child 'demands' it, the more you breasts will 'supply' it (in most normal, healthy cases). Even though your son might not be at your breast, continue to pump when you normally/usually would have pumped and that should help with the issue.

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I had this problem with my daughter and it was suggested to me by my lactation consultant in order to get my milk supply back up to use a breast pump. It does work, just a little time consuming in the beginning. Just pump while you are feeding a bottle to the baby. Even though not much will be coming out at first, you are stimulating your breast back up to start supplying the milk. You may want to also consider contacting the laleche league. They are awesome and can give you even more ideas to build up your supply. Good Luck!

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The only way to build your milk supply is by breastfeeding more often. Your breasts work by supply and demand. The more your baby nurses, the more milk you will make. I would stop supplementing with formula and breast-feed like crazy. At first, it may seem like that's all you do, but it will work.

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Feed on demand is the only thing that will increase your supply but feeding with formula takes away from your supply increasing. I don't know where you live but there are great lactation specialists at most hospitals, at least where I live.
I would not give your baby formula but then I was not able to breast feed 21 years ago, too impatient. Good luck

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I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but be careful of some of the foods you eat too - I know that peppermint is one thing that can cause your milk supply to lessen because it's one of the natural things that you can eat once you have weened your child help stop your milk production.

Also the more you feed your son the more milk you will make - you want to make your breast feel empty after each feeding so you might want to try feeding him and then pumping to empty out the breasts. Because that empty feeling triggers your breast to produce more milk faster.

Good luck,
Mel

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I used Fenugreek. You can get it at a natural food store and it is safe for you and your baby. Take a couple capsules a couple times a day and in a day or so it should help your supply. It worked for me!!

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Hi A., I had the same problem when my son was born. I wound up seeing a lactatian. She said the reduction in supply ( even though pumping ) was due to the seperation from my son. She had me nurse him more frequently for a week or so, then gradually lengthen times between feedings, it worked pretty well for me. Good luck, F.

There are herbal supplements that you can get to help boost your supply. You can also pump in between feedings to stimulate your supply. Even if nothing comes out, you'll still be stimulating the glands that produce the milk. I wish that I could remember the name of the herbal thing because it really worked well for me...just go to a health food store and ask...they should know what to give you. I bought a tea and a pill, but I used the pill the most.

I also want to encourage you to nurse as long as possible. I nursed until my son was 15 months and since I stopped (2 months ago) he has had more colds than I care to talk about. Good Luck!!

**After I read the other responses, I saw someone used Fenugreek...that's what I used! It works.

HELLO, MY SON WAS BORN IN OCTOBER TO IF YOU KEEP FEEDING HIM IT SHOULD COME BACK IF NOT CALL A DOC
P. S

You've gotten some great advice.

And you've gotten some questionable advice... While I truly think her intentions are good, Jackie B's advice about feeding on the mom's schedule every 3-4 hours (instead of following and trusting your baby's cues) will NOT help you increase your supply at all. It will likely make your baby fussier than necessary and probably will harm your supply even more (due to decreased frequency of your baby at the breast). First, the myth of "a baby can't be hungry 20 minutes after they've nursed." Babies *can* nurse and then be hungry again within 15-20 minutes - this is TYPICAL behavior during growth spurts!!! This is how babies are *biologically programmed* to increase your supply! Disrupting this w/ scheduled feedings only every 3-4 hours is only going to harm your supply. Doing scheduled feedings when mom prefers (instead of when baby prefers) can actually be *more* tiring than feeding on cue because baby is likely more fussy if he's hungry but having to wait around for the next scheduled feeding (shoot, I get grumpy when I'm hungry but can't find food, too!, and I'm an adult!).

In order to maintain & increase your supply at this age, your 3 month old NEEDS to eat *on cue* - meaning *whenever* he's showing ANY signs of hunger (sucking on hands, rooting - crying means he's already really hungry!). Also, your 3 month old should be nursing at least 2x during the night, too - even if you have great supply, he's just too young to not nurse at night, but ESPECIALLY since you're experiencing low supply, the only way to increase supply is to nurse frequently, day AND night.

Now, on to the excellent advice - just mostly summarizing here from what other moms have said plus a few links:
* http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
* lots of skin to skin w/ your baby (nap together if you can!, wear him in a sling close to you, take a bath together, etc.
* feed on cue - TRUST YOUR BABY to tell you when he NEEDS TO NURSE, when he's hungry, and that *could be* every 20 minutes at times at this age!!! Young babies often do these frequent nursings (called "cluster feeding") during growth spurts to specifically increase mom's supply to keep up with their nutritional needs... pretty cool biological design, eh! ;)
* for now, no artificial nipples or pacifiers (at least until your supply is sufficient) - even light suckling at the breast for comfort will stimulate your milk supply to increase
* instead of supplementing with formula, PUMP PUMP PUMP w/ a double electric breast pump (10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off) and supplement with your own breastmilk
* eat & drink natural galatagogues (things that increase your supply) like: oats/oatmeal every morning/oatmeal cookies/oatmilk, eat as much garlic as you can stand, take fenugreek capsules or tinctures (like Mother's Milk Tincture, etc.)
http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/bf/galact.asp
* avoid peppermint & sage & decongestant medicines (these can decrease supply)
* please, please attend a local LLL meeting, call a local LLL leader, and get a recommendation for a good, well-respected lactation consultant (IBCLC) who can help you get off the formula and instead increase your supply - every time you use formula, you are hurting your supply - even if you pump, it is not as effective as your baby's sucking

LLL of Dublin: Meets on the first Monday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Dublin Presbyterian Church, 5775 Dublinshire Drive. Please Tiffany 614/477-2970 for information.
http://www.discoverohio.net/LLL/index.shtml

* with the help of LLL and/or an IBCLC, mentally prepare to *ditch the formula* because it's not helping your supply at all - this is why formula can be such a slippery slope! Yes, sometimes formula can help moms "get over a hump" as long as it is used incredibly sparingly AND the mom is *pumping* both breasts with a very good double electric pump EACH TIME formula is given - but, for the most part, when moms use formula, it can so easily become a crutch where there's nothing being done to even maintain (let alone increase) the mom's supply... so you need to work to increase your baby's time at the breast, increase your pumping, and keep the goal in mind to get off the formula (whether that has to be done gradually or could be done cold turkey, you'd want to work together with someone who is supportive of and specializes in breastfeeding, like a lactation consultant or LLL leader).
* stay well hydrated (lots of water!) and well fed, and REST as much as you can! For now, look at "feeding your baby at the breast" as your *primary* job - increasing your supply now will benefit you & your baby in SO many ways in the months to come and is really a great investment of time and effort!

So, CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of your son, on being able to stay at home to watch him grow, and choosing to feed him at the breast w/ the amazing love & health benefits that breastfeeding brings. You're doing wonderful work that can be tiring at times at the beginning, but HANG IN THERE - you're in the learning stages right now, but this will soon become 2nd nature and will likely become extremely easy & convenient once your supply is up to where it needs to be. Best of luck to you both - you CAN get your supply up w/ correct information, support, and determination! :)

Hi A.:
I exclusively breastfeed my daughter and I've had fluctuations with supply, usually during growth spurts (especially around 3 mo.!). I took the advice of some of the women here and the lactation consultants on the La Leche Legue site -- ask your question at www.lll.org and a professional will get back to you. Here's my 2 cents:

We're on a flexible schedule so my baby eats every 3-4 hours during the day (I don't have the energy for demand feeding). I recommend routine feedings so your baby knows what to expect and when to expect it...and you know that if he gets fussy an hour after he eats, it's not because he's hungry, it's usually for some other reason.

If my baby isn't getting enough milk, she usually wants to eat every 3 hours instead of every 4. That's one way to increase supply -- increase frequency (but don't let him snack every 15 minutes - that will drive you crazy!) Another way is to pump for 3-5 minutes after your morning feedings. Mornings are when you're producing the most milk. That tells your body that demand is increasing and within 2-3 days it should adjust to baby's needs.

Also, something to keep in mind for the future: Now that my baby is sleeping through the night, I set my alarm for 3am to get up and pump. It's exhausting, but it helps keep my supply up as well.

Congratulations on your decision to breastfeed -- it's so important. Even if you continue to supplement with formula (I know a couple of moms who have done that very successfully), your little guy is still getting all the great health benefits your milk has to offer. Good luck!

Wow, awesome advice out there ladies!
Like some of the others said, nurse...nurse...nurse. Stop the supplements. He'll be hungry quicker but his nursing works better than any pump ever made (I never could get those to work for me). Babies naturally hit growth spurts and your body adjusts within a day or so. So, ditch the formula and nurse like crazy!
Just a warning with the herbal supplement. My sister took it to increase her supply, which it did; and went borderline depressed/lethargic which stopped the instant she stopped taking it. So, if you struggle at all with depression/hormonal balance issues I would wait on the herbal supplement and talk to your doctor about it. In the meantime, nurse, nurse, nurse.
Good for you to be making the sacrifice to stay home and to breastfeed!
A.

Pump after you feed him. I have had some issues with my baby (now five months) and the pumping worked well for me. Then my pump broke and I decided to quit worrying. The supply will catch up with the demand if you are patient.It did for me. Good luck!

Hi A.,

Some great advice you have gotten. I talked to a friend who is a midwife and she recommended "More Milk Plus" that is AWESOME. It will rebound her milk supply within a week or so. http://www.motherlove.com/product_more_milk_plus.php The testimonies are incredible, and I know motherlove is a name we can trust. Along with some of the advice you have received, you may want to add this to your regimine...definitely avoid the formula. Congrats on your new son, my daughter was born in Oct. 2005...it's amazing how fast a year flies by. Best wishes to you & your new family!

L.

I recommend pumping before you breastfeed. Your baby can get much more out than the pump. Then, if you think he needs more, you can give him the pumped milk (but a baby usually nurses as long as necessary) Good luck!

If you let him keep nursing even after you think your "dry" at that feeding your body will naturally start to make more milk. I would be cautious giving him supplemental bottles because A) nipple confusion and B) if your giving him bottles then he wont be nursing as much to increase your supply. I don't know if you are on a schedule or if you feed your son when he "tells you" hes hungry but I will say the latter would be better for brining your supply back. I hope this helps and kudos to you for nursing :-)

I also had the same problem and ended up having to stop breastfeeding......my milk supply just dried up and my ob said it happens to few people but it does happen.......at first i was doing great and everything was smooth but as he got older and drank more the less I produced for him. For a while I would pump and feed him and then half way between the next feeding and then eventually I would get hardly nothing when I would pump so I had to stop. I wish you all the luck and I know its hard to stop and bottle feed but do whats best for your little one. All the advice is good but just an update its better to pump often to make your supply come in faster.....they say your body will produce as much as you need, if you pump and then feed then your body will start producing more milk because your baby needs more milk. But if you only feed every so often then your body won't produce alot because you are not getting rid of alot......if you think about it it makes sense. Try your options and I wish you all the best.

There are a few things you can try. First drink more water, try oatmeal in any form (cookies or straight oatmeal), and nurse more often. Also once you nursed on one side, nurse on the other again before offering formula.

there are herbs you can take, but I would talk to a lactation consultant first.

A.,
I have breastfed both of my girls, and never had that problem, but if I did, I would cut out all of the formula and just breastfeed. This seems like the most logical way to increase your milk. Good luck!
M.