Need to Increase Lactation

I also had a problem producing more at work, so the lactation specialist @ the hopital told me to bring a picture book into work of my son and just concentrate on thinking of being with him, this totally helped... she also said many women have success by taping their childs cry and then listening to it while they pump... natural reaction is produce milk. Also at home after he went to bed she told me to watch a sad movie or something that provokes emotion... this really worked for me. I was able to fill two 8oz. bottles with one movie and still had plenty for his midnight feedings. good luck and happing pumping!

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I have a few ideas and questions for you:

* Now more than ever you need to focus on relaxing while pumping to help your letdown. Your growing anxiety can work against you. So if you can, drink a tall glass of water and take several deep breaths before you start to pump. (You probably already know this but some people have better results if they have a picture of their child or can breathe in the scent of a lovie such as a small blanket. No joke, it helps.)

* In fact, water and deep, relaxing breathing helps any time.

* Your supply will increase with stimulation... by tricking your body into thinking you are nursing a bigger baby or twins. If you aren't already, work on the "third breast" method. That means nurse on the first side, second side, then move back to the first side. It will give your breasts more stimulation which will trigger more production.

* Are you able to get a pumping in right after your last nursing session of the morning? I know it's typically NOT the easiest time to add one more thing to do! But that's typically the most plentiful time for milk and you might be able to get some then.

* You can also stimulate through pumping. So I suggest that you do a bit of pumping after some of the nursing sessions while you are with your baby. You don't have to do it every nursing session but try over the weekend or in the time when you are together to do it as much as possible for a while to nurse, then pump. If you typically nurse, for example, 10 min each side, then do that with him, and as he moves to the 2nd side see if you can pump the first side. (Depending on what you are using, that is easier or harder.) The same principle applies as for the "third breast"... it tells your body to increase production.

* Fenugreek seemed to really help me. Cooked in rice it made a tasty pilaf.

I had very low supply when my dd was born and had to use these techniques and thank goodness they helped.

Best of luck to you.

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I have not read every response but from what I have read you have gotten some fantastic suggestions for increasing your milk supply. In addition, if it hasn't been mentioned already you may want to try to freeze/store your milk in smaller amounts like 2-4 ounce bottles. when a baby is at the breast they eat until they are full and come off when they are done. Sometimes this is not the case with the bottle. Even if they are full the caregiver may feel that the bottle needs to be emptied and continues to feed if though the baby is not into it. Also the flow from the nipple may be a bit fast and he may be drinking it faster than at the breast and taking more in than he normally would. If the amounts are in smaller increments than he is able to take in the amount that he really needs. For example if he has a 3 or 4 ounce bottle and still seems very hungary he can be offered a smaller 2 oz bottle. This also prevents waste if he doesn't finish a larger bottle.
This info may not apply to your child but it may be worth a try.
Continued pumping and lots of nursing will keep up your supply. Also, It is normal for a breastfed baby to nurse a lot at night when away from mom during the day. He is just doing his part in keeping up your supply. He is better at getting the milk out than a pump is.
La Leche League is a great resource and the meetings may be very helpful to you. They offer a wonderful mom-to-mom support system. They also have a great website where you can find a group near you.
Good luck!

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Hi A.,

I would suggest contacting the La Leche league in your area. They are amazing support and full of ideas on how to continue breast feeding even when things don't seem to be working out so well currently.

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http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbal-rem_a.html

Try this site - it has some herbal remedies to increase your milk supply.

Also - pump first thing when you wake up in the morning. Your supply is at its highest at that point. If you can - do it before your baby wakes.

As far as not pumping on the weekends - I totally understand. But what about pumping on one side while he nurses on the other???? Do it during the week as well.

Also try to remain calm, worrying & stressing about not having enough milk, can help decrease your supply while pumping. Stress in general will decrease your supply.

Good luck & great job on continuing breastfeeding!

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I would try increasing your protein and water intake. I would also suggest contacting La Leche League in your area - llli.org. There generally have women and their phone numbers listed so you can contact them inbetween meetings. Good luck.
L. M

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Pumping is very difficult and it isn't the same as nursing a baby. You can increase your supply by drinking Mother's Milk Tea. Follow the instructions because you need to steep the tea bag in the water for atleast 20 mins before drinking it to get the medicinal purposes of the herbs into the water. Also you can drink a non-alcoholic beer a day. My midwife told me that there is something in it (hops or barley, I can never remember which) will help to increase your supply. Also while your pumping try "milking" yourself. I know this sounds gross, but it works and you get done faster too. Grab your breast close to your body and squeeze moving your hand towards your nipple as you do so. If you do this with the rhythm of the sucking from the machine you can extract more milk this way. I once got 10 oz from both sides, combined, in one sitting. I also use to move the cup around so that different glands were targeted from the machine.

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Hi A.,

I breastfed my two biological children for a year each. What really worked well for me with my youngest was to pump every day at the same time, a time in-between feedings. With my oldest son I had one helluva time trying to pump enough milk to feed him, and he wouldn't touch a drop of formula, so it was a nightmare! Then I was lucky enough to read somewhere when I was pregnant with my youngest that if you pump every day at the same time it will trick your body into producing an extra feeding's worth of milk at that time. Sure enough, it worked like a charm after my youngest was born (8 oz. every morning at 8:30, after the breakfast feeding), only I stopped after I had a freezer full of milk and then later, when I went back to work and needed to pump again, I wasn't getting nearly the same amount (maybe 4 oz.). So now I know never to stop, even if you have to discard the milk at the end of the day, because you never know when you're gonna need it later.

Are you using an electric pump, preferably a double? I tried a couple of hand-operated ones, but what really did the trick was the Ameda Purely Yours electric double pump. Scary looking, yes, but effective, even better than the Avent pump that everyone raved about. I feel electric is most definitely the way to go.

You say you can only pump every three hours at work; how often do you nurse the baby when you are home on the weekends? If more often, then try to match your work pumping schedule to what your baby's nursing schedule would be. Your body will only produce more milk if you offer more stimulation; if you can manage to match your pumping schedule at work to the nursing schedule at home, you should have more success. It's the law that your employer has to allow you to pump at work or it's discrimination; if you need more time to pump, definitely take it if you can. Your employers have to provide someone to cover you if you need it.

You say you can't pump on the weekends because he is nursing all the time. That is natural, because he misses that special bonding time with Mommy. Definitely try to get that extra pumping session in, though (the one I mentioned earlier). Find a time that works for you (preferably one that matches the extra pumping session you are doing at work) and be consistent. It will take your body a little while to get used to this new pumping, and for the first week or so you might not get much milk at all, but eventually (God willing) you will get a real feeding's worth of milk. After that just remember to keep up the extra session No Matter What and you will have that much more milk to send to the daycare on Monday mornings.

I have heard good things about using beer like Dianna mentioned also. I never heard of using non-alcoholic--just drinking half a beer (and no more!) in the evening--but I have heard that small amounts of beer increase milk production. One idea I heard was to find a friend who is also lactating if possible and sit down with her a few times a week in the evening to split a bottle of beer. Apart from the benefit of increasing your milk production this also allows you to relax with a friend in a similar situation. Relaxation is always good for us stressed-out moms, especially when we have teeny-weenie babies.

And finally, if all else fails, don't feel bad about giving him some formula. I never liked formula either, and I felt like a big failure when my husband and I eventually had to give my youngest a bottle or two of formula every day. However, I was the only one who felt that way! My mom, mother-in-law, husband, and son's pediatrician all felt that the baby was fine and healthy, and that the formula was the best thing for him when my milk supply waned. (Unfortunately, my electric pump broke AFTER I stopped doing my 8:30 extra pumping session and it took me a few months before I got a new one; by that time, my milk supply was down because the Avent pump wasn't working well.) But the baby was fine with the formula, and I still nursed him three times or so during the day and the same at night, so there was no need to feel guilty. Just remember as long as the baby is happy and healthy you are doing a great job.

Good luck, and if you get a chance let me know if any of this was helpful.

--M.

P.S. If you ever have another baby, now you'll know to start that extra pumping session every day after you get your nursing routine established. I know if I ever have another baby I will!

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I breastfeed my daugther for 2 years,I did not give her formula, and when my body dint produce enough milk my mother advice me to eat oatmeal and/or any ceral containing corn or to eat a corn muffin or corn bread as well as to use cold breast pads on each breast for few minutes during the punping time and this worked just fine. I hope this help is old fashion, but it worked for me.
good luck

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Hi A. -
Please ask your doctor or nurse/infant warm line about using Reglan. Reglan is a drug given to cancer patients and sometimes to pregnant women suffering from morning sickeness as an anti-nausea drug, and has the unrelated, unexplained side effect of drastically increasing milk supply.
When my kids were about 6 months old my supply dropped. With my daughter (my first) I had been exclusively pumping (we just never got the breast feeding thing down right) and so I could easily see how much I was getting. I went from pumping about 64 ounces a day to about 20 a day for no apparent reason. MY OB prescribed the Reglan and I started on a pretty high dose - a couple of pills a day (can't remember exactly). Within about 3 days I was back up to 64 ounces and more with way less effort than I had ever had.
It was such a pleasure! I was even able to actually breastfeed her some, because I guess it was so easy for her to get the milk too. After just a few days I cut back on the quantity of Reglan and got to the point where I was just taking one pill every few days. I would take a pill, it would be smooth sailing and then when I saw that I was slowing down (usually after a couple days) I would just take another pill.
I can't recommend this enough! Also, in all fairness, there is a trace amount of the drug which is detectable in the milk, but the benefits of that clearly outweighed the negatives - not to mention that the drug is safe for kids anyway. And my kids are older now and perfectly healthy!
So good luck.

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First, I want to say that I am having the exact same problem you are (except my son is 6 months old). I have been back to work for 2 months and have never pumped enough milk for my son for the next day at daycare. One thing I started doing is getting up at 1 or 2 AM to pump (my son sleeps through the night so this seems to work well). I can get anywhere from 6 - 10 oz. during this pumping. I even do this on weekends and have been able to keep up with my son's big appetite. However, I'm exhausted so am trying to find other ways to increase my milk supply. I talked with a lactation consultant and she made the following suggestions:

Try to pump for longer periods of time (e.g., if you pump for 15 minutes, extend it to 20 minutes)
Pump at different times during the day (e.g., not always at 9:00, 12:00 and 3:00)
Pump after you nurse him (especially in the morning) - I know this is hard (especially when you are trying to head off to work)

I do want to echo what others have written so far - you are doing a great job giving your son any breast milk. I know it's hard to remember this sometimes, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to stick with the breastfeeding after you go back to work and you should be very proud of yourself!

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A.,I gotta hand it to you for all the work you're doing, but trying to regulate the amount you pump, the amount of bottles you give, etc. is difficult... The natural supply and demand is upset.
I couldn't do it and that's why I was a sahm for a long time; the breastfeeding was very important to me. It all depends on how important it is to you to keep breatfeeding. I don't know your financial status; that's usually the big factor, but if you can afford it, I'd take some time off from work if I were you. My three kids are grown and I don't regret doing that even though we gave up some luxuries. As I look back, nothing was as valuable as the time I spent with my kids.
Go with your gut...Good luck

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Hi A..
Oatmeal works for me. I've also used Mother Milk tea, which doesn't taste the best, but does work.
Also, try to relax before you pump. Do some breathing and think of a nice place. And then think of all the things your child does that you love while you pump.
Good Luck!!!

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Hi,

I have PCOS too, but was unable to produce enough milk. Apparently, there is a drug on the market that helps to increase the production of milk. ASk your doctor or endocrinologist and they might know. Good luck, sounds like you are doing better than I did!

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I am not sure if this has been mentioned. I had a hard time producing milk, and my Dr. recommended an herb called fenugreek. It definately worked. You can get it at GNC. It worked within a couple of days. If you try it I will warn you, it makes you smell like maple syrup!! But it does work.

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