Questions About Nursing

I had the same problem. I wasn't going back to work though. I went to a lactating consultant and got a hospital pump. The medala pump to be exact. That worked wonders. It works better than any store bought one. I also was put on a liquid that helped bring back my milk. It costs a little money, but for me was completely worth it.Good Luck

I am pretty sure that you could re-up your supply. My mother is a lactation consultant, and I have been hearing about breastfeeding related issues all my life.. I would just start nursing her as often as possible ASAP. She may not be getting much at first, but babies suckling is the most effective stimulus to get your body producing. Maybe try pumping some after she's nursed, too. As far as pumping goes, some women say that looking at a picture of their baby helps. Don't give up, and don't let anyone discourage you from doing what you feel is best for you and your baby. Did you know that women who have not even given birth can actually breastfeed their adoptive babies sometimes? Through a combination of nipple stimulation and pumping, you can trick your body into making milk! Supply and demand, I guess. Also, I'm nursing my 10 mo. old, and after I had been back to work awhile began to find it harder to pump as much. It may have just been due to the fact that I had a crappy pump, but I've found I get much better results hand expressing my milk. I use mason jars for storage because it's easier to kind of sit the jar in my lap and lean over it while expressing. Hope this helps, and good luck!

You can always get your supply back. A good book that goes into detail about this is 'The Nursing Mother's Companion'. Please don't quit! You are doing so much for your daughter. When you pump maybe you should do something else to distract you- watch tv, read a book, write in a journal to your daughter about how much you miss her, how you are doing this for her, etc. Then you won't concentrate on how little/much you are producing. I had heard some funny stories of people who have even pumped while driving and found that is how they produced the most milk. I have not pumped myself so I don't have 1st hand experience- I work from home so don't have to worry about that- but am training to become a doula and LLL leader. Your local LLL leader should have some good advice for you. They are all listed online and you can contact them any time. Good luck!

M.,

In my experience, my milk supply depended entirely on how much I nursed the baby, and it would increase to the baby's needs however much I needed. For example, I worked four mornings a week (Mon. through Thursday), and my supply went away for those four mornings. But Friday through Sunday morning, it was still there. And, when I went on vacation with the baby for a week, it came right back for her. Pumping on the other hand, worked less and less for me. So, I ended up giving her formula during the times I was working. I think you can trust your body to give the baby milk whenever you nurse her. And, don't feel bad if you have to give her formula even most of the time - five months full-time nursing is awesome! She will still have more health benefits than most babies get.

Hi M.,
No!!!! Your milk supply is not gone forever.... I've read recently about mother's that adopt babies and that can actually stimulate milk production! I find that truly amazing. It's what a women's body is meant to do, naturally. So, please don't give up. Breast milk is the optimum nutrition for your baby.. It has SO many benefits for mom and baby. I know that their are supplements out there that can help increase your supply.. I only work out of the home 2 days a week so have never had to do this. However, my 3 month old son nurses a lot and I find myself having to leave lots of expressed milk with my mom so I need to pump more frequently than I did with my daughter, who is now 2 and a half.. I nursed her until 27 months, I weaned her just before our son came so that I didn't have to tandem nurse... She will be three in September and has never had an ear infection which I truly believe is because of the breastfeeding benefits;-) You say that you nurse her at night so that is very good to keep your supply up. Do you sleep with her? We sleep with our son so he nurses frequently at night and that helps keep me with lots of milk.. I also slept with our daughter until she was two and that really does increase milk supply. I would check out lots of breastfeeding sites to find other ways to increase your supply. I bet that Dr.Sears would have some great tips for you! Don't stess though because you can get it back and stress does not help increase your flow;-) Also, make sure that you are still taking a prenatal vitamin, drinking lots of water and eating lots of good, healthy food. Good luck!

Melissa

M.,
Normally, you should be able to increase your supply by nursing or pumping more frequently, in fact, this is exactly what happens when your baby goes through a growth spurt (there's one around 6 weeks, if I remember right) and they seem to nurse all the time. Your supply increases to meet the growing needs of your growing child. I would give it a try--what have you got to lose?
Good luck!
G.

If you still have some supply, you can bring it back....actually La Leche League has information about inducing lactation in folks who want to nurse adopted babies etc so it's even possible to get some amount of supply back after you are "completely dried up" but it takes a ton of work. You can nurse your little one and just not pump if that works for you. She'll at least get something and every little bit helps! You are doing a great job so far. You can also take Fenugreek supplements and or Mother's Milk tea to pump up your supply. You can find both at a natural foods store (I just bought both at Whole Foods for a friend).
Good luck!

Hi M.
As a lactation counselor I can say that you maybe able to get your supply back, nurse your baby often and pump after every feeding. It may not come back to its full supply as before but something is better then none at all. Make sure you supplement so your daughter gets all she needs. I suggest an organic formula but if you already have something that is working great. Their are a lot of moms who go back to work and are unable to keep their supply being away from baby but if you spend your time at home nursing and/or holding your baby when she eats that's good to. Their are things you can order on line called nursing supplementer at www.medela.com This would allow you to breastfeed and supplement at the same time it will take some effort but it is possible. If it does not work know you have done a wonderful job providing for you daughter and the fact that you have some regrets means you care for her a lot. Best of Luck. If you would like to join a nursing moms group I lead meetings the 2nd &4th wednesday evening in River Falls WI call for more info ###-###-#### G.

Hello M.,
I am a mother of five and I nursed all my children and I completely understand what you are going through. Your milk supply will be there as long as you continue to nurse. The more you nurse the more milk you will produce. I know that it can seem frustrating when you are pumping and nothing is really coming out. But do not worry, your body will provide what your daughter needs. As far as your milk supply goes, if it was lower because maybe you weren't nursing/pumping as much do not worry because when you pick up with the nursing your body will produce more. If you wish to continue nursing your daughter do so for as long as you like. I nursed most of my children until they were almost 2 or shortly after 2. Don't worry, I am not telling you to do that;you nurse for as long as it is comfortable for you and your baby,with 5 kids I have learned that sometimes even though you want to continue nursing because I too enjoyed the closeness and the bonding time sometimes they wean themselves before you want them to.My oldest did at 13 months;a lot of people said that was fine because he was over 1 and he didn't really need to because he wasn't getting the benefits anymore anyways, I have found that not to be true, I have noticed that with my other children that shortly after I stopped nursing that they tended to get sicker easier and I am sure it is because they weren't reccieving the immunities from me. I wouldn't worry about pumping too much if it is not working for you. There could be any number of things that are causing the problem:
-maybe the pump isn't the right one for you, sometimes you need to try different pumps to find the one that works for you.You could see your local lactation consultent and they could maybe help you, sometimes it is something simple that you may be doing wrong and once it is found the problem goes away. They are great sources of information when you need help.
-if you are stressed out then it can hinder your milk supply, so relax and breathe and be patient and eventually it will come and increase,if it doesn't don't stress.
-somtimes drinking a glass of water or milk before you nurse or while you nurse can help milk supply; if you are dehydrated then it can make your body harder to produce more milk, so stay hydrated.
-if you really want to be able to pump milk so your daughter has a supply, just keep at it and eventually it will come. There were times when I was pumping and I barely got anything and I had been pumping for awhile. It's frustrating but I found that every little bit I stored even if it was only 1 ounce added up the more I added to it and evenutally-sometimes it took awhile I slowly started to pump more. A good idea to keeping the milk supply up is if you are nursing and your daughter falls asleep and only nursed on one side or only a little on the other grab the pump and pump what is left, that can help keep the milk production up as well because if she should start always doing that and then you're only nursing a lot on one side and a little or none on the other the milk supply will start to dwindle, but if you pump it then it will keep coming. Remember your body will only produce what you need if you need more it will produce more if you don't nurse as much or need as much it will start to go down.Don't worry though, if you went through a stage where you didn't nurse as much say as for instance your child gets sick and they don't nurse as much at that time;even though the milk supply may go down it will come back when your nursing picks up and start building up more;hence the more you nurse the more you produce.
Good Luck and enjoy your daughter and the time that you cherish nursing her. I hope these tips help you!:)
J.

You've gotten a lot of good responses already, but I wanted to give you a couple of other ideas that I didn't see posted yet. For pumping while you're home with your daughter, you can try pumping on one side while you're nursing on the other. Your baby is much more effective at getting your milk to let down than the pump, so this can help you get more milk for your efforts. It's really awkward at first, but if you keep practicing it gets easier and is a good timesaver.
Also, you mentioned that your daughter is 5 mos old now. Pretty soon, she'll be able to start solid foods. Lots of working moms have the baby get most or all of their solid foods while mom is at work, and then just nurse while they're home. Probably it's a good idea to keep pumping at least once while you're at work to keep up your supply and have some milk available for your daughter while you're gone, but adding solids makes a big difference.
Hope this helps!

"The first and easiest remedy for this is to nurse more often and longer. You can take the blessed thistle to in crease the volume of your milk; marshmallow and red raspberry leaf teas are said to enrich the content of the milk. When I a nursing a baby full-time, I take a nap every day. I put the older children in charge of the younger ones, put the baby to the breast, and go to sleep for at least an hour. An exhausted mother cannot produce adequate milk for her baby. Dr. Christopher stressed the importance of drinking at least a gallon of steam-distilled water every day; he said that most individuals are dehydrated. You will find a big difference in your overall feeling -- and your milk production -- if you drink enough. Some women recommend taking a tablespoonful of brewer's yeast in juice (apple juice goes well with the flavor) to increase milk. If you ask around, you can find a good-tasting yeast. I find that this remedy really does increase milk yield, and it brings up the blood sugar and gives stamina to a harassed mother. Start with a smaller dose and increase gradually to avoid the possibility of gas for you and/or colic for the baby."
(excerpt from "Every Woman's Herbal" by Dr. John R. Christopher and Cathy Gileadi)
If you need any help with any of the above mentioned remedies, you can contact my mother-in-law who is a Nutritional Herbalist working on her Master Herbalist degree. Check out her wedsite or contact her at www.joannsnp.com
Best of luck!!!

If you are still making milk, and want to continue nursing-Start Pumping. Your body works on supply and demand. Re-establish the commitment to nursing then you can train your body to only produce milk when it is needed. If your baby only wants to nurse at night, that is when you will have milk. If you have dried up it may be too late but if you still have milk you may be able to bring it back. Drink one beer 1/2 hour before you want to pump or nurse to try to jump start things. I got very sick and dehydrated while nursing my last baby. My doctor told me to drink one beer prior to nursing to encourage milk production.

If you don't usually pump at work, you won't have milk at that time. If you usually nurse your baby at night you will have milk at nursing time. You don't stay engourge after nursing awhile so you may not realize you are still producing milk. Good luck.

Have you tried drinking beer? I know this sounds silly, but women use beer in Europe to increase their breast milk (with the added benefit that it calms you down). I tried it when I was nursing and it worked like gangbusters.

No need to become a drunk ~ a half glass will do the trick. Also, rye bread or the supplement Nettles.

Also, you don't have to drink the beer during the day. Beer in the evening should increase your supply round the clock. You can have a rye bread sandwich at lunch if you want :o)

M. - Yes! Start pumping again!! Your supply will come back up with time. Also I highly recommend taking a suppliment called Fenugreek. You can get it at a health food store. I have been nursing and I resently was sick. My supply went down. After taking Fenugreek it has come back up PLUS some! Totally worth the money.

HTH
A.

Make sure you have a photo to look at and maybe something else that reminds/smells like your baby. Pumping is so unlike natural breastfeeding and there are a lot of sensory things that go on when your child is latched on.

A friend told me to close my eyes, take deep breaths, and focus on a "mantra"... repeat to yourself something like "my milk is flowing, my milk is flowing..." It sounds corny but you really need to relax and think about your child while pumping...it can really make a difference.

Check your state laws about breastfeeding too. Your job has to allow you the time you need to get the job done. If you need 20-30 minutes each time you pump then so be it. Most jobs are happy to accommodate this since breastfed babies are sick less than formula fed and the longer the mother breast feeds the healthy the kid...thus the less the mother needs to take time off of work.

I have a 12 month old who has had 3 cases of the sniffles over the last year. That is it! No ear infections nothing else...and we did not give the flu shot. I give all the credit to breastfeeding.

While pumping is a great suggestion you should also be latching you baby on. Suckling of a baby stimulates milk production so make sure your doing both. Nursing is not an all or nothing situation. If you are unable to pump enough during work you could give your baby formula while you are at work and still nurse when you are home your body will keep making milk even if its just for evenings and night time. Some breastmilk is better than none. To bring back your supply nurse baby as often as possible on both breasts making sure she empties both before offering her formula if she is still hungry. Seen as how you only stopped a week ago I'm sure your body is still making milk and it will be some work but you should be able to bring back your supply.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/relactation.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weaning-partial.html

If you work in Minnesota, you are guaranteed the right to have time to pump. It does not have to be a paid break to pump, but it is a state protected right. I believe KellyMom.com has links to each State's specific legislation. You also have the right to have private space to pump that is *not* a bathroom stall, so I hope no one has told you that you have to be relegated to the bathroom. The caveat to this is that if you work for a small employer, they aren't bounded by these rules - but many small employers will comply anyway in good faith.

Several people have already shared various ways you can increase supply. It is work, and will take dedication and perseverance, but, M., if this is something you truly want, you can absolutely do this!

In addition to the herbs and more frequent nursing/pumping schedule, I would also very highly recommend looking into attending LLL meetings, or at the very least finding some more support. In person is preferable since nothing quite compares to someone right there with you helping you along the way - but online works as well. There are lots of community forums available.

One such where you can get a personal mentor is http://adopt_a_mom.livejournal.com otherwise, there's http://breastfeeding.livejournal.com - a community of breastfeeding mothers who support each other.

If you start pumping now, your supply will come back up. Even though its been a week, your body is still in the groove to make milk. It will take time toget back to pumping 2-4oz, but you will get there.

Drink to thirst, eat a bowl of oatmeal a day, and latch your baby on often when you aren't working. Your baby can extract twice as much milk as any pump, so nurse her as often as you can, and pump after.

Mothers milk tea can help as well, but pumping, nursing, eating a bowl of oatmeal a day, and drinking to thirst will help. It will take a little bit, a week or two, but you will notice your supply jump back up.

I heard that pumping both breasts at the same time increases supply because your brain thinks you have twins (lactation lady stated). I tried this and I took a Fenugreek herb you can find at Rainbow I think (the bottle doesn't give instruction on how to increase milk but I think I was taking 3 tablets each time several times a day and you slowly wean yourself from it over two months or so). I don't think my supply increased much from doing this though. I did these tricks when I was at the point of only pumping 1-2 oz. total from both breasts but my child was around a year too.

Each person is different and I think a baby gets more out from the breasts than a pump. There is a Minnesota law that states you can take time to pump as long as it's unpaid. By not pumping you are decreasing your milk. You must pump and if you can do it at least three times during an 8 hour work day will help and your child should nurse ourside of that as much as the child wants.

You might want to call your local hospital and consult with the lactation consultant. There are other suppliments you can take to help increase milk supply and the lactation consultant can help you with that and how much Fenugreek to take or whatever else they may recommend.

If it's important to you to breastfeed and give your milk to your child you will not let anything come in your way and you will try everything you can before you say it's not worth it.

I pumped at work work twice a day for 9 months and I went to daycare to feed her during lunch. I stopped pumping because I was getting as much as you say you get now but my daughter was a year old. At a year she didn't "need" my milk so I just breastfeed when I was home from work and that worked out well for me. She still got some of my milk and my body adjusted fine. My daughter is 19 months and still breastfeeds morning and night and nap on the weekends. I still produce something for her. If pumping isn't worth the time then consider solely breastfeeding her when you're home and give formula when you are not around or pump what you can at work and mix it with formula and breastfeed when you're with her.

Good luck to you. Sorry to ramble but I hope I helped in some way.

M.,

As long as you're still making some milk of your own then you should be able to get your supply back. Make it a priority at work (set aside time every few hours to pump) and drink lots of water and get plenty of rest. If you can't carve out the time at work or you find that the getting your supply back is just too stressful please know that you've done an amazing job nursing your baby for these first 5 months and she will continue to thrive and feel loved on formula. We moms need to be kinder to ourselves. We can't be everything to everyone but that doesn't make us less of a mom, wife, sister, friend, etc. I will also add that I went through many of the same feeling you're going through now when I stopped nursing my son and he was well past his first birthday. I think the mourning and sadness happens whenever you ween and is normal. Good luck!

You can increase your supply at any time. You could also just nurse her after work too. You can make it whatever you want it to be. A woman can start lactating at any time in her life even if she has not had a baby here is a story about an adoptive mom who BF you could probably apply the same advice
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...
Brekka