I have a very severe allergy to Peanuts and other legumes such as chickpeas cause milder reactions such as hives and itchy mouth/throat. I am currently in need of increasing my milk supply and I'm not sure if fenugreek or goat's rue will cause an allergic reaction since they are part of the legume family of plants. For now I am just going to purchase alfalfa, blessed thistle and fennel and see if that will help. Does anyone know of any other solutions for this problem?
I realize that breastfeeding frequently will increase supply but unfortunately breastfeeding is incredibly painful for me. I've been to Lactation consultants and my baby latches correctly but for some reason my nipples always end up cracked and sore. It was so bad that when I pumped nothing but blood was coming out! I've been breastfeeding like 2-4 times a day or however many times I can before it's unbearably painful and then just pumping every 2-3 hours. My supply has decreased from 4 oz each breast to 4 oz from both breasts.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
Thank you for all of the help and suggestions! I have to start by saying that I never realized that nipple shields were for sore nipples (I always ignorantly thought they were for inverted nipples) so when I saw the post on here about the nipple shields I decided to try it right away. What a blessing the shields are!! They have helped so very very much and I have increased the amount I am nursing now to 6-8 times per day. I do still have to supplement a small amount because my milk supply isn't quite where it needs to be but it has increased as well quite a bit. In fact, yesterday my left breast was engorged for the very first time! Needless to say I am excited for the first time about breast feeding.
As far as the fenugreek and other supplements are concerned- I am staying away from the fenugreek due to my peanut allergy and I drank a nursing tea for a few days but it gave me and my little guy gas so I stopped. I don't know if the increased nursing or the tea has increased my milk supply but as I mentioned before it has increased. I ordered some herbal supplements (fennel, blessed thistle, etc) and once I receive them and take them for a few days I will post the results on here. It may be helpful for anyone else out there that may have peanut allergies.
I can't thank everyone enough for all of the help. I am going to post another question on here about post c-section bleeding so if you have time please take a look and offer any suggestions or info you may have - Thank you Again!!
Try eating oatmeal every day and drinking lots of water. You can also use a nipple shield until you are healed to help with the pain.
When I was nursing my two boys, both times I had incredible sharp pain in my nipples, though I had no blood or cracking. My milk supply dwindled down to nearly nothing even with diligent nursing and pumping. None of the lactation consultants could help and none of the remedies for increasing milk supply helped. I think my body was reacting to the pain by not creating milk.
I discovered later, and nobody mentioned this when I was going through this, that I had an overabundance of yeast in my system-which was causing the pain, and my adrenal glands were overworked-which could explain why I wasn't producing milk. (Both boys had thrush as infants, so in hindsight this makes complete sense to me.) My naturopath suggested I eliminate all sugar, including honey, sugar-even raw-fruit, bread, pasta, and anything else that would convert to sugar. There are also herbs you can take to combat yeast but I would check with a professional to see if they are safe to take while breastfeeding. Most conventional doctors don't subscribe to this sort of stuff, so don't be surprised if your OB/GYN scoffs at this.
Good luck!
Try drinking a beer about an hour or two before you feed or pump. It works!! Some people find it controversial, but seriously, it's fine. I exclusively pumped and I noticed a significant increase when I drank a beer. Any beer is just fine and if you drink one or two, the alcohol effects will not transfer to your baby. Fenugreek did work for me as well, but I don't know if you want to take the chance on a reaction...maybe talk with a doctor about it?? Good luck!
i think its pretty much painful for everyone..mine were also cracked and sore..Gerber makes a good chap stick type thing called Breast Therapy..worked the best for me..and i would have my son nurse more on the breast the hurt the least and give the other a break then change the next day..here is one way to really up your supply.. this stuff you can order online called Motilium..aka DOM...i learned about it on kellymom.com a breast feeding website..
you take 1 twice a day for 2 weeks..you will see a significant increase within 72 hours..
i took it when my son was 9 months and my supply shot back up..
you should google it and order it online
good luck
D.
Hi S.,
I would be very cautious about using fenugreek, as every protein component in it thus identified is known to cross-react with different peanut components. Fortunately, it cross-reacts with components known to cause lesser peanut symptoms rather than systemic ones. More than likely, you would experience the same oral allergy syndrome (OAS) symptoms you experience with other legumes.
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about Goat's Rue, since there's no information in any of the allergen databases I searched. As a member of the legume family, however, it's likely that it too will cause a reaction.
You should know that eating foods that you have a known allergy to increase the risk of allergic sensitization to your breastfeeding infant. It would be best for both you and the baby if you were to practice strict avoidance.
I know many of my friends swore by beer. I didn't try it myself, since I don't like alcohol. Drinking a lot of water is very important: if you're dehydrated, your body is not going to want to give up fluid. Relaxing is also key. This is, of course, very difficult to do if you're expecting pain! You might try doing some deep-breathing and yoga or meditation to relax before you begin nursing, and make sure you're someplace that is peaceful with no distractions.
I used bag balm on my nipples when they cracked. It's a natural lanolin product used to treat the teats of dairy cows (I kid you not!). It works great (just make sure to wash any residue off before feeding baby). It also works great for diaper rash. You can find it at many chain drugstores, as well as places like Whole Foods and health food stores.
Eventually, your nipples will toughen up and things will get better. You should also know that your baby will always be able to nurse a greater volume from you than you can get out using a breast pump.
Good luck!
Do not take fenugreek if you have a peanut allergy! It will cause a reaction!
Oatmeal, brewers yeast, anything with lots of fiber. Lactation cookies. http://realilfemum.blogspot.com/2010/08/lactation-cookies...
Did you have inverted nipples?
Have you tried nipple shields? I strongly recommend them for sore nipples. I used them with my daughter when I had bleeding scabbed nipples. Also they can mix a special cream at the pharmacy I think they call it triple ointment...with antibiotics, anti-inflamatory and an anti fungal. That worked great but it was expensive.
Pumping always makes my nipples so much more sore than feeding my son.
Get some nipple shields!!!!!!
Whole grains and lots of water are good for keeping your milk supply up.
Google barley water. It's as simple as soaking barley overnight and then taking the barley and the water and boiling it with fennel seeds for about 30 minutes on a low boil. Separate the barley and the fennel seeds from the water. Drink it throughout the day.
Another choice is a non alcoholic beer. This also works well to increase milk supply.
Lots of protein!
Land have you had baby's mouth checked for tongue tie? If its tongue tie, the frenulum clip is a very simple procedure and fixes the problem immediately.
Eating oatmeal has also been known to support increased milk production. If you don't want to drink beer (though I agree it can be effective) you can also make smoothies with Brewer's Yeast. It has a lot of protein and a complex of vitamins and minerals...unfortunately, I only found it palatable in peanut butter smoothies.
Are you using lanolin or some sort of nipple butter? That sounds just awful. I found that warming the lanolin with a hair dryer made it more soothing and spread easier.
I'd also lay off the pumping a bit and encourage more baby nursing. The pump just made me more sore which causes swelling which can impede let-down. It is a vicious cycle and pumping isn't a good indicator of your actual production.
Have you tried side-lying nursing? I find that I was able to relax much more and only had to worry about getting my breast in the babie's mouth.
BTW...alfalfa is also a legume.
Try this site: http://www.lowmilksupply.org/increasingmilk.shtml
Motherlove makes an alternative supplement without fenugreek or goats rue, it's called More Milk and More Milk Two. Motilium is a drug to treat GI issues who's main side effect is lactation. I know IBCLCs who advise to take this for increasing supply. Talk to a LC but you are correct about goats rue and fenugreek, both cam cause allergy symptoms in those who are sensitive to the peanut protein.
