I'm Not Producing Enough Milk

I have a 2 month old girl and I do not produce enough milk to exclusively breast feed. My friend told me to try Organic Mother's Milk. It is a herbal tea that you can by at GNC. It has helped me produce more milk for my baby girl. I still have to supplement with formula but my milk supply has steadily increased since I have started using it a week ago. The way things are going I may be on my way to exclusively breast feeding again.

Whether you delivered here or not, I would contact the Harris HEB Breastfeeding center. I have heard wonderful things about their support post delivery for anyone who needs help.... Maybe just give them a ring and see what they have to say...###-###-####... best wishes!

Just pump as much as you can, as often as you can and it will increase. I've heard of women stopping for months and then being able to produce again. You will be fine. Good luck

Here is something that worked for my supply. I used crazins instead of chocolate chips though and they were tasty! You can use the brewers yeast in stuff lioke your oatmeal and stuff too as that is the main ingredint.

Housepoet's Famous Lactation Boosting Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip & Flaxseed cookies:

* 1 cup butter or marg
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal*
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
* 1 cup or more chocolate chips
* 2 tablespoons of brewers yeast* (be generous)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes. Cream (beat well) margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well. Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the margarine mix. Beat until blended. Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips. Add to margarine mixture. Stir in oats then chips. Scoop or drop onto baking sheet, preferably lined with parchment or silpat. The dough is a little crumbly, so it helps to use a scoop.

Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

Serves: 6 dozen cookies

Preparation time: 15 minutes

*can be found at any local health food store.
*NOTE* IT MUST BE BREWERS YEAST, NO SUBSTITUTIONS.

I made these for a friend who's having supply issues and they were so flippin' good. You can feel yourself lactating as you nibble on them. If you don't like chocolate, who doesn't like chocolate tho, you can substitute for carob chips, raisins, butterscotch chips, whatever. (Reprinted with permission) - created by Noel Pickett

Here's a high-fiber muffin, and a plus is there is no sugar!

APPLESAUCE MUFFINS

Dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cocoa (or carob flour)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup chunky applesauce (I also have used smooth)
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup soy or cow's milk (I have used goat's, too)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg

Goodies:
3/4 cup coarsley chopped roasted walnuts
3/4 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400 F. Measure and sift the dry ingredients into a bowl one at a time. Set aside. Whisk the wet ingredients together. Add the goodies to the wet ingredients, DO NOT OVERSTIR. Spoon the batter into well-greased muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cook in baking tins for at least 10 minutes before removing. Enjoy!

I can't have wheat so I actually make these with 2 1/2 cups whole wheat spelt flour, if you're interested in doing so it turns out fine. I usually double this and doubled it makes 35, according to how big mine are, anyways.

Nursing the baby frequently (i.e., at least every 2 hours during the day and at least every 3 hours at nite) will increase your milk supply. The baby is far better at getting the milk out than the pump, although individuals have different experiences. I personally was never able to pump much at all as I did not have good letdown when pumping. You've had many things work against establishing a good milk supply, so it will take extra effort on your part. My first child was in ICU and they were having me pump and dump and I was not a good pumper. So, by the time we got home after 5 days in the hospital, I also did not have enough milk. It took me until he was 2 months old to totally get off the formula as the formula really works against you because it fills them up more, so they're not demanding to eat as often. What I would recommend would be to try to get him to nurse first and if he doesn't seem to be getting enough, let him have a little bit of formula to take the edge off the hunger and then nurse some more. They also make tubes that you can use so that he can get formula at the same time as nursing. It's the sucking action that will stimulate the production of milk. Most of the milk is produced during the feeding. I highly recommend you contact a local La Leche League group (www.lalecheleague.org) and here's the link to the groups in DFW area: http://www.lllusa.org/web/DallasTX.html
I personally found La Leche League to be the most useful overall (and there current website is awesome), but seeing a lactation consultant early on was somewhat helpful.

It will be hard, but it is absolutely worth the effort in terms of the longterm health of your child (and yourself).

I would also recommend wearing the baby as much as possible. Do not use the car seat type carriers...also, try to co bathe...just take a nice soak and bring baby in the tub with you...it is said to help rekindle the baby's nursing instincts. yes to Mother's milk. yes to good diet. yes to stress relief. Be careful of the Reglan suggestion. I have heard stories of it being linked to depression. Consider switching to a different type of birth control if you are using a pill contraceptive. Progesterone only is the one most frequently recommended, but maybe even wait until supply goes back up before resuming the pill.
One last thought. I never made for the pump like I made for my children. The love isn't there. So you might be making more than you know. Look for signs of contentedness while your baby is at the breast. And of course for adequate urine output (6-8 wet diapers a day) and levels of alertness and his growth pattern will help you to determine if baby is "getting enough". We really started losing the faith in our bodies ability to breastfeed when we got to look and see and measure how much!
Take care and Congratulations!
Marianne

Try taking Fenugreek and following all the other advice you got. Its an herb in pill form you can get at Whole foods or any place like that. Its better than Mothers milk tea, more effective and easier than drinking 4 to 6 cups of tea a day. You just take a couple of capsules a couple of time a day. You can end up smelling a little like maple syrup but its worth it if your producing more milk. Good luck.

You can try taking Fenugreek because they absolutely work! Also, you need to pump as instructed! I used Fenugreek with all of my children. I stayed on top of my pumping and even after stopping the Fenugreek, my milk supply was amazing (even so much that I froze a lot).

How do you know you're not producing enough? When my twins were born I was SO upset because when I pumped afterwards I didn't get very much, so I went to a lactation specialist. She said I was producing just fine, they were gaining weight and seemed satisfied. Just be sure to breast-feed when he's hungry, pump for 10 minutes afterward and supplement when absolutely necessary if you're really set on solely breast-feeding.

You have to Drink at least 2 quarts of water daily. Fill a container and know you have to drink it all before you go to bed. Rest is also extremly important. Without rest and lots of water your milk supply may not be enough to meet the babies needs.

i had a hard time feeding my son ans i made a lactation consultation with the hospital and they told me to try and feed him for 10 min on each side then my pedi told me to give him 1-2 ounces of formula but pump for 10 min after i breastfed and the continued stimulation would in turn cause me to produce more and more milk. now i have no probs. my mother also incountered probs because my baby bro was premature and in the nicu for a few weeks and she could only feed him once a day then when he came home she did the same thing i had to do and she started to produce milk like normal. just keep trying and dont give up or get frustrated and itll happen. hope this helped

JJ - Not sure where you are at, but most hospitals have breastfeeding resource centers. Make sure you call yours and make an appointment with them. They will have you come in and nurse the baby and they will weigh him before and after nursing and can tell how much he is getting. This way you can find out for sure if you are someone that is just not producing enough period or if you just don't pump out that much but the baby may be getting enough.

One other thing you can try is the recipe below. I made these cookies when my little one was going through a growth spurt and I wasn't producing enough for her. Within one day after eating them I was producing more than enough:

Housepoet's Famous Lactation Boosting Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip & Flaxseed cookies
Ingredients :

* 1 cup butter or marg
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons water
* 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal*
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
* 1 cup or more chocolate chips
* 2 tablespoons of brewers yeast* (be generous)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes. Cream (beat well) margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well. Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the margarine mix. Beat until blended. Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips. Add to margarine mixture. Stir in oats then chips. Scoop or drop onto baking sheet, preferably lined with parchment or silpat. The dough is a little crumbly, so it helps to use a scoop.

Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

Serves: 6 dozen cookies

Preparation time: 15 minutes

*can be found at any local health food store.

My daughter, now eleven months, was born on a Tuesday evening, but my milk did not come in until late Saturday. I used warm compresses and manual manipulation (start at the top of your breast and with the palm of your hand, kind of flatten yourself out from the top to the nipple repeat) to help bring my milk down.

I would keep pumping! Just make sure you are drinking lots of fluids and you have enough fat in your diet. Be patient...it will come if you keep at it :) Good luck and Congratulations!!!! Dr. Sandra S.

Im so sorry. I did the same thing, so I just stopped. I heard there is a tea you can get that will make it happen. I would call Healthy Approach or Sprouts and ask them if they have anything.

I read that there is something like an herb but do not know what it is. I think I saw it on one of the mamasource posts. G.

I gave my daugther both and she was fine. She nursed until I got tired of it. My son however when the circumsized him was away from me all day and he never latched on good. I just put a regular bottle nipple on my boob and he drank that way. After a few weeks I gave up because I had to wash the nipple all the time and just as easy to make a bottle.

Contact La Leche League or a lactation consultant. If your supply is low or the baby is having a hard time latching, it is highly likely that you CAN fix the problem, but getting good information is important!

To increase supply, nurse the baby, then pump with double electric pump. You can give the baby supplement via a supplemental nursing system like LactAid (a lactation consultant can help you with this) to avoid nipple confusion and to provide extra stimulation.

Good luck! You can do it!

Congrats on your little one! I, too, just had a baby on September 12. I did not make much milk with my first baby and ended up supplementing more than I liked. I was nervous that the same thing would happen with my new baby. They gave me a shield in the hospital, which helped her stay on longer. My pediatrician and my midwife/doula suggested nursing longer on just ONE side. So instead of nursing 15 minutes on two sides, nurse for 25 or 30 on one. They said it helps bring in the 'hind milk' and will stimulate more supply. And it is working so far!! I have more of a supply and she will nurse longer and better. Also try putting your baby to the breast more often, even for shorter amounts of time. One of the previous responses was right - your baby will get the milk out better than the pump.

Best wishes and congrats!!

Congratulations. The last thing you need right now is stress over breastfeeding. Please just feed him what you can and then supplement with formula. If you continue pumping and feeding him your milk supply will probably increase, but if not--he is still being fed nutritiously. There was a time with each of my boys that I didn't make enough to satisfy them and when I just accepted that I would be supplementing it took the pressure off and I could relax.

Have you contacted a lactation consultant?? If not I have a great one, but her card is at home, I will be happy to get that to you if you'd like tomorrow.
I have a 2 month old and I am back at work and getting concerned about my milk supply also, I have herd about and am going to try a tea, called mother's milk that is supposed to help and there are supplements that you can get at Whole foods and via the internet that are supposed to help also.
The best thing to do is to have a lactation consultant come to your house and work with you and baby one on one ( it worked wonders for me!)...Your little one nursing is the best thing to get your milk supply up and really if you have to nurse every hour do it It won't last forever and just take one day at a time, don't get discourged.
Hang in there! Let me know if you want that phone #.
Take Care,
J.

Good news - pumping is NEVER an indication of how much milk you're producing. Some women just can't pump a lot of milk but they make plenty for their baby. Only 5% of women don't make enough milk so the odds are highly unlikely that you're not making enough.
To increase your supply just nurse that baby like crazy! Latch him on when as much as you can (during the day) because that'll be telling your body that you need more, more more.
Good luck!

I had really good luck working with a lactation consultant. Here's her contact info ...

Wendy Blumberg
Baby, Birth, and You
###-###-####
____@____.com

She also rents baby scales so you can determine how much milk your baby is getting when you breastfeed.

I to had problems producing enought milk-or at least as much as I thought I should have. I used the Mother's Milk tea and you can get it at any GNC store. Good luck and relax cause stressing about it always caused me to get less to. I would usually read or something while pumping so my concentration would not be on how much milk I was pumping and then I would look down and see I had tons. Also, eat healthy and have snacks too. TONS of water too.

I pumped full time for 3 boys and I am a cow when it comes to pumping. you need to pump for MORE THAN 15-20 minutes if you are full time pumping. I used to pump until I was empty and then go about 5 minutes past that to ensure production for the next time. then i would let my milk build up for at least 3 hours and pump again. my sessions would last at least 30 minutes a breast and later I had so much milk (I was pumping about 35-50oz per day I SWEAR) it took nearly 45minutes to an hour to empty. If you dont pump until you are empty (no more milk is comming at all and after 5 minutes past that) you tell your breast that you dont need it all so it makes less than you want. Also, Get a tube sock, fill it with dry rice, tie off the end and microwave if for about 45 seconds and wrap it under your breast and then massage your breast in a down ward motion to stimulate the release and take a hot shower before you pump . sit in a quiet relaxing area and drink TONS of water. Dont give up its still possible to get you milk back. email me and I can talk you through it over the phone. I really had huge success pumping full time for a 3 boys. My youngest son was born with a cleft lip and palate and could not suckle on the breast and my oldest would not latch on and i was so good at pumping i just decieded to do it again with my 3rd that way i could share it with my 2 year old via the sippy cup for his health. any way, good luck, A. J

I took a compound medicine called Domperidone. Most insurance does not pay for compound meds and it was $76 a month. You have to have a prescription from your OBGYN for it. I used Both Worlds Pharmacy in Arlington. I did a lot of research on it and it is safe for you and the baby and it is also approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics. I also used Mother's Milk tea, but did not get the same results. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water and feeding/pumping every 3 hours also. If you need any more info on the med, let me know.

K.

Same problem. You can put baby on the breast frequently and pump right after before feeding with formula. You can try Fenugreek seed, a natural supplement. Also, ask your Doctor about Reglan (reglin?)a prescription used to enhance milk supply. Finally, there are breastfeeding classes and consultants that may be able to help. Your hospital can point you in the right direction. Its very hard to get a supply back once its gone. I have to be honest, none of this worked for me, but everyone is different. Hope you have better luck, BUT DO NOT FEEL BAD IF IT DOESN'T WORK. Many women have milk issues for a whole host of reasons. I was so depressed about it and wasted alot of time obsessing. Just enjoy this wonderful miracle, and the rest will fall into place.

Most important....CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SON'S BIRTH!!

JJ-

THe above advices are all the ones I tried and unfortunately they did not help me with producing any more milk which I was really bum. I finally at 7 weeks had to stop since we were supplimenting and he was still lossing wieght and it was just not worth it. Even though I truely wanted to breastfeed as long as a could. But before having to stop I would definately try all the other ladies suggestions it could not hurt. Good luck and let me know how it all goes.

Try Fenugreek, it's an all natural herb supplement you can get that helps boost your milk supply. I did it with my last child and it did help :)

I tried that Fenugreek supplement and while it helped a bit, I could not stand the smell that it gave you. You smelled like Maple Syrup...it was gross!

I talked with my OB and he prescribed me metoclopramide. It was used for people with irritable bowel problems and they found that women who took it started lactating even if they weren't new Mom's. My friend (who had never been pregnant or anything) woke up after taking it for her stomach to find that she was lactating...freaked her out i'm sure!

I didn't breastfeed my son until he was 3 months old. I had to supplement with formula and pump because I was not able to produce enough and he is not a big baby.

I am now BFing part time and formula feeding bottles because I went back to work and didn't want to deal with pumping at work (I work with all guys so it was a bit uncomfortable!)

Good luck!

Hello JJ,

I had my baby on 10/2 also. I am going through the same thing, but don't worry. I spoke to a lactation consultant and they said it is normal to produce 1/2 ounce-2 ounces of milk with pumping off both breasts together. I started pumping when my milk came in last Saturday every three hours and I only can pump out just shy of an ounce each time. I am drinking plenty of water, etc. There are herbal supplements that you can take to increase your breast milk. If interested, let me know and I can give you the name of the lactation consultant and they can let you know over the phone how to get the supplement. FYI, I am supplementing with Enfamil too. I usually mix 1 ounce breast milk and 2 ounces of enfamil to meet my son's demand. You are not alone, I hope this helps and good luck. B.

Purchase the Mothers Tea and Fenugreek pills they both works wonders for me with my first child. You can buy therse at a health food store Vitamin World or GNC etc.
I am currently breastfeeding with my 3 week old. I feed her every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours at night even if she is asleep I wake her up and put her on the breasts. This helps my supply I really don't like to pump alot only if necessary when she is too full to take the other breast, but my supply has been steadily flowing. It is time consuming to feed so often, but well worth it all. I often drink the tea just to maintain my milk supply so that I can pump milk for storage so when I return to work. Please don't give up call a lactation consultant for support. Good luck it will get better for you and the baby !!

keep pumping and breastfeeding. it will build back up. fenugreek and mothers milk tea are great but you have to take SO much of it. Milk Aid worked best for me. You only take 2-4 pills a day. Also, a full glass of water before pumping or breastfeeding helped. When I pumped, I would look at a picture of my baby and the milk would start gushing out.
Also,a can of beer(non alcoholic) a day is believed to help produce more breastmilk- a brand of beer with lots of yeast,that is.

Mother's Milk Tea by Traditional Medicinals available at most health food stores like Healthy Approach and some grocery stores like Market Street and Central Market. I'd call first to check. This stuff did wonders for my milk production. I had to add about a teaspoon of sugar to make it taste good, and I only drank 2 cups a day per my OB's instructions (rather than the 3 it recommends on the box), but it definitely worked for me. Good luck!