My daughter has just about weened herself from the breast. The only time she is intrested is in the early morning right before getting up and right before bed. My problem is i am not producing as much milk as before and she likes to go back and forth between breasts for about an hour. This is driving me nuts, especially in the morning. I would just like to increase my production a little and preferably without using a breast pump. Does anyone know of any herbal supplements or herbal teas that have worked.
I just wanted to let everyone know that increasing my fluid intake helped so much. I think I might have been just a little bit dehydrated because I feel so much better now. Mothers Milk Tea also make quite a bit of noticable difference. I started feeling let downs again. I have also been eating oatmeal, not so much for milk production but my husband had to lower his colesterol(sp) so everyone has been eating oatmeal for breakfast, baby included. Thank you for all the responses. I greatly appreciate it. We are so glad we dont have to stop neither one of is quite ready yet.
fenugreek tea has helped. Also, believe it or not, a beer. Either it's the malt or hops that produces more milk.
There is an herbal tea called, "Mother's Milk" that is supposed to be for that. I haven't used it, but I've heard that it works.
I had a great response with fenugreek also. It does make you smell like maple syrup but that didn't bother me (or my daughter!). It also helps to drink a whole lot of fluids all day long. I was actually very thirsty all of the time when I was breastfeeding so I drank a lot anyway.
J.,
I used a suppliment called fenugreek. Get it at the health food store. Works wonders, doesn't get you sick as far as I know and I had plenty of milk.
E.
You can check out the La Leche League website, or go to a local meeting. The leader will likely have other "tricks" to increase your milk supply.
J.,
Hi there. I'm sorry I did not get to Breast feed my little Girl. I did not have enouff milk. But I just wanted to tell your Husband Thank you for what he is doing to keep me and my family and our Country Safe. Also Thank you to you for what all you do here at home wile he is away. May God Bless you and Your Family and Bring him and all our Troops Home safe and SOON.
K..
Oats!! Oatmeal, cheerios, oatmel cookies. Anything with oats in it. This worked wonders for me and everyone I recommended it to. :)
Sometimes my son just likes to nurse....not necessarily for milk. It might be that she's just enjoying this special time with you...she's getting emotional nourishment....not nutritional nourishment. Of course the stuff the others mentioned might help increase your milk....but probably not much if she's not nursing more often during the day.
You can always call a La Leche Leader....the ones in the Shreveport/Bossier area have all experienced what you describe. 318-742-MILK is the hotline which has the phone numbers for the leader on call....you can them call anytime.
ETA: I saw someone posted about MILK thistle....that's primarily used for liver conditions....you want BLESSED THISTLE for milk production. Common mixup. ;)
I had great luck with Fenugreek. Take three pills, three times a day (total of 9). The wierd side effect is that the smell, which is very much like maple syrup starts coming out in your sweat. You walk around all day smelling like pancakes, which is fun for everyone! Since your daughter is only nursing once a day, you may find yourself too full the rest of the day. It seems Fenugreek would be the safest way to go for now.
Good luck!
i just started using fenugreek and it's working really well!!!
I was very sick when my daughter was born, and therefore had a really low milk supply. I did a few different things to keep my supply up -- for me, hydration was key. I also took Fenugreek, drank milkmaid tea, and ate a ton of oatmeal.
Is your supply better now?
Hi J.. I had the same problem. However, I started drinking only water and I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day. The protein in the peanut butter helped me to have more milk. Good luck and I hope all this info helps!
I think you should let her nurse on each breast once and say that's all mommy's got! It will help you wean her, if that's something you are ready to do. Also, it will give you more time to spend with your husband.
Lots and lots of Gatorade (as recommended to me by my lactation consultant)! It has sodium, which helps you retain fluids better. Also, Mother's Milk tea, although this didn't work as well for me. I was extremely sick when my son was about 7 months, and my milk production went to about 1/2 an ounce per day! By drinking tons of Gatorade (I also used a pump), I was able to get back to almost normal.
Fenugreek is very good at increasing milk supply. I have a client who has a four month old baby and just found out a few weeks ago that she is pregnant again. Before she even knew she was pregnant she noticed her milk supply decreasing. She started taking fenugreek and it came right back up and her baby is still exclusively nursing even while pregnant. I can tell many stories about the wonders of that stuff. You can get it at the health food store in capsules. If you wanted you could drink a cup or two of mother's milk tea as well.
Hi J. -
Hope you had a Merry Christmas! When I was nursing my little ones oatmeal used to increase my supply just by a bit. It may have been in my mind but it is worth a try. I would eat oatmeal in the morning and then snack on oatmeal cookies. I also tried Furngeek(sp?) with some success. Hope this helps. Take Care
Hey I had a similar problem and I was told that Fenugreek was a good herb to take for increased milk production. I was told to take 3 or 4. You could also call a lactation consultant and they would help you out too.
Check with your pediatrician first b/c some are funny about taking herbals, but you can take Brewer's yeast, fennugreek or another herb (can't remember it at the moment). Can get them at GNC or at most lactation centers or natural food stores. Personally these did nothing for me other than give me diarrhea and was not worth the effort of having to take the recommended 6-8/day depending on the supplement. Good luck!
You have gotten some excellent advice! I just wanted to add a full-out, whooping, clapping, standing ovation for you for wanting to extend-breastfeed your little one! Also, here's a picture of the Mother's Milk Tea: http://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/?id=30&pid=79 I know the local Kroeger grocery store carries it in our area. And, if you hadn't already found it, kellymom.com is an excellent online resouce. Try http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
Hope that helps!
Healthy nursing tea by secrets of tea is a wonderful home remedy that helped me to increase my low milk supply.
It's like economics - supple and demand. Stay relaxed for sure if one key. Sometimes gently messaging down towards nipple increases the "letting down" as its called. I always lactated when I heard my babies cry. I felt like Bossy herself. My clothes were always wet even with pads. I wouldn't take anything herbal myself. Just rest as mch as possible and think positive thoughts. We pray daily for our soldiers in Iraq so I'll put in a special word for J.'s husband. God Bless and Merry Christmas.
I have 4 kids...all were breastfed. If she's 18 mos. old, she's more than likely only pacifying herself. There's really not much you can do about increasing milk supply. Your body has adjusted the supply to meet her needs. It takes frequency & compression to control the supply. Also, if she's nursing for an hour, if it's aggressive enough, that should increase your supply. But to maintain it she would have to nurse like that everyday. As old as she is, it doesn't take much for your body to adjust itself. If you're not ready to wean her completely, I would def. not let her nurse for an hour. That's more habit & pacifying on her part.
Yes, fenugreek, milk thistle are good ones. You can also buy mother's milk tea at a good health food store.
But I would agree that she's not nursing for nutrition, just comfort. I would simply put a time limit on her nursing. If she's not interested enough to be finished within 10-15 minutes at her age, she really doesn't want to be nursing.
drink plenty of water and the doctor recommends one glass of wine a day to help produce the breast milk. hope this is helpful.
If you will drink hot tea---any kind-- anytime of the day or
in the evening before going to bed and you should have plenty
of milk. If you want to ween your daughter, look in a farmers
almanac and see when the sign is going down from the thighs
to the feet. There is always 3 to 4 days each month and it really works. I have done it and my daughter did also.
I don't know about herbal supplements, but nipple stimulation will do the trick. Or, since your daughter doesn't nurse during the day, you could pick a point in the day to manually express milk. Within a few days, you should notice a greater milk supply. May you be blessed and highly favored of the Lord!
I have heard that the Fenugreek and the Mother's milk tea are supposed to work. Like the other responses it's all supply and demand. Your daughter doesn't need as much milk. Once they get past a year they aren't looking for the nutritional aspect, just the comfort. Unless you want to have more milk than you can do with you might just want to limit her nursing time. This will probably help her eat better during the day on solids. I had such a time getting my daughter to eat well and I just finally had to wean her. Good luck and God Bless. Merry Christmas!
I used Fenugreek for awhile and it worked for me (although it made my breastmilk and my urine smell like maple syrup!!) When it stopped working, my OB-GYN prescribed Reglan for me. The only drawback was once the Reglan stopped working, that was it for my milk. Just try to remember it's supply and demand. You body will only make as much as you are using.
Hope that helps!
J.
