Increasing Supply, Fast!

Sadly what works for some won't work for others so it's trial and error. You got lots of good recommendations. My sister had great success with mother's milk tea.

My supply was decreased because I was pumping exclusively. I tried everything to increase it but was unsuccessful. My body just didn't respond to the pump. I ended up reintroducing the breast successfully at 2 months. Sometimes bodies just don't do what we want. Wishing you the best of luck!

Breasts work on supply and demand so if your supply is down then drink a lot of fluids (water is better than soda, coffee, tea, or sports drinks) and nurse the baby often. The more the baby takes from the breast the more milk will be made. Sometimes the baby goes through a growth spurt and it take a couple days for the breast to catch up. Just relax and let your body do what it is made to do. The more you panic the less milk you will make.

You don't mention why it's gone down - is it because your baby is eating solids? I always breastfed first - did a big burp - then fed solids so my milk supply stayed the same. I drank all day long when I was breastfeeding - I carried a water bottle with me. I made sure to finish (empty) each side fully. If my babies just 'snacked' instead of emptying the side, then my milk supply went down.
If baby was going through a growth spurt, then it seemed like my milk supply had decreased - but really, it just took a few days for me to catch up. I just continued to breast feed as normally.

The absolute best thing that you can do to increase your supply quickly is nurse more often. I see from a previous post that you have started your baby on solids. Always always nurse first, then give baby food. Your milk is your child's nutrition, and baby food is just for fun. Nurse your baby before every meal, so that he's always coming to you hungry.

If your baby is starting to sleep through the night, or if he sleeps later than you do in the morning, you can add a pumping session to your schedule first thing in the morning. That can help some - but remember that a pump does not replace a baby (as far as your body is concerned), and you shouldn't pump instead of nursing, you should add a pumping session in addition to adding nursing sessions.

While you do this, make sure you are hydrated.

There are other things out there that claim they help - for example, oatmeal is supposed to help and there are recipes online for mother's milk oatmeal cookies, and there are teas marketed to this, etc. But I never found anything to really work except for increasing the frequency of nursing. Milk production is mostly about supply and demand - the more your baby demands it by nursing, the more your body will make.

Good luck.

the best way to increase breast milk is to nurse more and pump after nursing to ensure you get all the milk.

Drinking plenty of water helps too. I would avoid anything with caffeine in it.

wait - back in March - you had your 4 month old on solid foods....

DESTRESSING - helps milk.
Plenty of water help
Pumping after nursing helps
Fenugreek helps.

The best is pumping or breast feeding...with a great latch.

Forget cookies, teas and vitamins for that. I think it's all hype. And tea with any sort of caffeine in it is dehydrating. Be sure you aren't drinking other caffeinated drinks like cola either.

Nurse more, nurse first before solids, drain one breast before switching to the second side, alternate sides (start left first one time, right first the next time). You're giving solids very early in some people's views (although I had to at that age), and that's going to fill a baby up so that nursing isn't as appealing.

And rest more (I know - there's no time with an infant!), drink more water.

Sometimes there just isn't enough though - it's okay if it doesn't work for you. It didn't for me - although they think part of my problem was a breast infection, and by the time it cleared up, my baby wasn't interested and wasn't gaining enough weight.

kellymom .com is a great source for the breastfeeding mother. they have suggestions for increasing supply, foods to eat to make milke production better, and foods to avoid because they decrease supply. anything with oatmeal helped my supply go up. as did taking fenugreek. (but then my sweat smelled like maple syrup)

My family counseled dates and walnuts, my in laws counseled a pint of Guinness. Try pumping after feeding, or pumping while feeding. Sometimes you get more milk if baby is suckling one while you pump the other.

Like others have said it's a question of tricking your body into believing there is more demand to boost your supply.

Good luck
F. B.

Oatmeal.
Eat some every day.
Fenugreek does help too.
Drink plenty of water, cut out caffeine, nurse often, and rest up as much as possible.
http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/fenugreek/
http://www.justmommies.com/babies/top-ten-lactogenic-food...

Pumping in addition to feedings - if you increase demand, your supply should respond. If there is a sudden reduction in supply, you should speak to a lactation consultant to make sure that nothing else is going on.

I did "lose" my supply with one of my kiddos fairly early on due to stress. There wasn't much I could do about the stress so I ended up having to stop early :( It was one of those things where I really didn't FEEL stressed, but my body sure did.

Plenty of water, rest, limiting caffeine - those all help. I can't speak to any supplements other than to say I would be a bit afraid to without a doctor giving the ok.

Good luck!