Looking for Tips on Increasing Milk Supply or More Efficient Pumping

For me, water made a huge difference. I keep a pitcher of water at my desk at work and make myself drink it all in one day. Also, I got myself a hands free bra so that I can pump without holding the bottles. That made a big difference too, because then I wasn't staring at the bottles and was able to relax more.

Good luck!

there is a supplement you can get at health food stores called Fenugreek. It worked wonders for me with both my girls when I went back to work. You can either take the pills/capsules or in some grocery stores I found a tea. One was called Mother's Milk. Best of luck.

Make sure you are drinking lots of fluids, when you go back to work you often neglect drinking the fluids you are supposed to. Keep gulping down that water, tea, milk etc... I have purchased the mother's milk but have not tried it yet so I cannot comment but I've heard really good things about it. For me, I noticed when I drank peppermint tea my milk supply would increase. I hope something that someone has suggested will help you. I know it's very frustrating to not produce enough milk---- Don't forget to drink constantly.

Hi P., first of all, take a moment to congratulate yourself. You're doing an amazing job!!!! My daughter is 8 months, and I've been back to work since she was 4.5 months, and I don't think I ever pumped 16 oz. during the day! And she's never had to have formula. I bet you're pumping plenty enough for your daughter. I used to pump three times a day for 15 minutes, and I'd get on average 2 oz. per side; sometimes more; sometimes less. I usually went home with 11-14 oz. of milk, and that was fine for the next day. Just keep it regular and your body will adjust. I drink Mother's Milk Tea. I honestly don't know if it works, but it makes me feel like I'm doing someting positive, and I like the taste. ; ) Keep up the good work--you're doing an amazing job for your baby!

P.,

Using a warm compress while pumping helps.

CM

I drank Mother's Milk Tea. I would nurse her on one breast then when she finished pump the other. I also pumped in between feedings. Here are a couple of sites with great resources for breastfeeding:

www.llli.org
www.kellymom.com

Good luck!

T. Solar
Founder
www.theparentpack.org

Note - Peppermint is used to dry up milk supply - nursing mothers should avoid peppermint!

I have never pumped that much, and I found that my daughter actually reverse cycled after the first few weeks (I had enough in the freezer to get her though until this happened). So she ate most of her calories at night and only had 9 ounces most days. You can also try adding a morning pumping after her first nursing or before she wakes up.

What helped me:
*Relax if you can while you pump, drink something warm and soothing, eat, look at pictures of your daughter, hold one of her blankies that smells like her, etc.
*Drink plenty of water and eat well.
*Figure out how to get a good let down with your pump. For me that meant letting the letdown feature run for the entire 2 minutes (PIS Advanced) and sometimes even restarting it to use the letdown feature again (PM me if you want more detail).
*Pump longer - I usually get a 2nd letdown if I pump for more than 20 minutes, so I usually go until after that 2nd letdown).
*Do breast compressions when the milk flow slows down.
*"Power pump* every few days. Pump normally, stop, and then pump another 10 minutes or so 15 minutes after the first session. It really does help (learned that from a momma who exclusively pumped for a year.)

Good luck! It all really does work itself out.

Hi
I know of your frustration. I have a 8 month old and I currently stopped pumping at work, so he is getting a formula once a day when he is with his grandma. But the things that I did was to make sure I drank a lot of water, at least 4 nalgenes a day, pumped only once, had a picture of my baby boy and relaxed. I did noticed that when I was stressed out of overwhelmed I wouldnt get much milk, but the next day I would be back to my usually amount. I thought it was my pump too when I was pumping when I was at home, maybe you could rent pumps at hospitals and at BabiesRus. Just some helpful tips.
H.
I am 28 too!

This exact thing happened to me. This is what I did: I pumped an extra session at work, and after my son nursed at home, I'd pump a little more--both to signal my body to produce a bit more. I also took high doses of More Milk Plus capsules, which worked very noticeably in a matter of 2 days. It did come around and everything was fine! I pumped til he was a year old and had stores to last a few months beyond that. Good luck!

Hi P.,

I am a mom of a 21 month old, and a 5 month old. I breastfed my first until she was 9 months old (due to the new pregnancy I did not produce enough after that and had to switch to formula). I am also breastfeeding my 5 month old, hopefully until she is a year old. I have had the same problem you described with both of my daughters- where it would vary how much milk I was able to pump per day. I noticed that the problem seemed to be whether I was able to relax and "let down" my milk while pumping. If I concentrate I can actually feel when it lets down, but if I am thinking about other things then I may not notice whether my milk let down or not. When my milk let down I could easily pump enough milk for my daughter, otherwise it would only be 1-2 ounces no matter how long I tried pumping. Here are some techniques that I use to make sure my milk lets down:
1. Picturing my daughter, her smile, her laugh, the way she snuggles my shoulder- something specific.
2. Looking at her picture on my phone or camera
3. Smelling something of hers/baby lotion that I put on her
4. Warm/hot washcloth placed on my breast before pumping

Good luck with these ideas, and I hope this fixes the problem!

After returning to work, i quickly found out i had to pump 4 times/day to satisfy her. sometimes i pump every 1.5 hrs, sometimes 2..but 2.5 max..i couldn't maintain milk supply pumping every 3 hrs...i work for about 6 hrs/day, and brin home 12 oz on average, and in 6 hrs she drinks about 10-10.5...so i am ahead of the game and have been freezing the extras.

G'Luck, and don't give up...even if it's not enough it's better than alternatives

I was taking Fenugreek. Now I'm taking "More Milk Plus" which mothers apparently swear by - it has fenugreek, thistle and other stuff. I'm waiting to see how much of a difference it makes.

Also - drink plenty of water. And eat oatmeal! I have 2 packets per day.

Eat well, sleep well. Try not to stress out as that affects milk supply. 3x a day is great.

Good for you in trying to provide the best for your daughter!

I breastfed for two years with my daughter, having returned to work only a month after she was born. I found that I had to drink far more during the day when I was working than I had when I was not. You'd be surprised how much more you need in terms of fluids when you're back to the daily routine. You need enough for you AND to express milk. I also used the Traditional Medicinals "Mother's Milk" tea. I drank lots and lots of that, and that helped. So, I would recommend that you drastically increase your fluid intake, and try the Mother's Milk tea.

drink more water...i nursed both kids for over a year and when my supply would get low, I would drink lot and lots of water...it always seemed to work

I also pump @ work and there are days that I don't get alot. U just need to make sure that u are eating and drinking lots of water. I found on days I didn't eat my three meals and two snacks my milk supply dropped aswell as not drinking lots of water. Stress pays a big toll in that too. Don't get discouraged keep at it. Your supply will come back. If you need to increase it, after you feed your baby pump and you will start getting more milk.

Talk to your OB or Pediatrician for a prescription for Reglan or a special mixture called Don Peridon. The latter has to be mixed by the Pharmacy but there is one you can call in Rancho Cordova called Innovative Compounding ###-###-#### and they can help you find someone near where you are. Both of these are usually recommended by the Lactation consultants at the hospitals here in town...Good Luck...and try not to stress about it...

The advice that worked best for me was to drink a lot of water. It sounded so cliche (everyone tells you to drink water for everything) that I didn't even try it until I had exhausted all the other advice that I had received. Once I started drinking a lot of water, my milk was a-plenty. And, it happened quickly. The same day I started slugging back water, I got milk. The only other thing that affected my milk supply was when I once took Sudafed for a cold. That stuff will dry you up in a big hurry. You'll want to stay away from that.

Hello,

Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter. I use Fenugreek herbal supplement to help me increase my milk supply.

There's another good article that you might want to check it out too: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

Good luck and hopefully things gonna get better soon...

In addition to the advice you've already gotten, make sure you pump in the morning (both sides) before you nurse. The pump isn't as efficient as your baby so even after you pump, your daughter will still get have plenty of milk. Also, your milk supply is highest in the morning. When I pump in the morning I can get twice as much as in the afternoon.

good luck!

Sometimes it can be difficult for you milk to "let down" when you're pumping. If that's the case you'll only get a couple ounces in session. Try nursing your baby on one breast and pump the other one at the same time. Your body will automatically "let down" for her and the other breast will produce too. Good luck.

Hi P.,

I am going through the same thing right now...my son just turned 5 months old yesterday. I have found that drinking more water helps a lot, also google the term 'galactagogue'. Basically its something that induces lactation. There are a lot of natural things you can eat, such as oatmeal, that can increase lactation. I started taking an herb called Fenugreek last week and I have noticed an increase but make sure you talk to your child's doctor to get his or her opinion on if they think it will have an effect your baby.

As for the actual pumping efficiency, 3x while at work is great. Also, you should try to pump for 10 minutes after each time you feed your baby. This stimulates you so your body knows it needs to make more milk.

Good luck!

Congratulations on your baby girl.
I've had the same issues...drink loads of water, drink some sort of Mother's Milk tea by the gallon and take fenugreek..it'll help!
N

Prolactin is a vital hormone for milk production, and at 4 months, those levels drop, usually resulting in a slight decrease in milk production. How often do you nurse your daughter when you aren't working? Milk production relies on supply and demand, so the more you nurse/pump, the more your body will respond. Also, remember that for most women, a pump is not as effective as your baby at expressing your milk. Another factor for working moms is that by the end of the work week, you may notice that you can pump less milk, but on Monday, you tend to pump more. This is due to you nursing your baby on the weekend. Baby is more efficient and helps to increase levels!!!

I would recommend nursing as often as your daughter wants as well as continuing to pump. Maybe even pump a couple times on the weekend and right before your daughter's longest sleep to help build up your own milk bank in your fridge and freezer. This will help with your stress of feeling like you aren't producing enough to keep up. Stress is a DEFINITE factor in milk production!!!!

i drank mother's milk and pumped 2x when my daughter was sleeping and started to freeze the extra milk. at first it was hard but i would get up in the middle of the night and pump. i did this before going back to work so it gave me a head start on the supply. good luck.

Hi Pricilla

I have had this same problem. I spoke to another mother and my pharmacist (also a mother) who told me that Fenugreek is good at increasing milk supply. It can be found a a health food store such as GNC or Whole Foods. It is in pill form.

My little boy is 8 1/2 months old and I ended up supplementing with formula (Enfimil Lipil.......the ready made kind). I still breastfeed and pump when I am away from my baby. My pediatrician's nurse said to mix it with my breast milk and my baby is adjusting fine. Be sure to check with your pediatrician. Also does any of your family members have lactose intolerance? If so, I was told it runs in families so double check the options. I was devastated when I had to supplement with formula, but I was always stressed at the fact my baby boy was not getting enough milk.

Best of luck to you.

I am having wonderful luck with Fenugreek. My lactation consultant told me to take 3 pills 3 times a day for 3 days and to drink lots of water. The bottle says to take 1-2 pills a day. If I notice my production is down, or if my daughter is nursing a lot during a growth spurt, I will take 3 pills 1-2 times a day. It is working great for me! GNC carries it for pretty cheap! Good luck....you can do it!