First, thanks to all of you that responded to my last email about my low milk supply....it was ALL very helpful!! So, I called La Leche and was told about a tea and pill that I can get from Whole Foods to help with my "supply increase". I purchased both and have been taking the pill(I think it is called Fenugreek) for one day and I am just curious to know if anyone has taken this before and if so, how long it is until they start to see results.
I am also pumping every 2 hours during the day and 3 hours at night. Should I be pumping for 10 or 15 minutes?
Yes, pump for 10-15 minutes. It's actually the frequency and not so much the length that will matter the most. Ten minutes is great...fifteen is too, if you are able. I totally missed your first post on this! Fenugreek is a great help for milk supply. I'm not sure how soon you should see a difference. Whenever there is any change in milk supply (like if the baby is getting ready for a growth spurt), they will generally nurse a ton - sometimes every 30 minutes, and it will feel like you're empty - and it won't be until 2-3 days later until your supply responds and you suddenly will have a ton of milk. I'm not familiar with why you are having low supply issues, but that's about what is normal whenever there is a need for more milk - 2 to 3 days for a response. I'm sure it's already been suggested, but nurse as much as you possibly can. Even if you feel empty. With low supply you don't want to go longer than three hours without nursing (or pumping - but nursing is the best).
Good luck!! It's great you are doing so much to help your supply. Also, oatmeal is supposed to be really helpful - old fashioned, not instant oatmeal.
Yes, I have used, and still use fenugreek for milk supply. Start by taking two capsules, 3 times a day. If you don't see an increase in 1-3 days, increase to three capsules, three times per day. If your sweat starts to smell like fenugreek, kind-of like maple syrup, then it is working. And make sure to drink LOTS of water.
Good luck.
Barb
On my second child I was low on milk so I started drinking ... well its a healthy shake. you can find it at walmart. It was in the baby area. sorry i cant come up with the name. If its not in the baby area its by the meds. It says on there for breastfeeding moms. It helped a lot. If I come up with the name ill get back to you. Good Luck
My lactation nurse at our pedi office had me take 3 fenugreek 3 times a day and that WILL work...wow. It does not take long. I also did the Mother's Milk tea, but the fenugreek did work faster and was easier for me to keep up with taking. Hang in there.
I ended up taking Domperidone (a prescription not sold in the US, but in other countries to up milk supply). I was able to EP for 8 months for my preemie.
If this method doesnt work, email me and I will get you the info on the other!
Fenugreek response varies... but as far as pumping, you should be nursing on demand and pumping some extra milk after the baby seems done. (Pumping at different times just means your body thinks it needs to feed your baby at that time everyday.)
I could take about 1 to 2 weeks to get your milk up.
Hey Mama! Good for you for working so hard to keep your supply up for your baby. Mama's milk is now and always will be the best for that little bundle of love.
I lived for fenugreek for two years. My daughter nurses once a week now (she's 3.5) and my supply is NO more being that I'm expecting number two. But I needed it from 6 months to 2.5 - You should be taking THREE fenugreeks THREE times a day. I know, you're thinking "NINE PILLS A DAY?!"
and yes...that's correctly. What did LLL tell you? I know a fab lactation consultant. Mellanie Shephard. I don't have her # right by me, but she's in arlington, email me for it if you're interested. It should take SEVEN days to see results with the fenugreek. Just keep at it and you'll notice your arm pits and other ahem moist spots will start smelling like maple syrup. One morning you'll wake up with milk supply galore and fenugreek will be to thank! You should be pumping 10 minutes on each breast (at least) - 15 wouldn't hurt.
Good luck!
Tamara
Mama to Zoey Star 9*9*04
Baby Z.S. Due 9*?*08
I use Fenugreek. I am still nursing my 15 month old. I had to use it when I needed to take medicine for my runny nose & earache. I always drink lots of water. To me the most important thing about breast feeding is being relaxed. I do remember that when my daughter was about 3 weeks old, she would suck non stop and never seem satisfied. It's just a growth stage that is to increase the supply. Most important is to relax & it will all get easier. I swear that breast feeding is so awesome because it makes things so much easier after you get over the one month to six week hump. It's all uphill after that. It can be a bit time consuming but a great out from other responsibilities. Sorry, can't do that...I'm feeding the baby..lololol.
I never took that pill but the wic office here always told me to drink lots of grape juice and it would increase the milk supply. Plus the extra pumping should too.
I don't know about milk supply, I didn't breast feed my son when he was born 22years ago. But i do know a little about Fenugreek. It cleanses the body of toxins! I've been taking it for a couple of Years. it helps to remove junk from your digestive tract (intestines, colon etc.) helps your body function better like an engine that gets a tune up! So that's just an added benefit along with apparently increasing your milk supply!
I'm late getting into this so it may not be anything new. There's no pump made as efficient as a baby, so nurse as much as possible. A personal use pump like a Pump in Style is not enough to replace a baby-you need a hospital grade rental if you're not nursing. Try combining the Fenugreek with Blessed Thistle. I'm a Breastfeeding Educator in Texas and we have access to research indicating that this combination is more effective that just either alone.
Pump no longer than 15 minutes if you're not nursing and about 10 after nursing. Frequency is more important than duration.
I'll be praying for you-Susan
I took Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle and it didn't work for me as far as milk supply. But what doesn't work for one may for another.
Pumping (with a high grade quality pump) and constantly feeding my baby is what increased my milk supply with most of my babies. There isn't a set time for pumping. Pump until your milk is gone and maybe a few minutes more. Sometimes that will be 10 minutes, other times 25 minutes. But you MUST stay hydrated. WATER, WATER, WATER, and more WATER!
But even with that sometimes your body just doesn't want to produce milk. And if that happens, you haven't failed you or your baby. It just happens. It happened with me on my 5th child. No matter what I tried, my milk would never increase enough to completely fulfill my baby's needs. So I supplemented with formula. It happens sometimes. I fed him as much as I could and he got a bottle the rest of the time.
Baby number 6, didn't have much trouble at all. Everytime is different.
I hope that you are doing well and feeling better... low milk supply is very stressful on a nursing mother. I'm sure you already had all the response about drinking plenty of water, cutting out all caffeine (if you can, if you can't then reduce it greatly), do not take any antihistamine (no one in the hospital told me this one and it affected my supply), etc. I had a lactation consultant come out and she also suggested Blessed Thistle. I did not use the Fenugreek since the Blessed Thistle worked so well so quickly. Another thing is to make sure that you are supporting the baby's head properly for latching… I know this sounds silly, however I have had more than one friend mention this as causing issues with nursing their second child (seems like we can forget a lot from one child to the next… lack of sleep plays a big part in that I'm sure!). ïŠ
Bless your heart. I went through the same thing. Fenugreek is important. So is blessed thistle. If you have trouble finding them, Special Addition carries them. You can pump for 10 minutes per side or 15 if you're pumping both at once. Stick with it. Your body will get there. It just needs to trust that you need the milk. Consistency in feedings is what does it. Also, it's important to know that once you jump start your supply, you may have a whole lotta milk. If your breasts aren't getting emptied, you could have a problem there as well. So when you go to get your herbs, pick up some granulated Lecithin to sprinkle on your cereal (1T per day). It will prevent clogs in your milk ducts. Good luck!
I had the exact same problem b/c my 4 month old began sleeping through the night, and I didn't get up to pump. Milk supply dwindled to about an ounce per side...I would have moved on the the Fenugreek & herbal teas, but I wanted to try round the clock pumping first. That is the exact schedule I did, every 2 hours during day, then every 3 at night. I was actually suprised it took as long as it did to come back (I expected within 2 days), but STICK WITH IT. By the 4th/5th day it had noticibly improved, and after 7/8 days production was back in full swing. I'll say it again, DON'T GIVE UP!!!
being an old mom who breast fed all 6 of mine , the more you let them suck the more milk you will have, also drink lot and i mean lots of water, you may not think you have enoug milk but you will. some babies for the first few months like to be on tit always i had 2 that did and grew up reall good, by the way they we very big babies 9 and 10 #s. just relax and enjoy this time in your life, it passes really fast. never used pumps. did feed othere babies too, including my 1st grand child when my daughter had mastitus. stillhad plenty of milk for my baby. you may reite me at [email protected] hope i helped. do not know about pills. diane
This happened to me too and it was so easy to fix. I was not drinking enough water.
As soon as I started to swig tons of water my milk increased like gangbusters!
Rebecca