increasing my milk supply! help..

Discussion in 'The First Year' started by chicklet71, Feb 1, 2013.

  1. chicklet71

    chicklet71 Active Member

    ok, I have tried everything that I know about increasing my milk supply except for going on a prescription, which i really dont want to do right now (yet anyway). According to my research i think i've dont it all, extra pumping thru-out the day (every 3 hours), oatmeal for breakfast, nursing teas, concentrated nursing drops, i drink anywhere from 8-10 glasses of water/juice a day etc. Has anyone come across anything else to help increase their milk supply? Right now im pumping about on average 4 ounces from my right breast, and 2-3 from my left each time, so about 6-7 ounces in total and i need minimum 8 ounces for my twins each feeding (they each drink 4 ounces), which means we are having to supplement with formula abit as well (which i would rather NOT do, but have to do or else they starve)

    all suggestions are most welcome, please and thank you!
     
  2. daisies

    daisies Well-Known Member

    Are you pumping / bfing middle of the night / early morning?

    how about fenugreek and blessed thistle herbs?
     
  3. Mom2VLS

    Mom2VLS Well-Known Member

    Sounds weird but you can try Gatorade (in addition to what you are already drinking). Maybe it's a coincidence but it seems to help me when I have a Gatorade/Powerade a day.

    Have you checked to make sure the breast shields you are using are the right size? If they are too big or too small, it can effect how much you are getting at the pump.

    I've never done it but you could also try power-pumping.
     
  4. miss_bossy18

    miss_bossy18 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Here's an excellent article from Kellymom on supply while pumping exclusively: http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/pumping_decrease/
     
  5. chicklet71

    chicklet71 Active Member

    @daises- yes im pumping at our last feed for the evening between 11pm-midnight, then the next one at 4amish and so on....im pumping around every 3-4 hours, but i wonder if this isnt enough. I tried once to do it after only two hours and all i got was like 1-2 ounces from each breast BARELY so thats why i wait 3-4 hours (for more milk to come in??)..am I wrong in doing this? and as well, the concentrated nursing drops im taking 4 times a day (Motherlove-"more milk plus") has the fenugreek and blessed thistle herbs that you mentioned in it! thank you for the herb suggestion either way! :D

    Mom2VL&S- i'll give gatorade a try tomorrow but how much did you drink of it? a few small bottles per day or just once a day etc etc? and no i havent tried power pumping but i think thats my final attempt to get more milk before I may have to go the perscription route (which i really dont want to do, ugh)

    miss_bossy18- thank you!! going to read it right now while the babes are napping!
     
  6. maybell

    maybell Well-Known Member

    I haven't been on here in a long time! anyway, I didn't seem to have any out the ordinary issues with nursing my twins 4 yrs ago, but this time with my new one my supply took a dip at 5.5 months, coincidentally when my cycle came back. anyway, I tried that MotherLove Plus. YUCK!!!! ;-) I was doing all the pumping like you said and my supply was about 1/2 to 2/3 of what I needed. I finally ordered that prescription, and within a couple of days it is back to normal. It took 2 wks for mine to get to me from new zealand. I hope you find another way, but it may be the help you need. I got 200 10mg pills for $38 so that's 2 mo supply at 3x/day.

    I was down to no freezer stash and within a week I have 3 bags in the freezer, so at least I'm feeding her at what she needs plus a little. yay!
     
  7. daisies

    daisies Well-Known Member

    It is good you are doing that pump/feeding between 1 and 5:00. this is a naturally high milk production time. If you can get 2 pumpings in within this window even better. Honestly, i never could do that. Number one rule with bfing.. be happy with what you CAN do.

    Even if you don't get much milk, the more frequent emptying of the breast will trigger your body to produce more. So adding an extra pumping even if you only get an ounce will help. It is frustrating to get a small amount but think of it training rather than count what is produced. Your body knows the signals of a newborn... feeding all night and frequent small meals. These things signal the body to produce more.
    That is why the marathon works.

    I also second the recommendation to check your shield size. But if you are not sore and getting milk it is probably ok. still worth checking since it is an easy fix.

    Do you hand express after pumping? some women have good success with this. Do you stop half way through pumping and do the tickle / jiggle?
    (This link is to a site for adoptive breast feeding but the same principles apply)

    Your pump..
    1) more suction doesn't necessarily mean more production so play with the setting for strength of suction to see what works for you.
    2) the rhythm of the suction: start out with a more rapid suction then as you start to let down (see milk) decrease the rhythm. this follows the natural pattern of a nursing child and worked well for me.

    Stress is a big inhibitor to milk production so DON'T BE STESSED! (sorry, my private little joke :rolleyes: )
    What is more stressful than trying not to be stressed. What i mean is take care of yourself. Do things that help you relax. Make your pumping sessions about chilling.. drink something (water) and do something you like.. read, computer. If you don't have a pumping bra get one so you can do something besides sit there and hold onto those things!


    If you decide to go the route of medication. Really look into domperidone rather than regulane. regulane has side effects that you just don't see with domperidone. domeridone is not approved in the US but the rest of the world uses it. my Dr recommended it over regulane. PM me if you decide to try meds. I have done a lot of research on this and would be happy to share.

    GL - you have two lucky little babies to have a mom working so hard for them!
     
  8. daisies

    daisies Well-Known Member

    One more thing.

    check the dosage of the herbs.
    the recommendations are: (per Lenore Goldfarb, Ph.D., CCC, IBCLC)

    Fenugreek seed
    3 capsules (580-610 mg each) 3 times a day with food

    Blessed Thistle herb
    3 capsules (325-390 mg each) 3 times a day with food
     
  9. Mom2VLS

    Mom2VLS Well-Known Member

    I do one 20 oz bottle a day. I think I get a little bit better results with Gatorade but Powerade helps too (not sure if the difference is just my imagination/coincidence though). I drink a ton of other stuff to keep my pumping supply up (the girls get enough when I bf at home but I have to pump more at work because they drink more out of a bottle - they don't know quite when to stop). Basically, make sure you drink to thirst. I set goals for myself since I tend to get distracted and forget to drink if I don't.
     
  10. Lrnomder

    Lrnomder Well-Known Member

    I'm having trouble even getting four ounces due to the twins not latching. Ive started supplementing until I can get it back up. I purchased a hospital grade Spectra Dew 350 pump that just arrived an hour ago and I've already used it once. It is awesome and I recomend it if it's affordable. It would take me 6 hours to hand pump 3 ounces and in one pumping session I was able to get 4 ounces. I'm going to use it every two hours along with taking fenugreek, drinking tons of fluids mostly water, and relaxing while doing breast massages. Oh yeah and i also read online that you should always pump for at least five minutes after you empty your breast to increase supply so im going to try that as well. And If you take fenugreek, if your taking enough to increase supply youll smell like maple syrup and its very true. I havent deodorized in two days cause i smell so sweet lol. I'm determined to get my supply up since the girls are already a month old and eating around 3-4 ounces every 2-3 hours. Ill update here ifi have any luck. Hang in there its very frustrating and discouraging to not be able to produce enough but with strong will I believe there has to be a positive outcome!
     
  11. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator


    Oatmeal increases supply as well. I preferred mine in cookie form. ;)
     
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