Before Birth ?

Fenegreek and Blessed Thistle three of each three times a day. This is way more than the bottles call for, but it worked and I had no milk. I got these herbs at Better Health.

Breastmilk is a supply and demand thing. The more you put the baby to nurse, the more milk you will produce. Yes, keep the fluids up. Yes, be sure to eat good stuff and get an adequate amount of rest. But I felt like both my kids were attached to me at the breast for the first 10-14 days of life. My advice is that before your baby is born, set up your breastfeeding support group: find the number of the lactation consultant at the hospital you'll deliver at, and look up the number of the local La Leche League leader in your area. You could even give either woman/both women a call prior to delivery to talk to them about your fears and your situation.
WIth my daughter, she had little desire to nurse in the first few days, but after a trip back to the hospital to resolve her jaundice, she was fine. But she and I paid a visit to the lactation consultant and I really feel that was the best $45 I ever spent. WIth my son, his mouth was much smaller than my daughter's, and I was on the phone with the lactation consultant several times in the week after he was born. At one point in those first 14 days, I was pumping on one side and nursing him on the other. But once you get over that hurdle, it's great!
GOOD LUCK! I wish you the best.

There is the Mothers Milk tea that you could try, also oatmeal and aloth of grains. I also tried this, I heard about it on line and it worked, after dd went to bed I would have 1 beer and I had enough for her to eat all day and then pump about 4 4oz bottles on top of that. If you are still at the same job, I believe that by law they have to allow you a private place to pump as often as you need. You might want to check in to that, but as far as I know that is a law. I also let her do on demand feeding and she worked herself into a schedule.

I would go to the La Leche League website and find the leader and group nearest to you. It's www.llli.org. There is a lot of info on line too but it sounds like you could use group support. All the challenges you mentioned could be solved without much difficulty as far as I can tell. LLL's wonderful book THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING can be purchased in any major book store for $18 or they can order it for you. It's also in some libraries. It is very helpful and encouraging. You can do this!!

I've not heard of anything you can eat to produce more milk. That being said, pregnant and nursing mamas need Protein.... lots and lots and lots of protein! (in addition to a good balanced diet of fruits and veggies)

You've got great advice here. Supply and demand. The more baby is to the breast, the more milk you will make. Put baby to the breast as often as possible. And, like you figured out ... let baby set the schedule. Don't set it for her/him. Baby knows best in this case. Too many times we try to shove our babies into a box of what WE think they should do. When they should eat, when they should sleep. THEY know what they need... they just have a hard time telling us what they need. :-) My daughter nursed every 2 hours for quite some time.

Get in touch with your local La Leche leauge. They are tremendous help and great support. In addition, as someone else said... a good lactation consultant is wonderful. She is worth her weight in gold. My daughter and I had several issues, 1 hour with a lactation consultant and they were all solved. 1 week later we had no more issues and our nursing relationship was perfect.

Good luck! And congratulations on the baby!

drink lots of water!

Hi K., I also have 4 children, and for different reason's it only worked completely for the 4th. The supply and demand of the child should keep your milk comming in on the childs schedule. If I steped out of the house to shop, and it became to close to a feeding time, well we all know what happened. I would also bring this up to the Dr. while in the hospital for any professional advice, but as you now are able to stay at home, I feel this will go well for both baby, and mom. The not being able to pump at work, probally dryed up your milk. Your body will let you know, books, from the libary could also help in your nursing questions. congradulations, B.

Please check out La Leche League.. you can go to a meeting before you have your baby. Many of the things you've described I used to hear about in the meetings and they were very helpful and understanding. Also, your work legally has to allow you to pump.. I'm not sure the amount of times, but I'd guess it would be every 2-3 hours.. again check with La Leche League.. you could also call someone that's on the website.

I don't think there's anything to do BEFORE the birth. It sounds to me like you are not getting enough rest and water. Any supplements, including a pacifier or water to baby can interfere with milk production. Nursing on demand rather than trying to keep a schedule will help alot. Contact a Le Leche League group leader. I am sure you can find a local mom-leader. These gals are a huge help.

I just wanted to add that frequent night nursing, especially early on, always seemed to boost my supply. And for me, pumping was not a good indicator of how much I was actually producing. Babies are often much more efficient than pumps, and even though my babies were gaining good weight and were satisfied as long as I let them set the feeding schedule, I could often only pump 1-2 oz. Good luck!

Hi K.,
First of all, way to go for continuing to try and make this work! I think breasfeeding is wonderful, but can definately be difficult to get going. I found that after about the 4th month, i couldn't believe how easy it was (by then the babies and i were use to it and had a system). I breasfed my 3 year old daughter and am currently breastfeeing my twin boys. You body will produce milk on demand, so it is producing just what the babies are indicating they need. I usually only produced 3-4 oz. at a time cause that's what my babies drink, every 2 hours. In order to produce more milk, i pumped for 15 minutes after each feeding to increase my supply. I also pump at night when they are not feeding. There are also some great products out now, such as a tea to increase milk production (at Whole Foods). Make sure you drink enough water and eat the right food, including increased protein and fat to produce good milk. When you pump at work your body will get use to this schedule and produce milk at that time. Make sure you keep pumping for a little bit after you stop getting milk, as this tells the body to produce more milk. Good luck

I had great success nursing my first child. I made it my mission to only breastfeed and spent my first 6 weeks postpartum perfecting it. This really worked for me but I know it's not for everyone.
Since I didn't have any other children at home and I wasn't going back to work, I was able to put all of my time and energy into breastfeeding.
I let him nurse on demand round the clock, when he slept I slept, I ate a TON of food and drank a lot of water.
I was so fortunate to have a great supply and even began to overproduce (I ended up donating 100oz. to a hospital for the sick babies). From all that I have read, breastfeeding is really a supply and demand thing. If you can get a good supply going (by letting the baby nurse on demand)I'm hoping you'll have better luck this time.
I know you will have your hands full so just do your best. If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work! I'm expecting my 2nd in a few weeks and I'm even nervous about breastfeeding!

Good luck to you!

I think it is partly a genetic thing and there isn't much you can do. Supply and demand is part of it, but I was pumping every couple of hours and not getting hardly anything with my first. I also tried the fenugreek and other herbs that the lacation specialist recommened. I was drinking lots of water, and it just wasn't working. I was barely getting a couple of ounces at a time and she was up 6-8 oz. My second one they didn't want me to breastfeed for because of a medication they had put me on, but I'm guessing I would have had a similar experience.

I found out about this time that my mom also had issues with having enough milk with several of her kids and had to switch to formula.

Definately look in to the LLL and the other options listed, but know that there might not be anything that you can do.

J.

The more they eat the more you will produce. Let the baby stay on even when you think their done eating. The more they suck (sorry I don't know the correct term here) the more your body will think it needs to produce. I breastfed both of mine for over a year. And I always let them eat when they wanted. If I thought my milk was low I would let him stay on and suck, I was his human binky, and I would fill up big time.

I'm just like you. I don't produce that much either. But I did breastfeed all 3 of my babies for at least a year. The first one, I ended up nursing for 20 mins. on both sides and then giving her 2 ounces of formula. The second one I nursed constantly all day long whenever he wanted to. I know he wasn't getting completely full as I only could ever pump 2 ounces on one side and one ounce on the other. He did gain weight on the low end of what babies are supposed to. Then I started him on solids at 6 months. I usually just supplemented him after he nursed at night so he would sleep longer. My third, I didn't supplement at all. She hated the bottle. I just think that the more you nurse the more they get so I was nursing every hour or two, instead of once every three or four hours like the moms who can pump 6 ounces at a time. I tried the teas, I tried fenugreek. Can't say they worked great or anything. You basically just have to nurse or pump more often than moms who produce alot. Time goes by quickly and then they are on solids, and then you nurse less frequently. I do know with each additional child the breasts start producing a little more each time. Keep it up. It is the absolute best thing you can do for your baby. I think with you being home now you will do just fine. Be prepared to nurse often the first couple of months. Try not to supplement because that is when the baby gets full and doesn't want you, and then you will slow down production. Just nurse constantly and you will see the baby will grow just fine. Before you know it the time between nursings will be longer and longer. Good luck. If you have anymore questions just ask me, I was in the same boat as you with low production. D.

Just like most of the mothers posted - nursing is supply and demand. The more you nurse/pump, the more milk your body will produce. Increase your water and protein intake as if you were still pregnant. Please note that if you nurse your baby at 8:00 AM today, your body will produce milk tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Keeping a schedule - when working - will help maintain production. If baby is only nursing every 4 hours, pump in between feedings to stimulate production. I'm concerned about the comment about your work only allowing 1 pump time a day. I would speak with your human resource department. If you are given a one hour unpaid lunch, you should be able to break up that time to allow for 2 - 3 pump times. Likewise if you are given breaks. There currently is no law in Michigan granting rights to nurse in the workplace, but many other states do. http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm. Good luck

It sounds like you have already figured some things out...
Let the baby set the schedule... Which means be prepared to sit and sit often... Some are slow feeders and take 30 or more minutes per side to empty the breast, some will be all done in the 10-15 minutes (per side) that the drs suggest.
By letting the baby set the schedule and length of nursing you may also avoid future mastitus...
I am one of those moms that can feed a baby to be chunky and healthy, but If I have to pump I can only get a few ounces out... Some moms just are not effective pumpers...:-)
I don't know of anything you can do BEFORE baby comes... But afterward (and you probibly know all this) keep your liquid intake up, there is a tea called mothers milk at the health foodstore that helps for some, Oatmeal and tapioca will help fortify your breats milk...
Talking to the Laleche league may open up more doors on suggestions...
Good luck!