Breast Milk

I am a "low producer" myself. The herbal supplements that helped me were Fenugreek (3 capsules 3 times a day) and Blessed Thistle (2 caps 3 times a day). Alse, Mother's milk tea daily. Drink lots of water. My son was never able to latch on, so I am an exclusive pumper, and so far my milk is still coming by using these supplements. Hope this helps!

M.

only thing I can add to all the good advice is, sometimes it helped if I took a warm shower in the evening. That's when I found my milk supply was down and I just needed a little more time to produce.

good luck and hang in there.

My mother always had us girls drink a beer. I found it helped me produce more milk. Now my sisters on the other hand, one beer and they had milk gushing out. Good Luck

There are all sorts of supplements that you can purchase... If you go to whole foods, in the nursing/vitamins area... there are different teas, pills, and drops you can take.
It definitely helped me... unfortunately as she got older I began to have a hard time again.
I transitioned to using Nestle's Good Start... she took to it very well and we continued with the breast milk as well as the formula...
no spitting up, no gas, etc.
You are doing the best you can and should be commended for it. Do not feel guilty.
If you need to add formula to your son's diet, continue to pump as well and give him both. He will still continue to get the benefits.

I would say to use Healthy Nursing Tea by secrets of tea which is natural tea and preservatives free and boost your milk supply right away...You will still continue to get benefits.
Good Luck!

Hi T., Hi my name is M.. The hard part about pumping is that you only get about 40% of your milk supply because pumping doesn't express your milk ducts like breastfeeding does. Make sure you are drinking alot of fluids and eating a nutrious diet. i never had to experience pumping with all 3 of my children because I was very lucky to be able to stay at home. I feel sad for all of you moms that are in a situation where you have to work. There are a couple things that you could try, pumping more frequently, adding brewers yeast to your diet, I don't drink beer but have been told by other moms that a 1/2 can of beer a couple days a week increases your supply. The medication Reglan which is used for reflux in babies has been known to help with milk supply ( you would need a script from your doctor.) Nursing your baby frequently while at home with you should help too. Don't give up, breastfeeding is one of the most important gifts of love that a mom can give her baby, best food source. Good luck.

The lactation consultant recommended Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek, 3 pills each a day. You will smell like maple syrup like another respondant said. That didn't work for me, so my ob/gyn gave me a prescription for Reglan (normally for acid reflux, I believe) and that worked. It started with taking one pill every 6 hours for a couple of days, then every 8 hours, then every 12 until the last day just one pill. I did still have to supplement with formula, but only half as much as I was before the prescription.

You could also try MOTHER'S MILK TEA. I got mine at Whole Foods.

Just drink two or three times a day. Drink it just like any other tea.

Breastfeeding is a heroic thing to do...
There are a couple of things that you can do...the other posters aleardy suggested a couple of supplements. you can also eat slow cooked oatmeal. Things to avoid Sage and any cold meds. The cold meds will not only dry up your snot but your breastmilk. You may need to pump longer and more frequently at work. Some womens bodies just do not respond well to a breast pump. I can pump for 45min and get maybe an ounce of milk but when my daughter nurses she is gulping and gets plenty!
Blessings, K.

give him a couple ounces of formula...Itll help!

I would say to keep pumping as much as u can. But the best way to produce more milk is by letting him suck. The more the baby sucks the more milk your body produces. I had to do that with my son and it worked but he did want to start useing me as his binky at night. I didn't mind to much though cuz come morning I was full of milk. I also heard, not sure if its true, that drinking 1 beer can help. Something with the yeast in it that supposedly helps. Good luck to you. Just whatever you do Don't give up. Your doing the best thing for your child. And if you absolutley have to you could always give formula bottles in between. 2 things could happen with that tho, he could deny the formula (like my son. He hated it) or he could really like it and only want that OR I guess there's 3, u could get really lucky and he likes both.

Hi T.,
I am sure you will get a lot of good responses to this question. I'll tell you what I tell everyone who talks to me about this problem. when my daughter was born I have very little to no milk. It just never came in. I was determined to breastfeed her so I got in touch with a lactation consultant. She told me to go to the health food store and buy Blessed Thistle and Fenegrek (sp?) and take 3 pills of each 3 times a day. A ton I know but it worked! My daughter is now 16 months old and still nurses 2 or three times in a 24 hour period. You can slowly start reducing the pills once your milk supply is up, but don't do it too soon. Also you might smell like maple syrup because fenegrek makes you smell like that. Yes I hated it but no one but my husband seemed to notice.
Hang in there.
S.

Hi T.,

I pumped for 13 months!! Drink LOTS of water, eat oatmeal any way you can get it (even cookies worked for me) and when you are pumping, after you "dry up", keep pumping and in about 5-10 minutes, you'll get another let-down. It won't be as much as the first, but it will be there. Keep it up and you'll keep making more. Also, try to keep a photo of your baby nearby and focus on that and only that, not your surroundings, etc. while you are pumping.

Hope this helps!

B.

HI,
There is a wonderful tea at the health food store called "Mother's Milk" I always felt it helped give me boost if I was low. Also make sure to get lots of water through the day and my grandma recomended eating oatmeal. Don't rush to suplement, your body is amazing and usually with in about two to three days you will catch up.
Hang in there, nursing is so special, I wish I could do it all over again.
K.

Drink a lot of fluids, mother's milk tea helps, and oatmeal (oatmeal cookies work too).

Make sure you are drinking AT LEAST 8 glasses of water a day.
Good luck.
Barb

I am nursing twins, so i understand the need for more milk :) I have found that as i am transitioning back to work and trying to increase my supply, if i pump for a few minutes after each feeding (whether i get any milk or not), it stimulates the milk production and in a few days i am producing more milk. Also Whole Foods has a tea that is to increase milk supply and babyfit.com has a recipe that is suppose to increase milk supply (although i have not tried that). Good luck to you - i am interested to hear what others have found to work

I had a similar problem as well and my pediatrician recommended Fenugreek. It's a natural supplement that you can find at Whole Foods. I think it does help. My sister also drinks the Mother's Milk herbal tea. She swears by that. The Fenugreek starts to work usually within 72 hours or so. You just need to be consistant with taking it. Drinking a TON of water always helps too. Good luck!

Hi T.! My sister swears by eating more red meat to increase milk supply. I have a daughter but didn't try it with her because I am a vegetarian. Anyways, it's worth a try. Get yourself a big juicy steak and relax! Good luck to you!

Pump as long and as often as you can for a while to get your supply up - keep pumping for at least 2-3 minutes past when you stop giving milk. Drink LOTS of water. Drink as much as you think you should drink and then drink at least 2 more glasses on top of that. Keep taking your prenatal vitamins. You can try taking an herbal thing called Fenugreek which I found worked good but it makes you smell like maple syrup and you have to take A LOT of it.

Good luck!

I know this might sound odd, but I always had luck pumping while in a hot shower and relaxed. It seemed to help the milk let down. Other friend have told me that their doctor suggested drinking part of a beer. Something about the hopps in it helping produce. Good luck.

drink more water, and the more you nurse the more you will produce milk it just takes a few days for your body to catch up on his demands.

First, you need to be sure you are eating properly and getting enough water and rest. Right at about 6 or 7 weeks babies go through a grow and demand more anyway. Since you are back at work and pumping, try to go to a really quiet, relaxing place to be sure your let down is complete and all the "back milk" is being pumped out. At home, nurse him every two hours...co-sleeping works well for this, plug him in and go back to sleep. I know there are some herbs out there that can help with milk production. There are alot of moms on this site I am sure will reply with the names of those. Hooray for you on breastfeeding!! You are doing the best thing for you and your baby. Keep up the good work.

Drink tons and tons of water! That's how I was able to get my milk supply up . . .

fyi- antihistimens like benadryl are ok to take while brestfeeding but will help to deminish your milk supply!also drink as much h20 as you can! good for your hormones and your milk supply!

Fenugreek was what I was told by the lactation consultant, but it didn't work for me. Good luck!

the demand for milk will adjust the more you nurse the more milk you will make. There is a organic tea called mothers milk that you can drink its not bad at all it smells like licorice and anise. there are lactation consultants that you can call on too. PS. YOOU MAY NOT THINK THAT YOU ARE KEEPING UP BUT YOU ARE BABIES TEND TO HAVE GROWTH SPURTS AND THATS WHY ITS A LITTLE FRUSTRATING TO YOU IVE BREAST FED 7 GOOD LUCK WITH THIS PROBLEM MOTHER OF 7 21, 18, 16, 11, 8, 6, 9MONTHS MARRIED TO A GREAT MAN AND FATHER

Hi T.! Listen to all of the great advice, especially about drinking a lot. The other thing is, are you sure he isn't getting enough? Maybe he just like to suckle afater he is done. If he has 8-10 wet diapers a day, he is getting enough nourishment. If he is having a growth spurt, you will regulate yourself in a few days. As far as not being able to pump enough at work, you should try a different kind of pump. Look for the kind that they use in the hospital, and you can call a consultant or the La Leche League for the name that they use now (it was 14 years ago for me so I know the name has changed!). There was no other pump that would do it for me, and it made a huge difference in how much milk was pumped. It also took me a really long time to regulate, so hang in there, this too will pass.

I nursed 3 kids for around 16 months each. I never had good luck getting alot out while pumping. And they always wanted to eat in the beginning. I found that once they start to focus on toys and begin solid food that they slow way down on the wanting to nurse constantly. I think newborns have nothing better to do than suck and want the closeness. Fenugreek is good, jasmin rice is good, and mothers milk tea. Keep pumping and know that when the baby is on the breast he is getting way more than what your pumping out. Good luck.

T.,

Make sure you are drinking tons of water, even if you don't feel thirsty.

my next door neighbor and friend had the same problem her Dr put her on a certain perscription (not sure what its called)to make her preduce more milk, I suggest talking to your Dr about it.

Breath and relax and remember to eat and drink like you did when you was pregnant. Most of all remember to drink. If your back to work there is stress there. Stress will decrease your flow. You may have to supplement if your too low. Good luck. I am a big supporter for breastfeeding. I have four and breastfeed and supplemented all my children.

your son is 7 weeks. your body is still learning how much milk to make for him. YOu will adjust in time. He is also probably having a growth spurt.

Drink water lots of water. Other beverages are fine too.. decaff tea juice milk.

I took fenugreek to increase milk supply.. It does work.. however I think it upset my stomach.. so I sugguest starting with 1 pill a day to see how it effects you. YOu can buy it at any health food store.

Keep nursing. It is the best for your son. My son is 18 monht and still nursed.

He has never been sick enough to get antibiotics.. just little colds.

Nursing will get easier...

I found that I have/had to drink alot of extra water even though books and lactation consultants never say that would effect it. I also found that eating oatmeal and salads helped, don't know why, hey milk cows eat grains and alfalfa :) I had to do this especially when I was on my period too because with the hormone changes your milk production will go down, but come back when they change back; again, consultants that I have worked with at work or after my babies wouldn't think so! I gave my sister this advice and it seemed to work for her. Good Luck!!!