Breastfeeding Advice - Wichita Falls,TX

J.,

I have found Breastea and it works way better than anything I have tried. You can only get it online but t's worth it!! I have used both fenugreek and mother's milk and they are great also. But the breastea has worked the best for me. Here's the link and good job on breastfeeding!!!
www.breastea.com

Blesisngs!
A.

Fenugreek is an herb that you can take to increase milk supply. I used it with my daughter due to having the same problem when I went back to work and I was able to exclusivly breast feed her for 14 months! Good Luck!!

Fenugreek. 2-3 caps up to 3x daily, you will be able to find them at the health stores. I am having the same everyday as my son is 4 months old, n i pump all the time, and my milk supply is the same. One more things is that before pumping either a glass of milk or juice which helps you pump more milk.

-can't breastfeed all day? breastfeed all night! ;D (or maybe offer a 'dreamfeed' at around 11 pm &/or 5 am?)
-you already do this, but it still must be said: nurse when possible, skin-to-skin helps hormones, too
-drink lots of water
-eat plenty of calories
-get plenty of sleep (let the housework, latenight tv, volunteer work, perfect grades, etc. slide for just this special season of life if you need to)
-fenugreek (if you don't smell like maple syrup, you might not be taking enough) ;D
-mother's milk tea
-blessed thistle
-eat oatmeal (watch out for the sugar content of the instant flavored ones -- too much sugar in your diet can increase your susceptibility to yeast infection, thrush, or mastitis)
-pump w/ a double electric pump, gently massaging milk toward the pump horns, every 2-3 hours
-ensure your nipple's health by applying lanolin (i.e. Lansinoh) when you pump and keeping clean & dry (no harsh soap); "air dry" once in a while ;D
-avoid reglan as if your life depended on it -- it just might; if you absolutely cannot get as much milk as your baby needs, you can search for sources of domperidone instead (much safer, but bad politics switched the two drugs' availability for us here in the u.s.a.); feel free to pm me if you want more info
-some women find drinking a dark beer like guinness to help, but this is only if you're getting plenty of water (alcohol can be dehydrating); if you want to completely eliminate the risk of alcohol in your breastmilk, simply time your pumping and consumption; alcohol in your breastmilk metabolizes out at approx. the same rate as alcohol from your blood -- no 'pump & dump' required (check out http://www.obfocus.com/calculators/alcoholinmilk.htm )

HTH!! -- you're a good mama!!

other resources that might be helpful:
kellymom.com
llli.org
breastfeeding.com

This does happen, it's not just you! When my daughter was 2 weeks old, I hurt my back and was given a muscle relaxer & pain killer at the ER...I had to pump for like 24 hours and discard...I was worried. I was given an RX but was told if I took it, I couldn't nurse as long as I was taking it...I called the lactation consultant that consulted with me when I had her and she gave me the name of a couple of herbal supplements that I could take that would keep my milk production going. I found "Fenugreek" and "Blessed Thistle" at my local health food store. With Fenugreek, your urine and perspiration will begin to smell like Maple Syrup...that is common and means that you are getting enough in your system.
Check out this link, I think you'll find it useful!! http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art2974.asp

Good luck,

L. F.

P.S. I almost forgot, but I never had much success with pumping. I was able to breastfeed my daughter just fine, but seemed to very rarely have success with my milk letting down when I attempted to pump.

It will help if you can do a marathon nurse in over the weekend if thats possible with your schedule.

I would first start off each nursing with the lower producing breast and end with it if possible, youmight also try some herbal suppliments. I give my clients Mothers Milk Tea my Traditional Medicinals that is available at most Tom Thumb's and sometimes I find it at a Walmart.

Also look at the Kellymom website. www.kellymom.com for other herbal remedies to help increase milk production.

When you pump at work, take along a picture of your baby and a piece of clothng or blanket that has his smell. This will help you make the mind/body connection that is necessary for milk production. I stuff a piece of blnaket in my pump bag and close my eyes and just relax into the smell when pumping at work.

I am also wondering what kind of pump you are using. I wouldnt use anything less than a Medela Pump in Style or the PIS advance is even better. Youmight even rent a hospital grade pump for a month or so to really help bring the milk back again.

I have a 6 month old as well and work full-time too. I have low supply as well. Have you tried taking Fenugreek? That really helped me when my supply dipped and it's kept me stable. 2 oz. is all I ever get out a pumping session. Wish I could get more myself.

good luck with your supply.
T.

I have been breastfeeding for a year, and I've found that when I pump (which is not very often, fortunately) I barely get anything. But when he feeds, he swallows hard and nurses normally. I know he's getting more than I can pump. I would keep up the pumping if you can for the stimulation, but physically feed him whenever you can. You may have to drop all the "feedings" except for the actual ones, if the pumping is really futile. Since you are adding solids, he'll get what he needs. My doctor suggested adding a bottle every now and then if I wanted. I do that a few times a week because he seems to like it. Good luck! J.

I see that fenugreek has been mentioned alot. good. I also saw that the mother's milk tea was mentioned, too. That's good as well. I have twins and am in a constant battle to keep my supply up to their demand. I have found that the mothers milk is easiest for me and works well for me. I brew 4-6 bags at a time in my tea maker and ice it down. That way, since I'm on the go alot, I can just fill a water bottle full of it and drink it all day. I think it's great that you're pumping in spite of the difficulty and busy schedule. I can't imagine how hard that is for you. When you can nurse, do you let him nurse on the left side first, when he's the hungriest?

This is not unusual. I was working when my older son was that age and would find that by the end of the week, my milk supply had dropped quite a bit. Nursing extra on the weekends and at nite will increase it best. If you're no longer nursing at nite, you might actually want to reconsider, as that's the most effective way to increase your milk supply AND for many moms that are away during the day, it's totally natural in that basically your nursing schedule can be flipped around, so you nurse when you're there.

Also, some of us have one breast that a baby prefers and thus that breast will gradually produce more and the baby has a preference. I had the same problem with my left breast - my older son would nurse very little on that side. Now, this might have been due to my having cystic breasts, which may have interfered with the milk production.

You also CANNOT judge your milk supply based on how much you can pump. I could NEVER pump more than 3 ounces at a time. Some of us just don't connect to that pump like we do the baby and thus the milk does not "letdown".

The most important thing is to not get too stressed - stress very negatively impacts the milk supply, which might be another of your problems with your busy schedule.

I would just keep working on it. You are very close to being able to add some solids. What I did was to reserve solids for when I was away ONLY. And, then we strictly breastfed at home until my sons were almost 9 mos old.

Also, you do say you're nursing as often as possible, but you don't mention any frequencies. The range of "possible" is very, very broad. I nursed before every single transition point in my day to keep up my milk supply when I went back to work (i.e., as soon as I got up, right before I left the house, right when I got home, right before dinner, right after dinner, right before bedtime, etc.). I know this can be difficult, but you can read to your daughter while you're nursing and read school work while you're nursing, etc. When my son was 18 mos. old, I knew he wanted to nurse when he brought me a book to read ;)

Fenugreek is a great herb that you can buy at GNC.

I've found that the older my baby gets, the less milk I can get when I pump. I think our bodies just quit resonding the the pump as well.

Have you talked with a lactation consultant? Vicki Gettle and Presby Allen is awesome. She's helped me through tons of issues (thrush, milk supply, sore spot on nipple...) and is extremely knowledgable. She's also very nice!

Good luck and don't give up!

I pumped exclusively for my now 4 year old and noticed a decrease in my supply around the same time. What helped me most was Mother's Milk Tea (I found at vitamin stores) and oatmeal every morning. Good luck!

Pump what you can, and when you start feeding your son - put him on that breast first, then the other, then that breast again before you're finished. 2am feedings also build up supply. I couldn't pump five ounces from BOTH breasts combined; despite the fact that I had a 23 pound 9 month old who was exclusively breastfed... so sometimes I think it's the let down for the pump, not the supply that's there.

At 6 months you may not get increased production.

You can pump every 2 hours and try taking fenugreek and blessed thistle. If you take the herbs you may get enough production from the RT breast to compensate for the left.

hope this helps!

Did you recently go on the pill? I think it affects your production. If that's the case, ask your OB about it.

Fenugreek is a great herb to increase milk supply...I used it and had milk coming out of my ears!! :)

I tried fenugreek and that did not work with me, but it might with you. Are you drinking plenty of water? Is there a blocked duct perhaps? Are you watching your diet? Water usually helps boost it, drink while you are breastfeeding/pumping, before, during & after is recommended. If nothing helps, contact La Leche or your doctor.

Hi J.,
All I can say is breastfeed or pump more more more as much as you can. Sometimes it helps to really relax yourself when you breastfeed or pump and the milk will more easily come out. As you probably know, but it's worth saying again, the answer to most breastfeeding problems is "breastfeed (or pump) more". Best of Luck!

I agree about the tea. I used it myself. You can also add oatmeal to your diet. That will increase your supply as well. Also try to avoid thing that will decrease it...caffeine, alcohol, parsley-who knew etc. also it is imperative that you drink a ton of water to keep your supply up. As far as pumping goes, some moms (me included) are not able to get much when pumping but there is still plenty in there. Especially as your baby gets older the pump is just not efficient in simulating your baby's latch enough to get a good let down. try to relax about it because stress will surely decrease your supply as well. I think it is awesome that you are still trying so hard to give your baby that wonderful breast milk! So many moms would just give up. Good job!

Just another plug for fenugreek and Mother's Milk tea. I've used both successfully. Note though, the fenugreek will make your sweat and urine smell like maple syrup! Hey, it could be worse... ;o)

If you have started solid foods with your son, your supply will go down. My Dr. suggested taking Brewers Yeast (you can find it in the pharmacy section), but be careful, it gave my son gas.

Fenugreek. 2-3 caps up to 3x daily. I had to do this for a while when my son was in the NICU and I could not nurse him at all. This really helped the supply to stay up while only pumping. Also, always give him the breast milk before he eats any food.

My sugestion would be to nurse on that side first, every time, to increasew the supply. Then also pump that side ot both when necessary. Be sure you drink a lot of water all day long and eat 500 calories a day extra while nursing. You will still lose weight and can even more after you wean later.
Also a recording of his crying helps with let down when you are at work.
V. B.

I know how stressful it can be when you know you need a certain number of ounces of EBM for the bottles the next day and seeing just a bit trickle into the pump bottles. These are a few things that helped me increase output:

1. Pump 5-10 minutes after flow has stopped.
2. Encourage a second letdown. My pump is two-phase, so once the flow decreases to a trickle, I shut off the pump and restart it to begin the quicker rhythm again. This brings a second letdown. This made a huge difference for me.
3. Squeeze the breasts while you're pumping. The pump is not nearly as efficient at extracting milk as your baby.
4. Drink Mother's Milk tea. I drink 3-5 cups a day. I didn't like the taste at first, but hundreds of cups later, I've grown used to it. I find it at Market Street, Tom Thumb and Whole Foods. It is made by Traditional Medicinals.
5. Stop working while pumping. It was hard, but it increased output, so it helped me be less stressed between and during pumpings about whether or not I would have enough by the end of the day.

I hope this helps. The six month mark was tough because suddenly I had to produce more milk than ever, needing extra to mix with his cereal, but we both made it through very well. At some point I gave in and decided to use formula for his cereal, but that was the only formula he drank.

Please go get a breast exam and make sure everything is okay and that nothing is preventing your milk ducts from producing milk.

Your body will make the supply he needs, so I wouldn't worry. If you really want to increase your production pump more often. You can pump as often as every 3 hours, but don't pump any longer than 10-15 minutes (on each side) each time. I made it to 13 months with my son! Good Luck!

I see that a couple people have mentioned Fenugreek .... just wanted to let you know that fenugreek *IS* approved by pediatricians for increasing milk supply. My pediatrician advised me to take it when my milk supply was low. You can buy it at places like Whole Foods. Fenugreek helped me a little bit, but helped a friend of mine quite a bit. When I continued to have problems, my son's pediatrician offered to prescribe Reglan to increase my milk, but I decided that I had had enough hassle, and just supplemented my milk with formula.

I hope something works for you!

I went back to work at 8 months and had the same problem. Pumping just wasn't as effective. What worked for me was looking at pictures of my son while pumping. I really worked! Try it!

J.,

I have another suggestion that I did not see mentioned that may or may not apply to you depending on what type of pump you are using. I use a Medela and I noticed that purchsing larger breast shields helped me with being able to get larger amounts of milk pumped. It seemed to created more suction and airflow so the pump pulled a little harder. I too noticed that my milk has changed though as my daughter has gotten older she is 9 mths.

I hope maybe this helps.

Kim
mother of almost 3 year old and 9 mth old