Increasing My Milk Supply

Try Blessed Thistle and pump more often. No guarantees but my midwife suggested those to me with my last child. GL

I just (literally) took my first dose of a medication I found called "More Milk Plus" which I saw some stories about and ordered...If it works I'll let you know...

I went to GNC and picked up fenugreek. After trying everything, that was the only thing that increased my milk.

You are doing an amazing job caring for your son - he is so lucky! Try pumping for at least 15 min. between 1-5am. This is when your prolactin levels are the highest. It might be hard to wake up then when your body really needs to rest, but hopefully your house will be nice and quiet and you can relax while you pump. Keep up the great work - you are giving your son a wonderful start in life!

K.,
I hope all of these posted ideas work for you and that you continue to breastfeed. Just wanted to say that at around 3 months my milk shut down and I could not get it up again even with a lac consultant. I felt like such a failure. Hopefully you'll get your milk up but if not, try to remember that sometimes it just happens, and the important thing is that your little one gets enough to eat, even if you have to supplement. Good luck.

I know that Healthy Nursing Tea by secrets of tea is awesome product for boosting milk supply frequently ...worked with good result with me;)

My son is also 6 months old. He is eating more solid foods. He has three meals but he still drinks approx. 4-5 feedings of 8 oz. I see a lot have said to have a pumping session. Yes that works great. I wasn't pumping enough milk. But meaning I pump the same time every night after he goes to bed, I always have milk when I pump and plenty of it. Part of the reason is that your milk may not be filling him up enough either. Talk to a peditrician and see how much solid food he should be eating. My son(Kaden) has been eating all sort of things. I cook them up and puree in a blender, then freeze. So easy, cheap, and healthy. There is a really great book for guidance with this it is called The Haelthy Baby Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel. I don't follow the meal plan exact, but it is really nice for ideas and to know at what age your baby can start eating certain things. Oh one more thing I just wanted to let you know because it may seem that he is eating a lot but he ways 15.3 pounds and is 27inches long. His weight is in the 10th percentile and his length is in the 75th. They said that is very normal for breast fed babies when it comes to weight. I hope this helps! Being a mom is all about learning while teaching your child at the same time.

Hi! Breast milk is mostly a supply and demand thing. If the baby nurses more then you will produce more. The baby will nurse more during a growth spurt and this produces more milk. You can help to optimize your production by increasing your water intake, I think sombody else went into the herbal supplements and you can also try and pump after each feeding to help increase the "demand". If you have any questions you can always call the Methodist hospital lactation center and talk to one of the lactation consultants. You can even go in and have them evaluate what is going on for you and your baby. They are great over there! Call ###-###-#### and ask for the breastfeeding center and they will transfer you over there. Good luck!

Drink to your thirst, try eating a bowl of oatmeal every morning, blessed thistle or fenugreek supplements, and adding in a pumping session to increase supply. Whether its first thing in the morning or after your son goes to bed, add in one pumping session. It will take a few days but soon your body will respond to that 'feeding' and begin making milk for it.

Also remember that what you pump is not an indicator of supply! A good pumping session may only bring 2oz, but your baby is able to extract way more than that!

Hi K.,

I agree with previous posters....up your water intake, pump after nursing or try pumping the other side while your nursing your son at home, try eating a bowl of oatmeal each day (doesn't really matter when), try drinking Mothers Milk Tea - this stuff really increased my milk when I got low after going back to work.

What kind of pump do you have? With my last son, we received WIC and was able to borrow a Medela Lactina double pump. Wow, what a difference it makes to have an electric pump at work. With my previous 2 sons I only had an Avent and while it's a great little pump, it just doesn't do the job that a good electric does.

Another thing that might affect your supply is your son starting solids. How frequently does he eat cereal and bananas and how much? At 6 months, he doesn't really NEED more than your milk. My oldest and youngest sons actually refused to eat any solids aside from a little avocado and banana until they were about 9-10 months old.

I hope this helps a little. Good luck and let us know how things work out for you.

C. J

Dear K.,
I am a new mom of a 4 month old and always had lots of milk until he was about 2 1/2 months old. My milk suppy suddenly dropped. It dropped because I was stressed out about the holidays and going back to work. I noticed if I relax that helps. But there are other more pratical ways to help increase your supply. Oatmeal helps increase your supply, I ate it once or twice a day. But I noticed for myself it I kept eating my milk supply dropped after a couple weeks. Soy protein helps to increase your milk supply. You can buy it in powder form and add it to smoothies or in snack bars too. (also from foods too, soy nuts, etc) I read you need 30 grams of soy protein a day to increase your supply 25%. I also got up in the middle of the night to pump (and after my son was done eating I pumped if anything was left, even an ounce). I didn't get much at first but over a week it increased my milk supply. Lastly talk to a lactation specialist. I delivered at Waukesha Memeorial and I can call her at anytime for help. Most hostipals have one and you should have been given their number. I know there is a supplement you can buy at GNC that helps increase your milk supply and it safe, but I don't remember the name so you would need to ask the lactation specialist. The number at Waukesha Memorial is ###-###-####, they won't care if you didn't deliver there, they won't even know because they don't ask.

I just used water in the cereal. It took my son about a week to get used to it. If it feels too boring, you can also add baby food. Prunes work great, but really anything will do! My son, at one year, still loves the cereal.
Take care.
Lynn

Kristen,
A similar thing happened to me with my daughter, though I stopped breast feeding after about 4 months. I would go maybe 8 hours without pumping and then try to pump every 2 or three to meet my baby's needs and it seemed I could never make enough milk for her. The more frustrated I got the less milk I made. Also, the time I spent not pumping made my supply less. I talked to my baby's doctor and she told me about a vitamin of some sort that I could take to increase my milk supply that I could get at any health food store. Unfortunately I do not remember the name of the supplement, because I opted to stop breast feeding since it had been so tough, but I wanted to let you know there was something out there to increase your milk supply. Talk to your doctor or maybe try going to the health food store and talking to them. Hope this helps some!

Lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids!! Hydration is crucial when trying to produce milk. Good luck! :-)

Drink like you have never drank before. Nurse as much as possible, breast milk is supply and demand so the more you drink the more you pump and/or your son nurses the more your body should supply. Good Luck!

You can contact your local hospital and speak to their lacation consultant if you need more help. My lactation lady told me to take Fenugreek herbal suppliment and to pump after each feeding and to pump both sides at once. The Fenugreek bottle won't tell you how much to take to increase your milk. I think I took 6 pills so contact your local hospital and speek to the lactation person on the specifics. If you pump both sides at once you trick it into thinking you have twins. I work full-time and I pump at 9:30, noon, and 2:30 and when I get home I breastfeed. When you are home breastfeed but then pump afterwards to stock your supply. Your supply should increase but maybe it takes awhile for it to ramp up to the demand you put on it. Good luck to you:)

Hi K.,

I had trouble making enough breast milk and though my son breastfed a bit until he was 3 1/2, I pretty much had to supplement with formula from the beginning. I know the La Leche people would say there was something I could have done to change that, but I think differently. Anyway, one thing that seemed to work a little bit was to get some Mother's Milk tea from Traditional Medicinals -- it's got fenugreek and a few other herbs that are safe and known to increase milk supply. And it doesn't taste horrible, so you could give it a try. Hope that helps!

I use fennugreek and it seems to work.

Hi K.,

I second the recommendation of Mother's Milk Plus. It's a tincture (drops) that you take according to your weight. (available at Whole Foods, but some natural food stores have it, too) I had some issues with developing my supply because my daughter was a preemie and couldn't immediately breastfeed. I pumped, but that alone was not enough. I still take it now that she is breastfeeding, and it still helps. Also, if that does not work, try speaking to a lactation consultant through the hospital where you delivered your baby. They should have some advice, and if not, La Leche League is also helpful. Keep working on it, you'll find something that works!

There is an herbal teal called "Mother's Milk." You can find it in the natural foods section of big supermarkets or at a natural food store like Outpost. If you don't see it, ask for it.

Also, there's a grain called Quinoa that is excellent for increasing milk supply. You can get it at Outpost natural food store. Ask about how to cook it--my baby is calling so I can't post more right now.

My son is 15 months old and he still nurses at night and in the morning when he wakes up. Over the past 15 months my supply has dropped down to nothing a few times. The thing I found that really worked the best is just doing what they tell you to do when you first gave birth to your baby. Get some extra rest. I know this seems difficult, but sometimes the dishes or cleaning just have to wait. Everytime your son goes down for a nap lay down and rest for 20 minutes. Relax, don't stress about things, this seems to decrease your supply. Drink lots of water, this really seemed to help me. Everytime you sit down to nurse make sure you have a glass of water. It WILL help. If you are able to relax and treat your body like you did when your baby was first born, it is very likely you milk supply will increase again.

I also agree with the pumping suggestions. After your son nurses sit down to pump the rest out, this will signal your body to increase its supply. And lastly remember that you have done an AMAZING thing by breastfeeding your son for this long. If you need to supplement with formula every once in a while you are not doing anything wrong.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

I'm just going to add a comment of making sure that you're drinking plenty of water. Right now I'm b/f'ng twins and am drinking close to a gallon of water a day. I up my water intake every time they hit a growth spurt, otherwise I get dehydrated. Personally, I don't believe in herbal supplements but hear from some moms that it does work. The only supplements that I take is an extra iron (I'm slightly anemic), and calcium. I do suggest you taking a calcium supplement or make sure that you're getting enough calcium during the day. B/f'ng takes a lot of that from you!
The best way to increase your milk supply is to b/f more often at home. Relax after work, and allow baby to nurse when you get home, before feeding solids. Your body doesn't really run out of milk, you just need to wait for another let down. Pumps don't tell your body how hungry baby is, only baby can do that. There's a chemical that's released in nursing, that tells your body how much milk baby needs. Nurse him when he's hungry, before you give him cereal. If he's already full from cereal he won't have your body make enough milk for next time.

I have never had this problem--in fact, I've nursed all three of my babies to 15 months and am currently nursing a 22 month old.
However, I have read A LOT on the subject. All sources say the best thing to do to increase your milk supply is to literally "go to bed with your baby." Take a whole day when someone can wait on you and bring your meals to you in bed, if possible. Then, snuggle and play with your baby in bed all day. Let your baby nurse whenever he wants to. Relax. Let your body work. This should allow your body to understand that it needs to increase it's supply.
I know this may seem impossible or hard to do in our fast-paced lives, but it will work and it will be a wonderful bonding time with your son!!
A couple other notes: Nursing will always be better for your body to increase supply. A pump just isn't the same as your baby. I feel that the emotional bond and physical closeness has a lot to do with your letdowns and supply-and-demand. Also, even though your son loves the solid foods, if you are serious about continuing to nurse, just hold off on those foods. There is nothing wrong with waiting another 3 months. We Americans always seem to rush the solid foods! (Maybe have the sitter or others only feed him the solid foods so when he's with you, he primarily nurses.)
I hope some or all of these will be helpful! Good luck!

Hi Kristen,

As a new mom to twin boys, I was eagar to get the most milk possible for nursing. My lactation consultant gave me a couple ideas that worked.

Drink the MOTHER'S MILK TEA by Traditional Medicinals really worked, but I had to drink it after every pump or nursing session (I, however had an extremely low supply).

When that wasn't enough, I actually got a perscription from my dr that was extremely safe and increased my milk supply greatly. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it off-hand, but I know it starts with an "S", you take 20-30 mg of it/day (2-3 10 mg pills). It can give you a jump start on your supply if you situation gets bad, comes in a generic form that was covered by my insurance. If you can talk to a lactation specialist or an OB, they might know the name of it. But it does exist and I took it with great success.

Good luck!

You could also try "Mothers Milk" its a tea that you drink. If you go to Rainbow you will find it near the pop aisle on the end cap. Its a small section with lots of other teas/herbals. Its in a red package I believe.

I drank more water and added pumping sessions every day and nursed my son as much as possible that seemed to help. I too noticed a dip in my milk production after returning to work. It's a committment that I knew was best for my son. I went back to work full time and pumped early in the morning before he got up, nursed before work, pump over lunch, and again in late afternoon. (I used an electric breast pump) Hope this helps you. Nurse as much as possible on the weekends too, that helped on mondays for me. D.