Milk Supply - Lexington,KY

Trust me I know your frustrations. I have a three month old that I have had the same problems with. Let me share what I have found out. Fenugreek and ALOT of water helped me tremendously with increasing my milk supply. And as far as him unlatching and screaming my son does the same thing when I try to feed him and he is just not hungry.

Very rarely does a mom not have enough milk for her infant especially that young if you are nursing full time. Supply equals demand. Nurse as often as possible followed up by pumping and feeding every 2 hrs. Drink lots of water and the Mothers Milk tea does work well. You usually can get it at any GNC. If he is throwing a fit and unlatching have you tried changing your position. That helps.

I'm expecting my first in a couple weeks, so I haven't had experience with all of this yet... But I'm sure that you could find the Mother's Milk tea, or something like it, at a health food store or maybe even a pharmacy/grocery store. I found a brand called Yogi tea "Nursing Mother," at a health store here in Indy.

Things I've heard that help with your milk supply is drinking TONS of water (you're supposed to get something like 86 oz a day as a nursing mom vs the regular 64 oz). There are also supplements of fenugreek, blessed thistle, and alfafa that are supposed to help. Also, my doctor told me not to use decongestants, because they can dry up your milk supply.

Have you tried pumping at all? The body is supposed to respond to the demand of the child, so the more milk that gets taken out of your body, the more your body will produce. It could be that you're worsening the problem by substituting formula. (Although, I know you want your baby to be getting enough food.) You might try pumping milk every few hours, to empty your breasts as much as you can. That should signal to your body to make more milk.

I had very low milk supply and my pediatrician recommended me Healthy Nursing Tea by secrets of tea to help increase my milk supply. You might want to bring it up to a doctor. I hope this is helpfull for you;)

Your problem could be giving him a bottle during the day. You really need to put him at your breast to increase your milk. I tried the mother's milk tea and it tastes horrible! I wanted to throw up when I drank it. Try eating lots of oatmeal and also ask for the herbal supplement fenugreek. I heard that works really well at increasing your milk. Hope things are going well! My daughter did the same thing too when my milk really came in, I have a fast let-down reflex so it came out to fast and she would fuss. Maybe that's what your son is doing. I'd say too, try contacting a lactation consultant nurse at your hospital and talk to her and get help from her.

I am currently on Reglan for the third time. Reglan is often used to help mothers who are adopting to produce milk so they can breastfeed. Your med should be working by now. I took 2 rounds of Reglan for 12 days each. What is your dosage? If you are taking less than 10mg 3 times a day, you probably aren't taking enough. My dr. has me on Reglan everyday now (for 3 mo.) b/c it didn't keep my supply up after stopping the first two rounds. Now, my daughter at 4 mo. went through a "phase" where she would unlatch and scream, and she would fight the bottle every once in awhile as well. I think 1) there may not be enough milk supply and he gets frustrated, 2)it's not coming out as fast as the bottle or he may like the formula more, or 3) let down is delayed and he doesn't want to work so hard for it. Mother's milk tea did not help with me, but everyone is different. You can check with local hospital botiques to see if they carry it or check with an herbal store. Fenugreek with blessed thistle, 3 capsules of each 3 times a day is also supposed to help. (Again, this didn't help me.) Another piece of advice, if you solely pump during the day, you may want to consider (unless you work) letting him nurse a few times instead. The babies are much more sufficient at getting the milk out, which in turn produces more milk. The emptier you can keep your breast, the more you will produce.

Your son may have reflux?

I used fenugreek with all three of my kids and drank gallons of water a day. When I was at work, I pumped three times a day and at home I would nurse 5-7 times. All of my kids clustered fed in the evening. Nursing three or four times between 6-9p.m. Good luck!!!!!! I loved the experience of breatfeeding. Do not get discouraged.

He may be letting go because he is getting use to drinking out of a bottle. They are much faster and easier to drink from. My daughter was like that. Also my doctor told me to drink a Malt Liq beer. The malt also encreases milk supply which was a good thing since I was nursing twins. Also my lactation nurse told me not to take hot showers since the heat makes them release milk. But she said if I was ever engorged and in pain to put warm wet wash rags on them to help it go down.

Drink more water, water, water, and yes sometimes the tea works for some people but more importantly drink the water. Your medication and water should be enough to keeep your supply up. The whole not latching on at night might just be his way of saying he didn't like what you ate that day, my kids often would be picky. IF I ate something spicy or broccoli niether of my kids would nurse very well that evening.
Goodluck