Pumping/How To Increase Milk Supply?

Do you pump during the day because you work? If so, then I'd nurse him as often as possible while we were together. The boobs don't respond to the pump like they do the baby, so it sounds like they aren't getting the hint that they need to step it up a few notches.

I ate oatmeal while I was nursing because that's supposed to increase your supply as well. It's only supposed to be the regular kind, not the instant, though that's what I ate. You can also eat oatmeal cookies, too, and see if that helps.

I will also recommend the website breastfeeding.com. Go to the general board and you can receive some great advice there. They also have an archive of common nursing problems that would be worth looking into. The book "So That's What They're For!" helped me out on many, many occasions! They have it at Half Price Books for $4, usually.

I hope this helped you some. I'm not a lactation consultant by any means, but I nursed my daughter while working full time and pumping three times a day. I know it can be tiresome and stressful, but you are doing a great thing for your baby. And don't feel bad if you have to supplement, but do realize that your supply may drop even more if you do.

The problem is the pumping. The pumping is not as effective as the baby at getting out the milk. You need to nurse as often as possible, and stop pumping. It will increase your supply the fastest. If you really need to pump, do it on the other side while nursing the baby.

I dont personally have this problem but I have heard a ton of moms who eat oatmeal everyday to help them increase their supply for pumping. Worth a try!?!?!? Good Luck!!

Most moms actually pump more than enough for their babies while they are at work. You probably make enough but he is actually being fed more than he needs. If you take your babies body weight and multiply that by 2.5 you will have the approximate amount that he eats in a 24 hour day. If you divide that number by the average number of times he eats in a 24 hour period you will be able to figure out about how much he needs in each bottle. For example, if your baby is 10 lbs you multiply that by 2.5 and get 25 ounces. If he eats 10 times a day then he eats an average of 2.5 ounces at each feeding.
The thing about bottles is that babies suck at the bottle completely different from the way they do at the breast and it comes out much faster. The baby's brain doesn't have enough time to register that their belly is full so they eat more then they actually need. It's just like with you, if you eat really fast you can eat a lot more than if you eat slow. What you should ask whoever is taking care of your baby is to slow down the feedings so you avoid not having "enough". If they take a few minutes of a break in between each ounce to play, burp, talk with the baby then it should be sufficient. Also, make sure you are using the smallest bottle nipple hole that you can find.

J.,
Great job on being committed to nursing your little guy. I alsoo did fine when I nursed, but had problems getting the same amount when I pumped. I alos took fenugreek, which did help, but I was also told drinking Gatorade would help. I tried it an lo and behold I noticed an increase in my milk. Another factor may be the type of pump ypu have. I used a medela pum in style, ands learned after talking with a lactation consultant, that I had the settings too high, and once i played with the settings and found that a lesser setting worked best for me, I didn't have near as many problems. I hope this helps, and keep it up.

Are you pumping because you have returned to work? If that is the case i would pump more often and for longer until you get a good rhythm going. If you don't have to pump then just nurse. Also drink tons of water whether you are pumping or just nursing. Water increases your production ten fold as well. Stay away from dairy it doesn't help at all. Make sure you are pumping through let down etc... and doing it long enough that you are getting to the good rich hind milk. This could take longer then nursing since you are pumping and it doesn't effectively mimic nursing as well as we would like for it to. For myself (who pumped 8 long months every two hours due to a 2 1/2 month premie) getting plenty of water and keeping hydrated and pumping two hours like clockwork was key! I started out slow but by the end of a few weeks I was producing two 8 oz bottles every time I pumped and over half of it was the thick creamy milk! I am a lactation consultant for WIC and I applaud you for sticking with it. Keep up the good work. It is sooooo good for you baby and for yourself!

My advice is to drink lots more...juice, water, etc. No caffine...that goes through the milk to the baby. Remember, when your nursing it's taking longer to get to his tummy. With a bottle it's faster for him. So, your probably doing a great job, it's just not so easy to tell.

I was told to pump for about e/o 10 min's for 1 hour or you could od it longer. I didn't do it b/c I'm so busy, I have 6 children, 3 of my own and 3 of my husbands. I can only get out 4-6 ounces every 3 hours and I had to start suplementing, if you don't supplement your baby will not get the nutrition he needs, you don't want that b/c it will cause more problems if he doesn't get all he needs. You can also call your local lactation consultant and ask her how to increase your milk supply. I hope this helps you. I hope you are enjoying being a mommy, it's a gift from God. Don't stress yourself out it's not worth it.
L. C