Breastfeeding Help - Bossier City, LA

hello i have a 7month old girl and my milk dryd up because of an infection i got and i was also hospitlized for 3 days she was 5 weeks old and i didn't know about this tea then...Im no doctor but the La Leacha Leage of Lubbock Told Me To Drink This Tea Calld FenuGreek you can get it at any food helth store..also you can call the la lecha leage of lubbock for help to that's what there here for :o) smile you will get through this..also as a last resort my step mom told me that drinking beer brings back milk to i don't know what kind or how much but that's what she had said and she's 54 she might know what she is talking about lol she and i never really got along. well i hope to hear back from you let me know what the out come is ill talk to you later

T.

Keep pumping, the right side even more than the left. The supply will come back. And the next time you feel a plugged duct coming on, avoid mastitis by putting some water in a disposable diaper and heating in the microwave for 20 or 25 seconds and then holding the diaper on the sore area while you pump. It will open the duct, and it gives you immediate relief. Read up on the internet about foods that increase milk supply, there are some!
Good luck and congratulations!

I am an IBCLC (lactation consultant)... give me a call and I will see if I can help you - ###-###-####.

I have two daughters that I have nursed and am still nursing my 10 month old.Your mild supply of course is a on a demand basis.Try to pump a few more times a day on the right side than you do on the left.Make sure that your Dairy intake is also well. Good luck you and your new family. We will be keeping you in our prayers.

Congatulations on twins! My sister used an herbal supplement called fenugreek. Her lactation specialist suggested it. I don't know if your doctor will say it is ok because it is an herb. You will have to make that decision. Best wishes to you and your family! J.

Call La Leche League in Lubbock, Celeste ###-###-####, and get help from her. She is the best ever. She will keep up with you to help you get back where you need to be.

Blessings to you, and you are doing a great job trying to feed those babies under so much stress and scary circumstances,
K.

Hi J.,
I am also a mother of twins, identical twin boys - 7 months old, and I am still breastfeeding, although my supply has dramatically reduced over the last few months. The suggestions I received to increase supply is to pump every 2 hours for a 24 hour period and your supply should start to increase. Although this can be difficult, when my twins were home (they were 37 weeks and came home from the hospital with me) they would eat every 2 - 2 1/2 hours, so therefore the 2 hour intervals mirror their eating habits. I would also suggest calling the La Leche League as they also have helpful tips on maintaining milk supply.

I also experienced mastitis twice, however this did not appear to impact my supply - although it was painful to nurse during the height of the infection so the lack of nursing that side to the extent you can due to pain could be a factor in the lower supply.

I hope this is helpful!

I also have twins, boy & girl, who were born around 33 weeks. They were in NICU for 21 days & received pumped breastmilk. I got mastitis at least once, and was treated with antibiotics (not hospitalized though). My milk supply seems to be reduced when I am sick (which has been several times since twins were born in January 06). The lactation consultants always told me to just keep pumping every 3 hours. I found that within a few days, the supply returned to normal. You can also try some herbs that you can get at health food stores. I never ended up using them, but my best friend did, and the lactation nurses recommended them. I believe the herbs are fenugreek and blessed thistle. I really believe breastmilk helped with my premature twins--they were born 3 lbs 0 oz, and 3lbs 13 oz, and now, at 8 months old, they are almost 19 lbs each! I have continued with the pumped breastmilk (breastfeeding just got to be too difficult with twins) and they are doing great. I wish you luck with everything, including the milk supply.

I can tell you that the more you pump the more milk you will have. It is kinda a supply and demand thing. I will pray for your babies safe trip home.

I breastfed my daughter for 13 months. The way to build up your milk supply is to either nurse more often or pump more often. Obviously if your babies are in NICU you can't nurse them yet so you will have to pump more often. More milk is made when you nurse, or in your case pump. Make sure that when you pump you are emptying the breast. Then wait about 30 minutes and pump again. Also try pumping both of your breasts at the same time. Try stimulating your senses also, like thinking of your babies, imagine yourself holding them, maybe even looking at their picture while pumping will help.

pump twice as long on the dry breast as you do the one that is producing. keep using the pump even after you're out of milk and look at pics of the babies while you do to help.

i used to produce more in my right than in my left and to correct it i just kept the babe latched on to the left for longer than the right until my production evened out.

I had a similar problem with my milk supply, my doctor prescribed reglan for me. it is a common way to boost your milk supply, you take it for I think 10 days and increase your pumping. It really helped me! Talk to your doctor or one of the nurses, they can really help!

The more you pump, the more you produce... that is what I was told! Typically they feed the babies every 3 hours in the NICU, if possible you should pump every 3 hours, it's a supply and demand thing. Try talking to the lactation consultants at the hospital, they are very helpful and full of information! Also, try to relax, stress can slow down your production. Good luck with the babies! =)

WATER WATER WATER!!! I found that drinking an overabundance of water was key to producing enough milk. Of course pumping often is important to,,but if you dont have enough fluids in you to produce the milk then pumping alone wont be enough. With my first I thought as long as I was drinking something it would be ok----not true. It has to be water. Make yourself drink water throughout the day and you will see a difference.

Hi J.,

I am so sorry to hear about your mastitis. I had it with my first son when he was like 3 or 4 weeks old and I remember how painful it was. As for your milk supply, the only thing I can suggest is to pump as often as possible to stimulate your milk glands to produce more milk. I hope it picks up for you!

make sure to use a hospital grade pump...even if you have to rent one. It's the closest to a baby nursing. It's much more stimulating than a store bought pump.

Are the twins actually feeding from you or from a bottle? If they are feeding from you, even sporadically, try having them both feed off of the slower breast when you feed them and pump the regular amount out of the other. Normally, after a while, the slower one will atch up. All your breast needs is a baby to tell it what to do.

Obviously that particular method might not work since you have twins, especially if they are co-feeding. IF not, maybe you should try feeding the same child on the same breast for a while. If nothing else, maybe that will force your breasts to lactate enough to feed that particular child.

I am not a lactation consultant, but I had three daughters in five years and I breastfed all of them. I am by no means the authority on lactation, but hopefully it helps. Let me know how it goes.

Congrats and good luck!

J.--
congratulations on your birth!

i would definitely recommend that you try fenugreek capsules & blessed thistle capsules to increase your milk supply. you can also drink mother's milk tea. the dosing for the herbs is 2-3 caps 3 times a day, of each type. fenugreek alone is also helpful but adding blessed thistle gives you a little extra boost. there is fenugreek in the tea, but the additional benefit is the water. you need to be very well hydrated to nurse well. make sure you drink 10 glasses of water/juice/milk per day and try to avoid caffeine & alcohol, both of which can affect the babies and can dehydrate you.

milk-making is very much a supply-and-demand kind of thing. i agree that the more you nurse or pump, the more milk you will make. babies are more efficient breast-emptiers than breastpumps so once you start directly nursing your twins you should see an increase in your supply. it may take some time to encourage your right side to catch up with your left side. normally this isn't an issue but since you are breastfeeding twins your life will probably be easier if you can nurse both simultaneously rather than feeding them both, in turns, from one breast (it CAN be done, however!!).

i don't give reglan to my patients because it has neurological side effects for both mom & baby, and since we're talking about premies here, you might want to avoid anything that would have strong side effects on them.

one last thing to consider is maybe hiring a lactation consultant, if you haven't already done so. she can advise you more about day-to-day ways to increase your milk supply.

good luck!
K.

Dear J.,

I really can't say enough about La Leche League! They are very supportive and truly are the 'world's experts on breastfeeding'. I encourage you to attend their monthly meetings for a while or call a captain for phone support. I've found their information to be accurate, whereas often pediatricians/nurses or even lactation consultants can give wrong info. Here's their Houston contact information: ###-###-#### - http://www.ykc.com/LLLHouston/ I pray you find the help you need!!

Blessings,
R.

Supporting you as you nurture your family.
www.NurturedFamily.com

Congratulations on your new babies. How exciting!
I'll just have to say that everyone here has said at least one of the suggestions that I was thinking.
I was going to mention the Le Leche League... (great source of support and suggestions), Keep pumping, and pump longer and more often, and talk to your doctor about herbal teas etc.
One person mentioned that you could look at pictures of your babies while you pump, I agree. My milk would flow freely at the sound of a baby crying, even if I had just fed mine. Crazy how it works.
Keep your chin up, things will get better. We're all pulling for you.

Hi,
I breastfed both of mine, but my second was more demanding and always wanted more. I drank lots of water and that helped, but I also was told that not just the frequency but the length of time you nurse increases production. So I would let him nurse until I would feel my milk 'let down' several times (even though it seemed that he wasn't getting much at first). Your body will realize that it needs to make more. I wish you the best of luck...

J.,
The only advice I can give you is to keep pumping. Keep pumping, and do so more frequently, even if you aren't getting very much milk. The more you stimulate them to produce, the better they should produce. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids, mainly water, this should also help.
I was severely ill when my son was about 4 months old and my milk supply dwindled to almost nothing, but I pumped more often and drank lots of water, and it helped. It did take a few weeks for my supply to come back completely. Your being ill has an effect on your supply, make sure you keep yourself healthy and eat lots of good food etc.
Best of luck to you and your new babies.
L.

When I had trouble with my milk supply I would pump 2~3 hours for 15~20 minutes. In about two days you will have your milk supply back. I hope this helps. I hope your babies get to come home soon.

I also had boy/girl twins about 2 years ago. Mine where also premature. I did not get mastitis, however, my milk never completely came in. I pumped and pumped and little came out. I was told that it could be due to lack of sleep and stress. It is certainly not easy going back and forth to the hospital 1 or 2 times per day. Also, since they are not with you and you probably feel as though they will never come home isn't helping. Do your best. If your milk does not come back, it will be OK. My twins are very healthy despite the breast milk. My thoughts and prayers are witn you and your family.

K. M.

pump, pum,p, pump. The more you pump, the more you make. I started to add one pumping session so I would have extra milk for times I was away or something. I pumped after her morning feeding. At 1st I got nothing. After about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks I was getting about 3 ounces per breast. It takes a while, but your body will start making enough. You will be glad you did all of this work! It is so much easier to nurse when they get a little older! (and lots cheaper) I nursed my 2 older kids for 1 year and I am nursing my 6 month old now.

good luck!
K.

I got a bad Thrush infection when my son was 4 months old. I had to stop breastfeeding him becasue my nipples were cracking so bad he was getting blood with the milk and it was making him sick. I got it treated and was still pumping until it healed. The doctor told me to feed my son more frequently and empty the breast completely every time, whether or not it is the baby feeding or the pump. In your case, if you pump from that breast every other hours, do it every hour instead. Hope this helps!! Good Luck!

I havent had this problem, although i tried to breast feed my milk dried up within a days time. Maybe the milk ducks..tissues have dried up. Also taking medication..they will tell u not to breastfeed? Dont know how it is now. Its good that u are pumping several times a day for your babys.. Hopefully your doctor will be able to tell u something on why it is u arent getting milk from the one side.
Good luck to u and congrats on the babys!!!

J.,

Congrats. I hope your babies come home really soon.

To build up your supply, pump, pump, pump. Your body knows how much to produce by how much is used up. Also, drink plenty of water and try to relax (hard, I know.) Both can affect your milk supply.

Best of luck,
S.

Looks like you've gotten alot of advice about this, so I won't give you anymore. However, my son was a month early and spent a week in the NICU (in Ft. Worth). I pumped and they fed him my milk through a bottle. He got used to this and REFUSED to latch. I was bummed but I just rented a hospital strength pump from the hospital and continued to pump and feed him with the bottle. So don't get discouraged if he won't latch--mine never did. And it's OK!

J.,

I recently had a son and did not decide to breastfeed until about a week after he was born. I started out using a regular breast pump you can purchase at the store but was only getting about 4 oz. per day and after a week of pumping instead of increasing it started decreasing. I rented a hospital grade pump and within a week I was upto 3 oz per pumping and steadily increasing. I used the pump for about four weeks until my milk came in and was able to go back to the regular pump. Your hospital or pediatrician should be able to get you intouch with a lactation specialist that rents out these pumps or you may be able to rent one from the hospital. Just be very diligent about pumping. Good luck.

Hello, I breastfed(ing) my 2 children and although I never had a really bad case of mastitis, I notice a drop in milk supply if I'm not getting enough to eat and drink... especially water. If I increase my intake and breatfed more often (or pump in your case) the milk will usually return to normal after a few days. Occationally it'll take 4 days or so, then I see a real difference. Sometimes I might nurse on the breast making more milk less and put the baby on the breast making less milk to try and balance them out. Hope this helps. :) Good luck, and we'll say a prayer for your precious babies to come home real soon. God bless you and your family.

J.- I had mastitis three times with my first son, and the firs time I also had to be hospitalized. It is very stressful, but good for you for wanting to breastfeed your babies. I have read that mother's milk tea that you can find at the health food store will help a lagging milk supply. Also, good food and incredible amounts of water will boost it. Try warm showers and rest. Nursing can be very psychological. I hope you stick with it. I almost didn't, and turns out it was one of the most healing and wonderful experiences of my life. Oh, one more thing...you should contact the local Le Leche group. They are breastfeeding advocates and will help you.

I have three children (4,2,1) that I have breastfed. I believe it is pretty common to have one breast produce more milk than the other. Since you have had mastitis it may have made it much more noticable. I would recommend trying to stimulate the breast (that is not producing enough milk) more often. This should help. Also, you may try putting a warm compress on that breast a couple of minutes before pumping. I hope this helps. I know it is very frustrating, especially in your situation with your little ones in the NICU, but do not give up. It may take a few days or even 1 to 2 weeks. Just try not to get stressed. Stay calm - I know it is hard. If you get stressed it actually dries you up! Also, drink plenty of water to keep the milk production up and make sure you are getting enough healthy food to eat, because what you eat is going to the babies. I don't mean to preach, I am just trying to give good advice :) I wish you the best!

Yep just keep pumping, it will keep trying to meet your demand. It will take work but you will get it up to where your supply needs to be.

I hope your babies get to come home really soon, they will be a big help in getting your supply up!

First of all, congratulations on the birth of your twins!

For mastitis, you've probably heard the tried and true remedy, but I'll repeat it just in case.. Place cabbage leaves in the fridge, and cup them around your breasts, put them in your bra, to relieve the pain and discomfort of mastitis when needed. This really works! (and they are just the right shape -- how convenient!)

For increased milk production, eat curries! Any foods with the herb fenugreek in them help to increase milk production.

Also, a lactation consultant can teach you certain breast massage techniques which will stimulate let-down in the breasts. Here's one I remember: lightly flick towards the nipple with fingernails, going around in a circular motion. Repeat about 10-12 times. Drink lots of water. Look at photos of the babies while you do this. Relax and smile at them. It really works!

Finally, and probably most importantly, keep feeding on the side you need to bring up. Most babies end up prefering one side over another, so many mothers end up with slightly lop-sided breasts! However, with two babies, you need both sides functioning, so keep rotating the infants. Keep at it, and your milk should come back up very soon. Good luck!

Hi J.,

I haven't had my baby yet (got about a month to wait), but one thing that I have heard several people mention to increase milk production that hasn't been mentioned in all the answers you got is atole. It's a drink, made from corn, I think, and flavored. I'm not exactly sure where to get it, but for sure you can get it in Mexico, and I guess that if you stop at some Tortilleria and ask someone who looks Mexican where to find "atole" someone should be able to tell you. I've had atole before, and it tastes really good. Flavors include vanilla, maple, and cinnamon, among others.

My mom said she wasn't able to produce enough milk for my brother and me after 6 weeks, but I really don't want to suppliment my breastmilk for my baby, so I'm going to be looking for anything that will help. My midwife also mentioned eating chocolate. I don't know if that will work or not, but it might be worth a try.

Have a great day!