I have a 9 week old son who is very hungry. He's only had breastmilk since he's been born. He currently nurses several times a day, but while I'm at work or if we go to Oklahoma City he has bottles of expressed breast milk. When I express milk and give it to him he eats around 4 oz. Lately when I express milk I'm not getting enough. I'm currently taking the herbal supplement Fenugreek that is supposed to help increase breast milk (my pediatrician told me about it) and I drink at least 150 oz. of water a day. Does anyone have any advice on how to increase the milk production? I'm open to any and all sugggestions! Thank you.
Thanks for all the fantastic advice! I upped my fenugreek intake and took Reglan (my OB called it in for me). I now have 11 bags of milk in the freezer and am pumping plenty of milk! I'm so happy! thank you so much!!!!!
I have been drinking Healthy nursing tea that helped a lot increasing my milk supply.
there is a website for Mountain Meadow herbs...located in Montana. I used to take the T&C for menstrual cramping along with the herbal calcium and it helped greatly. They have a tincture called Maxi-milk that naturally increases breast milk. My friend used it with her third baby because with her other two she had a hard time keeping her milk up and she said it was the first time she had ever produced enough milk to choke her baby during the feedings because it was coming out in such large quantities...I think she acutally ended up having to take the baby off one day cuz it shot across the room. So, I would think that works.
It's a bit of a juggling act when you first try it but if you could pump one side while he is nursing from the other you may get a lot more milk. Or pump right after he finishes.
Oatmeal can help increase your supply too, not instant oats, or the ones in the packets, but real oatmeal. :-)
Check out these pages on kellymom, there is some really great info:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbal_galactag...
Also, have you tried talking to a lactation consultant to make sure he is latching properly and get all the milk he can.
Lots of skin to skin contact will help as well
Good luck mama!!
M.,
You are doing a great thing by breastfeeding! I had this problem too and I also took Fenugreek. The only advice I have is to rest more (hard, I know). I seemed to make more milk if I forced myself to lie down and nap with him or just rest while he did. It is hard when there is so much to do, but I feel that it does work! After a while with the resting and the herb, I seemed to make more than enough and everyone was happy! Good luck!
K.
You might find that taking the herb blessed thistle along with the fenugreek (2 pills of each, 3x per day) will increase your supply even more. I have also found that pumping about an hour after nursing helps, and sometimes if you lean forward a bit so that your nipples are pointing more downward, gravity will help as well. The best times I found for pumping are right after the first feeding of the morning and also late at night (after 11, before I go to bed), I always get the most at those times, especially the morning. Sometimes when I am pumping and storing because I need to travel overnight away from my baby, I watch the ounces so much when I am pumping that I tense up and so my milk doesn't let down as well (vicious cycle)...if this is a problem for you then consciously tell yourself to relax! Pumping in the same room with your baby may also help your let down. Visit kellymom.com or breastfeeding.com for all kinds of helpful tips. Good for you for breastfeeding!! You are doing a wonderful thing for your baby. Let us know how it turns out!
