Producing Breastmilk

I needed to increase my supply as well and at the whole food store I found 'Organic Mothers Milk'. It comes in a box, like tea, and is actual tea bags. It is AMAZING and very inexpensive.

Are you sure you are not producing as much, or do you just not feel as full? When your milk first comes down, you feel full, but as your body regulates itself that feeling goes away (unless you wait too long in-between feedings). Also, if the babies are hitting a growth spurt it will take your body a little while to adjust to that also.

Also, when I felt like I wasn't producing enough I pumped for about 5 minutes after my son was done feeding. This helped increase my supply.

The best advice I received was to drink instant breakfast. It really seemed to help. I have been exclusively breastfeeding my daughter now for 5.5 months.

V.,

congratulations on the hard work. Twins can be a challenge at the best of times. Let me just say that it is normal to hit a growth spurt between 2 & 3 weeks and again at 6 weeks where they really require more milk and it takes your body at least 3 days to catch up to the extra demand. It also takes a at least 1500 mg of calcium, 75 grams of protein and water to thirst to produce milk so you may check that as well.

There are several things you can try to increase your milk supply, fenugreek in high enough doses, mothers lactation tonic(not tea), oatmeal, brewers yeast all of these may help but it still has a 2-3 day turn around period.

Hang in there, if I can help please feel free to call.
K. Willis RN, IBCLC
@ The Nestingplace
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Congrats on the twins...and boys! I have two age 2 and 3 1/2! I had to use Fenugreek to increase the milk production each time. Also, how long are they nursing? are they getting full? If they aren't getting as much as you think maybe the supply slowed down for that reason. If they finish but didn't take too much, then get a pump and pump untill breasts are completely empty. Your body reproduces what's used.Like everyone else said, be sure to eat and drink well. I think you need 300 more calories while breastfeeding than when you were preg. Not sure how many more for twins.... Hang in there.

Be sure you're drinking enough water. I know it can be crazy with one little one, much less two!! I used to forget to eat and drink. Every time you sit down to nurse them, be sure to drink a large glass of water. Anytime I had low points in my milk production, I could usually look back and realize I hadn't been drinking as much water as I should have been.

Kudos for nursing your boys!!

-A.

V.,

I too recommend the Oatmeal, fenugreek & water. I eat oatmeal just about every morning...and have actually grown to really like having it. I took the Natures Way brand fenugreek tabs 3 pills 3x a day per my lactation consultant(you can buy this at whole foods or herb mart). Both of these things made a huge difference in my milk production! Best Wishes to you and your two new bundles of love!

Best resource anywhere is www.kellymom.com I'm currently nursing my third child and there hasn't been ANYTHING that this site hasn't answered for me...but as for my opinion? NURSE NURSE NURSE!! Your milk is produced by nursing...if you try to schedule them too early, they will not be sucking and therefore not stimulating milk production...nurse when the babies are hungry ALWAYS!(Normal for breastfed newborns is anywhere between every 45 min to every 2 hrs!) My oldest would nurse for half an hour, sleep for abou 15 min and then nurse for FOREVER until he was about a month old. Now, my youngest nurses every 2 hrs on the dot. Weird! My point is to be sure to listen to their hunger cues and nurse them whenever they want.

I breast fed all four of my children, and the most milk I ever had was when I was using the plastic breast shields inside the bra. I think I got them at a maternity store at some mall; however, I'm not sure they make them anymore. With the next three children, I didn't have nearly as much milk, and looking back on it, those plastice shields were the only difference. I think they pushed against the breasts which made them make more milk.

Congratulations on your twins! I breastfed my son for the first year and discovered that eating oatmeal helped a lot with milk production. Also, you can try Fenugreek- it's a herb that helps with milk supply as well. I took it for a few weeks and the only side effect I found was that it makes you smell like maple syrup! They sell it at GNC. Other then that and drinking LOTS of water, I'm not sure what else you could try. Good luck!

Lots of good suggestions already. But, one I didn't seem mentioned was to make sure you are not hypothyroid. I had problems with milk production and in hindsight that was likely due to an undiagnosed thyroid problem. Low thyroid function is not uncommon postpartum and it does sometimes revert on its own. The potential for low thyroid also correlates with the positive response that folks seem to have with fenugreek as that is believed to indirectly increase the amount of thyroid hormone due to its estrogenic constituent.

I noticed a difference with Fenugreek as well, plus I tried Brewer's Yeast. Not really sure if it worked for me, but I've heard it works for others. What prescription did your d give you? I've been taking domperidone, which can be purchased at a compounding pharmacy (let me know if you need names/numbers), and I've also ordered it online without a prescription at www.inhousepharmacy.com. They are in Canada, have good prices, and I haven't had any trouble at all with this medication.

I've also heard that eating oatmeal helps..can't hurt...it takes fine and is good for you regardless!

God Bless you for taking the time and effort to nurse both of your babies! I have a 4 week old and find it hard to nurse her sometimes, but then again I have a toddler to run around after too. I love Mother's Milk herbal tea.....that seems to help me with production. You can pick some up at Kroger in their oragnic section. They also carry it at some pharmacies.

The best way to produce more milk is to let them suckle longer, that tells your body to make more milk for them. When I was breasfeeding my daughter I would let her stay on until she would let go, sometimes she would stay on for an hour. It was worth it tho I would always have enough milk for her. And it's not like I had anything else to do but sit there and let her eat. Good luck

Yes i would second or third....Fenugreek
Also try eating Asparagus.
It works wonders
good luck