Producing Enough?

Something I had to do when I was breast-feeding with the same problem was even when he was not feeding, I would have to squeeze out as much as I could. Then I would stop for about 20 minutes and do it again. The reason this worked is that the body thinks the baby is eating more, so it produces more. Hope this works and good luck.

Go the GNC and ask for FenGreek... I used it after going back to work with my son... It worked for me...

Hope this helps...

K.

A little about me, I am married to a wonderful man and have 2 perfect children my son will be 3 in November and my daughter is 10 weeks old... I love being a mother... 35 years old married going on 10 years.

Hi K.! :o) Newborns tummies are TINY! They have to eat frequently, eventhough 1/2 0r 1 ounce of milk is a little to you it's alot to baby boy. A common misconception about breastfeeding is that "there isnt enough" Your body will make milk as you nurse on demand. The more he nurses the more milk you produce. Giving him a bottle will only get him used to getting really FULL and he will expect to get that "stuffed" feeling at every feeding and will not want to nurse enough to get that milk flowing. Just HANG IN THERE! :) The first weeks, even months are the hardest, but once your body knows what little guy needs you both will be very happy! Good luck and congrats on the new addition!

K.,

I breastfed for 2 years and initially my daughter didn't eat as much as I thought she needed so I made the mistake of pumping. If you have no need for pumping because you aren't working or going on a trip don't bother because if you are taking out too much you will be engorged... soooo not a good feeling. Breastmilk works on supply and demand. You make what they need. They suck more they get more. I fed my daughter every hour on the hour til she was about 5 months old. She would eat more so stay full longer. Breastmilk is very easy to digest so it's no wonder they are hungry so often. You will be feeling like a literal cow soon and learning every step of the way. Breastfeeding is so rewarding... don't give up. Have confidence in the both of you. You will create enough and your baby will get enough. Good luck. =o)

I am by no means an expert, but if you're feeding him every hour to hour and a half, he might not be getting a full feeding in. At seven weeks, he should be able to go longer in between feedings. Is he getting full feedings each time you put him on? By full feedings, I mean is he nursing at least 15 minutes on each side? Or, is he falling asleep during the feeding. Regardless of how much you pump, other factors may affect how much you produce - lack of sleep, etc. Also, if you're putting him on to nurse too frequently (and not resting!), your body doesn't have time to rebuild your supply in time for the next feeding. I would highly recommend On Becoming Baby Wise, great book and was a great resource for me with all three kids.

All that being said, you may just not be able to produce enough milk for him, and that's okay. If you're not able to breastfeed him, you're not a failure as a mom - okay????

Hope that helps, keep me posted!

: ) Becky

Hi K.,

Everyone will tell you FENUGREEK! It's awesome and it works! But you have to take a lot of capsules throughout the day. Also, Mother's Milk tea (any of the breast milk teas will work - I just can't think of other brand names). Check your health food store and sometimes Albertson's carries the tea. Keep drinking water. Consult the lactation counselor at the hospital. Some people just don't produce like others and you can't beat yourself up if you're a lower producer :-)

Hi K. I breastfed both my children until they were a year old and I had the hardest time with my son because he was always hunry. When I felt I was low on milk I would pump inbetween the feedings to make my body produce more. La Leche is also a good source also there is a book similar to the famous preganacy book (What to expect when your expecting) and it's all about breastfeeding I bought mine a barns and noble and lived by it with both my kids. Hope this helps

i know this response maybe seen as inappropriate by some breast-feeding advocates, but please take it as what it is, a friendly opinion.
when my husband and i had our second child we were elated. i had breast-feed my daughter and planned to do the smae for my son. HOWEVER, my sons feeding and sleeping habits were totally off the wall( god love him) the lack of sleep and constant feedings were interfering with my ability to care for the others in my fanily and myself. i also tried pumping but could not let down enough to produce any results. finally we decided to wean him at between eight and nine weeks old. he took to the formula easily and to our relief began to sleep much more. i had wanted to breast-feed much longer and was disappointed and felt a lot of guilt over weaning so early. today he is a happy healthy six year old obsessed with catching lizards and turtles, and we couldnt be more proud

K., you need some sleep or it is going to get harder to make milk, that is when the body produce more. You also need healthy nutrition not just water/liquids, remember your baby will eat what you eat. It is going to get better with the days as your body will get used to what you baby needs. Eventually, you will produce more and if the baby is healthy, that means you are norturing him well, try to pump before he eats.

You can also call La leche league, they have great advice, maybe look them up in the internet or yellow pages. It is great that you are breastfeeding, that is the best way!!!

Good Luck

Hi, K.!
Royal Jelly helps to produce more BM, and contains 28 natural vitamins and minerals.
There is a link:
http://www.durhamsbeefarm.com/orderpage.htm?50,11

Best wishes,
V..

MamaSource is awesome for info, you will also want to check out La Leche: www.llli.org for more breastfeeding questions and concerns. There are several La Leche groups here in PB County, perhaps you would consider coming to a meeting sometime.
Good luck and remember, you're baby's tummy is TINY! And breast milk is so easily digestible that it just goes right through him. Keep up the good work and don't give up! This too shall pass!

Hi K., first congrats on your new baby and your committment to your breastfeeding relationship. One thing that I used to increase my supply was/is Mother's Milk tea - you can find it in Whole Foods or Chamberlins. At this age though his schedule of eating every 1-2 hours sounds totally normal to me and is exactly what I remember going through with my son. He is 1-1/2 now and still b/f during the day. Even now he still wakes up 1-2 times per night.

Are you co-sleeping with him? I know I got a lot more sleep when we brought our son into the bed with us. If you're not familiar with co-sleeping, I'd recommend doing some research on safety issues of having an infant in your bed.

For issues with b/f'g www.kellymom.com has wonderful resources for breastfeeding. There are also several great lactation consultants in the area, try Pat at www.patlcc.com. Also the FL Hospital locations have lactation luncheons once a week. You can go with your baby, they weigh the baby when you get there, you b/f and then they weigh the baby again. This way you can actually see how much the baby is eating. They can assist you with any issues as well and you can meet other moms at the luncheons too.

Hang in there mama and remember to sleep when he sleeps! K.

Hi K., I breast fed my son for 15mo. he was a drink every 1hr guy and I felt so worn out every day, I had a consultant come to my house and she informed me that I was letting him drink as he pleased and by doing this my body started to only make enought milk to feed him every hour, she told me that I needed to make him wait and let him drink every two hours this would help build up my milk supply, she informed my that our bodies will begin to time itself with the baby and every hour didn't give my body time to produce enough milk for my son, she let me know that this change could be a little hard on my son making him wait every two hours but he would ge use to it, she said eventually he will work his way up to only eating every 4 hours and he will get plenty. It was all about making my son wait and he was much happyer. Hope this helps.

B. F.

I agree with a lot of the responses; baby tummies are tiny, and they eat A LOT because BM digests so easily. If you do want/need to up your supply, fenugreek(sp?) is good, and I've heard great things about oatmeal also. You're doin' great mama, hang in there! :o)

Fenugreek and blessed thistle helped me some but your sleep is important also. Are you able to nurse in a recliner so you can sleep and nurse or sleep on your side in bed? Once I was able to get comfortable nursing on my side I found I was able to feel like I was "almost" caught up on my sleep. Take naps during the day if possible, even a 20-30 minute cat nap can help. If your husband can give one of those relief bottles in the evening so you can get 3-4 consecutive hours of sleep wiould be nice. The anxiety about sleep and feeling like a zombie can cause a decrease in milk supply.

I suspect your son is in a growth spurt and if you can hang in there he will slow down. Hopefully you can stay with it and let him have his nursing marathon. I remember those days that I just didn't even get dressed, I just nursed. It's hard because there's things that we need to get done but just try and simplify and get done the necessities. I used to feel stress trying to juggle my other kids when I had a nursing frenzy going on. In the scheme of things this is just a short phase. Things will ease up soon. good luck, LaurieK

BTW-my boys were more vigorous eaters than my girls

Well K. you have to rest as much as you can also keep drinking. If you feed him every hour that's okay too as much as you feed him the more milk you have. I was pumping after a feed my daughter and sometimes nothing came out. Some baby need to eat more often. Amanda was like that too and I was always worried that I don't have enough milk. You do everything you can. Some day you will have more milk than the other day. I know it's hard because on the end I haven't had enough milk so I had the supplement with formula and I felt so guilty... Now my daughter is healthy I was breastfeeding for almost 7 mos.. When she born she was 5.8lb and 19.5 inches long. Now she is 19lb and 28.8inches long thanks for my milk at 8mos. You do your best don�t worry about it because that�s not good for your milk.Long as you baby groing good you have enough milk. Rest, eat healthy, drink, take care of your self and you baby. I wish you the best,
Orsi
Amanda
1-30-06

Well your child is still really young and I know you don't want to hear it but you do need to nurse on demand. Little ones stomachs are sooooo tiny and BM is much easier digested than formula so they need to eat more frequently. I promise it will pass!!! What you pump is NOT what you actucally have in your breasts! A baby is a way better milk pumper than a pump. By giving a bottle you are hurting your supply, esp since your supply is still being established, which can take up to 8 weeks sometimes more. You don't want your baby to get used to the bottle and not want to nurse at the breast. I know this isn't a soulution for everyone but I brought my son into bed with me and learned how to nurse laying down. Once we got that down I could just hook him up and go back to sleep, never even really been wide awake. Good luck and you can do it! don't give up, making bottles in the middle of the night is WAY more work! Breast milk is the best gift you can give your child.
I am still nursing my 2yo, and we had plenty of issues over the years but kept going. Blessings

Hi K.,

You may have heard of "mother's milk tea" which helps to produce more but what I found to be more effective was the actual herb that is in the tea - called Fenugreek. I purchased a bottle from my lactation consultant when my milk was not coming in and I was a factory within 24 hours. (If you need her name and number, let me know). Good luck!