Supply question

Hillbilly Housewife wrote: Doesn't it seem like every new mom has bf questions, even if it's something she's done before?!

Anyhoo...my questions is this:

How do I increase my supply without taking herbs or drugs?

I eat oatmeal, I don't take more than 1 can of pop (cola) or 1 cofee a day, no alcohol, I don't smoke, I drink LOTS (like almost 2 gallons a day of different fluids) I drink red Raspberry Leaf tea, and I try to pump after every feeding, and if she sleeps more than 2 hours, I'll pump at the 2 hour mark.

It sucks though, because I have the Avent Isis pump, which is a great pump, but the one I had broke, so I got another one - and now that one is cracked too, although less of a crack, and it sorta still works... So it's harder to pump with a oump that doesn't work properly...

I konw that they take (infants I mean) more than you can pump, but I'd still like to build up a decently big supply so that I can also have a stock of bottles to feed if I have to go out, or if Zach is REALLY being a pain and qon't settle down for the time I have to feed Emilie.

Anything else that I can do? This si how it started with Zach, supplementinng, and then more and more...and I read that infants only suck down bottles after a feeding as if they're starving because of the relflex to swallow if their mouth is full of milk, hence the suck swallow suck swallow as if they haven't eaten - they're not necessarily hungry.

I try not to give her a pacifier, unless I'm changing her diaper and Zch is sleepng, because he wakes up if she cries...which, thank gosh, is pretty much the only time she cries. (knock on wood)

Help?!

aspenblue1 replied: Lots and Lots of WATER! I drank over 10 glasses of water a day. other than that and the oatmeal I am not sure.

kimberley replied: all i can think of is drink plenty of fluids, relax, and let baby`s suckle increase your supply naturally. i found warm showers or compresses would stimulate a let down or a small cup of beer to help me relax.

with all 3 kids, i think i always had way more milk than they needed because their frequent growth spurts of marathon nursing. keep trying with the pump. sounds like you are doing all the right things.

Schnoogly replied: Are you cosleeping? I'd just take her to bed one weekend and spend the whole weekend with her just sucking away. That's what the LCs told me is the #1 best thing to increase supply, inc. drugs or extra pumping

BTW the Isis works for a lot of moms, but not all, and it's really a "work" pump not a supply increasing pump. To really increase supply you need to be double pumping--both breasts at same time-- with a hospital grade pump. If you are still having trouble with supply in a few weeks you might consider renting one from a medical supply place or hospital. They aren't that expensive, I'm not sure how much in Canada though. You would ideally BF first both sides then double pump for 5-10 minutes afterwards. The deal with supply is that you need to empty the breasts as well as provide stimulation to increase supply. If she has a weak suck she's probably not getting everything you've got, and that's why you're having trouble. As hard as it is you're going to have to just let her nurse around the clock for a few days. Let her do this on a weekend or when DH can take Zach so you can devote all your energy to increasing your supply.

GL!

Jamison'smama replied: Great advice given---as you know---typically the best pumping time is about 45 minutes (sometimes a little more) after the first feeding of the day.

I rented a hospital grade pump--our hospital rented them by the day, week or month---really did get more than when I used my pump in style.

Mother's milk tea does have herbs in it but can be helpful without taking the full-on Fenugreek.

I totally agree with taking her to bed with you for a weekend--just rent a movie, sleep, eat, drink and nurse.

Best of luck to you!!

jem0622 replied: You can do several things.

Add barley malt syrup to your oatmeal. I bought it at the coop. Eat peanuts. Watch the water b/c there is such a thing as overdrinking and then that can cause your supply to lower. A daily cup of beer. Marathon nursing or pumping (every hour). There are some oatmeals that have an even higher content of fiber and good stuff. I would need to dig and find out the name. I know that some european/middle eastern markets/indian markets may carry it. I'll have to look in the next week and see. But the things I suggested would most certainly help.

Julie

Jamison'smama replied: I had no idea peanuts would help but I do know I had to be really careful--Jamison had an allergy to peanuts and it took me forever to realize that the snickers left over from Halloween were causing the little rashy bumps all over her face

MommyToAshley replied: Congratulations on BF and hanging in there!

Everyone has given great advice, I don't have much to add on the supply issue. Ashley nursed ALL the time in the beginning so I never had a supply issue.

You mentioned that you wanted to stock up on some BM. One thing I did was pump the same time every morning. This way my body got used to the "extra feeding". I found that pumping first thing in the morning worked for me. At first I was lucky to get an ounce, but it didn't take too long before I was getting 7-8 ounces. I used a couple ounces in her cereal and froze the rest.

CantWait replied: Yup I agree, everyone has given great advice. It does take a while to notice a big difference though. Around the 6 or 8 week mark, I noticed that my supply had come in full force. Anthony was eating every half hour at that point still, plus I was pumping.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Thanks everyone...I had no idea about the beer.... I have some left over from New Year's Eve

kit_kats_mom replied: Just a side note on the beer. I heard that the darker the beer, the better for supply. Think Guinnes. LOL

Also, did your pump crack where it screws onto the bottle? Mine did ( think it has to do with overtightening) and when I called, they sent me a new replacement part for free. I was very pleased with their service.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
ooOOOooo...I think I might have to find their phone number. \

That's where they cracked. Both of them!

Kaitlin'smom replied: well I dont have anything to add but lots of luck and keep working on it! I did not pump much nor did I have a supply issue once my milk came in. I did drink a beer now and then when she was noticably eating more due to a growth spurt. Keep up the good work!