brestfeeding

Leena - posted on 09/13/2012

Dates work great...fenugreek seeds...buy the seeds from indian grocery stores( ever city has a store). Boil them and drink the water as tea and strain the seeds and add to any meal as you would grains or rice

Jennifer - posted on 01/08/2010

Eat healthy and lots, drink tons of water and pump first thing in the mornings. Your body should adjust to suppky and demand. My breasts never used to feel engorged but once my son cut back a bit i noticed when he didn't feed they got engorged. You probably have enough milk but because your baby feeds regularly he drinks it as you produce it. I know someone who pumped after she gave a full feed and her milk supply went crazy. Everyone is different. I have read that it is best to pump first thing in the morning when you are fullest. Good luck:)

Cammie - posted on 01/07/2010

The more you pump the more milk you produce. Example pump about an hour after he eats and soon your milk will adjust to this and you will have the milk you need

Lindell - posted on 01/07/2010

Well it worked for me, and was prescribed by one of the best doctors in town. Everybody have an other opinion that's fine, I just trying to help with what I experienced for more than 2 years with no problems.

Rebecca - posted on 01/07/2010

Quoting Lindell:

Let the doctor prescribe - Eglonyl. It is a mild anti depressant and a side effect thereof is to produce milk. Otherwise lots and lots of water. I breastfed for 2 years and 2 months. Good luck!!!

Eglonyl is not AAP approved & not recommended for use during your pregnancy. Anything you should not use during pregnany you should not use while breastfeeding. Also this is a drug prescribed for schizophrenia not depression.

Rebecca - posted on 01/07/2010

What makes you think your milk supply is lower? Breast milk production is based on supply & demand so the more removed the more you will make. ie pump a couple of times a day plus nurse your child & you will have more milk. On average most women can only get 1oz from each breast while pumping. It is higher in the begining when you are producing a ton of milk & will decrease over time. As you get better with pumping you may again get more than the average 1oz. Milk production is highest in the wee morning hours (1a-4a). To increase your supply you will need to remove more to make more. It is also said that oatmeal helps with milk productions. There is also mothers milk tea. I am so happy to see you are dedicated to doing the best for your baby. Congratulations.

Lindell - posted on 01/07/2010

Let the doctor prescribe - Eglonyl. It is a mild anti depressant and a side effect thereof is to produce milk. Otherwise lots and lots of water. I breastfed for 2 years and 2 months. Good luck!!!

Lise - posted on 01/05/2010

Quoting Justine:

i never could pump, well at first i did and got TONS but my son wont take a bottle so i stopped, and when he is at his dads or at daycare and i get full i try to pump but cant get anything. baby is much more efficient at getting milk out then a pump. also, keep in mind that you dont store milk in your breasts, you produce milk in your breasts, so even if you dont feel full, as long as he is gaining weight and having wet diapers you probably dont need to worry. if he feeds a lot dont listen to anyone who tries to tell you that you arent making enough milk, if you werent making enough milk he wouldnt want to drink because there wouldnt be anything there. you dont feel engorged because he is efficiant and getting the milk out before it builds up. you are probably doing just fine. keep up the good work!

If you have a pump with membranes, make sure you change them out - the can really drop your output.  :)

Erica - posted on 01/05/2010

I pumped after every feeding with my girls for a little while. Even if nothing comes out, it helps to stimulate your nipples that extra amount of time. Also, drink plenty of liquids and eat lots of snacks. Avoid caffeine and get as much rest as possible. When you do pump rather than have your baby at the breast, make sure you pump for at least 15 minutes even if you think there is no more milk coming out. Sometimes milk will stop for a few minutes and start again, plus make sure your nipples are stimulated for that long. Good luck!

Megan - posted on 01/05/2010

I have this same problem. I try to pump after each feeding, sometimes there is nothing there to pump but sometimes there is and every little bit counts. I have also heard that the more you pump, the more you make- I just don't want to be pumping every hour!!

Stephanie - posted on 01/05/2010

keep feeding and pumping a LOT - demand increases supply!

Marisa - posted on 01/05/2010

Mothers Milk tea helps a lot. When I had my daughter, I wanted to make sure I had enough to pump to creat a supply for when I went back to work. I would drink a cup of that and then pump about 15 minutes later...it has the fenugreek that Kelly mentioned in it along with some other things that are known for stimulating lactation. Also, stick with it, keep pumping and nursing even if you don't get as much as you would like right away. The more you nurse, the more your body will supply...it just takes it a couple of days to realize that there has been an increase in demand!

Kortney - posted on 01/05/2010

nurse then pump for 10 min afterwards! store what you pump! i tried the fenugreek, it made my son very gasy! it wasn't worth it for me! It also makes you smell like maple syrup! :)

Justine - posted on 01/05/2010

i never could pump, well at first i did and got TONS but my son wont take a bottle so i stopped, and when he is at his dads or at daycare and i get full i try to pump but cant get anything. baby is much more efficient at getting milk out then a pump. also, keep in mind that you dont store milk in your breasts, you produce milk in your breasts, so even if you dont feel full, as long as he is gaining weight and having wet diapers you probably dont need to worry. if he feeds a lot dont listen to anyone who tries to tell you that you arent making enough milk, if you werent making enough milk he wouldnt want to drink because there wouldnt be anything there. you dont feel engorged because he is efficiant and getting the milk out before it builds up. you are probably doing just fine. keep up the good work!

Alisha - posted on 01/05/2010

Thanks everyone!

Rebecca - posted on 01/05/2010

Breast milk is a supply and demand process. I too, had my twins early by 5 weeks and pumped like a mad woman for their stay at the N.I.C.U. as well as breastfed every visit. Your body will supply milk as long as there is a demand so what I did was nurse my boys then aprox. an hour to an hour and a half later i would pump and store then nurse again about an hour or so later and continue this pattern. At first you may have very little to pump until your body realizes it needs to produce more milk. Let the pump run for a few minutes after the last drops of milk have been pumped to trigger milk production. Its a way of letting your body know that more milk is needed.

Also with a singleton make sure you are nursing from both sides. Let your little one empty one breast then offer the other one. If it isn't wanted, this is a great time to pump, as one side will still be full. The best way to increase you milk is frequent feedings and pumping. If at all possible, a "nursing vacation" can be taken where you spend as much time as you can in bed with your little one resting and nursing as frequently as you can. Your well rested body will be able to produce much more efficiently. You can also take Fenugreek which is a herb. It comes in capsule form. Some mothers see an increase within as little as 24 hours others may take up to 2 weeks. Good luck to you and your little one.

Kirsty - posted on 01/05/2010

hi, i went threw something similar and what i did was, i pumped almost every hour for about three days to build up my supply whilst feeding her normally, then i backed off the pump after that and feed her normally and only pumped 2 or 3 times a day, always about half way between feeds that way there was enough milk for her next feed. it's not easy my daughter is one now and i still feed her, good luck.

STEPHANIE - posted on 01/05/2010

your milk supply is generally more when you first begin bf'ing and it adjusts itself as needed. Sometimes it's going to be low though and sometimes it's going to be full., so pump when you can

Mandy - posted on 01/05/2010

The more you pump, the more milk you'll get. I was only to get 1-3 ounces total when I would pump at first, but then the doctor suggested that I pump right before feeding my son. That helped a lot. Also, I don't know what kind of pump you have, but I got much more when I used a double pump than a single. KellyMom.com is a great website all about breastfeeding where I got a lot of good advice too.

Brittany - posted on 01/05/2010

your milk supply is going to feel lower because your milk supply is adjusting out. but they hve some pills that you can take to increase it if you feel the need though.... congrats on your new baby!!!! ♥

Kelly - posted on 01/05/2010

You can take these pills, from the vitamin store called Fenugeek. I took them and it helped my milk supply when it was low. The vitamin store also has teas for breastfeeding moms to increase their milk supply.