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if i gain weight, can i increase my milk supply?

April - posted on 11/11/2009 ( 3 moms have responded )

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i gave birth to my son last december and i have been losing massive quantities of weight rather quickly. I went from 188 in my 9th month of pregnancy and now 10 months later, I am down to 125. Well, I weighed 140 pre-pregnancy. I am also noticing that my weight keeps on dropping.



I also feel that i don't produce as much milk as my son needs and that is why he does not eat during the day (MAYBE 1 time) but eats every 3 hours at night. It is also important to note that he is not taking solids at all. He closes his mouth and turns away.



I haven't been counting calories, but i feel like I need to eat more. If I eat more, will my son nurse more? Will my supply come back stronger??

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3 Comments

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Jessica - posted on 11/11/2009

5

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the more you feed the more milk your body poroduces, but if your son is almost a year old your body may not be producing as much milk as you used to because you've done if for so long... now as for the weight part.. man i hvae 3 kids, before my first pregnancy i weighed 110 lbs, after 3 kids and into the 7 month after my 3rd kids im weighing 160 i wish i had the problem with losing weight like u do!

Jenny - posted on 11/11/2009

191

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I just have a couple of suggestions. It actually sounds like your baby may have his days and nights mixed up. Also, my sons didn't like solids for a while when we first started offering it...especially my seven month old, he's still not interested and it's been a month. :) Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about his heating and a lactation consultant can help too with milk supply.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 11/11/2009

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It's not about how much you weigh, but about how much you eat. If you don't eat enough calories to keep your body going plus make milk, then the milk will be the first to go. Eat more calories so that your body can maintain a healthy weight and have enough left over to keep your supply going. You burn 400-600 calories a day just by breastfeeding so keep that in mind. Most lactation consultant and doctors will say to eat an *extra* 500 calories. Before I was pregnant I ate about 1800 cal/ day to maintain my weight. Now I eat between 2200-2300 to maintain my weight. So yes, eat more. Just make sure it's healthy.

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