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Questions re; supply and pumping

Alison - posted on 02/07/2009 ( 3 moms have responded )

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My daughter will be 6 weeks on Tuesday and I have some questions...

First, she does well nursing all day. Seems pretty satisfied, but once night comes along she wants to nurse straight through from about 6pm-2am. Is this normal? Is this a sign of low supply?



I just started pumping, buy only get about 1 ounce (combined for both sides). Is this normal? I know she drinks more like 2 ounces every 2 hours, but if I'm only pumping 1 ounce every 2 hours how will I sustain her?



She was born small 5.14 and went down to 4.13 a week after she was born. I have had to supplement her with formula, but that has slowly decreased in the past few weeks and I've only found myself supplementing at night. I want to get her completely off the formula, but am concerned with the nightly feeding. I hope someone can help me with ways to increase my supply!

Alison

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3 Comments

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Meredith - posted on 02/08/2009

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The "F" supplement is Fenugreek.  I was hospitalized for complications from my C-section the day that my milk came in and wound up nearly totally dry.  I could barely pump an ounce at 5 weeks! Anyway, the fenugreek did help.  You can find fenugreek in the nutrition section of your grocery store.



Drink your water.  If you drink plenty of water, you will see an increase in your supply in about 18-24 hours. 



One thing that the lactation specialists had me do was pump after every feeding.  You heard me - after every feeding.  It was a lot of work, but it helped "convince" my body that more milk was needed. 



If you're really in a pinch there's a medication your doctor can prescribe which has the side effect of increasing lactation.  Additionally, there's something called domperidone that works too, but you have to order it from a foreign pharmacy!  The meds are really a last resort.



Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 02/07/2009

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it's normal that she componsates at night it doesn't mean ur milk is low. and it's normal that u only pump one once at a time the more u pump the more comes out. try pumping 10 minute intervals for about an hour it takes a while for the let down reflex to get started. what u pump is not what she's drinking. and brewer's yeast help increase ur production. i would pump about one hour all together (both sides). don't worry about ur suply trust me and when they go through growth spurts they are on u every hour maybe every half an hour

Melissa - posted on 02/07/2009

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I know my supply is very low towards the end of the night. The only way to get your supply up is to keep nursing her often. Make sure you drink lots of water. I know if i;m dehydrated or stressed my supply dips. I have read from some other moms on here different things like eating oatmeal, vitamin c, some kind of supplement that starts with an f (sorry I can't remember the name). What time of day do you pump? If I pump in the morning I can pump 3-4 ounces. Make sure you are pumping every time you give formula, if not your supply will continue to decrease. good luck!

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