I am breastfeeding and I don't seem to be making as much milk anymore... need help, advice to keep

Catlin - posted on 12/23/2009

beer!! have a nice, hop-y beer like Guinness! you can also try Quinoa it's a grain kinda like rice, but just eat a little of it or you boobs will feel like they will explode! tons of h2o. you can also ask baby's DR. or a lactation consultant to weigh baby before and after feeding her to see how much she's taking. they did that with my daughter after i recovered from mastitis so that i knew how much formula to supplement each feeding with until my supply was back up

Charlotte - posted on 12/23/2009

Heard fenugreek and yeast tablets

Daleion - posted on 12/21/2009

Its ok its normal. I dont produce enough milk either its toltal fine the doc said so just make sure you eat alot of food and drink plenty of milk and since you not producing enough milk its best you also give the baby feeding.

Teresa - posted on 12/21/2009

If your worried that your not making enough milk go to earthmamaanglebaby.com it has a great tea called milk maid tea and it also a whole breastfeeding support kit it great I love the whole site if you have stretch marks it has stuff for that too I used the teas with all 3 of my pregnancies and after :)

April - posted on 12/21/2009

This one will be funny and make you laugh but it worked for me, beer. The pediatrician was an old-timer who had been in the biz for years and he surprised me with the answer but beer will increase your production. If you don't mind your baby being a little sleepy, it probably would be okay, of course ask the pediatrician if there is anything besides a sleepy baby you need to worry about. I'm not sure if non-alcoholic works but it might.

Crystal - posted on 12/21/2009

Sometimes it just stops producing, I stopped producing when my daughter was 6 months old.

Amber - posted on 12/21/2009

I had to go back to work when my son was just 10 weeks old so I exclusively pumped from 10 weeks until 9 months. It is so difficult to keep your supply up when pumping and with things interrupting my pumpings at work. I used fenugreek and drank mother's milk tea you can get both of those at health food stores. They worked but at one point my milk was practically gone and I didn't want to stop so my dr. gave me a prescription and it worked so great. If you are going to give up I would say ask your dr. for help, but hopefully the fenugreek or mother's milk tea will help and oatmeal and water.

Kari - posted on 12/19/2009

my daughter is 10wks old and has been on formula for 5 1/2 weeks because I completely dried up. Formula isn't a bad thing but if you switch you need to do 50/50 on the formula and breast milk or it can hurt your babies tummy.

Amber - posted on 12/19/2009

Thank you so much ladies! Jenna is almost 6 months old and she is my first that I have nursed this long. I think that I am low because she is hungry the same amounts per day and night, but I don't have the milk to give her. When I am empty she just gets frustrated and won't even suck at all. I tried the formula because she was hungry and I would pump as she was taking her bottle so that my body still felt the demand. I will definately try the above suggestions and let you know how it goes, thank you again!!!!

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 12/17/2009

I agree with the moms that want to know why you think your supply has dropped.

Here's a link that will help you figure out if your supply is low:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-su...



Stop supplementing and let baby feed on demand. Let baby comfort suck on the breast as well. Putting your baby to the breast as often as possible is the best way to increase your supply. Contact a lactation consultant (should be one at your local hospital) if you need more help or have more questions. Good luck!

Aisha - posted on 12/17/2009

back to the old mexican wise tales... drink lots of milk, oatmeal, and a beer every other day.... it will help! dont give up!!!!! let me know hoe it goes.

Heather - posted on 12/17/2009

My Lac Consultant told me that a pump is not as strong as a baby's suction so when I was trying to pump I was supposed to do it for twice as long as she was feeding. She also suggested using Fenugreek, an herbal supplement, i took 3 pills 3 times a day and it helped build my supply back up. Good Luck!

Jackie - posted on 12/17/2009

Keep getting plenty of water, food and sleep. My midwife tells me that when a Mom has a low milk supply it's usually due to one of these three things. Let the baby nurse as much as he/she wants to.

If you want to take something to increase your supply more quickly, try alfalfa tablets- every time I've used those it's only a couple of days before there's a marked difference.

Also, just another thought, it could be that you have plenty of milk, but your body has gotten used to making and carrying that amount, so you don't feel so uncomfortably full anymore.

I hope you get it figured out!

Ameya - posted on 12/17/2009

i agree- how do you know you're not making enough?
Pumping doesn't get as much out as baby does so don't let that alone be your guide. Also, babies go through phases where they will clusterfeed /eat alll day and alll night. Usually growth spurts or to help with reflux or something, not usually indicitive of low supply.

If it *is* a low supply, there are many things you can take to up it. kellymom.com has tons and tons of info there, definitely check it out! gl :)

Callinda - posted on 12/17/2009

As Brady has said, why do you think it has dropped?

You should really have your daughter checked by your health professional before supplementing her with formula - you may find she is actually still gaining weight and she is getting enough.

My baby is stacking on heaps of weight, but he cries after each feed like he is hungry - but the problem is that he is actually so efficient at feeding now that he is actually crying as he wants to suck more, so I just give him a dummy for 5 minutes after each feed to suck on and he is happy.

Kaitlyn - posted on 12/17/2009

I would try to nurse as much as possible, sometimes your milk will seem like its going away, then it will just come back. When my daughter was about 3 weeks old my milk completely went away, about 2 weeks later I was engorged again and was able to nurse more, just keep the pumping up and it should start to increase again :o)

Brandy - posted on 12/17/2009

How old is she and why do you think your supply is too low? If she's only a few weeks old, it probably has lowered but not to the point where she isn't getting enough. When you have your baby, your supply comes in huge then once your body gets used to how much your baby needs, it stops producing so much extra. If you keep giving formula, your supply will keep getting smaller because your body only produces the amount that is being taken. If you think your supply is short because she suddenly started eating constantly and for a longer amount of time, it could just be that she needs more milk. When they want to increase your supply because it is time for them to start eating more, they cluster feed for a few days until your supply increases to the amount they want to be eating. It's a pain in the butt but if you just let them cluster feed, it will only be a few days until your supply is large enough that they can go back to their regular feedings. If it is because you can't pump much, some women have a harder time letting down for the pump than others. I exclusively breastfed my daughter for the first 6 months until she started solids and I could never pump more than an ounce at a time. Sometimes, I could only get a quarter ounce or so which made me think my supply was low until I talked to a lactation consultant and she said that since my daughter keeps gaining weight and has the right amount of wet diapers in a day, then obviously my supply is there, it just doesn't want to cooperate with the pump or the way I am pumping. It wasn't until she started on solids that I started being able to pump 3 or 4 ounces at one time since she was no longer using as much of my milk. I don't mean to tell you that you are wrong, but most times when women think they have supply issues, it's because of one of these reasons, so maybe talk to a lactations consultant and have your daughter weighed and if you want to keep your supply up, you need to keep putting baby to your breast whenever she seems hungry because if you keep giving her a bottle, your supply is only going to diminish faster.

Theresa - posted on 12/17/2009

just try more feedings the more the baby feeds the more milk you will produce. in between feedings try pumping it will make your body think the baby is feeding and you will produce more milk.

Yesha - posted on 12/17/2009

Trying using cumin seeds.. in almost everything u eat.. it helps.. nd i guess there is some powder comes to increase milk production.. ask ur gyna, she will help with that powder name.