Breastfeeding - Cerritos,CA

Call Hoag hospital. My friend delivered there & was having difficulties. She called the main line & they connected her to their specialist. She said it was a life saver!!

Hey Stef,
Latching on is really important because they can't take enough milk if they are not properly latched on. My niples got so hard that I had to express some milk by squezing them until they were softer. You also need to insert more of the niple than you may think for them to securely latch on. My mother in law told me that tea helped her to have lots of milk so I did the same with my two daughters and it really worked WELL. Decaf is best to drink all day. I had to stop breast feeding for a week when my second was a few weeks old and when I started nursing again the tea worked wonders in a very short time. Also, every time I sat down to nurse, I had a large glass of water that I drank as she nursed. I hope this works as well for you as it did for me.
God's blessings to you and your family,
V.

The Wellness Center at St Jude in Fullerton has great nurses on staff and a lot of lactation support, though I don't know if that's convenient for you. If it is, they even have workshops a couple of times a week where you can take your baby, they'll weigh him/her before and after a feeding to see how much (s)he's drinking, and will help with any latching problems. The hospital where you delivered may have something similar as well. When I felt like I wasn't providing enough milk for my son, their advice was to eat oatmeal, drink plenty of water, and try pumping after he nursed to "trick" my body into thinking he needed more. They told me it takes 72 hours for the body to adjust to the new demands, so hang in there if it doesn't seem to be working. And keep at it... breastfeeding my son has been the most rewarding experience. I can't believe he's almost 8 months now, but still seems to prefer Mommy over the bottle when I'm available (I work full time and he gets bottles of expressed milk throughout the day). Good luck and congratulations!

I read to pump after your baby is done nursing and then feed your baby by bottle what you were able to pump out. This will allow your baby to get more milk plus the pumping will help build up your milk supply.

Generally, your body should be producing what your baby and the pump is demanding, unless there is an underlining problem. But typically what stimulates milk production is the emptying of your breast. So in theory, if you are emptying your beast often you should be producing milk!

But again, everyone is different and this is just what typically happens.

Hi Stef:

Hi again! Do you have Kaiser Insurance? They have Lactation Specialists that you can call for a consultation.

My sister-in-law is a Lactation Consultant (she's in Orange County) and she gave me an herb called "Fenugreek" it is suppose to help milk production. You're suppose to take about 4-5 pills per day but if you have allergies, start with one a day and work your way up as you see how your body responds to the herb.

I didn't have a milk production problem so I can't vouch for your success with the herb. I am taking it now, after a while your breasts adjust to the baby's needs and they don't become engorged anymore. I currently am having trouble pumping milk for future use as I will be going back to work soon.

Thanks for your kind note!

GT - LaCrescenta, CA

Hi Stef-

I had low milk supply with all 3 of my children and I saw the Lactation Nurses at Mission Hospital. They do a great balancing act of making sure your baby is thriving and working with you to nurse with out making you feel guilty if you have to supplement like I did. Regading increasing milk supply- the suggestion you have received so far are good, if you pump rent a hospital grade pump, I used More Milk plus, Reglan (RX) and Domparidon ( Last resort and you need to get an RX-) to increase my milk. The nurses will help you with the latching on, it take practice. But call the hospital today and see someone. If you ahven't been successful and the baby is couple weeks old, it will be harder and harder to work with them.
I know your pain ( been there 3x)- hang in there, and do what makes you feel right when it comes to nursing, supplementing, or 100% bottle feeding. You will find the perfect solution for you and your baby.

Check out Belly Sprout online or call the store, they have a lactation consultant who you can call and talk to and she can even set up and appointment if you're in she OC area.
Also, Mother Love has a supplement called more milk plus and you can get it at most health food stores. You also might want to check out a book called "The Womanly Art of Breatfeeding" they have great tips and solutions to most issues with breastfeeding.
Good luck.

The hospital you delivered at should have a lactation consultant you can talk to. If not, you can try La Leche League, though (in my opinion) they tend to come on a bit overly strong. I have heard that fenugreek, "Mother's Milk tea", eating oat meal, and drinking a beer a day can all help add to your supply. Unfortunately, I can't validate any of them, because, though I could never pump well, I was able to nurse DS to 18 months just fine. Hope someone else sees this and can be of more help.

Susan Orr is in Long Beach and she was helpful with both my boys. Her email is ____@____.com She runs a clinic in Long Beach on Tues and Thurs mornings.

In terms of milk, the more you pump and get the baby on, the more you should produce. I also used fenugreek and it worked okay.

Take Care,
F.