Hi everyone,
Just wanted to know if anyone out there has used this herb. My milk is down, I have some but not like before. My son is 8 1/2 mo old and I am still exclusively bfding him (he of course is having solids already too, gerber stage 2, cereals) and wanted to up my milk supply. I've been taking it 3x a day after bkfast lunch and dinner, 1 tablet each of the 610 mg. Are you taking the same dosage? Please give me advice on your experience. Also any foods out there to eat that's lactation power boost? Please let me know, I truly appreciate it. My intention is to bfeed my son until he's one year old. Once he's able to digest cow milk at 1, I can wean him then. My bfeeding him is so important, it's not only his great source of nutrition, it's also part of our bonding as mother and child and he usually naps right after feedings, I am not ready to wean him yet and would like to continue to do so the next 4 months. Thanks so much !
Maria,
Oatmeal, Oatmeal, Oatmeal. It's a natural milk booster and it works great! Any kind of oatmeal - instant, flavored, cookies, whatever!
C.
Hi MariaMao,
I took fenugreek with my son as well. I found that the pills from Wholefoods worked much better than the ones from GNC. You also need to take a much higher dose than what is on the bottle. I took 3-4 tablets 3X per day. Your skin should smell like maple syrup - that is how you know you are taking enough. You can also add the herb blessed thissle - it helps to stimulate milk supply. Also, steal-cut oats (oatmeal) is great for increasing supply as is the occassional beer (with lots of hops).
I wrote an article on pumping and working - and it has great tips for pumping to increase your supply as well. So even if you are't working - you may find the tips very useful. Here is a link to the article: <http://www.pumpingtips.com>
J.
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Hi sweetie!
Are you breastfeeding him BEFORE every meal? That's important. I'd just increase your feedings...that really is the best way to increase your supply. Make sure you are getting enough liquids, and that you aren't doing anything to deplete it( not like it would be your fault..I mean if you are stressed or exhausted). I actually have a whole box of Mother's Milk that you are more than welcome to...I never used it, as I just increased feedings and that worked...:)
According to the protocol I rec'd from lactation consultants, I needed to START with 15 tabs/day and increase until my skin smelled like maple syrup (which ended up being 20/day). It also said that if I didn't see an increase in 5 days, then I wouldn't see one at all. It mentioned that some women need to take Blessed Thistle (not sold at GNC) along with Fenugreek.
Unfortunately, none of the herbs, nor more frequent pumping worked for me. Good luck!!!!
Hi! I don't have experience with Fenugreek, but, in terms of increasing supply, I second the advice to make sure you are nursing before every meal your son has of solids, and not after. Also, drink lots of water. I've also heard of people saying eating oatmeal can help.
Congrats on making it to 8 1/2 months! You are doing a great thing for your little one.
I can really sympathize with your problem, I was never able to breatfeed exclusively. I had such a problem with getting my milk to "come in." For the first 3 weeks of my son's life, I would feed him every 3 hours, then pump for 20 minutes. It really took a toll on me mentally and physically. So in the end I just gave him whatever I could from me, then finished up with formula. When he was about 5 months he didn't want to nurse anymore, I guess he was just too impatient! But I still added breatmilk to his formula and cereal until he was 9 months.
During this time I took the fenugreek, (have you gotten that 'maple-syrup' smell yet?!) and also, as advised by lactation consultants, drank tea called, "Mothers Milk" (I got this at The Goodlife Market) ate TONS of oatmeal, and even found out about a prescription called "reglan" which I got from my ob-gyn. They all helped a lot but like I said, it was never enough for me to be 'exclusive'. Good luck to you!
I took Fenugreek from GNC...3 tablets 3x day. Lots of water and oatmeal help too.
