Milk Supply - Eudora,KS

Yes, YES YES!!! The La Leche league has great tips, and you can cruise around the postings on their website for late-night assurance and advice! I experienced amazingly low production when I returned to work. After seeking advice, I tried a two-fold approach: 1) drink tons and tons of water 2) relax, relax, relax. It really helped to switch off the light in the mother's room and think about my favorite baby memories. The letdown was almost immediate. I also tried reading, watching DVDs, and otherwise just "letting go" during pumping/breastfeeding. If you want a natural "enhancer," many many friends recommended the herb Fenugreek. Breastfeeding.com says you get results within 24 hours (it comes in pill form, available at nutrition stores) and once your supply is back up to snuff, you don't have to keep taking it. Good luck! I know how stressful the situation can be.

I nursed my now 19 month old for 16 months and didn't seem to have a supply problem, based on her weight gain (she was 5 lbs 12 ounces at birth and gained in excess of 1 lb several weeks in a row). In the beginning, though, I was very concerned because I was never engorged and just never had the feeling of being full of milk. I did rent a hospital grade pump and used it, as the other poster suggested, to make sure my supply stayed sufficient. However, when I did pump I think the maximum I ever got was 6 ounces and that would have been when I was at the office for the whole day. So my judge of how much milk I had was based on her weight gain and not how much I could pump. I also nursed on demand and what seemed like constantly at the time, but that worked for us. What is making you think your supply is low?

You might try Mother's Milk Tea, they sell it at Hen House in the natural foods section and I'm sure you could order it online. Another thing that I did was eat oatmeal and, honestly, on the days after I would eat it I would feel like I had more milk. I don't have the scientific explanations for why these things might work, but give them a try and do make sure you're drinking tons of water.

If you need any more specific help, let me know.

I was low breastfed, mom during 1st delivery... when my 1st baby was born I had very low breast milk supply and got frustrated..... then, my sister suggested me herbs tea called Healthy nursing tea by secrets of tea...Amazing and preservatives free delicious tea helped me wonderfully;) Try it...

I'm having issues with it. I've been pumping every 3 hours around the clock. I'm also using a product called Breastea (order from their website), and my milk supply has increased a lot. I'm now pumping 5 ounces compared to the half an ounce I was pumping before I started it.

I am having this issue and did some research. The LaLecheLeauge has some great advice--I found this page and have so far tried the fenugreek and the dark beer. I got results overnight!!!! It really works. plan to start the oats also!!

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_take-supplements-tha...

Hi,
My milk supply was usually ok, but one time we had a terrible bout of thrush and it dwindled down to next to nothing. Do you have a breast pump? What worked best for me was to pump immediately after feeding my daughter, even if barely anything came out as she'd drunk it all. This helps stimulate your body to think it needs even more milk. Some people have good luck pumping on one side while their babies nurse on the other, so they automatically have letdown. I was pumping at work anyway in addition to nursing while we were at home, but I increased the frequency quite a bit as well as how much water I was drinking (like 3x as much till it built back up). I should say she was about 5 months old when this happened, so needed to build up a lot, as she only was receiving breast milk at that time.

If you don't have a pump, I'd suggest definitely not stopping him if he's not done (some people suggest getting babies on a schedule at this point, but it really doesn't help milk supply). You may already be feeding on demand, but if not it's really helpful to do so at this age. He's the expert & will stop when he's had enough, so there's no need to try to get him on a feeding schedule or anything at this point. Also, he's at an age when many children experience a big growth spurt so he might just be needing a lot more milk & you're noticing it.

What have you already tried? I don't want to give you any unhelpful advice. I just know how great breastfeeding can be, though, so I'd love to offer any other suggestions I can if they'd be helpful.

Good luck! Write back if you'd like. Here's a link you might find helpful: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

You might have to cut & paste the link if it doesn't show up underlined here.

Take care,
G. in Lawrence

I didn't have a low supply, but I wanted to up my production to be able to pump more for my munchkin while I was away. I took Fenugreek tablets and man, did they ever work!! I was doubling my output inside of a week. As a bonus, they make you smell like maple syrup--your skin, your sweat, even your pee ;)