I have been breastfeeding my 5th child for 21 months. He nurses three times a day, once in the morning, once at naptime, and once before bed. Three days ago, a teen mom brought over her 24 hour old 5 pound baby and left him in my care. While she is trying to decide what to do next, I have asked her if I can breastfeed the baby. She has agreed, but I am having trouble producing enough milk even for the newborn. Any ideas? I am reading the breastfeeding post right before mine but my situation is a bit different.
Hi Kathleen,
There are a few things you can do to increase your breastmilk. One thing you can do is get your physician to prescribe Reglan. Remember though, the more you demand from your body the more you will produce. In the meantime a been ( I think it might actually be the hops) will increase your milk supply. There is also Fenugreek and a tea called Mothers Milk, that you might try. I would lastly use a breast pump to increase you supply between feedings. If you want any further assistance you may feel free to email me and I will give you my phone number.
Best of luck to you and the new Mom.
Taffy Nelson CD
Kathleen, best of luck to you and the little ones! I used Fenugreek(sp) when my son was born and had to stay in NICU for 5 weeks. That plus increased water intake did wonders on my milk production. I don't know about the Reglan helping, except that it's primary function is to increase stomach emptying, which may help to increase the production. I did pump most of the time with him since he was in the hospital and I still had classes to attend and two children in school, my husband stayed with him the entire time. It seemed to help.Again, best of luck and take care!
Reglan did wonders for me when my daughter was in the NICU. I think the way it works is it stumulates prolactin, which is the hormone that tells your breasts to make more milk. It's worth a try if the usual measures don't work well enough for you.
You can also look up kellymom.com. There is a ton of info on breastfeeding and increasing your supply.
Best wishes to you and those you are helping.
Julia
I just want to say that I admire your willingness to keep this baby while her mother decides. I also admire that you're wanting to breast feed. Doing this may be a tough road to be on. Hopefully you know the family and the girl will make a decision soon. Hopefully, for the sake of all of you, the mother is getting some unbiased professional help and if she decides to keep the baby, has a strong support system.
We need more places where mothers can keep their babies safe while they work out what they want to do. I also hope that you have support no matter what the mother's decision is.
I just want to say that I admire your willingness to keep this baby while her mother decides. I also admire that you're wanting to breast feed. Doing this may be a tough road to be on. Hopefully you know the family and the girl will make a decision soon. Hopefully, for the sake of all of you, the mother is getting some unbiased professional help and has a strong support system.
We need more places where mothers can keep their babies safe while they work out what they want to do. I also hope that you have support, no matter what the mother's decision is. Your heart is good. Remember that what you do now, even tho you won't see results now, is good for the baby and the mother.
Feed on demand! The more you breastfeed the two babies, the more milk you'll have available. Right now, the newborn has an itty bitty tummy and should do a cluster feeding soon (next couple days) and that will amp up your supply. Stick with it and way to go helping out when a babe really needs you!
When I had problems with my milk supply decressing when my son was hospitalized at 2weeks. The doctor had me drinking tons of water and ensures. I also used a SNS from the hospital w/ formula when acting as breasttfeeding...child gets enough plus your body thinks the baby is nursing the entire time. I also suggest fenagreek tea (mothers milk from drug store). All work, but non will if you don't drink enough water and eat healthy!! You're doing a great deal of good by suplimenting mothers milk for this little baby!
Hi, I wish I knew how to help you. I have heard that there are herbs that can help with this. Of course there is the old wives tail about drinking beer... haha
At any rate, i read what you said about a teen mom/baby with interest. My husband and I are hoping to adopt.
If she decided to put the baby up for adoption, we may be interested and could offer an excellent home and family.
Thanks,
Angi G. Oregon
have you tried pumping after you feed your child? and i am not sure that the breast milk you are producing now has enough nutrients for a newborn but i am not certain on that. good luck with things.
Like others mentioned, Reglen is a prescription which works pretty well, but it does cross the blood/brain barrier. Fenugreek, Mother's Milk Plus -- both are herbals that you can get at places like whole foods. I worked with a lactation consultant who also said try to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids, and I was told to eat an avocado daily along with eating more oatmeal. It took a while, but worked.
Good luck with the breastfeeding and please let us know how it goes!
When I had trouble w/my 2nd, my midwife did tell me to have 1/2 can of beer....it worked! much better than more water or even the milk thistle tea.
The hops in the beer is just enough to help the milk but not enough alcohol to get to you or baby.
That seems very generous of you, but what will the baby/mom do when the baby isn't in your care? While I believe breastfeeding is wonderful and beneficial for the baby and MOM, this situation does sound like a bottle would be best. Are you planning to adopt this child? Again, I certainly appreciate your generosity, this may not be in the best interest of this baby. Good luck to everyone.
At 21 months the breastfeeding is more for comfort rather than necessity, for the 5 week old it is a necessity. How involved are you. Do you think you will adopt this child? Unless you are heavily involved with this child I would have the mother go on wic and use formula. Yes breast is best, but I know lots of kids who had formula and they are just as smart, athletic, etc... as the kids who were breast fed. If you do decide to stop breast feeding the 2 year old it will be hard at first, but kids are resiliant and he has to stop sometime. One question to ask is are you doing for him or for you? Good for you for doing it as long as you have. My son weened himself at 7 months and I could only take it for 8 months with my daughter.
There is a tea called mothers milk that has all kinds of good herbs to help you produce more milk. I am one of those women that no matter how much i breastfed I couldn't produce enough milk. Also I am sure you know by now that the more you nurse the more you body will produce milk. In between feeding the two pumping will help you milk store build as well. These are all things my OB told me when I tried to nurse my youngest and wasnt producing enough milk for her.
I would use a breastpump to increase my supply if I were you. You can nurse the baby and then pump right afterwards. Whatever you get when pumping you can feed to the baby in a bottle or a small cup. Since you're an experienced mom, you'll know when you have enough milk for the baby. You're body will adjust to produce enough milk in a couple of days. If you don't have a pump, then I would say let the baby nurse, but supplement with formula until you have enough supply. You can also use a graduated feeder if you like to make the baby think that he's getting breastmilk. Check out this product from medela...http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breastfeeding-devices/52/starter-supplemental-nursing-system-sns
I think what you are doing is great. Best wishes.
the moe you keep the baby to your breast the more your body will produce. To help you can take Domperidone it is an off label use but it is safe and doesn't harm the baby. I took this to help supplement my twins. An SNS is a great idea, I also used that. It will keep the baby used to breastfeeding rather than a bottle.
Good Luck
Sarah
The mothers milk tea and pumping every 2 hours (even after feedings helped me). You can also try taking fenugreek and eating more dairy, peanut butter, and oatmeal. Good luck.
After responding previously, I had another thought. The nutritional content of breastmilk changes as the baby gets older. It might be good to consult with a doctor and/or lactation consultant about whether or not your breastmilk (since you have been nursing your 21 month old) will meet the needs of a newborn.
My midwife told me that oatmeal is actually one of the best stimulants. Of course put baby to breast all the time to stimulate production. I lost my milk with my 4th when I got really sick and dehydrated. He was not able to hold anything down except my milk so I needed it pronto. At the advice of LaLeche League I went to bed skin to skin with him and when he napped, basically be latched on while he slept. I had full milk within 2 days. Biggest one is too relax and drink a lot of water. Mother's MIlk Tea is also great. Good Luck! You are awesome for doing this for this little one.
I would do the normal things to increase milk supply...it's all about supply and demand..so let that little bitty thing suck as much as possible. Maybe even pump after your 21 month has their milk (I know there's not really anything left..but that should help increase supply). Can you pick up some Fenugreek? That's supposed to increase milk supply.
I guess now that I've read other posts and see the situation...because you may be keeping the baby..I would suggest either Reglan (which is only good if you don't have depression problems..because one of the side effects of this milk increasing medication is depression) I couldn't take it because of that...but when my milk supply dropped to almost nothing when my baby was 5 months old (because they put me back on the pill bad idea) anyway the doctor and the lactation specialist at the hospital put me on Domperidone which is not FDA approved in the US..but you can get it under "special" circumstances. I checked the risks and benefits and decided it was worth it..because my baby could continue breast milk..it saved my breast feeding relationship and worked well..no side effects.
Good luck whatever route you go. I hope the mom figures it all out.