milk comes later?

fiasco

I have read maybe 3 accounts of women whose milk supply has a marked and sudden increase around the 2-3 month mark. ( I think one is linzpinz)  I planned to EBF but after trying every remedy now I pump 1/2 and FF 1/2 his intake.  Please give a broken-hearted girl some (maybe false) hope w/ your late supply increase experiences.

kel716

Yes, your supply can still increase!!! In fact, it can increase up until 12-14 weeks pp with good pumping habits.  It sounds like you're EPing, correct???

Simonealisa

Yes your supply can increase! We had to supplement with formula for the first 5 months. I was able to decrease the supplements and went on to exclusively breast feed until he was 22 months. I was on herbal supplements for a while, but the things that helped me the most are drinking lots of water, extra pumping, eating oatmeal, getting lots of rest, etc.

Buckets of Moonbeams

What's going to increase your supply the most is nursing, nursing, nursing.  Go to bed with baby for several days, and just nurse as much as possible.

fiasco

Aw, thanks Kel.  Your tips here and on my xp are very helpful.  But it sounds like my pumping habits aren't as strict as you say they should be.  I primarily pump but 1-2 times a day we have a nursing session when I have extra time to nurse and then follow up w/ a bottle, usually when DH is home. I nurse or pump a total of 6 times a day, but at night I only pump when he wakes me up, on the advice of my MW.  I also have gone for some 4 hour stretches during waking hours due to long walks, errands and Christmas obligations.  With this schedule I provide about 15 0z out of the 30-35 he eats total a day. I guess I'll just keep doing the best I can and try to be more diligent now that the holidays are over.  Thanks ladies, I'll keep my fingers crossed that I have the same luck as you all did!

can_can

I'm in the same boat, where DS isn't nursing, and I can only pump about half of what he needs at each feeding. These stories are encouraging! I'm taking fenugreek, but I'm going on day 5 of taking 3 capsules 3 times a day, and have seen no increase in production. I'm going to try power pumping tomorrow, and talk to our pediatric nurse (who is also a lactation consultant) to see if she can recommend another herb, or another suggestion for increasing supply...

fiasco

can can, I started my second round of Reglan today.  No luck the first time, so we'll see.  I've also heard good things about More Milk Plus.  Fenugreek didn't work for me.  Good luck!

LucyPevensie

You just gotta drain those boobs as often as you can - if not by nursing than with the pump.  Good luck!! 

linzpinz14

Unfortunately, mine wasn't a sudden increase.  I started pumping when she was 7 weeks old, and it took me 7 weeks to go from 3 oz. per day to 10 per day.  Before I started EPing, the only stimulation I would get was from pumping for 5 minutes after I bf.  I had no idea that she wasn't sucking correctly and I was exhausted from trying to bf, then give a bottle, then pump.

Anyways, I started taking domperidone to increase my supply.  You can get it from inhousepharmacy.com and I'm pretty sure it is cheaper than taking fenugreek.  I also started pumping 8 times per day for atleast 20 minutes, but many times I would go 30-40, because more would slowly drip out.  I also ate oatmeal, drank dark beer, and drank tons of water. 

You'll still increase!  Just keep pumping away!