Not making as much milk

SweetPea0902

I am exclusively breastfeeding DS, but I have noticed how much milk I am producing has dropped. He just turned 1 month today. I know babies go through a growth spurt around 3 weeks. I was just wondering if any other Moms have any advice on ways to amp production. I've tried feeding him more often to get myself to make more, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. And I need to pump because I am a full time student and he needs to have milk for when he's being watched while I'm in class. And he is out of the milk stash I had made. HELP!

Soap1

Nurse a lot.  Stay hydrated.  Try fenugreek.  If none of the above work, look into Reglan or Domperidone.  Reglan is an Rx available from your doctor (OB or pedi), and domperidone you have to order online.

amcart

This happened to me too.  I've noticed that drinking more water seems to increase my milk production just a bit.

jensriot

Water, water, water. Also, be sure you're taking in enough calories. I remember those first months with my first I would just forget to eat. If you are supplementing with pumped milk, be sure to pump again for that feeding. If you are supplementing but not pumping, you could hurt your supply.

tattooedtragedy

Eat oatmeal and hummus and drink tons of water.

PrimRoseMama

Water: drink drink drink!
Calories: eat!
Mothers Milk Tea:
https://www.traditionalmedicinals.com/product/mother-s-milk-reg (follow directions)

If baby is going through a growth spurt you may worry you don't have enough. Count the # of dirty diapers & gauge baby's mood. If the diaper output is good & baby seems satisfied then you are great.

Good luck!

elroda

Remove milk to make more milk. Pumping after baby eats will tell your body you need more milk. I used a manual Medela Harmony to remove the half oz or whatever was left after nursing and kept all the parts in a ziplock bag in the fridge so I didn't need to wash every time. It takes time but in a month I went from producing what he needed to having a freezer stash over 100oz and have to double pump in the morning so I don't overload him with milk. You can do it mama!

elroda

Cupcakesandquilts said:

A couple of things that helped me are 1) drink a beer every night and 2) pump for just a few min after every nursing session for a day or so. This should quickly signal your body to produce more.

Oh yes. Fat Tire every night.  

robinyukiko

Studies show the beer thing is a myth and can actually decrease your supply. Though I don't think a single beer will make a difference either way (but boy, it's delicious). If you wait an hour after nursing and then pump the timing seems better for production. Also continue pumping for about 5 minutes after milk stops coming out. And keep alternating. Sometimes even a short pause once one side stops producing and then going back to it helps. I'm not claiming to know everything, this is just what I found from research and it has worked for me. My baby is 12 weeks old, almost 14.5 lbs and poops constantly. I pump in the morning or at night if I'm full and can get about 5oz on one side.

alanna7777

Gatorade also helps. I pump exclusively and had mastitis which made my supply drop. I took fenugreek 3 times per day (1 capsule), ate regular oatmeal and a glass of Gatorade every day. I also pumped at least 7 times per day and am now making a little more than before the mastitis. My LO is 9 weeks. Make sure you pump when you give a bottle every time so you keep producing.

alanna7777

And the other thing the LC said was lots of skin to skin contact. Lots of cuddling Such a hardship

nonzero

Is the baby wetting a lot of diapers and gaining weight? You might just be switching your milk over from hormonal (the huge engorgement stage) to demand. Can you go into detail more? Because I don't really see any reason in your original post why you think you're not producing enough milk for your baby.

Drmalia27

Start taking young living fennel essential oil with honey! That helped me produce more!! And plenty of water!

cheerbuddyloves

I discovered something I had never heard of til last week.  Fennel Oil.  I put two drops under my tongue and no lie, I pumped four ounces that first day and the next day five!  Before that it was maybe 3.  

My friend who gave it to me told me that it has to be from either Young Living or Doterra though b/c they use actual oil without filler.