Breastmilk supply question--help!!

belovedsoul

I had a low supply of BM when ds was born and so I gave him formula. Now that I'm prego again I want to & pray that I am able to BF for as long as possible. I think I might have given up too soon with ds. A friend of mine who had a baby 3 mths ago said what helped her was drinking lots of milk before & after her dd was born. Is this true, will that help milk supply? What about fenugreek? Or do I just have to nurse more often? thanks any advice will be appreciated

Zenya

how was the low supply diagnosed?  Was your baby losing weight?

AnnapolisLari

I've never heard that.

The thing that builds supply is nursing-- a lot. All the time. No supplementing.

Drink LOTS of water, as much as you can stand. I drink at least 3-4 32 oz cups a day in addition to a large mug of coffee and a soda a day.

Oatmeal- old fashioned or steel cut, not instant.

Fenugreek or More Milk Plus tea if you genuinely have a low supply.

jen5-03

No, drinking milk is not necessary, that is a myth. Many cultures do not drink cow's milk very much (or at all) and BF babies just fine.

Fenugreek works for some women very well and not at all for others. Eating oatmeal also helps some women.

Eat well, drink lots of water and nurse as much as possible are the best ways to build your supply.

Oh, and remember that it can take several days before your milk to come in, some people freak out and stop before their milk even gets a chance to come in. Mine took 4 days.

Sulla

Drinking milk has no effect on your breastmilk. Unless maybe you're a cow. 

The only way to up your supply is to nurse lots. Oatmeal can help, too. And fenugreek if you really have a problem. But that's only if baby is not wetting/pooping in enough diapers and/or gaining weight.

Giving formula early on is actually one of the worst things you can do for supply issues. Because it tells your body that your baby needs less milk than he/she really does, because your body doesn't know he's getting additional formula.  Nursing all works on supply and demand. GL!

KoriBrett

All you have to do is drink a lot of water to stay hydrated, eat healthy snacks (bfing uses more calories than being pg, 500 a day I think?), and nurse/pump more often.  Your body, if it's going to cooperate, will know what to do, as will the baby.  What you drink before the baby is born has absolutely nothing to do with it. 

It took 7 days for my milk to come in with DD.  She lost over a pound by the time we took her home - but she was tonguetied and not great at nursing, too.  It took 5-6 days with DS.  I nursed both of them over 10months, but the beginning is rough, with growth spurts, etc, they nurse and are starving constantly, but that's just part of the package.  It may feel and seem like nothing is coming out, but the more they nurse, the more you make. 

MoRoseT

I'm pretty much saying what everyone else said, but here is what works....

Nursing on demand...all the time.  No supplementing...and if you do, pump while DC is getting a bottle.  It is not as great as nursing, but better than not.

Drink lots of water and eat oatmeal every day (the real stuff).

Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle supplements...I used this when my supply ran low while I was nursing DD.  I had to take an absurd amount everyday (3 of each pill, 3x/day...so 18 pills total), but it worked.  And that is how much you are supposed to take according to my lactation consultant.

belovedsoul

Thank you ladies for giving me support & advice. I think that was my problem with ds. He was losing weight therefore I began giving him formula hence my milk supply dwindled. Now, I know I have to keep trying and not give up so quickly and drink lots of water. thank you all so very much!

triplea1819

lots of kids have a lactose issue in BM, so the mother can not drink milk, so I do not think that helped her at all.

 i drank a ton.  more water than i can even count, soda, and a beer every once in a while.  that was what kept my supply up.

Zenya

Wth my baby I nursed her every time her eyes were open.  Literally if she was awake I had her at my breast.  This built a great supply from the start.  With DS, I didn't 'try' to feed him until after 2 hours unless he was crying and as a result it took 5 days for my milk to come in.

 No pacifiers or bottles.  No soothing without nursing.  Then after a week or so you can let up.  But really push it in the first few days.

AnnapolisLari

belovedsoul:

Thank you ladies for giving me support & advice. I think that was my problem with ds. He was losing weight therefore I began giving him formula hence my milk supply dwindled. Now, I know I have to keep trying and not give up so quickly and drink lots of water. thank you all so very much!

DS lost 10% of his body weight in the hospital, and they forced me to supplement. This caused it to take 5 days for my milk to come in, and then we had all kinds of problems.

DD lost 10%, and they didn't push formula this time. My milk came in on day 3, but slowly. By 1 week she had lost 15%, but they just said to nurse on demand and come back for a weight check in a week.

By 2 weeks, both kids had regained their birth weight and then some.

Just nurse as much as you possibly can.