My review of a bunch of milk supply boosters

JenniferJaneC

Without going into a long story of how it happened, I have had some supply issues for awhile now and I've tried all kinds of things to increase my supply.  For the most part I EP, so I have a really good idea of exactly what my output is.  Since I have seen a bunch of "does XX help your supply?" questions, I thought I'd review what I've used and share my experiences.

Your mileage may vary.  

Fenugreek - comes in large, sort of hard to swallow capsules.  The ones I have come from GNC and are 610 mg.  I take 3 at a time, 2-3 times a day.

  Positives:  Inexpensive (about $9 for a 100 ct bottle) and easy to get at GNC.

  Negatives:  The pills are pretty big and I always feel like they get stuck in my throat.  Plus, (TMI) they make me really, really gassy. 

  The Bottom Line:  They seem to have increased my supply a bit, so I am sticking with the Fenugreek.  It is well worth the price.

Traditional Medicinals "Mother's Milk Tea" - a tea that you can purchase at some of the more "crunchy" grocery stores (although my local yuppie mart carries it.  They recommend 2-3 cups a day.

  Positives:  Inexpensive (about $5 for a box of tea bags), and with enough sugar it tastes just fine.  Plus adding a few cups of tea to your daily diet helps increase your fluid intake, which is a good thing.

  Negatives:  The taste isn't for everyone, but I don't see any negatives aside from that.

  The Bottom Line:  This may have increased my supply a bit, but nothing to write home about.  I'm a tea drinker anyway, and I actually like the flavor so I'm sticking with it.

More Milk Plus - This is a tincture (although I'm told it is available in capsule form.  I haven't tried those).  You take about an eyedropper full 2-3 times a day to increase supply.

  Positives:  It seems to be effective.

  Negatives:  I had to order it online, which meant a delay of a few days for shipping.  I ordered from a shop on Amazon.com and it was around $20, so it is a bit pricey.  Also, it tastes like ass.  Seriously, it is toe-curlingly gross.  You can add an eyedropper full to 2 oz of any liquid in order to dilute the taste, but even that doesn't help the flavor much.

  The Bottom Line:  This one really has helped me.  I first took it before my late-night pumping, which is the pumping session that typically yields the smallest output, and I definitely noticed a difference.  Despite the flavor and expense, I'm sticking with it.

Yogi Tea "Women's Nursing Support"  Another tea that is supposed to promote lactation.

  Positives:  Cheap and easy to get at a lot of grocery stores.

  Negatives:  Definitely tastes worse than the Traditional Medicinals tea.  

  The Bottom Line:  It seems to increase supply as well as the Traditional Medicinals one, but I like the flavor of the TM better, so I'll stick with TM.  

Drinking lots and lots of water.  This definitely helps the most.  Of all things I've tried, this is the one I'd recommend as it has made the most difference.

Dark Beer - drinking a dark beer is supposed to increase supply.

  Positives:  It's beer!  "Honey, I have to have a beer.  It's for the baby."

  Negatives:  Of course you have to time your beer properly so that you aren't intoxicating your breast milk.  That's easy enough though.

  The Bottom Line:  I've tried a few different dark beers, and the Sam Adams that I tried really made a difference.  That was the first time I ever in my life pumped 6 oz.  Other dark beers seem to help, but nothing like that Sam Adams.

Oatmeal.  There is some debate as to what type of oatmeal is effective for increasing supply.  I've heard that the Steel Cut Quaker Oatmeal does the trick, but it takes like 20 minutes to make.  I've found time to make it once so far.  Instant oatmeal is far easier.

  Positives:  I love oatmeal.  I could eat it 3 times a day if I had to, so this one was easy.

  Negatives:  The steel cut, while delicious, takes forever to make.  

  The Bottom Line:  I think it helps, and I have to eat anyway, so the oatmeal stays as a regular part of my diet.

Power Pumping.  I've done this once, a few days after my supply dropped hard, and it made a difference.  I think I need to dedicate an hour every weekend to power pumping to see if I can get any further increases.

Things I'd like to Try:

Lactation cookies.  Mostly because they are cookies.

Anyone have any comments or anything to add?

ga-girl-jenn

Thanks!  This was very helpful.

mollymurphy

OMG...so it's the Fenugreek that's making me gassy? Oh...good...grief... 

Um, can I use your 'Honey, it's for the baby?' line for that? Sheesh...

Nice review, BTW! 

webMistress0609

I've been taking the More Milk Plus pills. My supply is fine if DS is nursing, my pumping output is really hit or miss.

The MMP really does help! But I have the same issue with the Fenugreek messing with my digestive system& I think it may be affecting DS too. I'm going to look into taking just Blessed Thistle or something I think.

Fairy Tale Come True

I was taking the Fenugreek, but I started taking Lactation Blend. I think I heard it was very effective, but I can't remember where I heard that. I just received it today, so I'll have to post later on if it works or not!

reginaeschette

Oatmeal and Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey bars. Something about them oats!! About 4 hours after I eat these items, I can get about 6 oz from each breast. It's insane! I'm actually eating one right now HAHA

MrsGhappilyeverafter

Thanks for posting this!

Boizmom

The Mother's Milk Tea gave me terrible headaches so I had to stop drinking it even though my milk supply doubled.  The Fuengreek does a decent job increasing my supply.  I hate the taste that I burp all day though.  Lately I have been just eating oatmeal for breakfast and drinking a TON of water.  Most days I do just great and have a good supply going, but I have to eat oatmeal for breakfast.  Without it, my supply is minimal.

JenniferJaneC

Oatmeal!  I forgot to include oatmeal in my review.  I'll edit.

JenniferJaneC

reginaeschette:

Oatmeal and Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey bars. Something about them oats!! About 4 hours after I eat these items, I can get about 6 oz from each breast. It's insane! I'm actually eating one right now HAHA

No kidding, I never heard this one before.  I'm off to the store over my lunch hour!

mrs.moo

Great idea, thanks for posting! I totally agree with what you said, except I have not tried the Yogi tea. I did the power pumping once (last weekend), but you totally reminded me to try and be more consistent with it.

ErinMSB

This was such a great thing to do.  It'll help a lot of women.  Thanks!

peas out

I'm glad to hear that the Natures Valley Oats & Honey works!

I don't like oatmeal, but I LOOOVE the granola bars! i'll be picking some up tonight!

Thank you so much ladies!

cjilla

I like using MM tea (tastes pretty good with honey). Drinking more water seems to help me too. Definitely going to eat more oatmeal! Dark beer doesn't seem to help me.

AllyRo

How about the Mamatini? You can add that to your review...https://www.drinkmamatini.com

BrideInLondon

Are you taking these things all at the same time?

I'm already taking fenugreek and mother's milk tea, and now I'm interested in more milk plus comments... wondering if that would be too many things at once?

just_peachy

one of the reasons I won't take reglan or fenugreek or other "herbs" is because of my crazy sensitivity to the side effects and also I'm on meds for PPD and I don't want any other side effect problems from those.

water seems to be my only best bet right now! thanks for all the input!

KNJepp

Which Sam Adams beer are you using?

peztopper

do you have the cookie recipe?

can you PM it to me, if you do??

Temp534591562502098

Has anyone noticed that they are wicked hungry after eating oatmeal a few hours later? I tried stopping it for a week and just upping my fenugreek intake and I was a lot less hungry during the day.

HailsLyrics

Hey ladies, I'd like to be added to this group! My baby lost over his 10% and I was told to supplement... I've been doing that but now that he's almost back to his birth weight I was told to breast feed more - more often and to just supplement at night if needed. But now I'm psychologically scared not to supplement because I feel like he's going to be hungry and loose more weight. I'll definately be using this advice! I think I've been drinking lots of water but I'm going to try and increase it. I'm also going to check out some of the teas. A nurse told me to try some of the herbs mentionned, so maybe I'll try that.

Fwendly

Great write-up! Thanks for sharing.

campSnoopy02

try drinking "abuelita" hot chocolate..

Ana35

I'm planning on trying this slow-cooker steel cut oatmeal recipe to make a larger batch and just have to reheat. Sounds delicious, easy to make  and you could add all kinds of fruits and nuts

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-oatmeal-recipe/index.html

cyerger1

When I first started nursing, my mom INSISTED on orange juice (and gallons of it!).  It seems to have worked and whenever I feel like my supply is getting low, I drink up.  As a side note to this, a friend of mine is a dairy farmer and he said that whenever they want to boost the supply in their cows, they give them oranges.  So, if the dairy farmer does it, then there's got to be something to it.

wuhhoo

Thank you!

marni74d

Very helpful! Thanks!  

MrsAshley16

Very nice!

I eat oatmeal daily...just the plain old instant kind. And, I drink at least 125ozs of water a day. DD is only 3 months old, but I have not had any supply issue whatsoever so far. I definitely recommend these.

Also, just eating a good balanced diet is great for maintaining a supply. Fiber and protein is key.

I do believe Fenugreek works. Started taking it with DD1, but for some reason, I just could never remember to take it. That, is not effective. I'm horrible with pills.

jen_jupiter

BrideInLondon:

Are you taking these things all at the same time?

I'm already taking fenugreek and mother's milk tea, and now I'm interested in more milk plus comments... wondering if that would be too many things at once?

I was also wondering this.  If you are trying more than one thing at a time, how can you be sure which one is effective or if it is a certain combination that is most efffective?

tnbride

I am taking blessed thristle, this is my second day and I am eating Oatmeal.

Nothing yet!  :-(