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Breastfeeding
Low Supply Check-In
This is a weekly check in where ladies who are dealing with a low supply of breastmilk can share their successes and get support for their challenges and difficult days.
If you are looking for supply boosting ideas here is a link to a great post that JenniferJaneC posted rating all of the supply boosters she has tried. Here is a recipe for lactation cookies and here is a recipe for lactation banana bread.
Here is the link to the Motherlove webpage. They are the makers of More Milk Plus and More Milk Special Blend. There is also a store locator on their site so you can find the closest place to you to buy it.
How are you doing this week ladies?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Low Supply Check-In
Maybe she is just being efficient at nursing? If she is seeming satisfied, then your supply is probably ok. I know I don't respond as well to my pump.
I've been taking mothers milk for about 10 days now, and not really seeing a difference. I've also been power pumping in the evenings, and on Monday, I started adding a pumping session into my workday, so I now pump first thing in the morning while nursing on the other side, then pump at 9, 12 and 3 at work.
Last night I pumped almost 2oz, compared to barely getting 1oz about a week ago. I'm just hoping this has been a little blip.
I am still supplementing most days with abt 4-6 oz of formula/day BUT we had two days of no formula. Woo-hoo! I could have cried with joy!?
We are starting solids at the end of next month (six months old) I have a dream although I don't know if it is realistic that some day when she starts eating three solid meals we won't need the formula.?
Fenugreek irritated my daughter's stomach when she was little. I'm thinking about cautiously giving it another whirl ?in a lower dose now that she is bigger.?
This has been a long tough journey.I started thinking about everything I have tried and swallowed to up my supply. The list is so long it is almost comical.
1. Pumping after every feed/between feeds (still do this)
2. Reglan
3. Fenugreek
4. Blessed thistle
5. Oatmeal
6. Goat's rue (still do this)
7. More Milk Plus
8. More Milk Plus Special Blend
9. Brewers Yeast?
10. ?Keeping a symphony pump at home, and a PISA at work (still do this)
11. Thyroid meds (helped the most)
12. Dom
13. mothers milk tea
14. non-alcoholic beer (Kaliber by Guiness is really tasty but didn't do a thing)
15 lots of water?
16 power pumping
17 working with a certified lactation consultant ?
18. breast compression (really helps fill those day care bottles!)
19 Supplemental Nursing System (probably would have helped alot but I could never get the hand of using it easily)
20. Comfort nursing in addition to frequent nursing (I thin this helped)?
21. Pleading with my body (worked the least)
But you didn't try cookies!
And I agree - pleading (or in my case, wishing and hoping) is the least effective way to up your supply.
I'm so glad that through all this we can keep our sense of humour!
I guess I probably belong here this time around. :P
We had DD2's six month appointment this week and while she's growing at a decent rate, she is not the chunky-butterball-type of BF'd baby (which my DD1 totally was). She's on the small side.
I told my pedi (who is generally very supportive of BFing) that I was concerned about my supply and that I felt like DD2 would happily eat much more if I was making it. She agreed and asked if I would feel like a daily bottle of formula was a failure.
Sigh. I REALLY don't want to supplement (especially now, after the formula recall) and told her that, and said that I'd rather pump after feedings to get her an extra bottle of BM at the end of the day and to increase my supply. She agreed that that was a good plan, so I've started pumping around four times a day after nursing. That gets me about a four-ounce bottle for the evening -- which DD2 pounds like it's nothing.
Pedi also said that DD2 probably doesn't *need* night feedings at her age and weight and that I should try non-nursing comfort when she wakes at night. I told her that I'm not ready to cut out night feedings (which are usually 1-2) if I'm concerned about a) DD2 getting enough milk and b) my supply.
Mother's Milk tea started giving me GI issues when I drank more than 1-2 cups a day, so I'm avoiding herbal stuff at this point since they all seem to contain the same herbs.
My nips are tender from the extra pumping and I'm tired of washing bottles and nipples. But I am encouraged that I'm getting enough milk to give a good-sized bottle at the end of the day, and hopefully I'll start seeing even more milk soon.
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
I'm a little confused by what your pedi is saying. If she agrees that your DD would eat more/needs to eat more, then why is she telling you not to nurse at night?
Have you tried doing a weighed feeding to know for sure how much your LO is getting in a nursing session?
I think I would try a LC to see what their advice would be. Definitely keep up with the additional pumping if you are concerned about your supply dropping, but just because your DD isn't a chunker, doesn't mean she's not being satisfied. My LO loves to eat, and I think would eat non-stop, but she's just 14lbs. It's just the way she is!
Yeah, exactly.
I think she was thinking about sleep issues, not eating/weight gain, when she suggested that. I think she also assumes that DD2 will make up during the day whatever she wouldn't get at night. While I'm thinking, "I don't know if going all night without nursing would be very good for my supply when she's eating every 3 hours all day."
I go to a BFing support group at my hospital when I can (which depends on my DH's days off) and they have the LC's scale available. The last time I went, DD2 ate and got 1.5 ounces -- which is pretty much exactly what I was getting from the pump at that point.
So I don't think she's all that much more efficient than my pump. I suspect she'd be quite happy if I EP'd, b/c she loves her bottles and how easy it is to drink a TON of milk.
She's growing fine and is very healthy, but I still think she'd be more satisfied if she could get it and so I'm going to try to get her more!
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
I was really addressing the efficiency part to Brandi Bee. I know sometimes my LO can be done really quickly, and other times she likes to be lazy and take her time.
I wish I had more access to BFing support IRL. There is a LLL group that meets about 20 mins from where I live, but it's only once a month, and I always seem to miss it! Keep it up momma! You're doing a great thing!
Hi ladies. I can't believe it, but here I am
( <--- wait can I make that bigger?
Anyway, Cammie is just over 9 months old and is BFed and on solids, 3 meals a day. Lately, she nurses for literally 15 seconds, then pulls off, usually frustrated, and then I try to hand express just to see whats going on, and literally drops come out, and barely at that.
I pump at night since she gave up her 11:30 feeding, I just pump then, but am going to start waking to pump through the night. (so much for STTN) lol But when I do pump I get barely and oz from each side. It was .5 ozs from each side, but I started taking the BY pills and switched the diaphragms in my pump, which is what I attribute the extra .5 oz to. This is all within the first 10 mins of pumping. If I let the pump run, I still don't get anything. I've let it run for upwards of 40 mins and still nothing.
I am taking BY, more milk plus, I drink a ton of water, and I eat oatmeal (although not as often as I should .. the oatmeal that is)
Anyway, any insight is appreciated, and I'll take all the e-hugs I can get 'cause this is really depressing me.
(
Chemical Pregnancy 10/5/10
BFP 2/7/11--m/c 2/12/11
TTD pics taken by knottie jen&louie