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Austin Babies
BFing last ditch effort?
i was already struggling with pumping enough but last week was a stressful/chaotic week and i didn't pump regularly... and now my supply has totally tanked 
the last two nights when feeding J before bed ended with a screaming baby and i had to defrost some milk to feed him. fed him 6oz of defrosted milk today too.
so i just baked some lactation cookies, gonna make sure i eat enough calories & drink enough water... i have some herbal stuff (has some fenugreek and milk thistle in it, etc). since i have the herbal stuff i'm skipping mother's milk tea. pump/feed as much as possible... anything else?
any encouraging words? i can maybe fix this right??
ETA: should i attempt to locate a hospital grade pump for a week? i have a medela freestyle so it works pretty well i think?
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Re: BFing last ditch effort?
You sound like you have a good game plan and I think the pump you have is fine (although I've never used hospital grade, so I don't have experience with the difference it might make). I do think it is totally doable to come back from a stressful/chaotic week, especially when you are so committed. I know I had several dips in production throughout nursing and was still able to come back and reach my "goal." So, I'm rooting for you! You can do it!
I also don't want you to beat yourself up about it if it doesn't happen. You gave it your all and six months is nothing to scoff at! I hope this week is much more relaxed for you.
I don't really have any tips but wanted to say good luck!
What about calling an LC (if you don't already have one), for some other advice? Cheryl at Special Addition really helped us in the beginning and I bet she has some tips... just a thought.
g/l!
(((hugs)))
I don't have any pumping advice, but I feel confident that you should be able to up your supply enough for when you are nursing directly. (I'm guessing morning, before bed and maybe late afternoon?)
Is J sleeping through the night? You can maybe add a pumping session right before you go to bed.
I would put him on the boob as often as he would put up with it for a week or so and see if that helped. You have the right idea with the cookies and the water too. You work in academia right? So you should have some time off at Thanksgiving. I would spend that couple of days having a nurse-a-thon.
All of those things you mentioned should help, especially lots of water and lots and lots of pumping and feeding. I also ate oatmeal every morning when I was having supply problems. It made me feel better, though who knows what combination of things really worked...
Also, remember that bfing doesn't have to be all or none. If you need to supplement with formula for a feeding or two a day and can bf the others, that's great, and can go on for months if you want. And even if you end up stopping all together, great job getting this far!!
No he isn't. i already pump at least once, usually twice before i go to bed (after J).
we only get thurs/fri off for thanksgiving but i might take off this Friday actually and just plan to be home the whole weekend for a nurse-a-thon weekend and see if that can help. i was so relieved this weekend to have my event behind me that i was out of the house a bunch this weekend.
YGM!
hmmm i'll call the LC in the morning then. Not sure if we have somewhere around here to rent them or not!
You can do it! Water makes a HUGE difference. You can do power pumping, which is pumping for 3-5 minutes every 10 minutes for an hour (so like, pump five minutes, off five minutes, pump five, off five, etc.). I hear that really helps up supply. Eat oatmeal for breakfast. Put him on the boob as much as possible.
Your body will respond. You just have to stimulate it enough and give it enough nutrients to respond with!
ETA: nevermind what I said about power pumping. Listen to Persa. All I could remember was it had something to do with 10 minutes lol
I think Lin da Hill at Cap ital Pediatrics offers the cheapest prices on rentals but double check with Special Addition.
Also, have you tried power pumping...pump for 10 or so minutes, wait 10 minutes, pump again for about 10 minutes or so (takes longer to get the letdown the second time) and then repeat once more if you like (i usually only do two bouts but I'm impatient like that
The absolute best advice I got when really, really struggling, was to take my baby to bed for the day. Pop in some movies and just lay there all day, top off, totally available for nursing. For me, in addition to the herbs, tons of water, oatmeal, fenugreek, etc. it really did work.
We are cheering you on!!
52 Choices For Better Health
This is what worked for me each time I had a tank in my supply. I kept Will undressed too for that skin to skin contact and just let him nurse all day long. I kept a gallon of water by the bed to stay hydrated.
Good luck!!