Breastfeeding twins-increasing supply

brookith · August 2012

I am wondering how I can increase my supply to EBF my 7 week old twin boys.

My boys were born at 35 weeks and I have been trying to breastfeed since then. They were so sleepy early on and had weak sucks so I would nurse them, bottle feed a supplement then pump. For the last few weeks I have been pumping 5x a day for 15 minutes.

We have done weighted feedings in the past and the boys were only taking 1oz each as of 3 weeks ago. The lactation specialist and pediatrician said they should be nursing more efficiently at that point. I have done weighted feedings the past 2 days and when my breast are full (3am & 8am or today when I did not nurse or pump at the 6pm feeding because I was out and they were full at 9pm, they are taking up to 3.8oz.). So now I know that they can do it, it is just my supply seems low at certain times of the day.

Is there a way to increase my supply at this point? I am thinking of starting fenugreek. Would more or longer pumping sessions help? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

emilyec1 · August 2012

I wonder if Mother's Milk tea would help? It contains fenugreek.

Mrs. Alice · August 2012

It's not unsual to have a lower supply at different times of the day. If possible I would stop supplementing them and stop pumping so frequently. Instead put them breast as often as they want. Nursing them on demand will tell your body to make exactly the amount they need. At 7 weeks your milk supply is just starting to regulate. If you don't already get a twin nursing pillow, get comfortable and just nurse, nurse, nurse. Also make sure you are drinking lots of fluids and taking in plenty of calories.

kiwi625 · August 2012

OP-I promise, I'm not board stalking you! Sorry for butting in, but I saw this an want to know more.

Mrs. Alice:
If possible I would stop supplementing them and stop pumping so frequently. Instead put them breast as often as they want. Nursing them on demand will tell your body to make exactly the amount they need.

I SO want to increase my supply, and have better nursers but, wow, that gives me a little bit of anxiety just thinking about it. Would that really be ok for me to do as well with 11 week olds? I will be off work for nine days starting Thursday. Do you think that is enough time to dedicate to doing that? How many days would it take to see improvement? I'm guessing it would be several days with practically no sleep since "on demand" would probably be constantly since they wouldn't ever be getting full bellies.

I'm guessing this is something I would want help from, or at least support from, a LC right?

Anyone have experience doing this with babies who aren't quite newborns?

JustcallmeGG2 · August 2012

emilyec1:
I wonder if Mother's Milk tea would help? It contains fenugreek.

i am thinking of starting Fenugreek too. My babies were born around the same time as yours! also 35 weeks.

I spoke to a LC recently and she said try Fenugreek first and not the tea because the tea has many ingredients that can possibly cause a bad reaction and you won't know what herb is doing it.

ColleenS629 · August 2012

Mrs. Alice:
It's not unsual to have a lower supply at different times of the day. If possible I would stop supplementing them and stop pumping so frequently. Instead put them breast as often as they want. Nursing them on demand will tell your body to make exactly the amount they need. At 7 weeks your milk supply is just starting to regulate. If you don't already get a twin nursing pillow, get comfortable and just nurse, nurse, nurse. Also make sure you are drinking lots of fluids and taking in plenty of calories.

I agree with all of this. You are fullest in the morning and least full in the evening. Just hang out at home and put them to the breast often. Clusterfeeding is a good thing for your supply.

srbmvp · August 2012

kiwi625:

I SO want to increase my supply, and have better nursers but, wow, that gives me a little bit of anxiety just thinking about it. Would that really be ok for me to do as well with 11 week olds? I will be off work for nine days starting Thursday. Do you think that is enough time to dedicate to doing that? How many days would it take to see improvement? I'm guessing it would be several days with practically no sleep since "on demand" would probably be constantly since they wouldn't ever be getting full bellies.

I'm guessing this is something I would want help from, or at least support from, a LC right?

Anyone have experience doing this with babies who aren't quite newborns?

I think this is totally possible for you! You are right, it might take a couple of days, but I think 9 days should be plenty for your body to get the signal and start making more milk.

Like what was suggested, just get rid of all bottles and pumping sessions and just nurse, nurse, nurse! You can do it!!!

mysteriousmommy · August 2012

Fenugreek, oatmeal, lactation cookies, nursing on demand. Nursing on demand should make a huge difference. In the end the combination of all those things weren't enough to save my supply and I had to quit at around 11 weeks, but each of those things helped for a time. Nursing on demand was the thing that helped the most. Good luck!!

Mrs. Alice · August 2012

kiwi625:

OP-I promise, I'm not board stalking you! Sorry for butting in, but I saw this an want to know more.

Mrs. Alice:

If possible I would stop supplementing them and stop pumping so frequently. Instead put them breast as often as they want. Nursing them on demand will tell your body to make exactly the amount they need.

I SO want to increase my supply, and have better nursers but, wow, that gives me a little bit of anxiety just thinking about it. Would that really be ok for me to do as well with 11 week olds? I will be off work for nine days starting Thursday. Do you think that is enough time to dedicate to doing that? How many days would it take to see improvement? I'm guessing it would be several days with practically no sleep since "on demand" would probably be constantly since they wouldn't ever be getting full bellies.

I'm guessing this is something I would want help from, or at least support from, a LC right?

Anyone have experience doing this with babies who aren't quite newborns?

Are your twins sleeping longer stretches at night yet? I was really tired the first few weeks until mine started sleeping at least 5-6 hours straight. I did give a fortified bottle at "bed time" to fill their bellies then I pumped before I went to sleep. I think that helped them sleep longer stretches. You'll probably see results in a few days, but they might get a little frustrated at first if they aren't getting the amounts they expect but as long as they keep nursing, your body should respond by increasing your milk supply. Good luck!

Venus04d · August 2012

Everything pps have mentioned are really good, plus there are prescriptions to help as well. My LC said if I have any supply problems to call and she will help ensure we are doing all we can to get the most milk possible. They usually suggest starting with herbal remedies (the lactation cookies, mothers milk tea, fenugreek, etc) and then moving onto prescriptions if it still isn't enough.

Jen0204 · August 2012

Mine didn't latch well so I didn't try it, but a friend of mine who is a LLL leader suggested spending a day or weekend in bed with the babies in just a nursing bra and let them nurse as often as they wanted. She suggested this when they were smaller then yours and I don't know how active yours are, but the idea is that you're always close to them and they can cluster feed a lot throughout the day and night, which will help increase your supply. Again, I didn't try it, so I have no idea if it works or not. But a day in bed sounds lovely

If you want to get Fenugreek check out a site called Puritan's Pride. I took that for a while and that website has the cheapest I've ever found it. They're cheapest if you buy in bulk (when I bought they had a buy 3 get 4 free deal), but I think just one bottle is still fairly cheap.

brookith · August 2012

Thanks everyone for the advice! If I do just nurse when they are hungry, what do I do for the times when I know they are not getting milk and are getting frustrated? I can tell when they are sucking and not getting anything and start crying. I can see them being frustrated with this. Thanks!

JenLC99 · August 2012

I am currently taking domperidone and it has made a big difference. It has to be compounded in the USA and a lot of doctors are reluctant to write a prescription. My OB did write me a prescription and gave me one refill, but he would only give me a two-week supply at a time and the closest pharmacy to me that would compound it is a 30 minute drive, so I ended up ordering it from overseas. I found a reputable supplier through breastfeeding channels and I can let you know where I got it if you like. It was also considerably cheaper ordering out of the country. I got 500 pills for under $50. I am still having to supplement a little bit with formula which is so hard for me because I EBF both of my singletons, but it is working for us.

MuseumMaven · August 2012

Mrs. Alice:
It's not unsual to have a lower supply at different times of the day. If possible I would stop supplementing them and stop pumping so frequently. Instead put them breast as often as they want. Nursing them on demand will tell your body to make exactly the amount they need. At 7 weeks your milk supply is just starting to regulate. If you don't already get a twin nursing pillow, get comfortable and just nurse, nurse, nurse. Also make sure you are drinking lots of fluids and taking in plenty of calories.

100% all of this. As for pumping, I pumped after my boys were done nursing for maybe 10 minutes. Even if I didn't get any milk, it stimulated the breasts and told my body to make more milk. I actually ended up with oversupply doing this.

Good luck - it sounds like you are doing great!

ChristinaD09 · August 2012

It only takes a couple days for my body to respond to an increased need for milk. You should have plenty of time if you exclusively breastfeed while you can.

My twins nurse great so far, but my singleton was a nightmare. I pumped after every feeding for a month, then every other for the remainder of my maternity leave. He cried through feedings for 4 months, but was gaining tons of weight after the first couple weeks (when he gained none--thus the constant pumping). In the end, I think I was pumping too much. I did have an oversupply issue when I first went back to work.

I suspect this isn't a supply issue, but rather that the twins had problems nursing in the beginning because of their prematurity (my son had this--he was born at 36 weeks, and it is a night and day difference with my twins born at 37.5 weeks, who came out knowing what to do). Keep at it and things will normalize. I would definitely not supplement. Your body is absolutely capable of it if they are taking in almost 4 oz each at a feeding! Also, they may be crying not because they are not getting enough in, but because they get frustrated waiting for a let-down. My let-down reflex is somewhat slow during feedings, except when I'm tandem feeding. My son used to get very frustrated.

13pickle · August 2012

i won't repeat everything that is being said but i will encourage you to keep it up. my girls were born at 37 weeks and didn't have mouths big enough for my nipples till they were 7 weeks and i was able to build my supply up when they got big enough to get it on their own.

frequent burps when they get frusterated, and i also use a pacifier and "plug" it in if they don't seem to be getting anything and hold them close for a few minutes then start again.

it seemed like it would never click but it did and in a bout a week everythign self corrected!

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