BF Moms, what are some things that you've heard of doing to help increase your supply?

Seleyna · June 2015

Obviously, we're not there just yet, or maybe the other moms who've been there still are. My supply dried up when my son was about 16 weeks old. We were already supplementing, but still. I'd like to go longer if I can this time.

One of my best friends is an all-natural momma. And she mentioned something that helped her incredibly... Who else has heard of placenta encapsulation?
I hadn't before five minutes ago.

What are some other things you have heard to do to help boost your supply once it comes in?

ammnam14 · June 2015

Check out Moo n Cookies!

I have a hard time taking my prenatals, I don't think I could handle the placenta!

hallie619 · June 2015

I've had two friends that have made breast milk cookies. I don't remember exactly what was in them other than chia seeds but I'm sure Google has a few recipes! Both said they worked out great for them.

LC122 · June 2015

There was a recent study stating that placenta encapsulation is hogwash/hocus pocus/placebo effect/what have you. I have met people that swear by it. They were trying to sell it to me, literally, they were a rep from the encapsulation company. I have more to say on that, but I digress. Save your money.

It is easy to find recipes for lactation cookies online. Some ingredients I have included in mine are oatmeal, fenugreek, chia seeds, and Brewer's yeast. I have done peanut butter, white chocolate/cranberry, whatever strikes my fancy.

Drinking lots of water and making sure you take in enough quality calories are key.

Knottie14066766 · June 2015

Pumping both breasts for 10 min or so after each feeding will help.

belindahampton · June 2015

I breastfed my son for 10 months and could've gone longer based on supply but stopped for different reasons.

Things that worked for me:
-Nursing... solely nursed when not at work
-I didn't start pumping until my milk regulated (around 6-7 weeks)
-Water, water, water
-Mother's milk tea
-Tight pumping schedule at work and stuck to it

Check out kellymom.com - AMAZING resource.

Also, your local La Leche League and the hospital you're delivering at. They may have a breastfeeding support group along with available lactation consultants.

MorganW24 · June 2015

Each pregnancy is different and so is each breastfeeding relationship. I am still nursing my 11 month old and am 12 weeks pregnant.

First, I'm not sure what led you to supplementing the first time so please take my comments as intended... To be helpful! Breastfeeding is supply and demand. If you are supplementing your supply is going to take a hit. I would also encourage you to join a support group, la leche group, or seek the help of a lactation consultant if you are having problems.

If you are feeding on demand and still not producing enough (and I would seek the advice of someone knowledgeable like a lactation consultant or your pediatrician to determine this) you can pump for several minutes after LO is done feeding. This will trick your body into thinking your baby is still eating and produce more. Also WATER!!! Drink lots of water and make sure you are eating healthy snacks to get in the extra calories you need while breastfeeding.

tralalablah · June 2015

Fenugreek until you smell like maple syrup and nonstop nursing. Don't do bottles until your supply returns if at all possible. Baby drives supply more than a pump can after the first few months, but pumping helps too. Try not to supplement with formula, just nurse nonstop to get more into baby and drive supply.

laurabwalker · June 2015

Try to exclusively breastfeed no bottles for the first 3 months to ensure you get the stimulation, also joining a la leche league or seeing a LC if you feel the latch isn't deep enough a lot of times the baby just needs a bit of a different position to latch best and the milk transfer will be more effective :)yay for breastfeeding!!

Seleyna · June 2015

I ended up having to supplement due to the fact that we had a bad latch for about two, almost three days. He destroyed my nipples. The Lactation Consultant who was supposed to make sure everything was going well saw me from the doorway, saw he was nursing, and said, "It looks like you've got this!" Little did I know, at that moment, I really didn't. I was in the hospital for 6 days, my BP was all over the place, and they weren't going to let me leave until it was consistently okay.

The nurses would cringe FOR me every time my son was hungry. I EBF in the hospital. I ended up with a better consultant in a day or so, her name was Melinda and she was a godsend. She helped LO and I figure out how to get a good latch, and prescribed APNO, which was amazing, and I damn well plan on using it again if I have to. When I say he destroyed my nipples, I mean he was already known in the nursery for "having a suck that could strip paint off of the walls." Their exact words.

When we got home from the hospital, I was freaking out so badly. We had stops to make before we could even GO home. To the pharmacy, etc. When I got home, I nursed him. Then he was hungry an hour later, and I hurt so bad and was crying and just couldn't. I had some of the little supplement bottles, the little 2oz ones. We fed him that and he was good. I felt like the worst mother in the world for not nursing him, but I didn't let my child starve. Which was far more important.

laurabwalker · June 2015

Aww that sounds awful! That would be very difficult and we each have to do what we have to do!! I hope this time it goes better for you, I'm sure it will now that you have experience!

GodIsFaithful93 · June 2015

Make sure you drink lots and lots and lots of water. Seriously. And eat when you are hungry when bf'ing. Pump for an extra 5-10 minutes per side after the baby is done and yesssssss lactation cookies are the bomb. I've also heard fenugreek works wonders.

wbr3 · June 2015

Oatmeal, mother's milk tea, LOTS of water, hops beer (one a night, non-alcoholic), pump one side while nursing the other, and squeeze that boobie when you are nursing... sounds strange but it keeps them nursing so it helps the ole supply and demand.

I second Kellymom.com and La Leche Leauge. They were life savers and kept us nursing until she decided to stop on her own.

But most of all be patient and kind to yourself, it's "natural" but not always easy!!

Life is Exciting · June 2015

I had great success nursing my son, even with a lot of factors working against us, thanks to the advice of the wonderful nurses where I gave birth. The regiment from day 1 through maybe the first month or two was:
Every 2 hours around the clock - breastfeed 15 mins per side (wake him up if he falls asleep nursing). Then, pump until empty on each side (with a high quality electric pump) while giving baby pumped milk from the previous session then supplement with formula (this part was because I had a low-weight preemie with failure to thrive. You can probably and should probably skip the formula part of your baby is born a healthy weight.)

Drink a ton of water, too. They monitored how much water I drank in the hospital.

Pumping after feeding helps ensure the breasts are fully drained, spurring then to make more milk.

GardenMama116 · June 2015

There are some essential oils, like fennel, you can run on the breast to promote supply.

mfarglio · June 2015

LC122 said:
There was a recent study stating that placenta encapsulation is hogwash/hocus pocus/placebo effect/what have you. I have met people that swear by it. They were trying to sell it to me, literally, they were a rep from the encapsulation company. I have more to say on that, but I digress. Save your money.

It is easy to find recipes for lactation cookies online. Some ingredients I have included in mine are oatmeal, fenugreek, chia seeds, and Brewer's yeast. I have done peanut butter, white chocolate/cranberry, whatever strikes my fancy.

Drinking lots of water and making sure you take in enough quality calories are key.

Can you please link the study? My midwifes encapsulate for free but I still don't want to eat nasty placenta if it doesn't do anything. I've read the Duke study that showed it was beneficial for post partum depression but haven't been able to find any studies on breast feeding so I'd like to check this one out.

LC122 · June 2015

mamamagagail said:

LC122 said:
There was a recent study stating that placenta encapsulation is hogwash/hocus pocus/placebo effect/what have you. I have met people that swear by it. They were trying to sell it to me, literally, they were a rep from the encapsulation company. I have more to say on that, but I digress. Save your money.

It is easy to find recipes for lactation cookies online. Some ingredients I have included in mine are oatmeal, fenugreek, chia seeds, and Brewer's yeast. I have done peanut butter, white chocolate/cranberry, whatever strikes my fancy.

Drinking lots of water and making sure you take in enough quality calories are key.
Can you please link the study? My midwifes encapsulate for free but I still don't want to eat nasty placenta if it doesn't do anything. I've read the Duke study that showed it was beneficial for post partum depression but haven't been able to find any studies on breast feeding so I'd like to check this one out.

@mamamagagail , can you link the Duke study? I've never heard any credible evidence of it having any other than a placebo effect and this article says there is no evidence in support of postpartum depression treatment either. Granted, this is an article, not a study, but it discusses a lack of studies to support the practice.

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/theres-probably-no-health-benefit-eating-your-placenta

mfarglio · June 2015

@LC122 Thank you!! I got it in a packet from my midwife so as soon as they allow us to upload pics I will for sure!! Or I can try to find it online too. I'll do that when I get home from work.

Edited to add: The Duke study was performed on mice and the article you posted states that this does not translate to human benefits so that is a very good point to keep in mind. I have to decide by 20 weeks if I want them to do it so I've been doing tons of research but there's so much back and forth it all gets confusing.

Mmartinez84 · June 2015

With my first child i produced so much but my daughter had a huge appetite and i could not feed her so much and as long as i could in the very beginning. I started taking fenugreek capsules and oh my lord they helped a ton!!! Going into my second now, im glad i at least know that so i dont hurt my boobies along the way lol

mrsberger08 · June 2015

Oatmeal is huge. Drinking Gatorade the days following delivery helps milk come on quicker (ups your electrolytes).

If your hospital offers a breastfeeding course, TAKE IT. My hubby went with me and he was able to help make sure we had a good latch. My DD was 6 weeks early and in the NICU for 16 days. I wasn't allowed to nurse her everyday, depending on how she was doing. But I kept up with my pumping while she was there and would sometimes pump after feeding her. She was exclusively breast fed after that. I nursed for 13 months before I started to dry up. We never supplemented until she started solids. Then I only nursed before nap and bedtime.

Everyone is different. But having a great support system (spouse, nurses, consultants, etc) is key.

mrsberger08 · June 2015

Oh, and do LOTS of skin to skin, especially while nursing.

ammnam14 · June 2015

One more thing...drink a beer. 100% serious lol. I'm not saying a huge beer, but a few sips will do wonders. My grandma suggested it to my SIL and she was able to breastfeed without any issues, crazy right.

adecembermom2015 · June 2015

@AudriannaMaria It used to be believed that beer raised levels of prolactin, a hormone in the body that plays a role in making breast milk. However, it is now known that alcohol lowers the release of another hormone called oxytocin. Lower oxytocin levels can affect the amount of milk that is released from the breast, meaning a baby may actually get less milk.

elyssadane · June 2015

It sounds rough but when you are nursing pump from the other breast, i actually started pumping in the hospital because my LO had jaundice and I refused to supplement with any formula. Now I have a 9 month old and he is still breastfeeding strong!

ammnam14 · June 2015

I didn't know that! Thanks!

@magburt

jackiesue586 · June 2015

The best thing to build your supply is to nurse on demand. Watch baby for early signs of hunger rather than watching the clock. Some babies will nurse every 45min. But its totally normal to nurse very often in the beginning and during growth spurts.

Do lots of skin to skin.

See an IBCLC (some lactation consultants that work in hospitals are not as trained) and join a LLL group for extra support.

And know that the amount you pump is not the amount you produce. Baby is so much better at getting milk out. So dont worry if you pump and only get a few drops.
(I nursed all 3 exclusively without being able to pump more than an oz. )

I consumed my placenta after having #3. I noticed a huge difference between the pp healing with him than with my first 2. I had so much energy. Which is surprising because i was caring for 3 kids lol. I dont know about it affecting my supply because with all 3 kids ive never had a supply issue. Even now as im nursing while pregnant.
Ill be doing it again after this baby.
(Its free because i do it myself. )

lainey419 · June 2015

Keep hydrated and nurse on demand. I've always nursed, never pumped, never bottle fed, etc. I'm still nursing my 30 month old at 16 weeks pregnant. There are some really yummy nursing cookie recipes, too. If you like tea, mother's milk tea is an option.

ssinnwell · June 2015

Anyone know if there is anything we can be doing now to help successfully breastfeed?

yl1m32015 · June 2015

Pinterest has a ton of recipes for cookies, balls and snacks that apparently help boost milk supply. They look yummy, it's worth trying!

LC122 · June 2015

ssinnwell said:
Anyone know if there is anything we can be doing now to help successfully breastfeed?

Attend a breastfeeding class.
Locate a La Leche League group.
Be open to the idea and not fearful.
Read about nutrition for breastfeeding mothers.

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