Community› The Bump Month Clubs› October 2015 Moms
October 2015 Moms
New Discussion

Increasing milk supply while pumping

altow1310altow1310 member
edited October 2015 in October 2015 Moms
Our sweet baby boy made his entrance into the world on Tuesday! I am so in love. I do have a question for STMs+ who have pumped in the past. Baby boy had a few low blood sugar readings during his first 12 hours, so he spent a day in the special care nursery and during that time he was provided with formula and bottle fed. My plan was to breastfeed, which has now become a bit challenging. He is so used to the ease of the bottle and getting the milk right away that nursing makes him extremely upset. My milk hasn't fully come in yet, so he doesn't get anything right away when he starts nursing like he does when I give him his bottle. I have started pumping and am getting enough with each pump for the next feeding; however, I definitely want to get ahead once my milk is here. It's my understanding that pumping only can make it challenging to maintain a good milk supply, so I wanted to see if anyone who has pumped in the past has any suggestions for ways to increase my supply. I am going to continue working with him and trying to get him to nurse, but I want to make sure I am being proactive in case I do need to pump exclusively.

Thanks so much!
Report Reply to Post

Re: Increasing milk supply while pumping

  • arwestover3arwestover3 member
    I've heard fenugreek is a good supplement, but I don't know anything about it personally so I'd check with your doctor first. In terms of the actual nursing and pumping, maybe try to hand-express a little milk before he latches on so there's already something there? And when I had trouble with my milk coming in, they had me nurse on demand and then pump for ten minutes on each side after she was done with it. The best way to increase supply is baby nursing!
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • komorebikomorebi member
    I'm having success with fenugreek. 3 pills 3 times a day. If your pee doesn't smell like maple syrup you aren't taking enough, fun!

    You can also hand express after you pump to make sure you're getting enough out.
    Report Reply
  • oceanlove13oceanlove13 member
    For my last baby, I tried to feed the baby first on breast and if he wouldn't latch, pump and then give bottle. I did this until he latched better and my supply was in. Then I would just nurse and would pump if I missed a feed and a bottle was given in place. He actually started preferring breast over bottle and I had a hard time re-introducing a bottle at 3 months when I had to return to work.
    I just had my baby Tuesday also and my milk came in today. I supplemented a little with formula yesterday, but I still put him to breast first. It can take 3-5 days the lactation consultant told me.
    Report Reply
  • mbyoungmbyoung member
    When my son was born, he did not have a good latch at all, so I ended up being an exclusive pumper.  Every time he would have a bottle, I would pump.  The more I would pump, the more milk I would get.  I should add that he would eat every three hours on the dot, so I had a lot of pumping.  The pump and I were best friends for a long time.  I was able to keep up with him until he was about 4 months old.  To help with my supply, I would eat oatmeal everyday. 
    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

    Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers

    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
    Report Reply
  • baby2teamsbaby2teams member
    Fenugreek made my stomach hurt so bad, I think it gave baby the same problem. I had success with steel cut oats and some sort of supplement I baked in cookies, it was a yeast/powder, I can't remember the name (it was 4+ years ago). Some other suggestions I used to hear were dairy. Kellymom.com was a great help to me back then! GL!
    Report Reply
  • christina4436christina4436 member
    Pump more often. The more u pump the more your body should make. Just be careful to not get into over supply. Have u tried a nipple shield? I have been using one with my preemie who was in NICU as it is more similar to bottle nipple and works great.
    Report Reply
  • MamaOwl15MamaOwl15 member
    Drink Gatorade! Gatoarade helps my milk supply tremendously. Also Mother's Milk tea might help; it has fenugreek in it. It tastes a bit like licorice, so if you're not fond of that flavor, you might not like it, but I find it helps.

    Also, for nursing, you may find that bottle-feeding a little at first, then offering the breast helps. I've been pumping because my DD had trouble latching, but if I offer a breast when she's not ravenously hungry, she'll latch on for a bit.



    a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Parenting Tips"><img src="http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1c2dc3.aspx" alt=" Pregnancy Ticker" border="0"  /></a>
    Report Reply
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"