Hi all, I'm 4 days pp and, though baby wont latch, my milk has not started coming in. I try to pump everytime she feeds and sometimes I get a little colostrum (literally a drop..) out of it. I'm getting frustrated and wanted to know if anyone had any tips or foods that help bring in supply.
Just keep it up..it will come. Spend as much time as you can skin to skin with babe, especially before pumping. Try to get baby to feed before pumping as well. My midwives also recommend herbs (blessed thistle and fenugreek) which helped me immensly. If you have access to a lactation consultant take advantage.
My milk didn't come in until day 5 with my first. Day 4 with number 2. It took a good 2 weeks after my milk came in to produce the 3 ounces the dr wanted him to have so I supplemented. I switched to exclusively pumping when I got home bc we were having latch issues again. 3 weeks on and I was getting 6 oz. a pump I eat oatmeal every morning, drink coconut water in the afternoon, and eat this flaxseed bar I make if I need an extra boost. I got a 9 oz pump yesterday. Good luck!
When you're pumping, let the pump run for 5 extra minutes after you stop producing. This will help signal to your body that there is a demand for more than what it's making and should help you produce more. I've been eating oatmeal for breakfast and drink a cup of Mother's Milk tea in the morning. Keep up with pumping as often as they would nurse. Make sure you're using the correct size breastshields... I know I need to buy smaller ones than what comes with it. Good luck and stick with it!
Yes to all the above also I made some lactation cookies -just basic oatmeal cookie recipe plus 3-5 tbs ea of Brewers yeast and ground flax seed. Add chocolate chips, dried berries, nuts, candy bits... Then I scooped out the dough and froze them to bake batches later. I grab a couple and a bottle of water everytime I feed baby or pump or get hungry and can't think straight enough to fix anything.
As for baby latching - that seems like the first issue I would work on. I had latch issues with both babies - one lazy feeder, and now one voracious babe who left me raw, and eventually bloody with peeling scabs and unable to even pump. A nipple shield worked wonders for me in both situations. I used the little bit of milk/colostrum I had in the tip of it to encourage baby to latch, and once we got started with that my milk really came in.
Keep baby at the breast! And if baby isn't active nursing keep baby close skin to skin. Let baby cluster feed and use you as a paci. She's doing her job getting your breasts stimulated to get milk flowing. Massage your breasts. Drink plenty of water. Eat well. Even better then when you we're pregnant. I nursed my tounge tied dd#1 until 3.5 yrs. although it took 5 days for my milk to come in. I thought I was a pro. This time around I had a majorly tounge tied kid that was clipped. I forgot how to latch and was raw and bleeding for 5 days. But then I remembered this video that I learned how to latch my dd#1 from. And the pain was gone and he stayed latched! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y--syZR0u1E&feature=share I hope this helps!
I don't know why I was putting dd square on instead of underneath nipple to nose. Ouch! I was so pinched. You think the lc at the hospital would have recognized that lip stick type shape my nip was being pinched into and corrected me. They just glazed over what I was doing once they heard o had nursed my dd#1 until 3.5 years. I could have used help being all drugged up and in pain from a c-section. The Internet to the rescue.
Re: Tips for establishing milk supply
I eat oatmeal every morning, drink coconut water in the afternoon, and eat this flaxseed bar I make if I need an extra boost. I got a 9 oz pump yesterday. Good luck!
As for baby latching - that seems like the first issue I would work on. I had latch issues with both babies - one lazy feeder, and now one voracious babe who left me raw, and eventually bloody with peeling scabs and unable to even pump. A nipple shield worked wonders for me in both situations. I used the little bit of milk/colostrum I had in the tip of it to encourage baby to latch, and once we got started with that my milk really came in.
I hope this helps!