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March 2016 Moms
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Increasing milk supply

irenewsleeirenewslee member
in March 2016 Moms
Any tricks that you wonderful mamas are using to increase milk supply?  Nursing is not really an option for me so I pump 8 times a day for at least 20 minutes.  I only get about 40-50 ml each time.  DS is only one week old so I know my milk supply is still increasing but right now it's not catching up to the demand.  I drink mother's milk tea 3 times a day and am drinking more liquid than I can ever imagine.  
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Re: Increasing milk supply

  • ceds07ceds07 member
    Oatmeal is supposed to be great. Also, high fat foods like almonds, sesame seeds, peanut butter, etc. if you google lactation cookies those usually have ingredients that are good too. 
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  • smushismushi member
    Get naked!  No but seriously, strip you and baby down, hang out on the bed for a while.  Skin to skin is one of the best ways to get your body to react to your baby's presence and need for milk!
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  • parenthood4parenthood4 member
    It also can help to look at your baby or pictures of your baby when you're pumping. Make sure you're eating and drinking enough - like pp said, oatmeal and foods with fat can help- I always pumped like an ounce or two more when I had a doughnut when I was pumping for my first :)
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  • alyshamarie007alyshamarie007 member
    edited April 2016
    Lots of water, oatmeal, and try to relax as much as possible when pumping. Also make sure your pump is working well. I found I had to replace certain parts often. 
    BFP #1 - 12/30/12 - EDD 9/13/13 - CP

    BFP #2 - 2/13/13 - EDD 10/24/13 - born 10/29/13 - Kian Edward

    BFP #3 - 7/16/15 - EDD 3/27/16 - born 3/23/16 - Liam James

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  • meg_2006meg_2006 member
    My LC has me pumping more frequently for the next 2 days. Instead of every 3 hours I'm doing every 2. Then I can go back to my normal routine, but the output should be increased.  A breastfed baby will have growth spurts and feed more often for a few days to increase supply, but the logistics aren't the same for bottle-fed. So you have to kind of simulate a growth spurt period. GL!

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  • emjeveemjeve member
    I'm also EPing (and did with DD1 as well). I pump every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours at night for the first 6ish weeks to build up supply. It's exhausting, but DD2 is currently 3 weeks old and in that time my supply has increased from 25oz a day (starting about 10 days PP) to over 50oz a day. I'm expecting to pump close to 70-80oz a day by the end of the six weeks (hopefully!!!). Every time I pump, that's my water chugging time. I drink an entire glass during the 20 minute session so I'm drinking at least 9-10 glasses a day. I also drink mothers milk tea 2-3 times a day. With DD1 I tried Brewers Yeast, but it tastes awful so I won't be taking that this time! I've found it's terribly time consuming and requires extreme diligence to build up a supply while EPing- with my first I never got more than 35 oz a day (but I got mastitis in one breast and it seriously underproduced) and had to supplement with formula. Hopefully this time I won't need to. After the 6 weeks I'll cut back to pumping every 3ish hours during the day so that I can start having a life again. And I'll only pump as necessary at night- probably only once a night. Good luck!!


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  • irenewsleeirenewslee member
    Thanks for all the suggestions!  I started pumping every 2 hours during the day and at least twice overnight for the last few days and have been seeing some slight increase.  My in laws like to hold the baby ALL THE TIME so skin to skin is a bit difficult now.  I'll do that when they leave this weekend.  Going to make some lactation cookies too.  Anyone has a good recipe to share?  Are those cookies generally ok for toddlers to eat too?  I'm sure DD would like some. :smiley: 
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  • katy0990katy0990 member
    The lactation consultant told me to take fenugreek capsules and I think that is helping.
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  • smushismushi member
    @katy0990 FYI if you've never taken fenugreek before, you will start to smell like maple syrup  from it :)  So don't worry, you're not going insane.
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  • katy0990katy0990 member
    @smushi I have not noticed the maple syrup smell on myself yet, but I have noticed it on my LO.
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  • amyidamyid member
    Lots and lots and lots of water firstly. I notice that my supply def decreases on days I havnt been drinking enough. My first 2-3 weeks I couldnt pump more than 1oz and now I usually get anywhere from 2-4 oz if I pump between feedings. My body doesn't react well to pumping but I use a plastic collection cup whilst nursing - o call ette I think it's called, I collect 1-2oz in leakage that would normally be wasted basically for doing nothing. 
    My sister in laws father is a homeopathic Doctor, he recommends urtica urens 6c, 3 times a day - you can buy this in sprouts, Amazon etc for about $5 but make sure the dosage is a 6c. I also drink mothers milk tea 5-6 times a day and eat asparagus a few times a week. It seems like a lot but as someone who was having issues with supply, and was honestly getting really desperate, all of the above has helped me ! 

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