Hellobee Boards

have you tried any supplements yet? the most effective thing for most people is increasing pumping sessions and taking supplements like more milk plus, fenugreek, etc. i've tried a bunch of different things... let me know what you've tried so i can advise best.

i used to pump around 2 oz. it really depends on the time of day how much i get -- middle of the night is by far the most. i can get 7 ounces then. It gets less as the day goes on, but even at the end of the day I can usually get 3 oz.

well you're definitely doing the right things! i would say to give it a little more time. 2 weeks wasn't enough time for me to see results both times i tried to increase my supply.

what about adding fenugreek and mother's milk tea?

i found that if i pumped in the middle of the night after my first stretch of decent sleep (around 3 hours), and in the morning, i produced so much that it didn't matter if i didn't get that much during the day. is that an option?

I was drinking over 200 oz a day and I caution you not to drink too much water. I ended up overdrinking on water and all the fenugreek I took ended up getting purged from my system due to the amount of water I was drinking before it had a chance to do any good. My LC told me to just drink to thirst, which was more like 100 oz for me so I just want to say there is a possibility of overdoing it.
When you are pumping are you looking at pics of your baby? How about having a video to watch of your baby? Sometimes the addition of audio can help if pictures alone aren't enough. I had to really work on clearing my head of everything but my son before pumping and really relaxing and concentrating on him. Also, how long are you pumping at each session? I ask because when away from my son I had extremely poor letdown and pumping sessions for me could be upwards of 45 minutes to get good letdown.

@Mrs Green Thumb: Sometimes if MMP alone isn't doing it adding additional fenugreek and sometimes even additional blessed thistle can help. I'd suggest talking to a LC before self-administering too much (fenugreek can have side effects other than increased milk production). @Livsmom had to work really hard at increasing her supply and can give you all kinds of advice. Perhaps leave a message on her wall? Things like oatmeal (particularly steel cut oats) and brewer's yeast (found in dark lagers like guiness) can help increase milk production too. And if you haven't been pumping at night, definitely a good thing to do to keep milk up. I had to for sure. Not everyone does but if you are struggling, it certainly wouldn't hurt to help even out what your baby is drinking during the day compared to what you pump during the day.

Firstly, I would make sure that the daycare isn't overfeeding her. She should be eating between 1 1/2 and 2 oz for every hour she is away from you (from la leche league). Many daycares are used to formula in which the ounces go up. And may want more milk because that is what they are used to. That is not how breastmilk works. After about 3 months old, the supply should be fairly stable.

My LO is 7 months old and he eats at 4:30 am before I go to work, 6 oz at 7:00 am, I nurse him during lunch at 11:00 am, he eats 2 or 3 oz (depending on what I pump) at 1:00p, then I nurse him at 4 pm. If I didn't go home at lunch and pick him up so early I would send 8 more oz to daycare. That has pretty much been what he has been on since day one.

If you need to increase supply, try pumping more often during the day. The few times I have had problems even one more pumping session for 3 or 4 days has resolved the issue. Work has to make the accomodation (though you have to put in all your time) Also makes sure you nurse whenever possible after that and all weekend long.

2 oz per side per pump is a fantastic day for me. I pump twice and get 6 oz if I'm lucky.

I was in the exact same situation. I just wound up getting the single-use packets of formula and sending them with my daughter to daycare. If what I pumped wasn't enough, they would just make her a bottle of formula.

I tried Fenugreek and pumping more often, but come on- pumping for 20 min every 2 to 3 hours made it impossible to get anything done at work!

For me, it wasn't a matter of supply, it was just an issue that the pump was not efficient at getting the milk out of my breasts. As it was, they were never totally empty with pumping. The engorgement would have been worse if I upped my supply and still couldn't get the milk out.