Hellobee Boards Topic: Supply help

Hellobee Boards Topic: Supply help https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 25 Apr 2026 17:05:29 +0000 swurlygurl on "Supply help" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/supply-help#post-1632175 Tue, 13 May 2014 16:38:33 +0000 swurlygurl 1632175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @HazelEyes: I was really good about my diet for the first 4 months and lost all the weight! (40+ pounds). But then I became fat and lazy again and gained it all back in the following year... :bummed: DH has been using the Lose It app also the last 6 months, and he's dropped over 30 pounds! It's really good for helping us realize how much we're eating. I'm pregnant now, so I'm trying to not worry about my weight at the moment. BUT, it is going to be HARD to eat that many calories... Especially since good calories are expensive! You can only get so many calories from fruit and veggies... :/ Oh, and short recap about my supply issues and calories: I was probably eating about 1,500 - 1,800 calories per day, and after 6 hours of pumping was only getting MAX 18 ounces, usually closer to 12-15. After 5 months of EPing I was still at 6 hours of pumping and only getting 4 ounces. That's when I decided to quit :( That was on top of every herbal supplement known to man. So, that's why I really think MY issue was calories. HazelEyes on "Supply help" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/supply-help#post-1632114 Tue, 13 May 2014 16:12:54 +0000 HazelEyes 1632114@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Thanks ladies. :heart: @theknest: this is so true. I keep telling myself that I have accepted and come to peace with supplementing, but part of me knows I'm really not. Good point, I need to relax. Thank you for that. @swurlygurl: ok, so this is very interesting! I just started to track my calories yesterday to see what I was eating on the Lose It app. I do want to lose weight, but obviously not at the expense of the milk supply I do have, and more for information/motivation to start working out at this point. Anyway, I added 500 calories to what they recommended to put myself at 2500/day to account for nursing (maybe I need more!) and so far I'm coming nowhere near that many cals... I might need to add more food! How did that play out the first time with supply and weight loss? @Vegmama: huh. I'm going to take a look at it now, thank you!! Vegmama on "Supply help" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/supply-help#post-1632035 Tue, 13 May 2014 15:38:38 +0000 Vegmama 1632035@https://boards.hellobee.com/ You are doing so great, mama! My LO is 18 weeks old, and we've been struggling with supply issues since the first week. We're currently supplementing about 30-40% of her intake with formula. At first, it was hard to accept, but it is what it is. For supply boosts, I take a tincture (fenugreek, goats rue, blessed thistle, and some other herbs), drink Mother's Milk Tea, eat a lot, and I take Domperidone. The Dom works WONDERS for my friends ... Sadly, my issue is gland related, so it only gives me a 2-4 ounce boost per day (but that's still huge). This is where I get it: <a href="http://www.inhousepharmacy.biz/p-17-motilium-domperidone-10mg.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.inhousepharmacy.biz/p-17-motilium-domperidone-10mg.aspx</a> My lactation consultant and midwives recommended it. It's FDA approved, but for stomach issues, which is why most doctors won't prescribe it for nursing related issues. If you do a search on HelloBee, you'll see several mamas have used it. I take 2-3 pills 3 times per day. I gave it 2 weeks, and I saw a noticeable increase. I'm trying to dial it back now (since it's expensive), and would love to maintain at 40 mg a day. It takes about 10-15 days to arrive since it's coming from overseas. It sounds like you're doing everything right!!! I'm just now at peace with supplementing, and it's been liberating. Thinking of you! You're amazing!! swurlygurl on "Supply help" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/supply-help#post-1631997 Tue, 13 May 2014 15:18:10 +0000 swurlygurl 1631997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I had HORRIBLE problems with supply, I could write about my issues and everything I tried for DAYS, but the one thing I didn't try that I think was my big problem - extra calories. I read that you need 30 calories/ounce of milk you want to provide. So, if you need 1,800 calories for yourself, you have to add on 30 calories * 30 oz = 900 extra calories. That was something I just had the hardest time doing - purposefully eating MORE food (since I was trying to lose weight from pregnancy). This time around I'm mentally prepared for the extra calories, so I'm hoping to have better success. I don't know if that's true for everyone? Some people seem to be able to BF without eating a ton extra, but it seems that my body needed the extra calories. ETA: If you want to try more herbal supplements, my never ending research led me to also add brewer's yeast and blessed thistle - both are available in pill form wherever you buy supplements. theknest on "Supply help" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/supply-help#post-1631903 Tue, 13 May 2014 14:43:18 +0000 theknest 1631903@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I know this seems like unhelpful advice, but trying not to stress about it may help. I've been there before and I know how exhausting it can all be. With my first once we decided to start supplementing with formula more and I got over the "guilt" I felt - I was able to relax a bit more and ended up being able to pump a few more oz/session. I know there are tons of posts on this topic already so maybe search around Hellobee for some other ideas. More Milk Plus tea was helpful for me along with Fenugreek. HazelEyes on "Supply help" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/supply-help#post-1631558 Tue, 13 May 2014 12:56:01 +0000 HazelEyes 1631558@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I am looking for help and suggestions on getting my supply up. My LO is 7 weeks now and we've been supplementing formula, or if I have enough, bmilk, since about two weeks. First because he didn't make birth weight, then was told to continue because he was still SO fussy and it turned out that his incessant crying was that he was starving and I wasn't making enough even when I was nursing for 45-60 mins (I wrote a post about this a few weeks ago). Anyway, per a LC I've been nursing 10-15 minutes on each breast (so 20-30 mins each feeding) and then pumping w a hospital pump for another 15-20 minutes whenever I can, which is when DH is home and can take LO (Tuesdays & Thursdays when he works from home and every day after 4pm, though not at the middle of the night feeding/s). But we are still needing to supplement 1-3 oz. Mostly in the afternoon and evening when my supply dips. When I do get to pump after feeding I'm only getting a half oz. So my question is, is there anything else I can be doing? If I start pumping after night feelings or waking myself up if he doesn't wake himself will that just make me engorged again if he's not waking? I already take fenugreek. Sorry if this is confusing. Im just frustrated that I can't satisfy him after just my nursing sessions and would love to cut down feeding +supplementing +pumping time since I can never get ahead to make any sort of freezer stash.