DD is one week shy of 7 months & EBF. Daycare is requesting I send her more milk b/c they say she's always looking for more after she's done. I guess I also feel like 4 oz is not enough but I've been in denial since I am barely pumping enough to cover her needs now!
Any tips on increasing supply? Fenugreek does not seem to be working.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
How many total ounces are you sending? Is she starting solids yet? Maybe increase the amount of ounces per bottle but space feedings out some?
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
More Milk Plus? Water? Oatmeal? @chopsuey swears pork is helping!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
We're at 6.5 months EBF and my supply took a major hit last month with AF cycles coming back all wonky. I'm still working on rebuilding my supply, but this is what I am taking now and I am still able to keep up DS' 25ish oz. daily intake:
calc magnesium supplements half of the month around AF time. (2x)
on pumping days (in office 3 days a week), i take 2 fenugreek tablets, MMP when I can handle the nasty taste, and drink mother's milk tea 2-3x a day.
i try to drink 20 oz of water each time i pump as well (3x).
i'm not sure the fenugreek is really doing anything, i think the major thing is the tea/water/hydration.
i pump 3x a day, 3 hours apart, 20-25 minutes until my second let down. I nurse the other sessions.
ds takes 3 - 5 oz bottles while i'm gone, we nurse in the am and at bedtime, and he has 2 solid meals (bfast & dinner) a day.
pear / 1570 posts
You might be able to boost to your capacity but it is not always possible. At my max I was pumping 18oz a day (4mo pp) now I average around 15oz (11mo pp).
If it is any consolation, I have only ever sent 4oz bottles to daycare. In the beginning it about 16oz and now at 11months I send 12oz.
We nurse on demand at home so if he needs more he makes up for it overnight.
How much do you send now? I agree with @T.H.O.U. maybe bigger bottles spaced further apart.
Alos, power pumping helps me get my supply up.
nectarine / 2667 posts
There are so many factors here, I don't know if your supply is exactly a problem. My daycare started asking for more milk for our son around that age (6 months maybe?), but when I sent more, he didn't drink it.
How many ounces do you send and in how many bottles? Ask them what "looking for more" means. Is she still sucking after it's gone? Is she fussy? Is it before a nap and she's tired? Do some investigating.
If you do need to pump more, it's possible to increase your supply at 7 months. I did! I did what @regberadaisy: suggested. Mother's Milk Plus (which has fenugreek and more), oatmeal everyday, and seriously upgraded my water intake (30+ ounces between each pumping session).
cherry / 211 posts
you can try power pumping for a couple of days in a row at nightime after LO goes to bed. Also you could consider having them feed her cereal or purees instead, it lessens the strain on your pumping supply.
pear / 1579 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I send 16 total in 4 (4oz) bottles.
@regberadaisy: I can try more milk plus. Can I buy that in a store or just online? I eat oatmeal every day & it doesn't seem to be helping either.
@mrsjyw: where did you buy the more milk plus? I've been drinking tons of water but no luck. Gah, I'm so frustrated!
@mewtill: I send four 4 oz bottles. They said she is still trying to suck the bottle like its not enough. Idk? I'll have to ask more questions this evening. They said this to me this morning when I was rushing for work so I couldn't investigate thoroughly.
@bamblm: I send two purees each day. One fruit & one veggie. She usually eat at least one (sometimes both) so I thought the 4oz of BM was still ok.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
I got the Mother's Milk Tea and the Fenugreek tablets from a local GNC store
grapefruit / 4110 posts
I don't know if you are nursing when you are together. But I made sure to just nurse nurse nurse whenever we were together. 7 - 9 months was the hardest but it got a lot easier after that. I would just hide with him on the weekends and get my nursing fix in and it would be good for Monday - Wednesday and then dip Thursday and Friday.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@MarieJ: @regberadaisy: haha my supply really has increased since I started eating lots of pork and granola!!
I would drink lots and lots of water. TONS of it. Eat 4-5 slices of bacon every morning and get some oat heavy granola and snack on that throughout the day too.
Good luck!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@MarieJ: I would think that maybe its not a supply issue. Maybe try sending three five ounce bottles?
pear / 1579 posts
@mrsjyw: thanks for that! About to order now 
@chopsuey119: I'm going to try the pork & increase my water intake some more. Thanks!!
@T.H.O.U.: I'm going to try that tomorrow! Thanks!!
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@MarieJ: Also, how much sleep do you get? The other night I went to bed at 8pm and woke up with crazy rock hard boobs! DS is almost 6 months old. I thought my days of engorgement were over.
Sleep, water, pork, oats! Haha. 
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
My LO is six months old and I also recently had to start sending bigger bottles to day care. What has made the biggest difference for me is adding a pumping session before bed around 9:30. It gives me a few extra ounces of cushion in case I'm short the next day, plus it has helped increase my output for the rest of my pumping sessions. It's a PITA but it works
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@MarieJ: Even four and a half ounce bottles might make the difference and then gradually cut that last bottle short.
pear / 1579 posts
@chopsuey119: I usually sleep from 9:30/10pm-5:30/6am. Just friends. I'm definitely going to try everything you mentioned! Thanks for that
@MamaMoose: how much are you sending to daycare & how many bottles? I think I will try a nighttime pumping session but it's hard when I'm at home because she likes to hang on to my boob, lol!
@T.H.O.U.: definitely going to try sending one less bottle with more milk! Thanks
cherry / 211 posts
@MarieJ: Just FYI my experience if you do the power pumping: I was making about 1/2-2/3 what LO needed while I was at work. After LO went down for the night, I power pumped for about an hour three days in a row. I only got about 2.5-3 ounces out of both breasts the whole hour. The next week I started getting an extra ounce each pumping session.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
@MarieJ: I nurse in the morning, she takes three five ounce bottles at daycare, we do solids right when we get home and then she'll nurse one or two time before bed and then once overnight.
pear / 1579 posts
@bamblm: I'm going to try that. That gives me hope!
@MamaMoose: thanks for that info. I think I'll up her oz per bottle and just send fewer bottles to daycare.
nectarine / 2667 posts
@MarieJ: I got my More Milk Plus at a local cloth diaper store. The MotherLove website has a store locator where their items are sold. 4 4oz bottles sounds like plenty! I know all babies are different, but my 7 month old was drinking 3 4oz bottles with a jar of puree. Try out decreasing the amount of bottles, but upping the oz in each bottle & see what they say. You said she likes to hang out & nurse at home, so maybe it's more of her wanting to suck rather than wanting to eat more?
pear / 1579 posts
@mewtill: I'm going to check out the website! Thank you I'm going to try to send less bottles with more milk & see if that works. I think she does comfort suck a lot but she won't take a paci!
honeydew / 7488 posts
@MamaMoose: before bedtime pump was a lifesaver for me as well! That is only way I could keep up with DS's day care bottles since I wasn't *quite* making enough at work.
@MarieJ: Maybe you can send a bag of frozen milk for them to have on hand in case your LO really really needs it? Also, I agree with chopsuey on pork. Pork bone soups are also really great for milk production, if you like soups.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@T-Mom: @MamaMoose: ugh losing that before bed pump was the beginning of the end for me. That's when LO stopped STTN and started waking up like every 2-3 hours again. In retrospect that's probably when she started getting sick. 
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