Hellobee Boards

I drink a ton of water ~120 ounces and rest is important! I never took supplements but sometimes I wish I had!

Pumping one side while the baby is nursing on the other side

I ended up on prescription meds. But have since not lost supply. I did mothers milk, pumping almost constantly for a weekend and of course food and water.

@regberadaisy: I can't remember the brand that I used but I bought it at the drug store...Nothing fancy!

My trick is a TON of water (I think I drink close to 150 oz a day) and rest. I notice my supply suffers if I'm on the go too much. Mothers Milk Tea is also my go to - I still drink at least one cup a day, two if I didn't rest well and feel my supply is low. Now that in back at work, pumping often enough is also key. I pump at 10, 1, 4 and again at midnight before bed (I nurse LO at 6/7, them again for bedtime around 7/8).

Oh I also forgot to add that papaya also helps! My mon brought papaya to me a lot during my maternity leave and I notice a supply increase on the days following papaya.

@cvbee - I didn't really start worrying about low supply until I started pumping so LO would have pumped milk while I was at work. I knew roughly how much LO needed and if my pumped output was less than what she ingested then I'd consider my supply low. Before I had to pump (while I was on leave), I nurses LO on demand. If I had a low supply day, she probably just nurses more often which fixed the issue. It was so much easier and less stressful than pumping!

I swear by More Milk Plus. Also, really make sure to empty your breast after pumping by hand expressing.

i had problems with milk production the first month because my daughter ate so much. my mom made me fish and papaya soup. my supply doubled after having it and i've been making the soup every week. now we have a big stash in our deep freezer.

@regberadaisy: well, new babies ARE always hungry. Breastmilk is digested quickly and so babies need to be fed frequently. Your baby might also be going through a growth spurt if she is suddenly feeding more frequently. Cluster feeding for a growth spurt can last for a week before going back to 'normal'.

I totally hear you on the guilt thing though. My babe had bad jaundice and lost so much weight at first and I had to wake him to feed him. But when the jaundice was gone, and he was gaining so much weight I still had the inclination to worry and want to force-fed him. Hopefully soon you will see if your LO is gaining enough weight now, and if she is, then you definitely have enough milk.

The couple times I questioned my supply I took the day & spent it in bed doing LOTS of skin to skin & nursing all day. We slept & ate & that was it. Next day my supply was back up.

I do have to agree with @cvbee: though! The first 6 weeks or so is a constant nurse-a-thon. Everything is getting regulated & baby is building your supply. All that fussy latch on latch off nursing is what baby does in growth spurts to give lots of stimulation to our breasts so the body makes more.

As long as baby is gain & has sufficient wet/dirty dipes a day you have plenty supply