I'm still in my third trimester, but I'm curious as to when I should start the herbs to help with milk production. What kind did you use? When? How much? How often? I apologize for all the questions.
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@ChasingARainbow: are you expecting to have problems with your supply? Personally I would avoid galactologues until you know you're definitely having supply issues as you don't want to encourage an oversupply which can cause its own set of problems.
Your best chance of ensuring adequate supply is to allow baby frequent access to the breast (10-12 nursing sessions in 24 hours), having plenty of time skin-to-skin, drinking enough water and consuming lots of nutritious calories. I'd also recommend getting in touch with a lactation consultant or local LLL if and when you do think you're having issues.
Good luck!
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@Kemma: with my last two children I had a very low supply so I stopped. It wasn't until recently I learned about these herbs. So I suspect that I might end up with a low supply again. I really want to do whatever I can this time around. In the past I didn't have a very helpful doctor. So I thought there was no hope.
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@ChasingARainbow: I had low supply with my first as well and regularly supplemented as needed. It was not often I could pump enough for her daily intake at daycare. I did everything recommended to up my supply to no avail.
The second time around I started taking more milk plus about a month before my due date. About one a day. My supply was definitely a lot better this time! It wasn't amazing like most of the ladies on here. But I was regularly pumpkins enough to meet her daily intake demands at daycare. Not sure if the MMP helped or if it's just different pregnancy / baby, different outcome.
But couldn't hurt, right?There are also recommendations of massaging your breast to signal to your breast to start production. But there are some that say it can induce labor. My OB doesn't really think it will induces labor but also didn't really think that works so I didn't both to do that regularly.
Good luck! It is very stressful having low supply.
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@ChasingARainbow: have you thought about consulting with an IBCLC BEFORE you give birth? You might find it really helpful to work through your previous issues and it might also give you a chance to work out a plan going forward.
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I took fenugreek and blessed thistle starting at about 4 weeks? But that's because that's the point at which I felt like I needed help and talked to a lactation consultant. I do feel like it helped but it was annoying - I was taking, at the beginning, 3 capsules of each 3x a day which basically made me feel like I spent all my time taking pills. I eventually weaned down to 3 capsules 2x a day - I tried to go down to 1x but felt like at that point it affected my production.
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@ChasingARainbow: If you had low supply, I would also suggest pumping (you can just get the little hand pump) from the get go.
With my first LO, she had pretty bad jaundice and was taken away for the first 24 hours or so and I was SO paranoid about my supply, I double pumped every 2 hours (including overnight--didn't really sleep at all) to bring in my milk faster because they said she had to have a lot of fluids to push the jaundice out. As a result, when my milk came in, I had a gigantic supply and continued pumping because of latch issues. By 3 months, I was EPing and pumping 45 oz a day.
This time, with LO 2, I really wanted to try BFing again, so I did *not* pump from the beginning and sure enough...I make only exactly what LO eats. I just started back to work, and I'm only pumping about 15 oz at work (in 3 pumps-just barely enough to cover LOs 3 bottles), whereas with LO 1, I could easily pump just once at work and literally make the same amount.
It's so crazy to see the difference. I have the same boobs and eat the same/drink the same. But that early pumping the first 2 weeks made all the difference.
But couldn't hurt, right?
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