Tips for Increasing Supply

[Babies]

Since this seems to sadly be a reoccuring topic, can we make a sticky on tips to increase supply. My heart goes out to any mom struggling with supply issues. I have been there, takes alot of work, but you CAN do it!!!

[Babies]

First and foremost, the best tip is to get a GOOD LC. Often the ones that work at hospitals or with your pedi are not the best. Private lc seem way more vested into helping you. If you don't click with the first one you see, try someone else. I found my third and best on www.medela.com.

Second, if you're using a PIS, beware that it is not the best pump for increasing supply. Hospital grade rental pumps are best. If you think about how much you will spend in formula supplementing, the pump rental cost comes out about the same.

Third, herbal supplements (fenugreek, blessed thistle) and prescription medications can help. Talk to you lc about them!

Resist the urge to supplement. Supplementing can damage supply. Nurse as much as you can and pump after each feeding. If you have to supplement consider using a Supplemental Nursing System.

Keep in mind, the more you stress, the less productive your nursing will probably be. Curl up on the couch with the baby and some water to drink. That's the best thing you can do! :)

:)

[haydensmom]

Drink PLENTY of water!!! Fill up a glass and drink it during every nursing session. But be careful not to "overhydrate" as this can actually hurt your supply!

Oatmeal!

Eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Double pump between or after nursing sessions.

Massage your breasts while nursing to stimulate hindmilk letdown more easily (to ensure you get one!!) :D

Enjoy your baby! Sounds silly, but just thinking about the simplicity of your beautiful child can be enough to relax you! Not that this will increase supply, but it may reduce stress!

[stash]

#1 Nurse Constantly, or at least as much as baby will take the booby. Park your PP butt on the couch with some DVDs, snacks, tea and water, and make everyone wait on the two of you.

[Babies]

Co-sleeping really helps! Not only can you snooze while baby snacks, eats, whatever but you also get the skin on skin contact for a longer amount of time than normal nursing.

[EAugustin]

OH My Lamaze teacher told me about these drops from Motherly Love which are all natural which helped her alot... She only had to use it once and the next morning she said she was looking like Dolly Parton(sp) LOL
She now has a 2 yr.old and is still breastfeeding and she is a leader for the LLL so I knew I could ask her any questions about it cause this time around I want to just breastfeed and not add formula but with each of my babies my milk didn't come in as much as my last baby so I'm hoping that it will if not I'll just try those drops!! LOL LOL

[Babies]

Motherly Love which are all natural which helped her alot...

I think they are called More Milk Plus. I tried that, tasted HORRIBLE! :) I think it contains fenugreek, blessed thistle, etc. Didn't really work for me :( BUT some adoptive moms have had success lactating with it! :)

[EAugustin]

LOL yeah they warned me already!! I will be adding it to my juice (SMMILE) if it works then it will be worth it (SMILE) also I have the pill form just in case!!LOL LOL so lets see what happens! I have 4 weeks to get ready!! WOW... 4 more weeks! (SMILE)

[bethadele]

Ugh...Haven't been around in awhile precisely b/c of this issue!

One important thing to note are the things that decrease supply too...like sage. Umm...yeah...perhaps half the battle for me is figuring out what NOT to eat. What else may be decreasing my milk supply? Hmmm... say....post-partem bleeding for 2 1/2 months!!!!!

I'm going to try the Mother's Milk Plus drops. I'll let you know if I have any success.

[Krissy456]

Supply boosting for pumping/working moms:

http://workandpump.com/boosters.htm

[Musickitty]

I heard you should avoid peppermint, supposedly it can decrease supply. And I heard rooibois (red) herbal tea can help.

[Babies]

Hmmm...must effect different people in different ways b/c I've had both sage and peppermint and had no problems. Not in large quantities, but still. Weird.

[naturekate]

#1 Nurse Constantly, or at least as much as baby will take the booby. Park your PP butt on the couch with some DVDs, snacks, tea and water, and make everyone wait on the two of you.

i secend that, with a box of mother's milk tea :)

[stash]

I have to add that fenugreek (my LC recommended 2g, 3x a day) and blessed thistle really helped me this last few weeks...

[Babies]

Where did you find Blessed Thistle? I looked everywhere and tried several places online way back when and they were all "out"...

[mrswilson]

Eating oatmeal for breakfast (the 'old-fashioned' kind, not the instant) really helps me when I feel like my supply might be low. I wake up the next morning full and leaking every time.

Also, watered down gatorade seems to help me as well.

Also, I think a lot of women with brand new babies don't get the chance to eat enough...this is so crucial, even if it means getting someone else to cook for you! Your body needs at least 2300 calories everyday to produce milk.

[Kassy]

I believe the #1 reason for a nice milk supply is nursing, nursing, nursing... I did Breast milk and and some formula with my first baby. With my 2nd I exclusively BF'ed and I did have a noticeable larger supply with this one. I would constantly nursed him and pumped whenever he was asleep and always had enough to BF and more for bottle feedings for the times I went out without him.
The more you nurse, the more supply :D

[vidya_lr]

Garlic increases the appetite of the baby, thereby, making him/her nurse longer. The longer they nurse, your supply increases.

Try taking Garlic.

In India, new moms are given lots of garlic the first few weeks and they say it really boosts supply. Personally, I dont like garlic, so, I never took it though, but, I know it from my relatives and friends who BFd

[Tonya]

I wanted to increase my supply so I could also build a stash. Here's what I did:

I started eating oatmeal- even the instant stuff.
Secondly, While Adan is on one boob, I pump the other. I found that while he's nursing, my other side leaks alot. I finally realized that is wasting milk, so decided to pump. I always get at least 3-4 ounces off that side while he's nursing. If he seems hungry after the one boob (which is uncommon- usually he falls asleep) I just feed him what I pumped. I've been able to build a little stash in the 2 weeks I've been doing this.

[seb05]

hmm

I am taking some garlic and have started adding a little more garlic in foods. And have also started taking a few seeds of fenu greek (2x a day). My mom thinks drinking a lor of milk will help.. but will that increase gas in my baby?? Ive noticed she farts and sometimes shows displeasure before a fart.

I do notice when my boobs get heavy and when they get emptied out.

Am i doing it right??

Thanks
Sujatha

[Babies]

I am taking some garlic and have started adding a little more garlic in foods. And have also started taking a few seeds of fenu greek (2x a day). My mom thinks drinking a lor of milk will help.. but will that increase gas in my baby?? Ive noticed she farts and sometimes shows displeasure before a fart.

I do notice when my boobs get heavy and when they get emptied out.

Am i doing it right??

Thanks
Sujatha

Why in the world do people think milk makes milk? That's so stupid. It's water that will help you. Up your water intake not your milk. You are right babies can't digest the proteins in dairy products all that well...thus the gas.

This is from Kellymom on the Fenugreek dosage...

capsules
(580-610 mg) 2-4 capsules, 3 times per day
6-12 capsules (total) per day
~1200-2400 mg, 3 times per day (3.5-7.3 grams/day)
German Commission E recommends a daily intake of 6 grams

capsules
(500 mg) 7-14 capsules (total) per day

powder or seeds 1/2 - 1 teaspoon, 3 times per day
1 capsule = 1/4 teaspoon
can be mixed with a little water or juice

tincture 1-2 mL, 3 times per day (or see package directions)
tea one cup of tea, 2-3 times per day

[vidya_lr]

I am taking some garlic and have started adding a little more garlic in foods. And have also started taking a few seeds of fenu greek (2x a day). My mom thinks drinking a lor of milk will help.. but will that increase gas in my baby?? Ive noticed she farts and sometimes shows displeasure before a fart.

I do notice when my boobs get heavy and when they get emptied out.

Am i doing it right??


Congratulations on your baby, do you have a boy or a girl. Yes, you will notice when your boobs get heavy and when get emptied....
In India, new moms are not given a lot of water (I dont know why), so, I just drank lots and lots of milk and DD never had a gas problem. She was just fine, I swallowed about 2-3 spoon full of fenugreek every day.

[Babies]

bump to keep this sticky alive! :)

[sundrip]

This is specifically for women with PCOS but is useful to others struggling with supply as well: http://breastfeedingpcos.blogspot.com/2007/04/beyond-fenugreek-guide-to-herbal.html

[Babies]

bump

[stephmama]

Bump. I'm gonna need this sticky soon! :D

[MommaBear]

A high sugar diet can be very helpful in boosting supply, and adequate protein (at least 65 grams a day) is needed in order to maintain your muscle mass while still making lots of milk. If you're sick and don't have much appetite, at least try to get some sugar in (Gatorade is good for that). Otherwise, grab a cheeseburger and a milkshake daily... the baby needs it!

[Muzzie]

I have been taking the fenugreek capsules, 2 capsules 3 x daily , and it has upped my milk supply greatly, I get let down about 1/2 and hour after...heavy tingly kinda sore boobs....but then when my son is ready for feeding the milk ti literally squirting out a foot if he accidently slips off the nipple.

I have found thou that there tends to be alot of fore milk before the hind milk comes in, and thats great for me at the moment as it is summer here in New zealand and my son seems thirsty...as well as hungry.

The mums at my coffee group also recommened a tigers milk mixture to boost supply and here is the link to that
http://www.naturopath.co.nz/assets/File/Recipes/RECIPE%20Tigers%20Milk.pdf

[MommaBear]

bump

[haydensmom]

Bumpy

[jenncez]

Can someone tell me if there is anything I can or should be doing BEFORE baby comes? My brother said he heard something about massaging now and stimulating the glands before the baby comes. I wasn't sure if I should believe him or not. LOL Thanks!! :)

[butterflyb]

This is an odd suggestion but.....a British woman that I work with said that when she had her first child, the doctors had her drink a Guiness a day to keep up her supply. She's convinced that this is why she never had any issues with bf.

[Libekh]

http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

This is an awesome video on "hands on pumping"!!!!

[dixiechicken]

I feel as though my supply is dwindling. I do not eat oatmeal and I don't take fenugreek yet. I will try. I am leaving in about a month, for one night (Dexter will be 3 months old) and I don't know how much milk to bring to my MILs.

[sartre]

So helpful! Thanks for keeping this sticky alive :)

[laura88]

I feel as though my supply is dwindling. I do not eat oatmeal and I don't take fenugreek yet. I will try. I am leaving in about a month, for one night (Dexter will be 3 months old) and I don't know how much milk to bring to my MILs.
So I know this is about a month old, but I just read on one of the BFing websites that Blessed Thistle is good for supply, but to stay away from Fenugreek. It is good for supply, but it is bad in another way:shocker:....I'll look for the link if I can and re-post. I think I got the link from this sticky!

[laura88]

FOUND IT!http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/postpartum/herbsbrst/index.php
Fenugreek - although this has been recommended in the past to increase milk supply, it contains coumarin (which is a BIG no-no when nursing) and nicotine. Both can adversely affect the heart rate and blood pressure in mom and babe!

[dixiechicken]

FOUND IT!http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/postpartum/herbsbrst/index.php
Fenugreek - although this has been recommended in the past to increase milk supply, it contains coumarin (which is a BIG no-no when nursing) and nicotine. Both can adversely affect the heart rate and blood pressure in mom and babe!

Thanks, thats weird. I never read that anywhere else. Hmmm....I have been taking fenugreek and it has been working. I am also going to get some blessed thistle. Thanks for the heads up.

[laura88]

well it does work for supply. Just google the herb & nicotine together and you'll get lots of data.

[mii]

This is an odd suggestion but.....a British woman that I work with said that when she had her first child, the doctors had her drink a Guiness a day to keep up her supply. She's convinced that this is why she never had any issues with bf.

I have been given this advice by at least 4 different older women too. They said to drink beer. Haven't actually tried

[laura88]

I actually read this. It's the hops. The thing even said it's a good excuse for a beer, just don't over do it.

[teachermom]

This is an odd suggestion but.....a British woman that I work with said that when she had her first child, the doctors had her drink a Guiness a day to keep up her supply. She's convinced that this is why she never had any issues with bf.

I know drinking alcohol while BF'ing is controvercial, but...

A couple of times I've had a beer after Stella's gone to sleep (and I know I've got about 6 hours before the next feeding, so I don't worry too much). The next day, I'm ALWAYS overflowing. Seriously!

I'm just saying...

[marchfebmommy]

it's the yeast in the beer

[cabbygirl80]

I know drinking alcohol while BF'ing is controvercial, but...

A couple of times I've had a beer after Stella's gone to sleep (and I know I've got about 6 hours before the next feeding, so I don't worry too much). The next day, I'm ALWAYS overflowing. Seriously!

I'm just saying...
I worked our church's picnic a couple of weeks ago. Well, we ran out of water and all that was left was beer. The next morning, I was engorged!

[sartre]

Does anyone if there is another source of the yeast? Clearly bread doesn't do it - because I eat plenty of that! Would Brewer's yeast or something like that work?
(I'm feeling a bit desperate here...)

[eenchoo]

Does anyone if there is another source of the yeast? Clearly bread doesn't do it - because I eat plenty of that! Would Brewer's yeast or something like that work?
(I'm feeling a bit desperate here...)
You can get brewers yeast pills.

[teachermom]

The delicious way to increase supply, no bake cookies: http://americanpregnancy.org/forums/showthread.php?t=42927&highlight=no+bake+cookies

Yum!

[Susyq25]

Did anyone get nauseous with the mother's milk tea? I tried it with my first child and felt like I had m/s again. Since I suffered from Hyperemesis until delivery with him, I really couldn't handle it again.

[Jbear]

Hello to all mothers.. My name is Jodie and I am new here.. I have a 6 month old daughter that I am breastfeeding at the moment and do plan on continueing till she is about 12 months of age.. But the reason of me being here is I need some advice from the mothers that have or may be in my situation at the moment.. I am going through a custody battle and I am worried that they might make me pump my milk so that her dad can take her on his visitations.. what if I have a problem pumping my milk? Can somone please help me?

[hijacob]

Hello to all mothers.. My name is Jodie and I am new here.. I have a 6 month old daughter that I am breastfeeding at the moment and do plan on continueing till she is about 12 months of age.. But the reason of me being here is I need some advice from the mothers that have or may be in my situation at the moment.. I am going through a custody battle and I am worried that they might make me pump my milk so that her dad can take her on his visitations.. what if I have a problem pumping my milk? Can somone please help me?

Maybe you've done this already (and I just haven't seen it) but you may want to post this in a separate thread - since ladies may only be looking in this one for specific advice on increasing supply. Sounds like a legitimate concern, though. Sorry I don't have any advice, but I know it's harder for some to pump than others - myself included, but I'm only about 2 weeks into it.

[laura88]

Ok, so I found this out by accident. It works so well, I woke up completly clogged one day. Vitamin B-12 or B-complex. It's water soluable so it ups your supply. I didn't notice it until day 3 or 4, but man oh man. This would be great for those who have trouble pumping too, just make sure to pump B4 you get clogged, or OUCH! If it's too much, take it every other day or two days.

[Lante]

where can i get fenugeek from?

[swannie]

where can i get fenugeek from?

GNC sells fenugreek tablets. Whole Foods carries a range of herbal supplements as well, including the More Milk Plus herbal tincture.

[Gothknits]

Thank you for this thread. I haven't had a problem with supply until recently. I had the stomach flu last weekend and my supply dropped off from that. I eat oatmeal everyday and have been drinking the Mother's Milk Tea. I'm trying not to stress...life has been nothing but stress lately...my husband is working A LOT, work is not going so great. I'm not sure what else to try. I'm going to see if I can get some More Milk Plus...otherwise I just don't know.

[olivia27]

If you work - pump more often while away.
Don't forget to drink water.
If you're at home - just nurse your baby as often as baby wants, or just offer nursing every 1,5hrs.
Co-sleep and nurse on demand through the night in either situation.

[Saphire15]

Where can you get Fenugreek capsules?

[Gothknits]

Eat. A lot. I'm amazed at how many calories I have to consume and everytime I start cutting back, so does my milk.

[sunrider]

Eat. A lot. I'm amazed at how many calories I have to consume and everytime I start cutting back, so does my milk.

So, so true. I feel like I'm constantly hungry the last couple of weeks and every time I turn around I have something in my mouth. DH thinks I'm crazy, but I know it's because I'm busy making milk.

Make sure you get enough protein in your diet too - I've noticed that if I don't have protein with breakfast, my supply dips a little.

[Gothknits]

So, so true. I feel like I'm constantly hungry the last couple of weeks and every time I turn around I have something in my mouth. DH thinks I'm crazy, but I know it's because I'm busy making milk.


The problem is when I've eaten my lunch my 10:15. I've spent so much on eating out lately my husband is going to kill me. I guess I've lost my ability to lecture him about McDonalds.

[cheeksy]

Haven't tried but that's what I found just now:

How to Improve Breast Milk with Natural Treatments

1. To have more breast milk: Grind fennel seeds, saturate in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Then drink the water and eat the seeds. Repeat 3 times daily.

2. For better breast milk: consume almonds oil.

3. For more breast milk: Saturate buckwheat in milk and butter and eat.

http://www.grannymed.com/meds/breast-milk.aspx

[amilyarnaud]

I Just Started The Fenugreek I Hope It Works For Me Too Ladies

[flatoutgallop]

Fennel Tea!!!

I tried some on teh advice of someone who does chinese herbs, and thenext day I was so engorged it wasnt funny....

[MegMamaof3]

Another great one that I havn't seen posted here yet is sweet potatoes. My great grandma swore by this and I never really belived her until I had a drop in my milk supply with my 2nd, and thought for the heck of it I'd give it a try, sure enough, milk was VERY plentiful!

I need to go buy some as this boy is sucking me dry over the past couple of days! :laugh:

[foggybuggy]

Fennel Tea!!!

I tried some on teh advice of someone who does chinese herbs, and thenext day I was so engorged it wasnt funny....
like this??
http://girldujour.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/breast-feeding.jpg :laugh: sorry, I'm laughing at this picture! wow, what a feast!

how much fennel tea did you had the day before? a mug?

[Gothknits]

HOLY BOOBY BATMAN!!! :shocker:

[XangelaX]

I had a huge drop in my production. We had a freezer full from the NICU but she ate so much so fast we ran out,so i drank a powerade last night and today im getting 4oz all together:hooray: its a start

[XangelaX]

like this??
http://girldujour.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/breast-feeding.jpg :laugh: sorry, I'm laughing at this picture! wow, what a feast!

how much fennel tea did you had the day before? a mug?

My dd was so small (still is lol) that when i bf it looks like that hahahaha:laugh:

[Häschenhaar]

like this??
http://girldujour.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/breast-feeding.jpg :laugh: sorry, I'm laughing at this picture! wow, what a feast!

how much fennel tea did you had the day before? a mug?

that looks like me the day after Ace was born.. I was so engorged it wasn't funny anymore.. I could have easily fed triplets.. :eyeroll: