I recently had to add formula to my 3 months old diet because of weight loss and decrease in milk. I just got some domperidone from my midwife and will be starting that tomorrow. As of now we give my baby 3-4 2oz bottles after a few feedings because she is still hungry or it replaces a feeding because I don;t have enough milk. I am hoping to get rid of the formula and go back to exclusively nursing. Any tips to help up my milk enough with the prescription to get rid of formula. I want to nurse another 6 months.
THANKS!
When I had my kids, I drank chocolate malt ovaltine. The malt in the drink shot my milk production over the edge. I actually had cream on top of the milk that I HAD to express because there was so much.
If you can handle it (I liked it) add some brewers yeast to tomato juice.
Marshmallow root tea helps, too. Good luck!
fluids, fluids, fluids!
Hi E B,
This is a great choice you are making & you have many options. There is a mother's milk tincture, tea & marshmallow root (all you can pick up at your local health food store). The mother's milk tincture & tea have the necessary herbs to help increase your milk, naturally ;). Also a good naturopath/homeopath can help you find the right remedy to help you increase your milk. Here's to you & your baby! Take care, G
There is an herbal tea you can buy at Kroger, or other stores I'm sure. It is for nursing mothers. It is supposed to help produce more milk. I tried it before and could not take the taste, but I didn't have a major problem. Have you tried pumping after the baby is done nursing or at other times when he might skip a feeding? The more milk that is expressed during nursing or pumping, your body will make more to keep up with that amount. Have you tried talking to a lactation consultant, alot of pediaticians have one on thier staff available to help mothers? Breastfeeding is the best!!!!! I hope some of this might help you and your lil' guy out. -S.
NURSE, NURSE, NURSE! That's what I've read & my doctor told me. The more you nurse, the more your body will produce. My little one nursed every hour sometimes before a growth spurt....it's extremely time-consuming, but worth it for your milk supply & it's also a great bonding time for the two of you. So, nurse as much as your little girl wants to. At the 3 month mark, my little guy was still nursing every 3 hours or so. Remember, there IS NO SCHEDULE for nursing babies like they tell you to do with formula-fed babies. She'll eat until she's satisfied while nursing. Good luck! =)
Always nurse him first. Don't switch sides until he's completely drained one. And if he will, let him continue to suckle for a minute or two after it's empty (you'll feel kind of a pulling feeling around your side). Then switch to the other side and let him nurse as long as he will. There is also a device that they used to have that allows a baby to suckle the breast and get formula at the same time (don't remember what it's called, but you may want to ask about it). The more he suckles, the more it sends your body the message to produce more milk.
And of course, make sure you are drinking plenty of water - probably 80 ounces or more. You'll be going to the bathroom a lot, but that's okay too. And eat a well-balanced diet.
If it comes down to you not being able to nurse as long as you want, realize that formula now is very well balanced and good for babies. You've given him a great start by nursing as much as you can, and you can still cuddle with him and give him the lovies with a bottle. Hopefully you'll be able to nurse. But don't feel bad if it comes down to a bottle (I had to give up nursing my oldest before I wanted to and felt guilty for a long time - don't do that to yourself or to him)
All natural way to increase milk is to use fennel oil from youngliving.
I'm a Ind. Consult.
Everyone below has great advice - particularly the part about supply and demand and getting plenty of fluids. But you also need to EAT! No, seriously, make sure you're getting enough calories. I had an issue w/ my youngest where I had a horrible intestinal virus right before going back to work. so, she didn't nurse for 4 days because I'm puking (although I pumped and dumped). Then 4 days later, I go back to work. The pediatrician told me 1-2 milkshakes per day in addition to what had been my normal diet. Worked for me. don't worry about losing the baby weight right now - you have plenty of time for that later. Good luck!
My milk supply with my twins was horrible and this is what the nursing consultant and my doctor had me do. They put me on reglan (I think that is what it is called) and that helped with my milk supply. Then I would nurse for every feeding and then after she was done I would pump for 15 minutes and then whatever droplets I got I would mix that with formula and feed that to my baby. It was a pain and time consuming. But after 2 weeks my milk supply was up and I nursed my twins for 9 months. You can do it. Good luck!
The way that our bodies make milk is by supply and demand, so put that baby to the breast often. It will take your body 24-48hrs for it to respond and start producing more. So basically whatever you ask your body to make for your baby is what it will do. So if you feed every 2 hours in the day, and every 3-4 at night your body will respond in 24-48 hrs. So give her the breast any time she squeeks the more the better! Good luck!
I had the same problem, and I just started pumping more often. I also lengthened the time I pumped for. For example, I was pumping every 4 hours, and not producing enough. So I started pumping every 2 hours, and I would always make sure to pump for atleast 10 minutes after the milk stopped coming out. It only took about a day of this for my milk supply to skyrocket! I hope it this helps! Good luck to you!
I had lots of supply issues, but luckily I didn't have to do the formula part. What worked great for me was oatmeal in the morning (I didn't even realize that this had an effect, until I ran out one week), and fenugreek capsules. GNC had the cheapest because they were in bulk, but take 3, 3 times a day. You can up the dose if you need to. At one point I was taking 5, 3 times a day and know of others that did 7, 3 times a day, until the milk came, and then slowing weaning off, taking notice if the supply dropped and increasing again, etc. Warning, you will smell like maple syrup, both your urine and from your pores.
I would suggest going cold turkey off the formula after a day on the medication. You should feel your supply increase, and let your daughter do the rest of the work for you. She should continue to try to feed until she is satisfied, and that should stimulate you more than just pumping. Pumping on top of that can't hurt either if you are still feeling like you aren't up to the ideal supply. This should also make the transition back to the breast easier in that she isn't expecting the bottle and will have to work harder to get what she wants.
You should contact a lactation consultant too, if you have any issues, they have lots of experience and can tell you if you are headed in the right direction or need to make any changes to your approach.
Good luck.
