How to increase milk supply

[mariateresa]

Hello,

My daughter is 4 1/2 months old and I have been BF since she was born. However I start working 2 months ago and it has been very hard to pump. I am a Social Worker and I spend a lot of time on the field. There are days that I can pump with no problem and there are others in which I can't pump until I get home. I think my supply is going low and I am very concerned. For example I have to work tomorrow and I just pumped once today. I am going to have to wake up at 2 or 3 am to pump, and altough I have done before it is hard. Does anyone know how can I increase my milk supply?

Any help will be greatly appreciate it.

[RachelC]

Here is some more information.  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html

The best thing to do to increase your supply is to nurse, which I understand is hard to do when you are working.  Do you use the bottle exclusively on weekends too?  You may want to spend some time with baby all day, allowing her to nurse whenever she wants.

Here is a site dedicated to pumping moms  http://www.pumpingmoms.org/

Many women have had success with taking a combination of Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle (both available at health food stores).  You can also contact your doctor for a prescription.  With these methods, you may become engorged during the day.

HTH, let us know how things go.

[mariateresa]

I don't use bottle on weekends, I do exclusively BF. Thank you for the web sites , they were very helpful. Tomorrow I am going to try to find the Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle and I will let you know whether they work for me. Do you know if they will have any effect on my daughter?
Every body keeps telling me to do  a combination of formula and BF, but i would really like to do EBF until 6 months.
Thank you again for your information.

[RachelC]

They have not been shown to have an effect on nurslings.  Just as a warning, you may begin to smell like maple syrup.

Let us know how things go!