Low Supply - can't seem to increase it

[Brodster'sMommy]

My supply is LO. And I know this bc Im using bottles more and more. Two weeks ago I was part of a wedding so DD was babysat and put on bottles of EBM for the second half of everyday (for a week!). I would pump as often as I could but sometimes I would get home around 1am only to nurse then go to bed for the night... And that would be the first time I had nursed in 12 hours sometimes. Eeek! Please help me get my supply up and fast! I am pumping btw feedings ATM but my supply is so low that I end up using that pumped milk to top her off at the next feeding. and at least once a day it's still not enough so I'm using formula to top her off from the EBM. (does that make sense?) How can I get out of this downward spiral?

Please help    

[~ Vik ~]

Hi and (((hugs))) Don't panic!  There are loads of things that you can do to increase your supply.

Here's some links to FAQs with information on it:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65905.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=66001.0
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63603.0

Here's some information from Charlotte on another post:

Things that you can do to increase your supply:

*First and foremost - your lo!  Nothing will stimulate your supply like your baby so key here is to nurse, nurse, and nurse some more

*Skin to skin contact - as much as you can - strip yourself off - strip lo off and climb into bed.  Play, cuddle, nurse etc.  Spend the whole day in bed if you can.  Failing that, make sure the house is nice and warm and strip your lo off and yourself and just play like that all day.  Bathing together etc...  This will increase teh level of oxytocin (one of the primary milk producing hormones) and therefore help a LOT

*switch nursing: when lo has finished with the first side, offer the second.  When done with the second, offer the first.  When finished with the first for a second time, offer the second again.  This will normally stimulate a further let down with each switch and tells your body to make more milk.

*Pumping directly after the feed preferably for at least 15 mins per side although anything is better than nothing.  You can also "switch pump" which is basically going back and forth between the breasts when the milk stops coming...

Things you can consume to help:

*Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Mothers Milk Tea & Brewers Yeast are all things you can buy at your local health food store that can be really great for helping to boost supply.  With the fenugreek, it's arguably the most effective but unless you are smelling like savoury maple syrup, you're not taking enough haha!

*Oatmeal/porridge.  This can be great for some - I personally notice a difference with this   When I've been low in the past, I've had it for breakfast and for lunch - you can also eat tons of flapjack or oatmeal cookies ~~~ porridge is great for me: porridge, milk, cinnamon, pinch of ground cloves, drop of vanilla essense and fresh berries - really helps my supply everyday. Also, oatmilk available from healthfood stores and some UK supermarkets - even do chocolate flavour

*make sure you're getting plenty of water - this really can be a major factor for many! In those early months (up to 6 months or so), I'd drink a large glass of water or milk during / or with each BF. All other drinks during the day I saw as drinks / hydration for me.

*make sure you're eating properly - well balanced diet, with enough calories, enough dairy fats and health fats (such as are found in seeds and nuts etc). Up until 9 months or so, I ate an awful lot. I viewed main meals as nutrition for me, and then additional meals and snacks as feeding the boy...so I'd have breakfast and then toast an hour or so later... lots of healthy, carby nutritious snacks all day. It helped me make sure I was taking on enough to feed us both.

And here are some outside links from kellymom.com, a fantastic online breastfeeding resource:
"Increasing Low Milk Supply"  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
"Herbal Remedies for Increasing Milk Supply" http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbal_galactagogue.html
"Weaning From Formula Supplements"  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/decrease-formula.html

I hope that some of this information is helpful!

[Brodster'sMommy]

Thank you for the helpful links. I feel like I'm following all the recommended things to do to increase milk supply except my water intake - could that really be such a big factor?

Should I continue to pump btw sessions or should I just nurse more often? Not sure which is better at increasing supply...

[~ Vik ~]

Fluid intake is definitely a factor - you need to ensure that you're taking in enough fluids to produce the volume of milk that you need.  You don't want to drink a ridiculous amount (recent studies have shown that too much water can actually decrease milk production by altering electrolyte levels in mom) but I would get 8 glasses per day at a minimum, and more like 10 if you can.  Keep in mind too that any milk, juice, etc that you drink would contribute to your fluid intake, but that coffee, soda, etc. will not as they contain caffeine, which is a diuretic.

As for pumping vs. nursing, that's a personal decision with pros and cons for both.  Nothing stimulates milk production like baby actually nursing - so if you could take a nursing 'holiday' (spend a weekend nursing on demand, lots of skin to skin, etc.) that could do wonders for your milk production.  More frequent nursing day to day can be very helpful too.  BUT...  Frequent nursing alters your EASY routine, and it's easy to fall into a feed-to-sleep or snacking habit.  As long as you're aware of it, it tends not to be a big deal though - for example, fitting in extra feeds by doing EAEAS, rather than EAES and feeding to sleep.

Additional pumping sessions will stimulate your milk supply while allowing you to maintain your routine, but pumping is not as effective at increasing supply as nursing.  There are hormonal things that happen between mom and baby that just don't happen between mom and pump.

HTH!

[Brodster'sMommy]

I'm working hard to increase my fluid intake although it's hard bc I hate drinking water

I'm going to try nursing more as I feel all the pumping I have been doing isn't helping much. I don't think I respond well to pumps because I don't yeild very much. Looking back, my supply problem probably began when I started supplementing bc DD never seemed satisfied at the breast when my milk was first coming in. I really regret that.

[~ Vik ~]

(((big hugs)))   I know it's easier said than done, but try not to feel guilty about supplementing Don't look back with regret, instead you should feel proud of the time you've spent bfing and the effort that you're putting in to get your supply up for your dd! 

If you don't respond well to the pump then more frequent nursing is definitely the better way to go.  And you can always stretch the feedings back out when you get your supply where you want it to be   And as far as the water, remember that juice/milk/etc counts too!  So even if you hate water you can get your fluid up.

Good luck, and if you have any more questions or need support we're here to help!