How to increase milk supply?

I started loosing mine 2 month in. I tried everything in the books to but my time was up. I was stressing too much about if i was making enough or if he was eating enough ect Finally i gave him a bottle of formula and he slept full and happy. Fed is best momma.

Are u eating enough to make up the increase he wants? Increase your food… Hand express and nurse often… Continue supplements… And even if your supply doesnt meet his try supplementing w formula and keep nursing. Still getting the bm is good

With my first I was in the same boat but he was 3 month old. I took fenugreek tablets 2 twice a day it helped, eat oatmeal and lots of water. But my dr said if he was still hungry after breastfeeding to give him 1-2oz of formula and to pump after every feeding to make sure they were empty so the body knows it need to make more and that it should help build the supply back up. Hope it helps and good luck

I would consult with a lactation consultant. But a few things…1.) Make sure you are hydrated…drink lots of water!!! 2.) Breastfeed before you give solids not after. 3.)let baby suck go as long as they want (no ones better at emptying the breast than baby) 4.) pump after each feeding even if your not getting anything it will help stimulate your body to produce more 5.) pump in between feeding sessions (again will stimulate your body to make more)

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Dont unlatch him, just keep nursing. When he cries again like he is hungry latch him back on. Your breasts will start producing more to fill the demand.

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You shouldn’t hate the thought of formula, you should hate the thought of a hungry baby. This is so silly. Feed your baby. However you have to.

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Am a mom that bf 3 little ones, and have my 3 year old still on breast milk in a cup, and the tap when cranky or feeling bad. In the past year the drink body armor. This is one my favorite flavor. Give it try.

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My supply didn’t drop but I just couldn’t pump enough at work to keep up with what my daughter needed with her growing appetite (she nurses just fine yet). I’m still pumping while at work but she’s on formula when I’m at work because she eats way more then I could ever pump. I felt like a failure for a long time but she’s fed and happy so that made me feel better!

Stress isn’t helping drink and make sure your eatting enough. I had the same at about that age. Also make sure to offer breast before food then let LO eat what your eatting several time’s a day. My kid’s snacked about 4 to 6 times a day at 6 months. Try making lactation cookies and have a beer. This will help.

Giving my son formula was a life saver when my supply couldn’t keep up anymore. He wouldn’t cry with hunger and my nipples weren’t dead anymore lol. I was an exclusive pumper too. Feed the baby soothe your soul

Honey if you have to use formula don’t feel bad about it. Things happen to lose milk supply and sometimes there is nothing that can bring it back. If you have to use formula then go for it, fed is best honey

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Keep taking your prenatal vitamins and eat, eat, eat. Fed is best by the way. I don’t know if you look down on formula because you’re going to miss breastfeeding or if you think formula is not “up to par” for your child but you should be thankful you have another option and your child isn’t going to starve if your milk dries up completely. 🤦🤦

Primrose oil, I used it to keep my ducts slick. Idk how true it is, because it’s a vitamin supplement, but I took 2 a day. It helped.

Lactation cookies/brownies, mothers milk tea, and liquid gold supplements

I couldn’t breastfeed after 3months kid was hungry I try formula and some babblum still hungry so my mom suggested Carnarion milk …frist half milk and half water tablespoon of corn syrup did wonders wasn’t hungry and didn’t cost as much as formula

My pediatrician told me to drink beer! :woman_shrugging: Probably won’t help you at work though.

Fed is best.
Rather a happy full baby then a starving screaming baby !

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I figured out when my son was constantly hungry that I needed to supplement. I would give him cereal mixed with breast milk so he was still getting something from that and then bottles were formula. He’s now a happy and healthy 13 year old. Formula won’t hurt your little one so feed however works best for you guys.

Beer works every time

Seriously you need to put this in perspective. If your milk supply is low, there is no need to feel bad about using formula.

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When my 1-month old didn’t gain weight for one week, I knew I just wasn’t making enough milk…or in my case only drops. Formula is not the worse thing in the world…in my case it was my only option. She is a thriving 21-month old! Fed is best!

Try fenugreek natural herb pills.

You can look on Pinterest for recipes or other food/drink items to try. Nothings wrong with formula, as long as baby is fed that’s all that matters.

The EXACT same thing happen to me. I was so depressed and sad. I couldn’t get it back… I had no other choice but to give him formula. He was so hungry. He’s 7 months old now and has been on formula for 2 months. His little tummy was messed up for about two weeks when we started formula… girl I cried and cried. Through all my stress he is perfectly fine now. Luckily we had some enfamil Nuro/pro the hospital gave us when he was born… we gave him that because he was so hungry at the time… that’s what we stuck with

Drink lots of coconut water.

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How to increase milk supply? - Mamas Uncut

I had this issue with my oldest daughter. I just attributed it to a different suck power and my obgyn and her pediatrician said the same thing. She was satisfied and that’s all that mattered. Don’t get down in yourself. If baby is happy and milk wasted all is well in the world.

Breastfeeding is all about supply and demand the more the baby is at the brest the more your body will make…also pumps are not a good indicator of how much milk you’re actually producing as your baby can remove more milk then a pump can… please also skip on the lactation items they are a gimmick and don’t really help just keep yourself hydrated :slightly_smiling_face:

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Your supply is probably fine! A lot of women’s bodies don’t respond to a pump. My sister in law tried at least 4 different pumps but couldn’t get any milk out unless she hand expressed.
As long as baby is having wet/dirty diapers and not loosing weight then it’s not your supply that’s a problem. It’s either the pump or your body just doesn’t respond to it.
Talk to your OB or a LC before taking any supplements because some of the things that people suggest could very well cause your milk to dry up❤️
I speak from experience! Someone told me fenugreek would do wonders. I took it for 3 days and could barely get an ounce between my two breasts and I was pumping 3-4 ounces before I started taking it.

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If your nursing full time, 3-4 oz is great! A baby is much better at emptying the breast than pumping. Get haaka to catch your let down from the other side as you nurse. If you’re still worried about your supply, stay hydrated, eat plenty of healthy snacks, and have oatmeal for breakfast. The drink LMNT has really helped me too, it’s an electrolyte drink without the sugar and is cheaper than buying bodyarmor which some people suggest. It’s more pricy upfront but it equals out to like 1.50 a drink. The watermelon salt is my favorite :fire::fire::fire:

water water and more water! body armor drinks also help!
i’ve noticed lately that if i don’t look at the amount i’m pumping i tend to pump more, you can put a baby sock on the bottle!
oatmeal, flaxseed, and brewers yeast :slightly_smiling_face: good luck mama​:smiling_face_with_three_hearts::smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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BrendenandSusan Doucet this might help

What you pump is not a reflection of what baby gets from breastfeeding. It sounds like you have a great supply. If you just want to increase pump output though l would suggest “power pumping” . However, if you are nursing baby frequently and just need a bottle once in a while l don’t think you really need to pumping a whole lot. Sounds like baby is getting plenty of liquid gold!

Try lactation cookie :cookie: lol maybe that’ll help

Pumps never liked me. I could never get barely any but when my kids bf I knew they were getting it bc they would spit up or leak out their mouth. As long as they r growing u r good. <3

Oatmeal, soups, body armor drinks and water

Pump on one side wile nursing on the other. Let baby latch onto one side and feed a little. Then switch to the other and pump the first one. Babies saliva saoks into the nipple and tells brest to produce.
Also some don’t respond well to a pump.

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Pumping and a baby feeding are two totally different stimulus on your breast that’s why you get more when she nurses …instead of using the pump try to hand express as soon as she is done eating and see if you get more

A lot of women don’t respond as well to the pump. Check your flange sizes and keep super hydrated.

I would get more with a hand held pump. I tried different electric pumps but never got the good results. The lactation nurses told me to pump after baby eat every time. You could try massaging them before you pump, warm packs before you pump too.

I was never able to pump successfully, but I did successfully nurse all 4 of my babies (including a set of twins) until their first birthdays.

Body armor drinks. They’re coconut water based hydrate you very well.

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Best thing I used was mothers milk tea I drank it hot right before and during pumping I sweetened it with honey. Also fenugreek pills only thing about them is when u take them right everything smells like maple syrup.

unless you need to build up milk to store for when you go back to work there is no need to pump–your baby nursing produces much more milk. If you need to then pump on the one side while baby nurse on other–you will get more that way.

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Check your flange size. There is a nipple ruler for pumps online you can print to make sure you have the right size.
Lots of water, body armor drinks, oatmeal cream pies and brewer’s yeast tablets helped me tons! I exclusively pumped for almost 15 months and all of those things helped me the most.
Fenugreek can help some women with supply and hurt others. So if you are taking anything with that be careful.

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How to increase milk supply? - Mamas Uncut

Put a warm flannel on your breast when pumping it does help

In my opinion, pumping will help with milk supply if tandem with feeding. Try pumping the other breast whilst you nurse. Then if baby is happy to, switch sides. And pump the other side.
If you are 4 weeks in and able to get 3-4 Oz out of the breasts whilst also feeding that’s really good.
People think we’re able to produce mountains but bodies are used to producing how much babies need. So your body will product 3-4oz as that’s how much baby is drinking when they’re having a full feed from both breasts.
It’s supply and demand :slight_smile:

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. How to increase milk supply? - Mamas Uncut

Hydrate! And eat alot of oat meal.

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If you’re super concerned about it, they make things for lactation supplements. Google upspring. They sell it at Walmart.

Mrsmilk.com I liked everything I ever got from there. Kept it in the freezer for when I noticed it dwindling. (Usually from slacking off a bit) but the bars and teas would help bring it right up while working on it

Body armor drinks. I’ve seen tons of videos of women’s supply being crazy because of drinking the body armor drinks daily.

You need to contact a lactation consultant. Your pediatrician should be able to refer you and typically health insurance will pay for it. My daughter is a lactation consultant and so I know first hand how big of a deal this is for a lot of new moms and there may be reasons no one has yet advised you on until you see a professional.

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Water water water! And patience! It takes a while to build up but drinking water is key!

There’s a great group on fb called Exclusively pumping and it helped me through my pumping and was full of resources!

There’s actually a hormone that’s released when actually breastfeeding the baby that releases more milk. There’s some foods that’ll increase supply I think one is called the Luna bar, it’s like a granola bar. Or, it may sound weird, but watch a video of your baby while you’re pumping.

3-4 ounces is a high pump output! A normal output is .5-2 ounces for in between feeds, 2-4 for replacing feeds. This is both breasts combined not each. You’re on the high end already!

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A baby will always be able to get more out then a pump will. It doesn’t mean you have a low supply! But things that will help increase supply would be oatmeal/oat milk, make sure you’re hydrated, lactation cookies/snacks/supplements, and power pumping❤️

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Do not over hydrate as this will not help. Try a small amount of beer or fenugreek which is the main ingredient in curry

3-4 ounces is a perfect amount for a four week old baby. Trust me.

I was so stressed about it as well and accidentally created an oversupply issue. I would have six ounces on one breast and 8-9 on the other in one pumping session. I was still nursing 24/7 and had no plans to return to work. It was miserable and painful to try and regulate back to a normal amount. Unfortunately for me no matter what I did my supply stayed the same ( 6 ounces /8 ounces) since I stopped pumping hoping it would help regulate the supply issues ( it didn’t :confounded:) I was constantly leaking, and my breasts would get rock hard and painful. I was lucky I never got an infection. My baby wouldn’t drink breast milk after it was frozen.

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This is very normal.
A baby will be able to get out alot more then a pump, they have the right technique, saliva to tell your boob what they need etc
The pump is artificial and can’t get out as much.
Some woman can exclusively breastfeed with no issue but can pump hardly anything. It is not an indication of your supply at all

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One thing that helped me when I was a working, breastfeeding mom was I made a video of my baby nursing. Exactly the way I see the baby from my angle (you might need help holding your phone), and the exact length of time my baby nursed. I also only pumped on one side, just like my baby nursed on only one side. Putting in my earbuds and listening to the sounds of my baby helped me to not think about pumping, and more of feed my baby. If you need to, bring a blanket or shirt that has your baby’s smell on it. You’d be surprised how much your body responds to smell!

I also made my own lactation cookies. I just made oatmeal cookies, added chocolate chips (my preference, you don’t have to), 2 tablespoons of brewers yeast, and 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal (I mix two TBS of the flaxseed with 2 TBS of water before adding to the cookie dough). It’s helped me, and they taste amazing! And you can add brewers yeast and flaxseed meal to nearly anything! I also drink the Body Armour juices when/if I’m able too. You’ve probably heard it a million times, but water is essential. When I do pump, I try to drink 20 oz while pumping.

Most importantly, do your very best to relax. Try to not think about pumping, try to think of it no differently than nursing. You got this momma!

The doctor told my daughther to drink a beer a day it helps wit breast milk

A lot of women can’t pump. Doesn’t mean anything for their supply. Nothing is as efficient as a babies mouth…I could barely pump a drop. I did find a pump better than others but as a whole, it was rubbish. Your supply is likely fine, regardless of pump output xx…

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Power pumping. It tricks your milk ducts to make more, 20 minutes on, 15 minutes off, 15 minutes on, 10 off. Every day, once a day.

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Try drinking milk & water. I was the same way. Baby was gulping milk but when i pumped it was barely anything. Just pump as much as u can, refrigerate and add to it the next pump.

A child’s mouth is much more efficient than a pump. I’ve breastfed two children for over 1.5 years each and have never been able to get more than 0.5-2oz total when trying to pump.

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Having bub skin to skin during pumping can help with the let down. Also gently massage your breast while pumping. Another way I was able to collect more was pumping one breast while bub fed from the other.

Blue Gatorade…guzzle it down!

My Dr prescribed me something to encourage milk flow. Or you can use foods that increase milk flow like barley porridge, fresh coconut water etc

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Fenugreek…normally can buy it at any drug store or at walmart…it does wonders

Hydration and breastfeeding on demand. Pumping is not an indication of how much milk you produce. The same with if your breasts feel full or not. Your body regulate its milk supply by the need of the baby.

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Take the vitamin Blessed Thistle. I had more breast milk to feed my baby and so much more. I had so many bags frozen I could have people give my baby a bottle so I could leave home for awhile.

My letdown at work pumping was always better if I didn’t think about the fact that I’m pumping and looked at pictures and videos of my daughter :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Baby is made for your breast… the pump is not. That is why baby is much better at emptying you… Drink as much water as you can… force it if you have too! I had to sit in my room in the dark/quiet or with baby beside me to get relaxed enough to release my milk.

Body Armor drinks!!! Every nursing momma around me is all positive!! I wish I had it for my firstborn

Honestly, when I hit a hard patch pumping, I had read a tip to record your baby crying when they’re hungry and watch it while you’re pumping.
Did :clap: wonders :clap:
Also, wear headphones/ at least one ear bud when listening lol

I could never pump enough when my daughter was in between nursing sessions. She nursed great though. It happens. Nothing to worry about.

I’ve heard pumping while you Masterbate can be helpful. Pumping every 3-4 hours and right after baby nurses. Stay hydrated.

Pumps needs the right size flange in order to get more milk. But a baby will get more then a machine. Water, veggies and brewers yeast help

Some women don’t respond to a pump, don’t get discouraged.

I had the same trouble. My MIL (an absolute darling, my mom was dead) suggested that I hold my sleeping baby and concentrate on him while I was pumping. It worked!

Lots of fluids and oats help to , like oatmeal cookies or oat milk

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Body armors are awesome

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Fenugreek is supposed to help

Pump the other breast while she feeds to increase suppy

I just stopped my 2 1/2 yr old … body armor :raised_hands::raised_hands: drink like two day and I swear they helped me

Water and protein uptake

Water oatmeal stimulation

My doctor said to have a glass of wine so you can relax

Body armor is one of the best things

Body Armor drinks BY FAR

Oats, be super hydrated

I exclusively pumped for a year… it’s hard to keep supply up pumping only… but my son is gtube fed… pumping or Feeding from both sides equal will help supply. Cluster pump…But oatmeal. Have a bowl.of oatmeal in the morning. I was so sick of oatmeal and started making no bake oatmeal cookies… I produced milk like crazy but also gained 20 pounds…so pick your poison. :joy:

Pumping isnt a show of supply some breast feeding people just cannot get it out with a pump even though their child is fat and happy!

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Drink lots of water and eat eat eat extra and healthy. Make sure to know what NOT to eat/ drink that can dry you up.

Eat a few fenugreek seeds a day. You smell like maple but watch that milk flow. I went from the Sahara to nipples of Venus after each shower just pouring out everywhere

Just a few seeds though. A gulped a tablespoon full the 1st time and got sick as a dog. It was suggested to me by my kids dad mom who is from India.
You can also buy the leaves too an put it in your food.
Go to an Indian grocery it’s so cheap. It’s called Methi.

As far as a pump, the only one that got anything out of me was the hospital grade Medela Symphony. They’ll let you rent it from L and D.

Speak with your physician. Or La Leche League