How to increase milk supply?

I just had my baby about 3 weeks ago and she was 2 months early due to preeclampsia. At first my milk supply was AMAZING. I had a lot of colostrum and then once my milk came in I was getting 2-4oz every pump… the past few days I’ve been lucky to get an oz every pump if that. Anyone experience their milk supply dropping rapidly after a few weeks? If so what did you do to help. I’ve been drinking these chocolate drinks I got at target and I havent seen any improvement yet. I just dont want to have to give her formula especially with her being a preemie.

6 Likes

Try body armor drinks ! They help tremendously ! Drink plenty of water also .

2 Likes

Skin to skin and let her suck. The more you feed the more you get.

3 Likes

I’m not breast feeding yet so i don’t know forsure but I’m pregnant and really wanna try with this baby so I’ve been looking up stuff on Pinterest, there tons of stuff that different moms have tried and it worked for them so maybe one of those will work for you

Skin to skin as much as you can mama! Make sure you stay hydrated!!!

This website was a lifesaver for me! If you have the money, I highly recommend their products

1 Like

Mothers milk tea has worked absolute wonders for me. My little guy is almost 2 months and were breastfeeding great!

Drink lots of water, eat oatmeal with flaxseeds, try power pumping (pump 20 minutes, rest 10, pump for 10, rest for 10, pump for 10) I always did this for my first and last pump of the day. Also try pumping every 2-3 hours

Are you breastfeeding or just pumping? Pumps aren’t as efficient as a baby’s mouth. Your supply also starts to regulate after a few-ish weeks. I’ve been breastfeeding for 16.5 months now and still only get maybe 2oz combined if/when I try to pump. The only TRUE way to up supply is to frequently empty the breasts. Also try lots of skin to skin/latching as much as possible.

Be careful as some of those supplemental drinks and snacks can actually dry you up.

Fenugreek works wonders for some women and in others (like me) it will dry up your supply.

Drink plenty of water, body armor drinks will help a tiny bit but they are good for you and super yummy, and try power pumping.

Also, some women dont react as well to a pump, try nursing more than pumping.

And, coming from a mom who has breastfed five children… fed is best. If you are drying up and can not regain your supply there is no shame in formula. That is what it is made for after all. Just know you did your best and nursed for the most crucial part of your babies life :heart:

Good luck :muscle:

4 Likes

Some times stress can affect it. Too

If the supplement you are drinking has fenugreek, it could have the opposite effect, so id check for that. Also the munchkin milky mama cookies worked pretty good for me. Good luck

1 Like

Tell her care team in the NICU the hospital should have a lactation specialist who can help you. Also, you are not already lots of soon to skin and pump by your babies bedside.
Also, congratulations and remember to take care of yourself!

Less pump more natural breastfeeding will solve the problem.

Is she taking enough? She gaining weight. Feed more, will have more. When not feeding, pump and store to keep production up.

Nothing wrong with formula.

1 Like

My granddaughter used upspring milkflow

Its a breastfeeding supplement

Oatmeal helps big time.

Keep feeding your baby more often and try eating oatmeal, mangoes, and papaya.

Maybe the baby can’t suck hard enough??

I’m 7 months into breastfeeding and I’ve always got an oz to 2 oz every pump, unless I used mothers milk tea, I’d have 2 or 3 cups and pump 3-4 oz, my girl was very small and everyone kept telling me to quit and use formula (had terrible PPD because I felt like I couldn’t provide for her and everyone was looking at me like I was starving her) but I pushed through, pumped what I could and gave her extra, she’s doing great now, but I don’t pump often anymore, but when I do I use the tea, just don’t drink a few cups and then go to bed lolz, I co sleep and had a few cups and forgot to switch sides throughout the night, and woke up so engorged I’d just poke my boob and squirt milk :neutral_face: no good

Don’t give up… Your done a wonderful job. It’s hard but you got this… Hugs

Honestly it happens. Just power pump and use not compresses. If your boobs won’t make enough please use formula. My son would cry bc he was hungry and I couldn’t give him enough and guilt made me deprive him of formula. It was such a life saver though. Not stressing so much over a crying babe made pumping so much less stressful and I was able to pump more. Personally my supply still dwindled away but he was already at regular milk age and I felt ok with it.

Drink body armour i hear its amazing for milk supply

Oatmeal, lots of fluids, no caffeine. Stress really does a number on your supply so obviously because you worry it might get worse

Just because thats as little as youre getting pumping doesnt mean thats what she gets nursing
It took me months to be able to pump 5 oz at a time and pumping is still a rough task for me

Stay hydrated. Oatmeal with flax helped me a lot when I was pumping for my preemie! Try adding an extra pump for a few days too.

Body armour, Gatorade, upspring milkflow fenugreek helped me, and so did the munchkin lactation cookies (although it can get expensive) I’m 5 weeks in with my second. My first (preemie at 35 weeks) had a atongue tie and couldn’t latch - I gave up at week 6 with latching and pumping and felt so guilty afterwards. This time I’m sticking with it and although it’s stressful and time consuming (21 month old toddler and 1 month old newborn) I’m keeping up with it. I promise you that if I can do it, you can do it!!! Keep your head up and remember to RELAX, or you will have no progress due to stress

It’s not declining its regulating. The baby is so much more efficient at getting milk. I got frustrated so now i only feed from the breast

1 Like

Talk to her pediatrician or your OB & he / she can give you a number to call a lactation consultant

Make sure your well hyrdrayed and eating enough. Power pump, and try domperidone. I had a preemie as well (28 weeker) and was worried about formula, but I lost my milk at 5 months and gave him formula - we were all happier and he was just happy to be fed! Don’t beat yourself up mama. Good luck.

I just wanted to say that both my kids were preemies. 32 weeks and 26 weeks.
They are fantastic little people. A little delay for my 26 weeker but that’s to be expected.
Breathe. Stress can impact milk supply. See if your nicu has a donor milk program if needed.

Alot of thoughts. Are you getting 2 oz after a feed? Then you have plenty. Pumping is not an indication of lack of supply.
Also why do you think your low? As long as baby is happy then I wouldn’t worry
What kind of chocolate drinks? That’s not very specifically helpful. Lots of water and nurse on demand is my advice

Just remember pumping doesn’t always indicate how much milk you’re producing. I pumped in hospital and got about 20 ml. But feeding normally I would fill him up. He actually left the hospital 24 hours later 60g heavier than his birth weight

My boobs stopped responding to the pump completely so don’t give up momma! And at another point my supply dropped so I drank lots and lots of water and got as much rest as possible and it came back nice and steady after a couple weeks! Sending hugs! You’ve got this!

I took fenugreek supplements and downed copious amounts of mother’s milk tea…it did wonders for me but if you have access to a lactation consultant definitely do it! They help so much especially if you have to mostly pump for baby right now because most premies don’t learn how to suck right of hand and a lactation consultant can be a big help with that to :heart: good luck and congrats!!!

Barley helps
I also take fenugreek supplements
Drink lots of water
Try Domperidone
I use that and it helps produce a lot.

Skin to skin let baby lach as much as possible if possilbe and plenty of water dont give up keep pumping regularly if anything just as if baby was eating

It may seem like your supply is low because of what your pumping but you will find if baby is drinking from you and is still gaining weight wet and dirty naps ect you dont have anything to worry about I breastfeed my 6 babys I went through thinking my supply was low babys were still gaining weight and still sleeping ect

Milk supply cookies available

Body armor it’s mostly coconut milk

Nurse as much as you can. That will help with your production. Its all about supply and demand and your baby essentially communicates that with how much they nurse. If you just pump solely, you won’t get as much. I know this because thats how it was with my son. With my daughter, I nurse as much as I can. Make sure you get electrolites and if you need a few more ounces, just drink a beer. Don’t over complicate it. You’re doing just fine! You won’t need to give her formula. The more you over complicate it the more stressful the entire process is going to be and you’ll drive yourself absolutely crazy. Been there, done that. This go around is MUCH easier for me and I haven’t had to give her formula once and I have a huge stash in the freezer. I know what I’m talking about this time LOL!

I had the exact same situation my daughter was born 2 months early and I also had pre eclampsia. I ended up with dr and nurses advise having to give her formula. But in the end it helped. She gained weight super quick and thrived and was able to leave the hospital in 3 weeks. Your body has been through a lot. You can try natural pills or things to build up your milk supply but I had no luck.

I would check that your pump is working properly. But your body will not respond to a pump like it would your baby. Which will cause your supply to be all over the place. I exclusively pumped for my twins for 3 months. It was hard. I had a great supply but sometimes the pump just didnt get it all. So the next day my supply would be lower.

Some mommy’s have the opposite effect to fenugreek and it decreases their milk supply so be very careful with that! I bought brewers yeast (from Amazon cause no where local sold it) flax seed (Wegmans/Wal-Mart) and did 1/8 cup of each in my brownie batch ate 2 brownies that day and seen a diffrence the next morning then ate 1 anytime I snacked over the next week so they didnt go to waste. My supply never dropped again and now going 13 month’s ebf strong!!! Pinterest has tons of recipes. Can use box brownie mix as well or buy the cake in a cup they sell and add a teaspoon of each to it. Or just try brewers yeast and add it to any daily meal or shake

Well if she needs food get formula