What are some ways I can build up my milk supply?

Hi, I just had my baby on July 24th. I am breastfeeding and pumping. I am finding myself only pumping 1 1/2 ounces every 2 hours. I am super exhausted because she has been staying up a lot at night. I want to build my milk supply up, but I would like some advice on what has worked for you. I am drinking a lot of water, eating oatmeal, and drinking mother’s milk tea, etc. Thanks for the tips!

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Body armor is great for milk supply!

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Pump after feeding. Try anything with coconut milk.

Make sure you’re pumping every time you’re feeding

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Body armor did wonders for me

keep eating, Ice cream helped for me

You can buy brownies at the store and they will help

Fenugreek helps and drinking a beer or two a day helps.

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Eating avocados helps. There are also supplements that help too

Skin to skin with baby.

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I don’t think you need to be pumping that much. Just a haaka to catch it was enough for me to build a 60oz stash without doing anything special.

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Try relaxing as much as possible while pumping. Think about the baby and your favorite things about her. When you think about her while pumping it you should help your milk to let down and it can let down multiple times. Also pump one boob while she’s eating on the other one.

Pumping is not an accurate indicator to how much milk you have.

The more you pump/nurse, the more milk your body will produce.

No matter what I did, how often I pumped/fed or ate nothing worked. Ever. Tried supplements and oatmeal etc nothing. We supplement with formula which has been amazing, daddy feeds him, he stays full longer and I still give him as much as I can! Makes working full time, sleeping at night much easier!

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My doc told me drink a beer ea day

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I had a really hard time keeping my supply up while living in AZ. Stay hydrated and when it got low I would eat a big bowl of real oatmeal. It was almost instantly that my supply would pick back up. I was also told by my doctor that pumping actually helps decrease your supply so try to breastfeed naturally as much as possible and every hour if it got low. Also, don’t drain the breasts completely bc the body won’t try to keep up if you do that.

Make sure your eating enough calories.

You don’t have a bad supply. You’re actually doing really amazing.

These also help to collect wasted milk. I use one as I’m pumping and able to collect about 3 oz all together.

Starbucks has the Pink drink that does amazing things :heart::heart: I was going to ask the same question. My son was born July 22, no matter how long he stays latched and nursing he always acts like he’s still hungry so we also give him formula then he seems fuller. When I pump I usually only get a ounce out of each but even after pumping until nothing comes out, I can hand express and milk is still coming out :woman_shrugging:

Pump at night after feeds for 10 mins

Milky mamma sells stuff to help. I’ve order cookies and emergency brownies and they helped me up my supply

For me, blue cherry Gatorade and oatmeal bars always helped. I ate and drank that combination any time I felt low and it always seemed to boost my supply. I even used that when I had a virus and it helped.

I have been following her ac hope this helps you as well.

The more you do it the more milk you make. Baby to breast is best…do not just pump. Their suckling and saliva entices your body to produce more.

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Have you tried Body armor drinks

Tons of water, oatmeal and the key is to pump after every time after you feed your baby - 30 to 45 mins after. It tricks your body to produce more.

I’ve had three kids and I believe the pumping after feeding little one helped. I did it multiple times a day at work.

I hope it works for you!

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Fenugreek helped me a ton!

Also try to pump in one breast while they nurse on other- don’t worry more milk will come should need so switch boobies- #4 kids

Pump while you feed your baby.
Even if your baby eats for 5 mins every hour feed them
Drink water while you pump.
Eat low fat foods.

Eat better food, more good food, no junk,

brewers yeast and beer always helped me

Body armor drinks, work wonders

nursing is more effective than pumping–just nurse at least every 2 hrs or more often if baby wants

Fenugreek supplement

Brewers yeast and make some smoothies, milk shakes, brownies. And cookies. Body armor sport drink. Im having trouble finding the blue Gatorade these days. Are you doing instant oatmeal? I was told the instant isn’t as good as the steel oats. Sounds like you’re getting pretty good amount while also still feeding. If my math is rights thats about 24 ounces and then nursing. I pump and am getting 30-40 oz a day and usually freezing 10-15ounces a day.

Coconut milk for some reason boosts your supply drink every day as often as you can after the first 2 days you will see a huge difference

Its recommended that you only put baby to breast the first few weeks to establish a good supply. Breastfeeding is a supply and demand type thing the more you get the baby to breast itself the more milk you’ll supply. &* try not to worry about building a stash this soon (i know its all stressful; especially if you have to return to work) but stress causes your supply to slack off also :heart:

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Ask your health visitor/ midwife , there the professionals !

Pump after every feed. Don’t worry if you don’t get anything!! Its letting your body know to make more. I pump for 10 mins after every feed and i was told to do that for the first month. I had my daughter the 16th and have noticed my supply gone up already!! Good luck!!!

Is the 1.5 after breastfeeding?? If so that is awesome results

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Try the body armor drink. I’ve heard such great things about them & my cousin was having a similar issue & her milk supply nearly doubled after she started drinking those . Also watch what kind of foods you eat . Some things can cause your supply to dry up

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What you pump is no indication of your supply. In fact most mothers will produce more for a nursing baby then when they pump. Also beware of supplements as some of them contain ingredients that will dry you up instead of help and some of them are found in mothers milk products. The more hydrated you stay the more you will produce. You need to be drinking at least your weight in water each day. Extra calories will also help produce more milk and fattier milk. If your baby seems insatiable it could simply be that it’s cluster feeding. During those growth periods babies tend to be more fussy, eat more and generally more attached to mom. However if baby is producing adequate wet and dirty diapers it’s likely not a supply issue but a cluster feeding issue. Be aware some babies have a lactose issue which would be passed from dairy you consume that passes through the milk to baby. Leafy veggies can also cause issues, caffeine, too much garlic, spicy food ect can make for an unhappy baby. If you’re still overly concerned check with baby’s dr or your local wic office and they can be of better help

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Check out milky mama they have snacks and drinks to help with milk supply Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

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Walmart sells these Munchkins MilkMakers Lactation Cookie Bites. They’re a bit pricey but they’re worth every penny I promise.

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Body armor drinks, oatmeal cream pies and oat milk worked for me

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I took Motilium for 3 days sue to very low supply 23mths on still bf

Depending on how soon post delivery you are… This could be normal. Have a regular pump cycle and be kind to yourself

I could never produce much milk through expressing. Would pump for an hour and get about 1-2 oz! Zero fun! My 3 babies have all been breastfed exclusively though so I think it must be enough for them. The more they need, the more you will supply naturally. I guess you can always gage if things are going to plan by your babys weight gain too. If you drink plenty of water and have a decent balanced diet, baby is latching on well, you are likely to supply to demand. Maybe speak to your health visitor for more tailored advice on diet etc. Good luck :slight_smile: xx

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Go see a lactation consultant. Make sure your flanges are fitted properly. I didnt get much results from pumping until my son was about 2 months old. Honestly he just ate everything I pumped. The most i would get in one session was 5ish oz and that was during the day while i was at work. My son never really drank more than i pumped while he was at the sitters during the day. Seriously dont stress it. Some people dont respond well to a pump. You could also rent a hospital grade pump to see if you have better results with it. I ended up buying a used one off of ebay (medela symphony) for $400. Money well spent in my opinion.

The herb fenugreek helped me, with tons of water throughout the day. It makes you smell like maple syrup. Weird but not unpleasant.

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I know this is weird, but I found if I fed on one side, and when I let down, I pumped on the other. It worked well for me, the baby always had enough to eat on the one side and I found I produced enough milk to feed three.

1.5 oz pumping plus breastfeeding sounds like a win win to me. Especially with baby being so young

Ground flax added to smoothies with oatmeal… also add a little brewers yeast… with flax and brewers yeast you can make your own lactation boosting cookies, breads, and muffins along with lactation smoothies

I produced more then I pumped but bc my boobs are so huge I couldn’t pump good to build it up and I was stressed out my supply went low and I just got more and more worried she wasn’t getting enough so I just bottle fed

I had the same problem. Drink even MORE water. And don’t wait three hours to feed baby. Feed baby more often.

Coconut milk and coconut water are great. Along with lactation cookies and breads. Lazarus bread was one I found that worked wonders.

I had to bottle feed though my supply was there my baby wasn’t putting on any weight so we switched to formula at one.

Fenugreek and thistle! You can get them in capsules :relaxed:

Fenugreek!!
My mother in law makes me this drink.

Fry fenugreek in some ghee (make sure it doesn’t turn black) add some ginger powder and tumeric then put on a low heat and add milk let it simmer and drink. It worked so well for me. If you try it, I hope it does for you!

My secret weapons were chewy bars and ice cream… my man still jokes about how much I’ve cream I ate while nursing our daughter lol keeps up your calories and fats while being delicious! And I kept a costco box of chewy bars by my nursing area so I had a good snack at the ready. And WATER. I used my hospital cup with ice for like a year :joy: body armor drinks are good for hydration and helped boost my supply a bit too. Good luck mama, you got this! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Ben and Jerry’s Oat and swirl ice cream helped with mine. Soo good! And I found Moo N Cookies, she’s on FB … super yummy cookies!

That is actually a good amount if your are breastfeeding as well. The way your milk supply is made is the more you pump and/or breastfeed the more milk you will make. If you check out my YouTube channel I have videos that should help. I have multiple videos that go into great detail. You can also check my instagram for more tips. @kd_healthtalk