FT Mother of 7 Month Old and Not Producing Enough Milk

Hi - I recommend WishGarden Milk Enrichment Lactaion Aid. I had tried fenugreek and it didn't have much effect. Then I tried the WishGarden Milk Enrichment and it worked well. I found it at Pharamcia in Los Gatos, then I bought it on-line: http://www.wishgardenherbs.com/index.php?load=pregnancy&a...
Hope this helps. D.

Have you considered a Lactation Consultant? I went through a similar situation with my oldest son because my supply would not be enough and my mom was starting to supplement with formula (in our case, it turned out that she was overfeeding him). Aside from the Fenugreek, she also recomended I take a few days off and just breastfeed him on demand. Without the added stress of work and with more demand, my supply went up. I hope you are able to work out a solution that is the best for yourself and your son. Good luck!

I think you're doing a hero's job and should be totally commended on your dedication to pumping. I'd say keep it up but don't beat yourself self up about it. My milk supply started to drop around nine months, and I'm a SAHM. I supplemented with formula (tried to find the very best stuff I could afford) and felt fine with it. Perhaps you could gradually mix some formula with breast milk to make the taste transition easier. Good job!

Hi - is your 7 month old eating baby food? Once my son started solids he did not want the 20 oz a day I pumped for him and cut back to 8 to 10. So I stopped pumping at work and he started getting formula from the daycare he was at. I still breastfeed mornings and evenings and all weekend long, your body adjusts and if your are stressed at work, which seems due to the environment maybe no longer pumping would be ideal. Cause I know they are suppose to give you time, but let's face it management does not always know the laws and can make life hard when they feel that you can stop pumping cause your baby is old enough. My son is going on his 4th month with solids and I stopped pumping after the 1st month and he adjusted, same with my daughter when I stopped pumping, both also decided they wanted their solids and would drink the minimum they needed at daycare and knew they had and would wait for mommy.

Hi Y.,

I don't have any suggestions for increasing milk supply but always remember, if you want to wean anyone off of anything, small changes are best. Try mixing your breast milk with formula and decreasing the amount of breast milk everyday. You might be able to just get to where you breast feed at night so you can concentrate on work during the day and use the night breast feeding as a bonding/relaxing time. I have known moms who have done this for years (kinda wierd but it works for them).

T.

First of all - you are an amazing Mom for working full time and continuing to breastfeed your baby. I know how hard and stressful it can be as I was in the exact same situation. I went back to work at 3 months and immediately got a new job, which was tough, and had my milk supply drop. Are you able to work from home once a week? If so, nursing your baby on those days may help increase your milk supply. I added in a pumping session in the evening or very early morning to try and get a little more milk for my daughter and more pumping sessions on the weekends. We also used formula for her oatmeal in the morning and then saved the breastmilk for her bottles. Good luck!

have you gotten your period back yet? If not, then I think that's a likely culprit. Supply does not just drop suddenly for no reason. You will see a dip in supply around the day or so of ovulation and then for your period. Are you also pumping first thing in the morning when you have the most milk as well as on the weekends?

This is a great site: http://www.workandpump.com

BTW, personally I feel that formula is not your answer here. our baby is telling you something. Breastfeeding management needs BF solutions not formula.

Stress will do that! And then it's a vicious cycle. You need motilium/domperidone! I ordered from here: http://www.inhousepharmacy.com, but you can get it in the states (for more money, but faster). Ask your OB/GYN for a special prescription--if they don't know about it you may have to order online. It is approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics for increasing milk supply, but it's not FDA approved. I've been on it for over a year, and have had a full milk supply for my adopted daughter. No side effects.

Avoid Reglan--not as effective and can have awful side effects.

Good luck!

I went through this when I went back to work after my maternity leaves, too. Like a few of the other moms mentioned, it might be that starting your son on solids may have reduced his need for milk somewhat, and that is normal. Aside from that, if you need to work (and most of us who work, do need to), then don't beat yourself up over this. Stress is an inescapable fact of being a working mom. Just do the best you can, feed him whatever milk you are able to produce, and slowly introduce formula into his diet if you need to. (Maybe it's best to have his daytime caregiver do this, since he KNOWS you can give him the good stuff and will hold out for it! =) You can always abandon pumping, and just breastfeed at night. I did this and it worked well for me. The baby still gets the benefits of breastfeeding and you don't have to go crazy trying to keep up with pumping at work (which is a challenge all in itself!) You're doing a good job, mama, hang in there!!

Hi Y.,
I too had problems producing enough milk. Everything started great. My son completely took to breast feeding right away,and I was making a ton of milk, but unfortunately after three months or so I just wasn't producing enough for him anymore. I tried everything you have without many results (even though I had friends who saw results from these products). I don't have any really good advice on producing more milk, but I would like to just warn you that the more I supplemented formula, the less breast milk I would produce and my son ended up switching to formula all together. The first three months of life with breastfeeding is the most important, and if you have already been doing it for 7, maybe you should consider switching to formula. It was something I thought I would never do either, but I realized I couldn't make my body do something, no matter how much I wanted it. In the long run though (my son is 2.5 now) he weened himself from the bottle very easily and was eager to go onto sippy cups at a little over a year old. I hope you can take something from my story. Good luck to you!

Hi Y.!
You are not alone...I felt like I was reading something that I had written! My 7 month old son and I are experiencing the same thing. I stayed home until he was 4 months as well and have been pumping at work. At first it worked out fine and I was pumping more milk than we needed and I would just freeze it. Then I gradually slowed my production and just a few weeks ago I started to worry that I wasn't producing enough! I tried all kinds of things to increase my milk production but nothing really worked except having him nurse more often (I took a day off work and made it a long weekend so that we could do it). At the same time, I tried to transition him to formula and he would refuse to drink it! He did exactly what your son is doing. So now what I have done and it seems to be working, is I sarted giving him 5 oz of my milk mixed with 1 oz of premade liquid formula instead of the powder, then after three days I increased it to 2 oz of formula, and now tomorrow I am increasing it to 3 oz of formula while decreasing the amount of my milk. This has been the only way to get him to take the formual and it's actually working! In the mean time I have continued to pump at work. I know how it feels to worry that you aren't able to produce enough milk and then not having your son take the formula so I hope this helps! Best of luck!
G. and baby MJ

u need a stronger pump it sounds like, try the electric medela pumps. They r pricey but u can also rent them from mothers resources at Community regional. Beleive it is 60.00 a month. Also try getting up every 4hrs during the night to build up milk supply.

Try the fenugreek 3 tablets 3 times a day. Also, add brown rice, sweet potatoes and apricots (dried are fine) to your daily diet. A shot of beer helps too - triggers the let-down reflex and is harmless - IF you just drink 2-4 oz. and pass the rest off to hubby. Drink tons of water and you might be able to find apricot juice in the healthfood aisle of your Safeway.
Hang in there! I think the change in job position may help too.
Also - if you want to switch baby to formula you have to do it gradually by adding a few ounces to breast milk to get Baby used to the new smell and taste and texture and then increase the amount every few days.

It sounds like you are doing a lot of things right. Of course the stress is the worst. I am taking Mother's Milk Plus which is supposed to be the strongest of all the supplements for milk supply. I can tell a difference. The other huge thing is laying down every day. If I don't lay down enough, I don't have enough milk and my baby refuses a bottle. I almost lost my milk altogether but with those 2 things I've been able to keep it up through a lot of stress.
Hope this helps.
Good luck!
C.

Hi Y.,
I am sorry you are enduring a stressful job. I understand as I have gone back to work full time. You did not mention if you are feding the baby and solids. I started mine on solids at 5 months because of my work schedule. I feed her pureed veggies and that has decreased her demand for breast milk. In the morning she eats cereal with 1-2 oz of breast milk. Then she takes 3-4 oz of breast milk from the bottle. then for lunch she takes some veggies (homemade carrotts, peas, green beans**) with some cereal to make it more dense as she is starting to make the chewing motions.
Then she gets about 3-4 oz of milk in the afternoon and as soon as I get there to pick her up she gets the boob before we get in the car and head home. Then at home I give her the boob one more time before dinner (vegiies and ceral again) and then it's boob before bed and boob in the morning before we leave. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night to eat. I find this has really helped me get through the work day. So I pump at work 1 - 2 times and I am averaging 10-12 oz only. I have found my body is pumping out less milk and maybe it's because the baby is really demanding less milk.
So I hope I haven't bored you with my routine, but I wish someone had shared with me as I had to figure this one out on my own.
Thinking about your milk production is probably causing you more stress and making you resentful to your job. I know I felt that way when mine was 4 months old and I was struggling with work and feedings.
Good Luck and I hope you are bale to get the less stressful job soon!
(**We cook her veggies and then freeze them in ice trays. This way I can take her food to the day care provider in the right protions. She started with one cube and is now up to 5 cubes! It helps so we don't hav eto cook for her everyday day. At first is needs to be a little runny and then you can make it more dense. Just make sure it is pureed really well so it doesn't irritate their tummy**)

You're under stress and that alone affects your supply. You have to decide what is more important to you. Supplying plenty of milk (as opposed to supplementing with formula) or suffering the stresses at work. I'm not saying you can change the work environment, but you can definately change how you are affected by it. Practice (and I mean practice several times a day) removing yourself mentally from stress by simple meditation. Picture the one thing that makes you happiest. Soon you will be able to relax into your happy place within seconds, and pump plenty of milk while doing so.

this is a simple sugguestion, often overlooked by us stressed out moms. are you drinking enough water? when we get stressed we often forget to have those glasses of water in the day time. I have been through the low milk supply while working and when I increased my water intake and brought a picture of the baby (and had headphones in to drown out noise) my supply increased again.
good luck.
S.

Hi Y.,

Ugh, I totally feel you. I returned to work around the same time you did (son's age wise). Full time stressful work and pumping breast milk can be a wicked combo! I experienced a lot of fluctuation with the amount I could pump based on the week and my environment. But I kept it up and we managed to breastfeed until he was 14 months old (then I was done).

Couple of reminders:
1. drink a lot of water and make sure you are eating enough food. Stress kills my hunger and thirst triggers, personally.
2. try to relax while pumping. I had my worst sessions when I was trying to "hurry up and pump" because I had work get done.
3. Get back to pumping basics. Sometimes it gets easy and we forget that we need to be in the right frame of mind and have the correct suction and speed. Bring a book and headphones so you can tune out ringing telephones and someone yelling that the copier is out of paper.

Another person suggested a couple days at home - on demand feeding only. I completely agree. I bet that alone works wonders.

Good luck!
T.