Nursing vs Bottle Fed

I didn't seem to produce enough milk with my first or 2nd baby. Now I am taking reglan and I notice a huge difference in my milk supply. It was recommended to me by a lactation consultant. However, it has to be prescribed by a dr.

Try More Milk Plus herbal tabs. My milk supply doubled overnight and I only had to take them for a couple weeks. I found them online at lucky vitamin (or you could google them) but some kaiser pharmacies have them and also Whole Foods has them.

Here is a link that should really help clear things up for you, a great site that has helped me a lot:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

Hi L.,
Weleda makes a nice nursing tea that can help increase milk supply. Traditional lactation herbs are nettle, anise seed, fennel seed, blessed thistle and fenugreek. You can make teas or take them in capsules or in tinctures. Eat lots of great food and drink plenty of liquids. Bone broths can also be helpful.

Happy nursing!
E. Bender, NC, CHN
www.nutritionforthewholefamily.com

I am a little confused as to why you are doing both bottle and breastfeeding. I don't know if you are feeding expressed milk in the bottles? If that is the case it could be the times you are pumping that is effecting your supply. If you are not pumping and feeding formula that is the problem right there. Your son will get all the necessary nutrients and amounts from you and there is usually no need to supplement with formula. I second the fenugreek and mother's milk teas, you can find them at most healthfood stores. Good luck!

Hi,

This sounds like what happened to me with my first son (now 4 years) and it's NOT NORMAL. If your milk supply is that low it probably means that he's having some trouble nursing. If at all possible, get yourself to a lactation consultant ASAP (we used Janaki Costello and she was great) but your pediatritian my have one or be able to recommend one. In our case, both of our sons were "tongue tied" meaning they couldn't stick their tongues out far enough to nurse properly which lead to a decrease in my milk (caught it in time the second time around because we new what to look out for). If act immediately, you may still have time to address whatever the nursing problem is but please don't wait. Also, yes, there are herbs and pills you can take and other things you can do to increase your milk supply...a lactation consultant should be able to tell you about this.

Good luck and you can email me directly if you wish.

S.

You can try Fenugreek or Mother's Milk Tea from Traditional Medicinals. However, keep in mind that a 2 week old baby can only et about 2-4 ounces at a time. So if you're doing 4 ounces a session you're fine. Don't give formula... if you don't have milk that's one thing, but you do. Sounds like he is nursing for comfort. My son did the same thing back then. You can contact a lactation consultant.

Fenugreek works well.

You didn't mention if what you're giving your child out of the bottle is breatmilk that you previously pumped, or formula. If it's formula then that's your problem. Like someone said earlier your breast milk is based off of supply and demand. For example, if your baby eats 4 oz. at every feeding, every two hours, but you're only nursing or pumping for say...three of those day time feedings, then that's all your breasts are going to make. You need to increase your milk supply and that's only going to happen if you're telling your body that you're baby needs it.
For example...on a normal basis my four month old was eating almost every two hours. I believe he was getting a few ounces but of course I can't be sure since my breasts aren't see through with little ounce markings :p. He went through a growth spurt where he was eating every 1 1/2 hours so I knew he wasn't getting all that he needed only eating every two. So what I would do is after he would be finished nursing I would then pump for five minutes. I did this for a few days and could tell that it increased my milk supply by the heaviness in my breasts.
Hope this helps!

Make sure you are getting plenty of fluids. Also check out a health food store for fenugreek. It's an herb that is supposed to increase lactation.

I found that when I was breastfeeding and my supply was a little low, if I ate something very high in fat (double cheeseburger, pizza with extra cheese, etc), my milk supply would improve almost immediately. If I stuck to low-fat foods, my body would just shut down on milk production. (Believe it or not, even eating cheeseburgers daily, I still lost weight - so I guess my body needed the extra calories.) Also, when I pumped milk, I could actually see the difference in the quality of the milk based on the different foods I ate. With a higher fat diet, the milk was much richer. With lower fat foods, both the quantity of milk and the richness decreased (it looked like the nonfat milk you buy in the store, kind of watery!). So, eating tons of high-fat foods worked for me. =) I hope that helps!

When I was nursing, I took a liquid supplement called "More Milk Plus" by Motherlove, due to low milk supply. My lactation consultant recommended it. Right away I noticed a big difference in my milk supply. After my son refused to breastfeed, I would give him expressed milk. I ended up with a whole freezer full after I started taking More Milk Plus. I went from pumping 20oz per day to over 40oz per day after only a week. The amount will obviously vary depending on the person. (More Milk Special Blend by Motherlove is also a great product. I would have bought this instead, but the local health food store didn't carry it.)

http://www.motherlove.com/product_more_milk_plus.php

If you want to increase your milk supply, try pumping after each nursing session, and pump in between feedings. The more you nurse or "pump" the more milk your body will produce.

Good luck!

try fenugreek from whole foods store.
:) also, increasing pumping helps.

I'm 44 years old and still nursing my 16 mo. old son and what's really helped my milk production alot is taking Fenugreek seed. I drank it in Mother's Milk tea first (you can find in any grocery/health food store) and then read about taking it in capsule form. My pediatrician says it's totally safe, in fact her mother cooks with the herb all the time (she's Indian); it's been used as a culinary spice for hundreds of years; used as a flavoring in artificial maple syrup (smells like it too) has been used for soothing the stomach; and also used for other remedies. There's lots of info on the web about it. I used to buy mine one bottle at a time from a health food store but found it alot more inexpensive on Amazon.com. I buy Nature's Herbs brand/100 capsules, 620 mg. ea. (http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Fenugreek-Capsules-100-Coun...) I've been taking 2-3 capsules daily along with a prenatal vitamin. I noticed a definite increase right away and it has especially helped after I went back to work. I still pump twice a day and nurse him at night and on the weekends and plan on doing so till he's two. Read up on it and ask your doctor. I've had absolutely no side effects from it.

Mother's Milk Tea by Traditional Medicinals - tastes pretty good too. Drink 3X a day
Fenugreek capsules - you'll find it at a health food store - a real one - not GNC or Whole Paycheck(Foods)These helped me a lot - side affect is you'll smell a little like maple syrup when you sweat. Kinda cute. 3 capsules 3 X a day
I think baby is having his first growth spurt which causes him to be a little piggy - your body will catch up but it takes about 4 days.
DRINK WATER TIL YOU CAN"T STAND IT!!
You can eat sweet potato, brown rice and apricots to boost production over time and drink about 4oz. of wheat beer for an instant let-down reflex.
I had very lazy boobs so I did all of the above - I found the fenugreek and diet changes helped me the most - but some of my friends really benefitted from the tea. My husband can't stand brown rice anymore because I ate it every day.

Something that I would have liked to have known about breastfeeding before I started is that it is all about supply and demand, as i'm sure you've read many times with the respones below. There is a supplement that I've read helps called fenugreek. I hate to tell ya, but you might have to breasfeed and then pump... making it a full time job until your little one is satisfied. Trust me, around 6months old they are only feeding about every 3-4 hours and this will seem like it was so long ago. I would feed and then pump almost immediatly after. That's what helped me. Good luck fellow mama!

Are you nursing him as often as he's hungry? Your milk supply depends on his hunger - so in order for you to make as much milk as he needs, you have to breastfeed him every time he's hungry. This means no formula, no pacifiers. If you nurse him every time he's hungry and he still isn't getting enough, you might want to consult a lactation specialist. Do you get WIC? If so, call up your WIC and tell them you need to talk to the lactation consultant. Most of the hospitals in town also have lactation consultants.

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op has some herbal supplements that support breast milk production. Just be sure that you make sure that none of the ingredients are herbs you're allergic to.

You can also call a local La Leche League leader. You can google La Leche League and find the telephone numbers for area leaders; then you just call one and find out if she can help you.

Good luck! And keep at that breastfeeding. :)

Good morning L.,

My baby was like that when she was first born - pretty much all I did was breatfeed? I would say give it a couple more weeks and your baby should cool it a little - his stomach will get bigger and hold more and he will be more comfortable with this big world.

please hire a lactation consultant. Your breast work on supply and demand and there will be stages and growth spurt where it seems that you can't keep up. A 2 week old baby does not require more than 4 ounces per feed. It sounds like your body is making the right amount at this early stage. It's more like 2-3 ounces 12 x per day at his age. The more you pump and nurse the more you will make. It is a dance between you and your baby. A lactation consultant will come over and weigh your baby before and after feeds to see how much milk he pulled. She'll have a chart telling you how much he needs at his age. Most people who formula feed over feed their babies. If you are eating well he is getting better nutrients than if you gave him formula. Breast feeding is one of the best things you can do for your baby. Try going to wwwkellymom.com for more info or call your local La Leche League.

Hi! Congrats on your new little one!! It is such an amazing time with lots of questions that come up!! I was there about a year ago. I am not sure where you are located, but there is a free breastfeeding support group at John Muir Women's Center. ###-###-####. Every Wednesday from 10-12 you can go and ask a lactation consultant questions. They are very helpful and kept me breastfeeding! I had every problem that you can imagine, but I am still nursing my son and he will be one tomorrow! It is a great thing!!!
Good luck!

It does sound like your little one is getting plenty, and most likley comfort nursing. You will get less from an pumping session than baby will get nursing, and 4 oz at a pumping session @ 2 weeks is great, actually. I also have an 8 wk old greedy eater/comfort nurser so I feel you! If you can, get your baby fed and then step away and let someone else patient (dad?)take over and find another way to comfort/distract your baby. This does get frustrating for my husband if he cannot calm her, but we let him keep trying as long as he can before I jump in and take over. With practice and time, she will let him comfort her in his own way. As moms, we know we always have the ultimate ace up our sleeves when it come to comforting baby, but sometimes it can be good for baby to soothe himself another way than on the breast. (Especially with another child in the house who may want some mom time, chores, sanity, etc)
That being said, I have been taking the fenugreek and mother's milk tea so I can bulid my supply for pumping. (Can never have too much milk saved in the freezer!) I have found a LOT of info on lalecheleague and on kellymom that has helped me with support and questions. Those sites make you feel very "normal" about everything you are going through while bf, and offer answers to any and all questions. Good luck! -H.

With my first son who was also a VERY hungry little boy, who wouldn't latch on, I pumped almost every day for 4 mths and mixed the formula with the breastmilk which worked very well. I ended up being able to give him breastmilk everyday for 6 1/2 months and still have him full.

with my 6mth old who does latch on, we supplemented every other feeding as a formula bottle and that seemed to work for him, now he is on formula during the day and nurses for a feeding or two at night.

I will warn you, the pumping thing, while rewarding was VERY time consuming, so be prepared.

Hope that helps
K.

Keep on nursing! Dont switch to bottle/formula just because he wants to nurse longer than you have milk. (Otherwise he might turn into a chunky monster contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic?!)

Do you use a binky? Maybe he just wants to keep sucking after he's eaten?

Hi L. - Congratulations for giving your baby the best nutritional start possible! I nursed my two sons & learned a lot along the way. On days that he wants to nurse constantly, it may not be that he's not getting enough. Babies know when they will be going through a growth spurt and nurse extra during the times just before in order to increase mother's milk supply. It's a beautiful dynamic and in most cases it works perfectly. Here's an excerpt from the LLL web site about "frequency days."

"In general, frequent breastfeeding times that last several days are to be expected when your baby is about 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months old. The LLLI book, THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, calls these "frequency days". It is not known exactly why breastfeeding babies follow this pattern. Research has established though, that the best way to maintain your milk supply is to breastfeed following the cues your baby gives you. Allowing your baby to breastfeed more frequently on the days your baby indicates the need, will increase the satisfaction both of you derive from breastfeeding. You will be more likely to have a full supply and your baby will be more likely to grow well!"

You can read the whole article here: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/spurt.html