How to increase milk supply?

lwcus78

Fennel tea increases milk production. As has been previously pointed out worry and lack of sleep will decreases milk production. You are doing a great job-carry on breast feeding xx

fernliebee

My mum swears by a mars bar at times when you feel sucked dry, it really seems to work. This prob isn't much long term use but when my baby was ill I felt absolutely drained, had a mars bar and half an hour later my supply had picked up again. Oats are great too.

You've had some great advice on this thread, I would agree with the weight charts not being on breastfed babies. if you look on the kellymom site is has breast fed weight charts which are much more accurate. Another thing I have heard is that b/f babies tend to gain in 'steps' rather than a smooth line as the quantity and contents of b/m changes so baby get's what they need rather than formula which is always the same.

I tend to only get my daughter weighed when I need to know weight for a reason eg newborn insert comes out of my car seat at 5kg.

From what you have said supply sounds fine, baby is happy and nappies are ok, so I would try to not worry too much. Me and my brother were giant babies and gained a pound a week from birth on b/m alone, then my little brother was much smaller than us two and gained slower, he was just a different build.

Take care of yourself. x

homeaway

moneypanicker wrote: »

Hi i'm hoping some of you knowledgeable lot will be able to help me out. I've just had my 3rd child and i'm breastfeding and he is not putting on much weight, which the hv suggested supplementing with formula.

I don't think my milk supply is fantastic but this is a problem i've not encountered before with my other children i could have set up a dairy farm!!!! I've not been eating much (i guess run down) so i've been trying to eat more high fat foods etc and making sure i drink plenty. i've also had problems with blood pressure since the delivery and i'm now on medication so i guess i've been worried about that!

What is the best way to increase milk supply other than the baby latching on all day as obviously i have to do other things. If i supplement with formula do i express what i would have given?


any ideas/advice gratefully received
Thanks!

You are doing all the right things, drink loads, eat well and rest as much as you can. Keep putting the baby on the breast and make sure that he is getting the hind milk. MY ds wanted to be fed every two hours so I found the best way to do that was to put the baby back on the breast that they finished on last time and then put them on the other side. The first milk that you produce is the thirst quenching milk and the milk that comes after(hind) milk is the more filling milk. You are doing a great thing for your baby so dont give up.

nadnad

i'm not very experienced what with only having 1 baby and he's 7 months old now. I'm still BF him, and i got so much bad advice from the midwives at the hospital who basically told me he wasnt getting enough and to give him formula - they had me writing charts and timing feedings etc and this really stressed me out, but I was determined and my HV and the midwife who visited me at home were fantastic, i scrapped the charts and just looked after myself and baby steadily put weight on. If your baby seems happy and content and as everyone else has said has wet and dirty nappies then I'd wager he's grand. I would imagine as long as he's putting on some weight then thats fine. He'll probably take off in a couple of weeks time!

Try not to worry too much though i know thats hard, i'm sure you milk production is fine - especially if you can express 4 oz, but make sure you drink plenty of water and eat regularly. He'll be fine, every baby is different maybe he's just not a greedy monster like some!!

moneypanicker

I think my milk supply is definately increasing - they certainly feel fuller! It's just not a problem i've encountered before after successfully breastfeeding 2 other children. I've been eating a lot more and making sure i have a big drink every time i feed - i've decided just to go on my instinct and that is that my baby is doing fine he seems contented and has full nappies!!!!

thanks all for advice

Sarahsaver

Well done you and thanks for the news!
sometimes my body tells me I need cake or chocolate, or a thick milkshake, so i grab one! At least it is calories, and the fruit and veg do get eaten when i have the time! i have found my body eventually tells me what it needs.
You have a happy baby - result :beer:

grey_lady

This thread seems to be about encouraging the op and others to ignore the advice of the health visitor who told her to consider formula and in later posts from other people to ignore the advice of the professional midwifes, isnt that a bit irresponsible? just wondering.

Money_maker

grey_lady wrote: »

This thread seems to be about encouraging the op and others to ignore the advice of the health visitor who told her to consider formula and in later posts from other people to ignore the advice of the professional midwifes, isnt that a bit irresponsible? just wondering.

No, op has had some excellent advice from those who know best - other mothers.

Some babies do start off slower than others, I initially worried about my no. 3. She's an absolute dumpling now.

I would add that there are bf support telephone no;s in the book you get when pregnant/given birth which can be very helpful.
Good luck.

3under3

grey_lady wrote: »

This thread seems to be about encouraging the op and others to ignore the advice of the health visitor who told her to consider formula and in later posts from other people to ignore the advice of the professional midwifes, isnt that a bit irresponsible? just wondering.

The OP is clearly set on breastfeeding and the positive advice is very supportive of her choice. The baby is well and gaining weight so I wouldn't think there would be a need to go onto formula just yet.

It sounds like you are doing a great job OP - just wanted to reiterate, eat lots of good stuff, drink more and get as much rest as poss (not so easy the last bit). x

stardoman

grey_lady wrote: »

This thread seems to be about encouraging the op and others to ignore the advice of the health visitor who told her to consider formula and in later posts from other people to ignore the advice of the professional midwifes, isnt that a bit irresponsible? just wondering.

They may be called health professionals, but many of them do not get any training in breastfeeding. This is really bad when they are then "supporting" mothers. If there is a perceived breastfeeding problem, some health professionals advise formula rather than giving advice to fix the breastfeeding problem. This is because they have not been trained and so can't help fix the breastfeeding problem.

My own health visitor once told me that she speciallised in postnatal depression and admitted she knew little about breastfeeding. This is probably where all the conflicting advice that different health professionals give stems from.

IMHO, it makes health professionals look bad. They really should all recieve adequate training in all aspects of looking after mums and babies. Not just the subject they want to specialise in.

Mandy (Another one who did not get babies 2 or 3 weighed)