breastfeeding trouble?
i have a 2 1/2 week old baby boy.. in the hospital i could not get my son to latch on! so i therefore started to pump my breast milk. but i have a problem.i cannot produce enough breastmilk. maybe 6oz a day,so i save the milk i do get,and give it to him at night time..is there something else i should be trying? I drink alot of milk..and i try to drink a decent amount of water.. can any body tell me what could i do to try and produce more milk..thanks!
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It's much harder to get milk to come out by pumping. I had plenty of milk for my baby who nursed very frequently (sometimes every hour!), but whenever I tried to pump I only got an ounce or two. The baby is just better at sucking. I'd encourage you to try getting him to latch again - it might take a while, but with repeated tries it will probably work. In terms of pumping, I always got more milk when I pumped first thing in the morning. Good luck!
Drinking milk doesn't make milk! My son also had latch on issues. When you exclusively pump (what it is called when you do not breast feed but express the milk 100% of the time) like I do, it is very difficult to maintain a good supply of milk. Drinking a lot of water is great! So, some things you can do to try to produce more milk.
1. Eat oatmeal...not the great tasting instant good flavors, just the regular quick rolled oats (I like to sweeten mine with Splenda or sometimes I'll spoil myself and add some brown sugar.
2. Fenugreek capsules. 2-3 pills 3 times a day. I get them at my local GNC store.
3. Mother's Milk Tea, which I also get at my local GNC store
4. Blessed thistle capsules. I haven't tried them but I did order some online
5. Power pumping. Your probably on maternity leave and this can get tiresome. Pump 10 minutes, rest 10 minutes, pump 10 minutes, rest 10 minutes...you get the point. For one hour total. Twice a day. Try it for a week and hopefully you will see a difference.
6. There are some prescription meds out there that are supposed to help increase supply. Ask your OB/Midwife
7. What kind of pump do you have? You should have a double pump (I use the Medela Pump In Style). If you can't afford one, rent a hospital grade pump, which will work better for you anyway but is not portable.
8. I know there are some other things you can do to. Just Yahoo "increase breast milk supply" or something similar
What not to do is pump for hours at a time. It is best to pump several times rather than all at once. The more times they are stimulated to let down the more milk you should produce. My son is 4 months and I pump religiously every 4 hours even getting up at 2 AM to pump. A lot of work, I'm not going to lie. Cheaper than formula and much better for your baby. I generally have to substitute 4-8 ounces of formula for him every 48 hours since he is eating so much more now.
Pump every two hours, both sides, and if you are so inclined, keep trying to get him to latch on.
Increasing the frequency of the pumping will eventually increase the amount of milk you make. Make sure you're using a really good pump, like Medela or something.
Oh, and don't drink a lot of milk - it could upset the baby's tummy. Just water or other clear fluids is better. You don't need to drink milk to make milk, and you really don't need to drink excessive fluids anyway.
Good luck!
If Your having trouble with Him latching on try switching to Breastflow bottles.I pumped for about 6 weeks I would try to get My Daughter to nurse and then pump while She fed from the Breastflow bottle. After a few weeks She latched on perfect and refused a bottle all together. I also took fenugreek to increase My milk supply while pumping. When I left the hospital They gave me the link below for breast feeding info.
I had the same problem she didn't get the latch right until she was about a month old. Until then I was pumping and couldn't seem to get enough. I talked to my dr and a lactation consultant and started taking fenegreek. Its an herb that does wonders! I had never been so full EVER! The down side is that you start smelling like syrup. Check it out on this website and ask your dr/lactation consultant about it! Good luck!
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html
my mid wife gave me this website and it has been a godsend!
Have you talked with a lactation consultant? You could learn the proper way to help your baby latch on. It is always harder to get enough milk with pumping. If your insurance won't pay for a consultant you could try the le leche league. They helped me when I was having trouble nursing.
Pumping is not nearly as effective as your baby will be. Get in touch with a Lactation Consultant and a La Leche League leader, they can help you get your baby to latch on.