BEHAVIOR & DEVELOPMENT

Breastfeeding Issues

Has anyone had issues with their milk supply, I get 5 ounces my whole day at work from pumping, and she drinks 5 ounces every two hours, on the weekends when I'm home with her all day she'll start crying and rubbing her face on me when I "run out" and everyone says it's supply and demand but eventually ill give up after an hour or so and give her formula and she just chugs it down like she was starving to death. I know it can't magically be fixed but does anyone have recommendations of anything that actually helped them boost their milk supply that I could try?

7 Likes 12 Replies

LT

Leana posted May 20, 2021

I had low supply the entire time with my baby and had to supplement with formula. I pumped for 8 months and produced 6-7 ounces per day, pumping 3-4 times a day. Best of luck with your supply. 0 Likes

Lana posted May 20, 2021

You have to stay hydrated and you might also want to try out power pumping to boost your supply.

This is also a good read: https://www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/twitter-and-blog/low-milk-supply-101
0 Likes

Vanessa posted May 20, 2021

I used to buy products from https://milky-mama.com/all-products/ and they work like a charm 0 Likes

Elizabeth posted May 21, 2021

Mamas milk tea helps and pumping after feeding always helps too brings in more milk 0 Likes

Nahid posted May 25, 2021

Eat a lot of Rice and soup beside the food which you are normally eating which includes veggie and fruits lots of liqueurs . 🤗🤗. 0 Likes
TM

Tena posted May 30, 2021

I take supplements (moringa, fenugreek, etc) and power pump. Nothing else worked for me. I'd also check if your pediatric office has a lactation consultant. They always have handouts and resources. Good Luck!! Breastfeeding can be so hard!!! 0 Likes
TK

Trisha posted June 10, 2021

nuts and oats and extra liquid 1 hr prior to pumping. additional pump session at night 0 Likes

Firoza posted June 16, 2021

I've been using 0 Likes

Firoza posted June 16, 2021

Sorry. Accidentally hit the send button. So yes, I've been using "Sunflower Lecithin 1200mg, 200 count bottle" from Amazon. I was running low and it pretty much doubled my milk supply for the day. I try and eat as much as I can because you want to upkeep giving baby as much nutrition as possible but this pill supplement definitely helped. 0 Likes

Kristan posted July 7, 2021

I tried everything. From supplements, snacks, food, excessive pumping. The ONLY thing that worked for me was taking a week vacation and spending all my time with her and feeding her on demand when she needed. Once I got back to work I was pumping regularly. 2 Likes
BH

Beverly posted July 29, 2021

you have to drink ALOT of water! If you talk with a lactation nurse, they have a list of supplements you can try because you have to be careful with them. Working full-time and pumping was not a good mix for me either. I would first feed on the breasts (both sides) and then give formula to end. Eventually, it will build back up. 0 Likes
SW

Sarah posted January 8, 2022

1) If your baby was early (not at 40 weeks or had to be induced), or you had a cesarean, sometimes your body takes a few weeks to register what's going on. Don't worry, just keep pumping every 3 hours or 4 hours, yes even in the middle of the night, and your milk will come on eventually. If you stop pumping, milk will dry up again because your breasts think that if they are full, the baby doesn't need that much. Till then, formula supplementing isn't a bad idea. 2) Your pediatrician might have a lactation consultant available for free or that they can refer you to, and your insurance probably will cover it. 2) Drink a LOT of water, if you don't like water plain then add a little lemon to it or something to drink lots of water and back off the coffee if you drink coffee...because that causes you to lose water. 3) Sunflower Lecithin is useful if your ducts get clogged...but for me it didn't do much. Eating more lean proteins and drinking tons of water, taking prenatal vitamins, calcium, and vitamin D seemed to work, and was what my lactation consultant told me to do. 4) Try to relax. I know it is almost impossible when you are stressed out that you can't feed your baby, but you got this. Formula is not the end of the world, and every little bit of breastmilk you do make is helpful, and it will all be OK. You make what you can make and don't worry about it much beyond that. Every 3-4 hours come rain or shine, pump each side for at least 15min and that's good enough of an attempt. If you have a lot of milk coming in then you want to pump until it's fairly empty, because that's what your body remembers your kiddo needing. But if it's empty, pumping beyond 15minutes just results in chapped bleeding nipples that then clog easier and get infected easier. 5) Buy nipple cream and use it after you pump and you've rinsed or pat-dried off, so it doesn't hurt. Also, buy non scented epsom salt ahead of time, in case your ducts get clogged, because sometimes they do when your body is first building out that system, and then it really super sucks if you don't have warm epsom salt water to soak it in to declog. Clogged ducts are ridiculously painful. 6). You are doing awesome. Breathe in. Breathe out. You are amazing and you've got this! What you do is enough because you're doing your friggin' best 24/7 for your baby, and that is more than anyone could ask for. Your baby will be fine because you are there to take care of them and protect them and love them; they are blessed. Get some rest. 0 Likes
Me