how to increase b.milk supply ??

[bolekilolek]

How to increase breastmilk supply ?? Any suggestions ? I feed dd (11 weeks old ) more and more and more often and dont see any difference.. Bm is how it was ! can I get any tablets for it ???

[pie]

Is she still gaining weight? What do you mean you can't see a difference?

[twiglett]

message withdrawn

[hercules]

The best way to increase supply is to bfeed. Works on supply nd demand theory. Im sure experts here will give you more info. If you are also mixing with formula this will have a detrimental effect on your suppky.

[tiktok]

All this is true - effective breastfeeding removes milk effectively, and the more often this is done, the more milk you make.

Don't make the mistake of judging the amount the baby can take by measuring what you can express, BTW.

[aloha]

If your dd is gaining weight and is well and has wet nappies, then you have 'enough' milk. What do you see as the problem?

[bolekilolek]

She is gaining weight well but often is unsettled in the evening ( cries , and dd never cries ..only when she is hungry or have a dirty nappy ) I feed her on demand ( only breast , no formula ) every 3-4 hours but in the evening she wants to be fed more often ( more like every 1.5 hours ) and by breast feel empty ... they really do !

[tiktok]

Well, yes......if she only feeds 3-4 hourly in the day, you would expect her to feed v. frequently in the evening. This is in any case a normal pattern for all babies, breastfed and formula fed. It's got a name, too - 'cluster feeding' One to one and a half hours is not especially often for an 11 week old in the evening.

Your breasts feel softer because milk is being removed often, and they don't have time to overfill which is what you experience when you feel that fullness. Softeness is not emptiness. It's normal and means nothing except your breasts are behaving like all other breasts with a well-established milk supply.

You don't need tablets, you don't need formula, you don't need nuttin' You are your baby are doing fine, and you might have happier evenings if you go with the flow!!

BTW, how many cups of coffee/tea/glasses of water/wine/juice do you have in the evening? You might fancy two or three over the course of four or five hours. Nothing wrong with that!

[aloha]

Being a bit unsettled in the evening is so normal that I'd think it almost odd if a small baby wasn't unsettled - it's just the way they are. Tiktok is right of course. You have all you need and are doing nothing wrong. She will settle more in the evenings over the next four or five weeks, I am sure.

[aloha]

And evening crying isn't always hunger by any means. Babies just do cry in the evenings. Some people put it down to hunger, some to wind, but I just think they cry because they do.

[Tommy]

my ds2 did this at this age - very tiring and tempting to give bottle. Did give ebm a few times but made no difference! i guess they just like snuggling in the evenings! He's much better now (24 weeks I think - can't remember exactly!) but it is very exhausting! Hang in there!

[hercules]

i always thought of it this way - my neighbour breastfed triplets for a year so if she can do that than I can feed one baby.

[Karen99]

It was after about week 10 that my breasts started to feel 'soft' and this was down to ds's maturity and started to feed more efficiently, plus forming a 'routine' or pattern with the bf-ing and therefore breasts adjusted to produce the right amount of milk at the right times. Before when it was a-bit-here-and-a-bit-there my breasts would get full as they weren't 'emptied' at similar times each day.

I also found feeding atleast every 3 hours in the day meant ds was less hungry in the evenings (but still wanted three feeds in the night until 4.5mo). DS also cried alot and had some colic/wind problems which didn't ease until about 4 months. Now he is champion burper! When it's your first baby you don't know any different and it's only when you can look back that you realise it is a maturity thing and it will ease in time (I know, I know, doesn't stop you from worrying in the mean time..)

Hang in there, as long as she's gaining weight and has wet nappies she's doing fine and so are you.

[EvanMom]

I fed ds1 from 6pm til 10pm pretty much solidly for the first three months. Like you, I worried that I wasn't producing enough milk, but you are! It got much easier for me at about 3 months and I fed him for a further 4 stress-free months that I really enjoyed!

[monkey]

I personally would find feeding every 1.5 hours incredubly draining ( no pun intended). My ds is 13 weeks and doesn't feed as often as this.


With my 1st ds I had this, where he'd have lots of snacks through the day, but it was so tiring for me. I saw a bf counsellor who told me it was normal, and to put up with it. I was so tired and angry and desperate to be told this. Then I read Gina Ford's advice on increasing milk supply & her overall bf advice & I found it absolutely excellent. Whatever your views on her rountines, I really recommend you at least read her suggestions & try them - it worked for me & changed my life in just a few days.

[monkey]

sorry, i hope i was clear, i mean try her recoomendations vis a vis breastfeeding, not her routines. she has step by step instructions for increasing supply, but like others have said, just becasue breasts don't feel hard doesn't mean there's no milk there, but anyway, after 11 weeks, i'm sure you know your breasst pretty well. (btw I can't remember if the advice was in book 1 or 2, can't find them right now, but I'll dig it out if you want) good luck.

[tiktok]

Monkey - bolekilolek's baby feeds 3-4 hourly, and one and a half hourly only in the evening. This is normal, expectable, and may well be what the baby needs in order to get her required intake of calories.

I think a mother who wants to change her baby from 'snacking' throughout the whole day - which was your experience - certainly does have options other than putting up with it. Glad you found something that worked for you and kept you both happy