Lemsip has messed my supply up!

[youaremychocolatecake]

Got a rotten cold earlier this week and as the midwife was coming that day (baby is 3 weeks) I decided to just take some paracetamol and ask her what I could have. She said lemsip was fine so I was drinking them for the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Then out of interest j googled it and read it can interfere with milk supply so since yesterday have switched to heads honey and lemon and paracetamol. However I have noticed a dramatic difference in my boobies. Baby isn't feeding for as long (and more often) he's more unsettled And my boobs don't feel as full as they have been. I have some frozen breast milk but I don't want him to suck less and I'm guessing this won't help matters. Will my supply pick back up of you think? And how long should this take? Have been feeding on demand and offering lots of breast milk and also carrying him in a sling and lots of
Cuddles. Any more ideas? Shall I try a bit of pumping maybe during his next sleep? X

[youaremychocolatecake]

Sorry for typos. Silly phone! X

[worldgonecrazy]

Stay calm, drink lots to help your body recover from the cold, and take a babymoon. If your supply has been affected it will pick back up in a day or so. If you are worried, you could try taking fenugreek tablets or eat oatmeal, as they are both thought to help increase milk supply. Pumping may help, but if you are exhausted after your illness it is probably better to rest when you can.

Don't forget the chocolate cake and wine to help you relax a bit too.

You may want to mention to the midwife/health visitor that it is important to check the ingredients lists. I think there is a version of lemsip that is just paracetomol, caffeine and vitamin C, and there is another version that contains phenylephrine which is what dries up the mucous and also the milk. When I was bfing I was told that the only thing I could take was paracetomol. It is probably better to ask the pharmacist as they have training in these things, whereas the midwive's training may not be up to date.

[TinyTear]

Can you take a day for lots of skin to skin and just let the baby at the breast?

i usually ask on the breastfeeding and medication FB page when I have medication doubts...

eat porridge, lots of it, as it also helps supply

www.breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/

[youaremychocolatecake]

Thanks all. Will get some fenugreek and drink lots of water. I'm tucked up on the sofa (while my big boy is at school) so letting baby have a booby buffet! Fingers crossed x

[TinyTear]

Good luck! Booby buffets are good... At 3 weeks your supply is still building and is hormone driven but demand also takes a good role, just enjoy the time and embrace the cluster feeds!

My DD is 22 months old and I miss the old baby days (although she is still breastfeeding 2 or 3 times a day)

[NoisyBrain]

Hi sorry to jump in on this thread but I was just about to post a question about decongestants and bf!
My DS is 12 weeks old tomorrow and I can feel I have a cold coming on. I just can't sleep when I have a blocked nose and pre-pregnancy always used Otrivine or Sinex. Are these total no-no's while BFing? The steam method does naff all to clear my snot so I need drugs, man!

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Noisy what is the active ingredient in those?

I have never been a fan of decongestant as I find it gives me sinusitis, so I have always used Vicks and Olbas oil which will have no effect on your milk supply.

[worldgonecrazy]

You can snort salt water or saline solution - that will dry up the mucous in the nose in a safe manner. The problem is that medicines designed to dry up mucous affect breast milk.

When I was breastfeeding the only thing I could take for colds was paracetomol.

[leedy]

I can't take most decongestants even when not BF as they make me jittery, and have always found saline rinsing works better anyway. Get yourself one of the Neilmed sinus rinse bottles (aka "the nose snorker" in our house), they're brilliant. You can take ibuprofen to take any inflammation down and help the sinuses drain as well.

[TinyTear]

Noisy I would use saline spray

I have to admit if it was particularly bad I used Otrivine one night a week just to sleep a wee bit, but didn't put that much on...

Again, check the breastfeeding and medication site. I was told that lemsip can lower supply by 25% and while in the OP's case at 3 weeks she can work well to get it back, in my case my DD was nearly 11 months and it would have been tougher on the supply

[NoisyBrain]

Thanks all.
The active ingredient in Otrivine and Sinex is xylometazoline.
I have a Boots saline spray thing that's supposed to do the same job as Vicks First Defence but is bf and pregnancy safe. However I've never tried it once a cold has actually taken hold (never had to luckily!).
I only use otrivine at night anyway as a rule, at the minimum dose, when absolutely necessary. However I'll try to avoid it unless I get really desperate.

[youaremychocolatecake]

Thanks for all the good advice... I think the most useful piece or advice for me was 'relax' I spent most of yesterday with baby laying on my chest (much to his delight) drinking tons of water, eating (any excuse!) and chilling out and have noticed a big difference in how full my breasts feel. :) x