Page 3 | Ways to increase my breast milk - please help me save my breastfeeding!

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 06/12/2005 16:50

LisaLisa, try the fenugreek. And don't despair - when you're used to night feeds being pick up, feed, feed ends, burp, put down, sleep, until next feed, then you have to accept that bedsharing feeds can be very different. You literally lie in bed with your ds and let him get on with it. If he's grizzling and can't find the boob then you help him out, but you let yourself fall asleep, and him, as often as you want. There don't seem to be any discrete feeds with beginings and ends in bedsharing. I used to find that dd would let me know when she needed a burp, and I would roll onto my back and drape her sideways over my chest (on her tummy) until the burp came up, generally of its own accord. Both of us would sometimes fall asleep while waiting. The object of bedsharing is to let the feeding and sleep intermingle, so that the baby gets to feed as often as he wants, and you get more sleep than you would if you were getting up to feed him. But it does turn into grazing.

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 06/12/2005 16:52

BTW, I don't know how it would work with pyjamas on, when I bedshared I didn't bother wearing anything. But I recall reading an article where a bedsharing mum describes waking to find her baby feeding through her pyjama top - the article was called 'filtered milk'!

Tessiebear · 06/12/2005 16:58

Havnt read this full thread - but i was topping up in the first few weeks - have other kids / very hungry baby etc ..... baby now 4 months and am almost exclusively breast feeding (one bottle of formula at bed time). Gina ford reccommends expressing to increase milk supply - dont know if this works or if you are familiar with her routines. But i beleive that you do not have to breast feed for hours on end to get a good milk supply - just regularly fully emptying your breasts should help

Original poster

lisalisa · 06/12/2005 20:11

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pupucelovesruDOuLaph · 06/12/2005 20:16

Lisa- I was thinking of you today - take it one day at a time honey... please...... see how you get on tonight. And if you can just express for 5 to 10 mins in between feeds to stimulate your breasts.
You could take domperidone/motillium but if you do you must really put baby at breast every 3 hours. The reason domperidone works is that its side effect is prolactin production.

Tessy - I know what you mean but just to be accurate. you actually never empty a breast and you make nilk every 5 mins.

pupucelovesruDOuLaph · 06/12/2005 20:17

... sorry make milk every 10 mins.

NotQuiteCockney · 06/12/2005 20:19

Sleeping while feeding is a lot less work than getting up and feeding.

You may find you sleep better with a baby in bed than you used to - having so many kids has no doubt changed your sleep habits.

Original poster

lisalisa · 06/12/2005 21:52

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beartime · 06/12/2005 21:54

Why don't you ring one of the breast feeding support lines, or get a breastfeeding counsellor? They should be able to help, and mothers in the past who didn't have access to formula did it so I'm sure you can if you are really determined

beartime · 06/12/2005 21:56

Sorry to be controversial again, but you could try Gina Fords method of increasing your milk supply in her book.

tiktok · 07/12/2005 10:48

pupuce - where did you get the 'making milk every x mins' from? Interesting - and a bit hard to believe we work in quite this way, but always willing to learn more

Original poster

lisalisa · 07/12/2005 11:56

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popsycalindisguise · 07/12/2005 12:39

oh fantastic
well done!
let me know how fenugreek goes....i am tempted by it but for totaly different selfindulgent reasons (i want to up my milk storage so I can have a few nights out at Christmas)

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 07/12/2005 14:19

Oh LL that's wonderful! I remember havinga night like that with ds, and that it was the turnaround - from then on I never had to give as much formula. Now, be brave, and try not to give him formula at night again. IIRC you make more milk at night, and it seems that maybe your body is getting the hang of it. Once I got to this point, I stopped giving top-ups at night (which made nightfeeds much easier, and I didn't bedshare with ds after the first couple of wweks, only with dd later on) and also not for the first 'daytime' feed. OK, the next feed would then be 2h later rather than 4h, as it had been with formula, but gradually the gap lengthened to 3h, and then I dropped the second top-up.

This is a wonderful step forward for you .

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lisalisa · 07/12/2005 14:30

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PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 07/12/2005 14:47

Yes, that's how I did it. Drink plenty of water, you'll need it as the fenugreek absorbs plenty as it fluffs up and as you make milk. Don't wait to be thirsty.

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 07/12/2005 14:48

Or is it? I really don't remember now - was it 6per day, or 6 per meal? A bit of a difference! I shall have a rummage, I had a book in which I wrote everything down, and I know I kept it...but where idid I put it?

throckenholt · 07/12/2005 14:53

haven't read teh rest of the answers - so maybe suggested already - but try using a sling so that you can feed and move around at the same time - that way you can get other things done as well as feeding.

beartime · 07/12/2005 19:45

that's great!

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 07/12/2005 20:08

I've found my book (a sort-of diary of my babies' first months). This is what I recorded about taking Fenugreek:

2 or 3 x 550mg three times a day for about 1 week
then 2 x 550mg three times a day for about 1 week
then 2 x 550mg twice daily for about 1 week
then 2 x 550mg once a day

It's not what I remember doing! But this was nearly three years ago, so I would think that my diary is more accurate than my memory. From the dates (very sketchy) I wrote this at about 6-8w. Perhaps it was when I used fenugreek again in later months that I did the build-up and build-down dosage.

I've found how I settled on the dose: when you start to smell of maple syrup (your body smell, or perspiration, or urine) then you know the dosage is correct.

I also noted that I was drinking about 1pt of water with each feed, and at least 2pts between feeds (ie between each pair of feeds). I remember the thirst!

HTH
x

pupucelovesruDOuLaph · 07/12/2005 20:56

Well done Lisa - take it one day at a time....
Tiktok - I was told this by a lactation consultant, I have to say I didn't ask where she got that from but am happy to ask her when I next see her !

throckenholt · 08/12/2005 07:38

fenugreek can take 2-3 days to kick in - you will then have to juggle the dose to see what suits you. You will know if you have got it about right because you will notice an odd aroma for a while !

Apparently milk is a modified part of the sweat glands - fenugreek acts on that system - increasing both sweat and milk. You may also have noticed that in the early days of breast feeding you are quite sweaty .

I think I ended up using 2 tablets 3 times per day when I was expressing for my twins - but it very much varies for each individual.

tiktok · 10/12/2005 15:15

pupuce - yes, please ask her! I don't think it can be true. Milk is not made at an even rate by the clock. It is made in response to the fullness of the breast....milk production slows down with a full breast and speeds up with a (relatively) empty breast. So a hungry baby taking loads of milk at frequent intervals will have a mum whose breastmilk production goes into overdrive, making it very quickly indeed.

walkinginawelshmumwonderland · 12/12/2005 12:05

Lisalisa - I'm late with this but just wanted to repeat the benefits of fennel tea, it really helped me get the milk supply going. Also helped ds's digestive system to settle down and mine too (post op c-section) I think it's a really underrated herbal rememdy. Hope all's going well.

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 15/12/2005 15:08

How's it going, LisaLisa?