what foods help increase milk supply other than oats

[kittenbaby]

any tips ?

[lailasmum]

I think a lot of surgeries have more than one. HV even the country surgeries round here usually have 2 it may just be you haven't met them. The other thing is you don't actually have to have an HV at all. you can take everything straight to your doctor if you are worried. You may find it more useful to go to a breastfeeding counsellor and your doctor instead.

[terramum]

Kittenbaby - my DS was born on the 50th centile for weight but almost immediately fell to between the 9th & 25th...I think that was the level he is supposed to be at...I had a lot of iv fluids during his birth which I have heard can artificially increase baby's weight...plus he threw up loads of fluid shortly after being born (& after he was weighed) so I think he had swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid during the birth that raised his weight from what it should have been. If your baby is feeding efficiently and producing plenty of dirty nappies and is gaining weight then the centiles don't matter a whole lot....look at the baby, not the chart...

[choolie]

I used to record every feed, time started, how long it took, which side etc. as felt it would be very useful to refer back to, then realised at 12 wks I hadn't looked back at one single day, and once i stopped doing it, it really did relax me - and interestingly, the feeds started to settle down too. - i understand you're prob recording them all due to your concern about her weight, but maybe give it a rest for one day, just to give yourself a break from recording everything and see how it goes. - one missed day won't matter if you do decide to carry on recording, and you might feel relief and not so worried.
maybe worth a try?

[kittenbaby]

terramum som answers to your questions
i mainly feed on one side unless the feed goes on for over 30-45 mins and i seems as if theres nothing left because i want to make sure she gets the hind milk
i think the latch is ok im not overly sore or anything but it would still be good to get a bfc to look i guess
im up for that if one would be so kind to come over or if its not to far i could go there[such a pain getting over this op]
shes doing plenty of nappies although sometimes they are green mum told me this was either because sh was ill or not getting enough milk ,but i had to take her to drs cuz her nappy rash got so bad and i told him her poos where sometimes green he said it was ok to be green yellow or brown
mums a bit anti bf which i guess doesnt help
i was going to wait till after the weigh in on wed to phone bf helpine so i have more info but do you think i should ring them sooner

[kittenbaby]

well funiliy enough when i started recording them i realised i wasnt feeding as much as i thought i thought i ws doing non stop
but i guess i could try that

[kittenbaby]

theres only one hv at my surgry othrwise i would def swop it must be great to have a really good hv

[kittenbaby]

peachy sorry you had such a shit hv 2 looks like thres a lot out there

[gr8kids]

I breastfed all 3 of my children and milk stout or guiness is the best thing to have. Its full of iron and makes your milk very nutritious for you little one. If you cant handle taste have it with a little black currant squash. Good luck

[kittenbaby]

well i am anemic 2 so i could do with the iron
ive also read that being anemic dosnt help milk supplies

[puffylovett]

hi kittenbaby sorry you're having such a poop time. just wanted to butt in and if you feel like you're feeding constantly, they do sometimes hae a big growth spurt around 4-6 weeks, then again at 3 mths and 4 mths - you feel like you're feeding constantly and like you haven't enough milk... never ending, every hour to 2 hours and sleep goes up the pan too... ds is 21 weeks and i STILL feel sometimes like i don't have enough milk, and i have an ample supply ! so just settle in with baby and see it through... hope you get on ok, you have loads of support from people here wo know what they're on about.
all the best

[puffylovett]

lots of spinach for anaemia, perferably raw and also eat alongside broccoli as the vit c in the broc will help absorption of iron
x

[NoviceKnitter]

just to let you know you're not alone - my dd is 5 weeks and feeds this much. she was 8lb 3 - lost about 10% and is now 8 lb 15. I've had nothing but encouragement from MWs and HVs who've assured this is all perfectly normal in these early weeks. Yours is obviously on a power trip and shouldn't be doing her job. I agree with everyone else - you're doing great - hang on in there and enjoy cuddling your LO.
PS two tips I've had - drink 3 litres of water a day and make sure LO not just sucking nipple but has a good mouthful of breast to pull the milk down.

[terramum]

Some of the helplines will put you through to the nearest BFC but there is no guarantee you will get someone local who can come round...but tbh you would be surprised at how much help they can be over the phone...My DS wouldn't latch at all for the first 6 weeks or so & all the help I had from the LLL lady was over the phone. If you would rather speak to someone local you could see if you have an LLL leader (what they call their BFCs) in your area here: www.laleche.org.uk/pages/groups/county_list.htm

I would definitely ring sooner rather than later. You are obviously worried by all of this, so why wait until later? That way you can get some info & support straight away. If you want some more help or have any more questions after seeing your GP you can always call the BFC back then.

[kittenbaby]

novice knitter thanks for that so nice to hear that x
i think this is down to my hv being a knob
sounds like our dc weight loss/gain is vv similar u r getting encouragment and rightly so
and im being told to top up etc

[kittenbaby]

yeah i guess ur right terramum its not like i can only ring once is it x
i dont really know what to say tbh x

[pooter]

hi kittenbaby,
just wanted to show solidarity with you. I had a dreadful first couple of weeks bfing - getting over an op and having well meaning but totally wrong relatives telling me my baby was starving. Well done for persevering - i can honestly tell you it will be worth it. Around 9 weeks i felt like we had turned a corner, and i was not worried about milk supply anymore. By that time i had read the kellymom website and posted on mumsnet so knew a bit more about it. I did supplement, but against my better judgement, and i regretted it, but managed to go back to just bf by 9 wks.

Anyway, i wanted to encourage you to ring the helplines. When i was having problems i really needed help but didnt want to take up anyone's time - but now i know that the people on these lines WANT you to ring. I would always want to try to help someone succeed with bfing. It can be a wonderful, loving experience, despite a rocky start. Just ring, dont plan what to say - i bet you find it all comes out easily enough once you start. good luck xxxxx

[terramum]

Print out your posts on here & read them out if you can't think what to say. But honestly please don't worry...BFCs have very good training & will probably ask you lots of questions about your DD & & how the bfing is going to get to the bottom of how you feel & what they can do to help you.

Let me know how it goes....

[kittenbaby]

pooter thanks 4 that i never really thought thats what they want, to help people u r so right ,they wouldnt of trained to become bfc if they didnt want to help other mums
with my family they think its the sort of thing to be done in private etc
its not like i can go upstairs when feeding though is it ? id be up there all day
and why should i ? it will never help normalise bf

terramum thanks so much for your help i will def let u know how i get on

[lailasmum]

Hope all of this makes you realise that the charts don't matter much. My daughter has always been on the 98th centile for height and well below the 50th centile for weight. It has changed over time depending upon whether she happens to be in a chubby phase just before he grows.Some people are just slight in build as adults so to expect them to all be the same as babies is unrealistic. My younger brother is very skinny. at nearly six foot he weighs only just over 9 stone, I remember him as a toddler and he looks exactly the same in build as my daughter but he was healthy and still is.

[Anonymama]

Dear Kitten
If all the advice and support you are getting from mumsnetters doesn't convince you that your HV is a liability, then nothing will. Hope by now you are feeling better

BTW, I had tiny tits (relative to most of my BF-ing mates), and never saw hide nor hair of any milk for the first 6 months. Expressing drove me to dispair as I would pump away and produce 1oz at most - I thought, how can this be enough for my baby?!? But of course, I guess I just never let down for the pump, it didn't have a cute face and smell nice.

By the time DS was six months old, he rolled off my tit in a pub garden and I sprayed the lady at the next table Then I knew I had cracked it!! You'll get there, you have determination and now have lots of information to back up your hunches. Take care xx

[phdlife]

and kitten, if you want some people to come GLARE at your HV, just let us know

sure you could round up an MN posse

[hunkermunker]

How are you doing, Kitenbaby? Lots of good advice on this thread for you. Hope you're a bit more reassured.

Pooter, you've made a good point re bfcs - I think lots of women are worried they're "bothering" them by phoning, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I might start a thread about it.

[kittenbaby]

hi everyone just wanted to let you know i called the

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM) 08444 122 949

this morning she didnt really tell me anything i hadnt read or that u guys havent told m but she was very nice and even gave me her direct number so i can speak directly to her next time if i need to which i thought was very nice
she just said to make sure dd gets a good mouthful etc which is what i have been doing

i know everything the hv says is shit like tops up leaving her 2 cry for 2 and a half hours and giving dd water
but i do find it hard when she says dd not gaining enough weight and i need to give her something else as if im doing something detrimental to dd health when what im actually doing is struggling to do somethiong for the sake of her health

my dh is taking a days holiday on friday so im thinking about getting him to take me to the baby cafe as i cant really go drive on my own im still too sore from the op do they have a trained bfc there i could get thm to check the latch other than that i really cant think of anything else
im a bit tired as dd was up 4 times in the night
i hoped it would all settle down by six weeks,but doesnt really appear v likely
but thanks for your help

[hunkermunker]

I don't understand - you say your HV said your baby should gain at least 4-5 ounces a week and she's gained 4.5 this week and you're still worried?

The only person who's saying that things are awry here is your HV.

Your baby is happy, alert, gaining weight (4.5oz is fine, btw) and feeding's going well.

Your HV is a fool and is undermining you in the WORST way

[kittenbaby]

well im gonna try the baby cafe on friday im seeing my gp next tue x