What to eat to increase Breast milk supply

[gully83]

What can I eat to increase milk supply, as I'm breastfeeding and on demand. I don't pump as often as I feel like my nipples are in constant use!

How old is your baby?

4 weeks old

Plenty of fluids is what you need. But your body will adapt to what your baby needs. My dd fed loads in the early weeks.

Why do you feel you need to increase supply?

Anything and everything - lots of fluids. My consultant said the quantity of food was important (I was trying to b/f twins). I remember hearing that oats (flapjacks etc) are good. Offer both sides, make sure she's latched on. Good luck!

I read other mums threads, and often hear they have squirting milk, so I feel as tho maybe mines not enough! My baby is happy and content, so maybe I'm over reacting

Yes if shes happy & content, you're doing brilliantly!

Fenugreek, apparently.

kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/herbal_galactagogue/

Those people either have a very strong let down or an oversupply - neither of which are necessary nor often ideal for mum or baby. Putting on weight, plenty of wet nappies and a happy baby and you're winning :)

Oats, fenugreek tea, fennel tea, and expressing using a double-breast bump helped to increase my supply substantially. It doesn’t even take that long (usually 24-48 hours) to see a real impact.

I think fenugreek is meant to boost supply but really, it's your baby who tells your body how much milk to make. Good for you. Breastfeeding is magical.

Eat a healthy diet, eat regular meals, drink plenty of water/juice and indulge in some snacks.

The best thing though, to increase your supply, is plenty of sucking. Having said that, it all sounds fine and you’re doing really well.

I was going to say plenty of fluid, oats, fenugreek supplements and feeding on demand. Good luck OP

My milk sprayed everywhere and would overwhelm my DD when she was 2 weeks old. It was really hard.

If your baby is happy, settled and putting on weight then you have nothing to be concerned about.

Nothing you eat or drink can increase your supply, all old wives tales. The only thing that increases milk supply is milk removal, the more you feed and empty the breasts the more milk they will produce to replace it. If you’re feeding on demand you’re already doing all you need to do

I found oats really helped, porridge daily and lots of flapjacks to snack on in the early days with fenugreek capsules from 4 weeks. I also drank at least 8 pints of water over the day in the early days whilst my DS was cluster feeding however I was playing catch up with combination feeding so did lots of double pumping and expressing in the early hours I honestly spent hours worrying about my supply and comparing it to what other people said they had. With hindsight I wish I didn't spend all that time worrying as DS was happy with lots of wet nappies so

Not having a strong letdown doesn't indicate any problem with supply. I had plenty of milk (baby went from 40th weight centile at birth to 95th centile by 4 months), but barely leaked let alone squirted! That said, eating and drinking plenty is good for supply. As is feeding on demand (and yes this can be crazy at 4 weeks with cluster feeding). Have a look at the kellymom website for good advice. It's sounds like you're doing great

If your baby is happy and content and gaining weight etc fine then your supply is fine.
Not all women squirt milk. In fact i think squirting is often a sign of oversupply which can cause problems

Some people are just leakier/squirtier. Probably more about the valves in the boobs than the amount of milk. I wouldn't worry at all. The best way to increase is more feeding. Don't worry, baby will have a growth spurt soon and be on for 24/48 hours solid to increase the milk supply again. Oh the joys of early bf-ing! You're doing great op, don't doubt yourself.

Peanuts, lots every day. The result is in couple of days! Also lots of milky tea

If your baby is putting on weight you more than likely have enough. I didn't and tried fenugreek and was prescribed domperidone. I saw a slight increase but the fenugreek makes you smell of curry and the domperidone gave me diarrhoea and it still wasn't enough to to bf exclusively

Sounds like everything is fine. Make sure you are getting plenty of rest. Like, if you feel like spending a day in bed with baby, do it. Rest, food, drink and cuddles are all you need.

It’s sounds like baby is doing fine, if feeding well, lots of nappy changes and lo seems content after feeding (barring growth spurts and cluster feeding).

Your milk is a derivative of your blood, the amount you make is driven by your blood volume (hence women who have had a section or a pph may struggle a little lore with establishing supply in the early days), this means that staying hydrated is important, but your body will keep your milk supplying going as long as lo feeds enough.

Fluids and baby on the boob often. If baby is happy, wet nappies etc then you don't need to try to increase milk supply. Milk squirting out isn't necessary to successfully BF and as pp said it's sometimes a negative as can overwhelm baby.

@PinkyU the amount you make also depends on the amount of glandular tissue you have