4 us "boob Nazis" does fenugreek really work?

Question

and where can you get it? my preemie baby like the "bottled breast milk" better is there any way to remedy this? he does nurse but not 4 long & he falls asleep easier, quicker and stays asleep longer using the bottle. please no mean answers. breastfeeders get enough grief as it is

please give me examples how fenugreek worked

i ment bottle breast milk.. sorry bout' that lol :)

check out my 360 page if you would like to

Answer 1

Yes, fenugreek does work (if you take an effective dose) for most women. It is also the only herbal remedy that has any scientific backing. However, it will also only work if you are also nursing frequently--at least 10-12 times in 24 hours. If you are almost exclusively pumping, you may need to pump even more often, since no pump is as effective as a nursing baby.

You can buy fenugreek capsules in most health food stores (Web or B&M). Start by taking 1 capsule 3 times a day for 3-4 days, then increase to 2 capsules 3 times a day for the next few days. Keep increasing this way until you are taking an effective dose for you (usually 2-4 capsules per dose); you will recognize this when your urine and sweat have a maple syrup smell. You can continue at that dosage indefinitely, but at least a full week. If you do want to stop, do it gradually (the same as starting); if your supply drops, go back and continue at the previous dosage. Fenugreek is not recommended if you have asthma or diabetes. If you or baby have an allergic reaction (very rare), discontinue.

In the meantime, try waking baby frequently to nurse. Even if he only nurses briefly, the frequency matters more than the length of each feeding (but do also try to keep him interested in nursing for as long as possible). The reason he falls asleep so quickly may be that he isn't nursing effectively; if he isn't getting enough of a reward, he may just give up. If this is the case, there is something else you can try. Stop giving bottles (and pacifiers, if possible). Instead, give him your pumped milk by syringe.

To syringe feed, you need to buy a syringe (no needle!!). Any syringe will work fine, but the bigger it is, the less often you have to "reload". Before you nurse, fill the syringe with pumped milk. Hold it near the corner of his mouth, and drip milk in while he nurses to keep him interested.

Answer 2

I too had a preemie and could not even get him to nurse until he was 2 months old. We tried a few times a day every day but he just didn't get it. I did read in a bf book that sometimes preemies don't nurse well until around their due date which was when my son started. Of course the baby will like a bottle better, he has to suck less to get milk. Before you try to nurse him, massage your breast to get the milk ready to quickly come out, also express a bit so that let down comes easier and faster. This may help encourage him to keep at it. Fenugreek really does work, as does oatmeal and mothers milk tea. Good luck and keep with it, it really does get easier! Is there a breastfeeding clinic in the hospital where you gave birth? Thank goodness there was in mine, i went probably every week (sometimes twice a week) until he was nursing well. They gave lots of advice and support.

Answer 3

When you say 'bottled breast milk', do you really mean formula, or bottled breast milk. I wasn't sure - so one thing, if it's formula in a bottle, he'll sleep longer b/c it takes longer for him to digest. Breastmilk only stays with a baby for 2-4 hours, whereas formula takes 4-6 for them to digest. It does sound like either your milk isn't letting down, or he's not getting enough. My son was a preemie, too, and his biggest feeding problem was that he didn't know how to suck. So finally, after making sure he was latched on right, I bought a nipple shield. Best $6 I ever spent! It helped him create the suction he needed to get more, and he started nursing for 10mins instead of 5. Another suggestion: if he stops nursing, switch sides frequently, I didn't make enough milk b/c of a medical condition I have, so the lactation consultant told me to switch sides as soon as he started losing interest. I don't remember the exact numbers (check La Leche League website) but something like 2-3 sucks and then a swallow. If he's not doing this something's up.
Fenugreek worked for a few of my friends, didn't do anything for me, but like I said, I have a medical problem, so it's a little different. You might also try mother's tea, there's some special herbal tea that's supposed to help, as well as if that stuff fails, or you just wanna go ahead and pull out the big guns (no pun intended!) you can see a lactation consultant who can actually prescribe a few things that might help. They put me on reglan, and it helped after 2 doses (twice daily). Pump in between feedings since it runs on supply and demand, the more you ask for, the more you'll get.
Good luck.

Answer 4

I have heard that fenugreek works but I've never tried it. The best way to increase supply is nurse/pump often. If you're using a pumpt o boost supply make sure it's a double electric model. Also I would wean him off the bottle by taking away one feeding with it every other day or so. If he keeps taking the bottle this young your breastfeeding relationship might not be as long as you would like it. Check out kellymom.com for more on this.

Answer 5

Hello fellow "boob Nazi"!

Ok, here's my experience with fenugreek. I tried it first as a tea, and the taste was too strong for me. I tried it as a capsule, and it worked well, but I have a strong gag reflext and the capsules were huge, so I had a hard time with that. However, I went from having to nurse my baby every 2 hours to every 3 hours, on average, as he was getting more milk. I took the capsules 4 times a day and within 24 hours I saw an increase in my milk production.

There is a tea called Mother's Milk, and I tried it this time around (I have three children) around the time my milk came in. My baby was born emergency c-section and I had a lot of problems with nursing him, and the Mother's Milk tea really did help my supply get established in spite of problems nursing.

With my older 2, I found that my supply dropped around the time my periods returned, I ate oatmeal everyday. While most information regarding oatmeal is anecdotal, I believe that with my dd it made the difference between having to supplement and being able to nurse on demand. Plus, oatmeal tastes much better than any herbal tea.

Best of luck to you, and good for you for breastfeeding!

Answer 6

I've used Fenugreek along with Blessed Thistle and Mother's Milk tea. I got them all at my local health food store, and I've since also found the tea in the organic section at my grocery store.

Another answer above mentioned using a nipple shield - I needed one with both of my sons. They were both full-term, but they just had a lot of trouble latching on, and the nipple shield seemed to hit the right place in their mouths to activate their sucking reflexes. My first son never would have been able to breastfeed without one, and it made it much easier for my second son. We only had to use them for a couple of weeks before they got the hang of it. I got my shields at a local drugstore that specializes in breastfeeding products, but my local Target carries breast shields now too.

I also found that pumping after feeding (and emptying my breasts at much as possible) a couple of times a day seems to help my production as well.

Hope this helps - and good luck!

Answer 7

Take 2 fenugreek capsules 3 times a day. You should see a change in about a week or so.

Beware, you may give off a new "odor" from taking the pills. Kind of like a maple syrupy smell. My husband thinks it's funny.

Answer 8

I used fenugreek in addition to reglan, which was prescribed to me by my doctor, and domperidone, which I got online via an overseas pharmacy because it is not available in the US, all in an attempt to up my milk production.

I had the most success with a combination of the fenugreek and domperidone. The reglan worked to a degree, but the cr*ppy side effects were not worth it.

It was easy to get fenugreek, got it from any Rite-Aid, health food stores, vitamin shops and even well-stocked supermarkets.

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

I don't know anything about fenugreek, but try eating a couple bowls of Oatmeal daily. It can really up your milk production.

Answer 10

Personally I never found fenugreek to work. For me, it was a dark ale beer. It was recommended by my OB/GYN. I drank the non-alcoholic kind.

mb