I am only pumping due to latch on problems and I want to know what is the best way to increase my breast milk?

Question

My daughter is now 3 weeks old and I have been pumping to give her only breast milk. I am worried that as she gets bigger and her appetite grows I won't know how to increase it and will end up having to supplement formula. This is something I do not want to do! Right now I am pumping every 2 hours and I pump untill my breasts r completley empty plus two minutes I get about 2 ounces out of each breast. How do I increase it when I need to? Also what is the best way to stimulate let down? Also is stimulating a let down in between pumping a good idea or will I just lose milk this way? I hope someone can help me!!! Thank you

Answer 1

Lots of water, but I would seriously call the le letche group in your area to have someone help you with latch on, your child is who stimulates the breast the best and also lets the breast know by the power of thier suck as they grow how much the breast should produce and also how thick(so called) it should be. You are doing a great thing by giving your child breast milk but I would try to work with her latch, I am sure it is frustrating when they don't latch, I cried terribly when mine would not latch on at the hospital since I was determined to nurse, I knew she had to eat but I did not want them to suppliment with formula, i had several of my friends who nursed help me and then the lactation specialist came in and nothing, then one night this older women who had nursed all of her babies, I talked to her about it and she said " do you want me to help you?" I said yes! " she then put her finger in the roof of my little ones mouth to make sure she could latch on to the finger and when she did she then grabbed my breast put my nipple to my babies nose and dragged my nipple down to her mouth and she latched on immediately--I am not saying that it will work for everyone but, it did me since everyone had tried to help and nothing worked. I was so happy. Drinking water is the best for this or eating water items such as watermelon and such. I would consider tho seriously finding a le letche group and have them help you. Contact me if you wish, i have some other material I could share with you. Let down---Hot shower is what worked for me. You will loose milk if you leak terribly, but other then that let down willl help with pumping and production. also massaging under your arm pit and then onto the breast can help too. Go on the the le letche group website and there is things on there too. I hope this helps. I am a HUGE advocate of nursing and it's benefits. keep it up!!!! You will not be sorry!

Answer 2

Congrats and well done, it's a huge committment to exclusively pump and breastfeed.

Okay, you are pumping quite often and doing pretty well at the moment. The only problem is that when babies who are breastfed have their growth spurts, they will want to feed all the time, like ten minutes after their last feed sometimes. In order for you to keep up with her demand, you may need to have a couple of strictly nursing days set aside, where you pump every hour or so, and just rest.

I used fenugreek when I had to increase my supply for my son and that worked a treat too.

To help with let down, you can place a warm wet cloth on your breasts, express in the company of your baby while you look at her and think about feeding, or if she's not around, look at a photo of her, and drink plenty of water. It gets easier the more you do it...when I first started expressing for my son, I had lots of trouble stimulating a letdown, but by the end of 12 months, all I had to do was cup my breasts and jiggle them (lol) while thinking about feeding and my letdown would commence in a few minutes time.

If you can stimulate a letdown inbetween pumping, I'd take that opportunity to express what you can (maybe via hand expression) and add it to your stock in the freezer.

Another thing that you can try which will be VERY helpful (worked brilliantly with my son) is to try to latch your baby onto the breast every time you need to pump. Keep a bottle there with you to offer her. The very action of trying to latch your baby on is the most effective way to stimulate a letdown reflex, and with luck one day your baby might just get the hang of it, in which case all you have to do then is put baby to the breast whenever she is hungry and save all your supply for when you want a little break. If she isn't able to latch on, at least you have the bottle to give her, while you start pumping. Watching my baby feed while I pumped helped me to both get more milk from an individual pumping, increase my supply, and stimulate a strong let down reflex.

Also make sure you get plenty of sleep, and drink plenty of water. If you find yourself feeling REALLY tired, then take off the odd night to sleep, rather than getting up and pumping every few hours. I found when I was really sleep deprived that a good nights sleep did more for restoring my supply than regular pumping and little to no sleep.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Try talking with a WIC office, La Leche League, or Lactation Consultant, (most hospitals have one now), and for helpful suggestions on how to encourage milk production. It is totally supply and demand. But keep in mind that a baby is always more effective at encouraging milk production than any thing else.
You seem to be pumping just right! You should pump just like your baby would feed. Remember your babies stomach is only as big as their fist so they may not take in a lot at once but breast milk digest the best of any thing that can be ingested. So breastfed babies to eat more often.
A good thing to do for helping with your let down is holding your baby, or being close to them, drinking water, staying relaxed, and if they baby will nurse - find a comfortable latch-on position and let them nurse.
You could also look into taking some non prescription items like: Fenugreek, blessed thistle, or mothers milk tea, Milkotab ; these are supposed to help with milk supply.

Good things to keep in mind to increase your milk supply:

* Nurse, nurse, nurse! Allow baby full access to the breast, and never switch breasts until baby comes off herself.

*Consider night nursing - using a family bed can help stimulate supply.

*Drink adequate fluids, and get plenty of rest. Exercise if you can manage it. Fenugreek and Motherlove herbals are both measures that have been used with reported success.

*Consult a lactation consultant or your friendly LLL leader if these measures do not help.

You're doing a great job! Breastfeed is the Best Feeding! :-) Your baby is getting the two most important things that he needs right now from you, Love (shown in the intimacy of breastfeeding) and Immunities that he is not making on his own.
Great Job Mommy!!!

Answer 4

The best thing to do is keep pumping, but it sounds like you are doing it often enough to be able to produce more milk. Call your doctor. They have medications you can take to increase milk production. My daughter wouldn't latch on either, what a pain. I ended up doing formula after a month. I couldn't handle the pump anymore. Good Luck!

Answer 5

If she is refusing to latch then every time she wants a feeding you should be pumping...As her needs increase this would normally increase your supply. So if she is hungry an hour after a feeding you should be pumping more often to stimulate more milk production.

Answer 6

Do you have 2 sets of attachments. That really helps so you dont have to worry about cleaning between each session. My preemie had latch problems too. You're so tired, and maybe stressed about getting milk, any extra thing you can do to relax. like get the two sets, helps.

Answer 7

i know this sounds dumb and i would not encourage anyone to ever drink an alcoholic beverage, but an old wives tale says to drink one or 2 beers a day, and your milk flow will increase a lot and i wouldnt believe it, but my sister in laws have all tried it and say it works. and no other alcoholic drink , just beer.

Answer 8

Fenugreek is what I have always been told.. It boost your milk supply alot. You can find it at many health food stores and online. I may not have it spelled right.