How do you make more breast milk?

Question

I have a 6 week old baby but he always seems hungry an hour and sometimes 30 mins after a feeding. I pump and only get about 3 oz all together this still doesnt seem to make him happy. How do I make myself get more breastmilk for my baby. I feel like he isnt getting enough and Im not making enough because he is always hungry. An ideas

Answer 1

My midwives told me that the more often I nurse my baby, the more milk I'll produce. But if that doesn't work, they recommended that I drink a tea called Organic Mother's Milk. It's supposed to promote healthy lactation. I felt that it worked for me and it might for you as well. You should be able to find the tea or something similar to it at any health food store.

Answer 2

One indication that your baby is not full is if he is coming off the breast and crying within seconds. If this is not happening your baby is feeding to capacity and your body is producing the right amount needed.

At 6 weeks the baby's stomach can hold only so much milk which also gets digested very fast initially. The consistency of your milk will change as your baby grows and his digestive system matures his stomach will grow and he will be able to "hold on" to the milk for longer. Feeding a baby this young every 1-2 hrs is normal even though it may sap your energy and your time. By 3 months of age you can still expect to breastfeed him 3-4 oz every 3-4 hrs and if you are lucky maybe at longer intervals at night. Babies are also creatures of habit - if you try to delay each feeding by 5 minutes gradually you will get to a longer stretch in between feedings. I would not recommend doing this at this age, though - wait until at least 3 months. The way to do this to offer a toy or some other distraction. This is not to say to let your baby go hungry to the point of tears.

To increase your milk supply in general you can:

a) pump more frequently to simulate demand
b) pump both breasts simultaneously - this sends a signal to the body that you have twins and the body starts producing more. You may get engorgement though.
c) drink Organic Mother's Milk tea by Traditional Medicinals - available at WhoolFoods for example
d) consume fennel - this is actually an ingredient in the tea mentioned above

Answer 3

Let him nurse from your breast. Why are you pumping? The will affect your supply. He's probably not getting enough because you're not producing enough, because you're pumping. Let baby BREASTfeed. He can get the milk out MUCh better then any pump and he will increase your supply.

A growth spurt is also normal around 6 weeks. My son nursed constantly for a week. It's normal. You don't need to supplement. if you nurse him, exclusively, on demand... then your body will produce just what he needs.

Answer 4

The more you nurse, the more milk you make. You should be feeding on cue, and letting him nurse for as long as he likes. Some babies need to nurse pretty frequently! If there is a La Leche League group in your area, you might contact them for help and support - they're a great resource for nursing moms.

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBmilksupplyissues.html

Answer 5

6 weeks is a classic giant growth spurt. It will seem like he's nursing constantly--because he probably is! Keep nursing him whenever he wants and as long as he wants and within a couple days your supply will meet his demand.

Answer 6

Drink a lot of water and pump more often.

Good luck!

Answer 7

keep pumping, drink lots of fluids, eat oatmeal everyday, there's also some herbal supplement (sorry, don't remember right off what it's called- maybe cause it didn't work for me)