i am having milk problems

[nckflo]

i am so determined to breastfeed my son but he wont take and im losing my milk and drying up quick... i need help.. is there any way i can get more milk?? can it be nipple problems???

[misslollipop]

in between feeds pump milk to empty the breast and drink lots of water

[tiredbuthappy]

if you had a nipple problem, i think the nurses in the hospital would have detected it. how old is your son? if he is a newborn then the best thing you can do is see a lactation consultant asap. they can help you get him to latch and feed. to find one, contact the hospital where you delivered. many hospitals offer LC's for no extra fee if you delivered there. another option is to ask your ped or OB. both were able to recommend someone to me.
until you see a LC, or if it's not an option, you can pump to keep your supply up until he learns to nurse efficiently. if he is nursing some, do what the previous poster suggested and pump after each nursing sessions to empty your breasts. this will tell your breasts to make more milk. if he is not nursing at all, then you need to pump as often as a baby would nurse to build your supply. that means every 2-3. if he is not nursing at all, pump every 2-3 hours for about 15 minutes. make sure you use a good pump. you can buy a hospital grade pump like the medela pump in style, the ameda purely yours, or the laninoh double electric pump. you can also rent a pump from the hospital or from some other local locations. for example, a pharmacy near me rents them. you can go to medela's website for a list of places near you that rent pumps.

finally, you can contact la leche league. they can provide you with support and help. http://www.llli.org/

congrats on your baby and good luck!

[energy_train]

There are two things you can do....You can pump after every feeding- every 3 hours. My son did not have a suck.  I would let down and he would swallow but never sucked so for 12 full months, I would pump every 3 hours. I'll be honest, it was very tiring but I don't regret doing it at all. I even got an adaptor for the car (I had a hospital grade pump) and would pump in the car if we were out. I noticed a huge difference if I missed a feeding or two so I pumped EVERY feeding and even at night. The other thing you can do to help is take an herb called fenugreek.  My doctor and lactation consultant told me that it is safe and I used it with both kids.  Not so much with my little guy that I had to pump for since it was a constant pumping every 3 hours.  Good luck as nursing can be very frustrating but also very rewarding.  How old is he?? That is another question that can make a difference in the answer as a lot of kids wean themselves between 6-8 months so if he's older, you shouldn't need to pump every 3 hours and he may be weaning himself.