Milk supply is dwindling...help!!!!

[Facere23]

Hello ladies.  I hope everyone is well.  I have a question about my milk supply and hope someone can help me.  My little Isabella is 3 wks old tomorrow.  I had been feeding her from the breast.  But when she was only a few days old, her jaundice got really bad and the Dr. had me supplement formula for a few days.  I would still breast feed along with it, and pump when she was bottle feeding.  She got very confused, but i was able to get her back to the breast after a day or two.  And we continued breast feeding.  Then, at her 2 weeks appt, she hadn't gained any weight...she was 6lbs 11oz and her birth weight was 7 lbs 7 oz.  She wasn't dehydrated..or malnourished...the Dr. was somewhat baffled by it.  She just wasn't gaining.  They came to the conclusion that she was getting plenty, but my breast milk didn'y have enough calories in it to support her weight gain.  So they had me start her on formula again.  I was still trying to breast feed her in between bottle feedings, but she got confused again and wasn't able to latch on anymore, so i started pumping and giving her breast milk from the bottle, alternating with formula.  Well, now, my milk supply is dwindling off.  I pump every 2 hours or so.  I getting plenty of fluids..and i'm only able to get about 2oz total after both breasts have been pumped.  What can i do to get my supply back up....is it too late?  I would really love to continue giving her breast milk...but it's looking grim.  She only gets two 4 oz bottles of breast milk a day.  The rest is formula.  Any suggestions would be great.  Please help.

[Facere23]

I feel really guilty as it is not feeding from the breast.  I cried the whole time i gave her the first bottle.  Am i doing something wrong to make my milk dry up?

[jmichel8]

i took fenegreek, which my babies ped recommended and it helped, as well as oatmeal helps to increase your supply. hang in there

[toyml99]

i lost my milk at three weeks.  I had just bought a good good pump but it was too late.  Are you using a good pump?  I understand about the crying while giving formula I did the same thing.  I made my dh give her her first one and I cried the whole time.  It will get better.  I had a lactition tell me to drink a beer just one and then feed her.  I did and it did increase my milk but i wouldn't give it to her i pumped and dumped even though they told me i didn't have to.  I was afraid.

[baby #2]

the beer thing really does work i would give it a try i had to with my dh who is now 3 1/2 i know it sounds wierd but have 1 beer aday

[baby #2]

dh hahahaha wanted to put DD

[4my3boys]

I myself have personally never tried it but I have heard that one can of beer really doubles your milk supply.  I am a firm beleiver in Breastfeeding and I have learned as I have had more kids that you have to have a good pump.  YOu may want to call up to the postpartum ward and ask them who the lactation comsultant is.  They tend to have pumps that you can borrow for a small few and they work excellent.  I actually bought one and I love it.  You need to offer her the breast more also if she will take it.  Try it, I bet you would be surprised after a few tries.  The baby is the best source for getting back your supply!! Good luck

[Facere23]

Thanks everyone.  I may very well try the whole beer thing.  As for the pump I'm using, it's the evenflo electric.  I'm not sure how good it is.  It seems to be creating a decent suction, but i have nothing to compare it to.  I called the hospital, and they don't give pumps anymore.  I was told to call the WIC office and see if they would loan me a pump, but i can't get them to call me back.  I've left several massages.  I'm at the end of my rope here.  I'm afraid that it will be too late soon.  Like i said, I REALLY want to continue to give my DD breast milk.  And if at all possible, get her back onto the breast. But it's not looking like a possibility.  I'll keep trying though. Thanks again.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

[AnnieBrooke]

Try nonalcoholic beer, it's the malt, not the alcohol that brings on the milk.  Also fish soup -- cioppino or boullibaise -- also fenugreek capsules.  And drink lots of water.  If you want, pump a bit so the milk is right there, then put it (or just a little sugar-water) on the nipple for your dd to find right at first; at this age, it will cause her to suck.  She is not too old to re-discover the breast.  Pump like crazy, too.  It will bring up your supply.

[aridza]

a friend of mine had trouble breastfeeding her first son, so she pumped for about 10mon, then she got pregnant again.
She found out she had inverted nipples so she tried again with her second son, but he got jaundice because he was dehydrated because he wasn't getting enough milk so she started to pump again, almost a month later, she went to a la leche league meeting and they helped her and she got her son back at the breast and she breastfed him for 2 years.
It shows that nothing is lost, find a meeting and they will help you, if you can't, get a medela pump in style I believe, they are expensive.
Your milk supply might be low but you can increase it with all the tips that were given to you.
I believe it is even possible to breastfeed a baby even if you haven't had the baby yourself (I've heard stories where grandmother breastfed babies after the death of the mothers) hang in there, it's also great that you are motivated, a lot of women would just give up and not look back

[Facere23]

Thank you.  I'm going to look into the fenugreek capsules too.  Can i get those at a grocery store or do i have to go to a special store?  I want to look up la leche league, but i was told that the closest meeting is almost an hour away from where i live.  If i can find one during the time that i have the car, I wouldn't mind the drive.  It's just a matter of whether they take place at the right time.

[momof11]

This is an aticle I found.  There is a condition commonly called breastmilk jaundice.   No one knows what the cause of breastmilk jaundice is.   In order to make this diagnosis, the baby should be at least a week old, though interestingly, many of the babies with breastmilk jaundice also have had exaggerated physiologic jaundice.   The baby should be gaining well, with breastfeeding alone, having lots of bowel movements, passing plentiful, clear urine and be generally well (handout #4 Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?).   In such a setting, the baby has what some call breastmilk jaundice, though, on occasion, infections of the urine or an under functioning of the baby's thyroid gland, as well as a few other even rarer illnesses may cause the same picture.   Breastmilk jaundice peaks at 10-21 days, but may last for two or three months.   Breastmilk jaundice is normal.   Rarely, if ever, does breastfeeding need to be discontinued even for a short time.   Only very occasionally is any treatment, such as phototherapy, necessary.   There is not one bit of evidence that this jaundice causes any problem at all for the baby.   Breastfeeding should not be discontinued "in order to make a diagnosis". If the baby is truly doing well on breast only, there is no reason, none, to stop breastfeeding or supplement with a lactation aid, for that matter.   The notion that there is something wrong with the baby being jaundiced comes from the assumption that the formula feeding baby is the standard by which we should determine how the breastfed baby should be.   This manner of thinking, almost universal amongst health professionals, truly turns logic upside down.   Thus, the formula feeding baby is rarely jaundiced after the first week of life, and when he is, there is usually something wrong.   Therefore, the baby with so called breastmilk jaundice is a concern and "something must be done".   However, in our experience, most exclusively breastfed babies who are perfectly healthy and gaining weight well are still jaundiced at five to six weeks of life and even later.   The question, in fact, should be whether or not it is normal not to be jaundiced and is this absence of jaundice something we should worry about?   Do not stop breastfeeding for “breastmilk” jaundice.

[fitzy11]

you can also try a tea made by traditional medicinals. its called organic mothers milk. it promoets healthy lactation and increases breastmilk production. i used it and i really think it worked. i've also heard that oatmeal helps as well. good luck.

[Facere23]

Where do you get this tea?  I looked for fenugreek too and was unable to find it.  I went to the store and got some non-alcoholic beer (i hate beer and it took everything i had to drink one).  I had heard about oatmeal before too.  I had forgotten about it.  I'm gonna try a little bit of everything.  I am determined to continue breastfeeding..or at least to give my baby breastmilk by any means.  I was actually able to get her to latch on for a few minutes late this evening...i was so excited!!!  I cried...damn the hormones..lol.  Maybe when i try the sugar water, she'll stay on for more than a few minutes.  I really miss the bonding we had while breast feeding.

[AnnieBrooke]

I think it really is promising that she latched on.  She is still so young that you should be able to get past the early issues.  I would look for the fenugreek capsules at a health-food store or the health-food section of a bigger gourmet grocery.

[Me2mommy2b]

You're a great mommy for trying everything possible to give the best for your baby.  My milk supply is also deminishing :( and my DD is 4 mos.  I want to keep breastfeeding her for as long as possible so I'll try lots of advice that was given here.  Thanks for asking the question :))) Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[sheddybear]

Try Mother's Milk.  You can get it at almost any health food store.

[twiceadopt]

my partner used the medela double electric pump, i think its one of the most powerful ones you can get aside from the hospital-grade ones. between that and drinking tons of water she could usually get 3-4 oz out of each side in a 10-min session. maybe someone you know has that pump and you could try it out, see if it works better for you?

[fitzy11]

yes most health food stores should have it and it tastes good too! good luck

[MOMMYNURSE13]

I AM AN OB NURSE..... BREASTFEEDING CAN BE CHALLENGING AND VERY TIME CONSUMING. I SUGGEST YOU MAKE AN APPT. WITH A LACTATION CONSULTANT. THEY CAN BE VERY HELPFUL. THEN #1 IF YOU WANT A MILK SUPPLY EITHER PUMP EVERY 2 HOURS FOR 20 MINUTES AROUND THE CLOCK OR GET THE BABY TO LATCH ON BY USING A NIPPLE SHIELD OR A TEASER BOTTLE. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS @ LEAST 10 8OZ GLASSES PER DAY AND EAT PLENTY OF PROTEIN. YOU CAN BUY FENUGREEK @ A HEALTH FOOD STORE OR ANY PLACE THAT SELLS HOLISTIC HERBS. IF YOU ARE NOT STIMULATING YOUR BREAST EVERY 2-3 HOURS FOR 20 MINUTES THEN YOU WILL NOT HAVE A SUPPLY LARGE ENOUGH TO FEED YOUR BABY, AND FOR YOUR PEDIATRICIAN TO TELL YOU TO STOP I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT WAS INACCURATE. IF YOUR BABY IS HAVING 6-8 WET DIAPERS AND 1-2 STOOLS THEN THEY ARE GETTING ENOUGH. BREAST MILK HAS MORE CALORIES THEN FORMULA AND AFTER A FEW WEEKS THE BABY'[S WEIGHT WOULD HAVE STARTED TO PICK UP UNLESS THERE IS SOME OTHER UNDERLYING PROBLEM...HOPE THIS HELPS GOOD LUCK!!!

[AndiJ78]

Keep nursing and offering the breast as much as possible, that is the surest way to help your supply pick up. Your pedi was a bit off in the advice given, your baby was growing, going from 6 lbs 10 ounces up to 7 + in two weeks was great. During that two week period most are just happy if the baby regains their lost birth weight. Mine were all hearty eaters and my third had issues with jaundice. He took a little longer to put weight back on in the beginning due to a few issues, but now he is a 30 lb 15 month old.

Some of the suggestions for herbal stuff may help and do as Annie suggested and go for the non-alcoholic beer, pumping and dumping is pointless, it is a matter of time before the alcohol leaves the system, not the amount of milk expressed. You could pump and dump twice in 30 minutes, but it takes an hour or so to actually get out of your system enough to safely feed.

Dump the pump and the formula if possible and nurse your baby as often as possible. Don't wait for late signs of hunger, be attentive to the early signs and offer the breast immediately and things should work out. Contacting a lactation consultant is an excellent way to ensure your latch is correct and to help with any other questions you may have that are difficult to address online. Also, make sure you are not drinking TOO much water, over-hydrating can lead to swelling of breast tissues (all tissues actually) and could cause problems with let-down or filling of the breast.

Good luck.

[chinesebones]

I also had a problem with milk supply.  I started eating more protein, drinking more water and Mothers Milk tea plus one n/a beer a day (ice ice cold if you don't like beer) and took fenugreek, blessed thistle, lecethin and B complex.  I was nursing, but pumped an hour afterwards, so I was stimulating the breasts every hour (almost every hour around the clock for an exhausting week.)   I had my baby weighed every week to make sure she was starting to gain.
You can get fenugreek and probably blessed thistle at health food stores, or if there are none in your area, vitacost.com stocks both and Mothers Milk tea too.  
Even if you aren't 100% successful, a little milk is better than none!  Best of luck.

[AndiJ78]

All three of my babies ate around the clock during those first few months, rarely was there a 2 hour stretch. Granted they only had one breast to nurse off of, but they were constantly eating. I would have never had time to pump : )

[mami1323]

I used the Medela Double Pump, it is one of the best.  I was having a problem getting started.  My son wasn't latching on so my milk wasn't coming in.  The lactation consultant to rent the Medela Pump Symphony.  I think that's what it was called.  Well one day of pumping every 2-3 hours and my milk supply came in.  I was able to get 4 oz each time I pumped.  I went about 5 days without breast feeding and was able to get my milk to come in from that.  Good luck.

[tiredbuthappy]

i agree with everything said

My best/strongest advise is to contact a lactation consultant. my dd's ped recommended a great one. i had to pay out of pocket, but you may be able to get your insurance to cover it. it was worth every penny. she can help evaluate you and the baby and help determine what the problem is. she can also help you explore different aids like a nipple shield or SNS to help with nipple confusion.

beer does work well, but if you are uncomfortable with giving the milk to your baby, you can do nonalcoholic. (3 lc's and my dr all said there's no need to dump, so i just drank a regular beer daily. i did it right after i pumped, and was fine by the next pump)

the evenflo pump is not good enough to build your supply. wic should provide you with one- if not, you can rent a medela (go to their website and you can find local retailers) or you can buy the pump in style or pump in style advanced. a cheaper but just as effective option is the Ameda purely yours or the Lansinoh pump (same as the Ameda but a different color and sold at target).

you do need to pump through the night until your supply is established. allow yourself to sleep one 4 hour stretch, but after that be sure to continue pumping every 2 to 3 hours.

sleep, proper nutrition, rest, and hydration help. most importantly, you have to be patient. don't expect all of these tricks to work over night. it takes some people a while to build up their supply. i really hope bf'ing works for you.

[decogrl]

Oh my god I feel like I am reading my history.  This is what happened to me to a "T"!  DD was jaundiced the first 3-4 days and but also had latching on issues.  The first night the nurses said I needed to supplement with formula.  Well then I ended up feeding daughter--which she never emptied the breast..then cause she was colicky, I had to keep her upright 30 minutes afterwards..then I wanted to sleep but I had to pump so I was up every 1-2 hours...after a while, I was more concerned about my health and dealing with my child (I was MAJOR PYSCO) I said at the 3rd month---to heck with that schedule and just kept her on formula.  I cried for a whole month that I was a failure cause I had to have a C-Section and I could not breast feed---DD doesn't know the difference and she is sooooo healthy and happy.  Do what makes you happy too cause if you are not happy your baby will absorb it.  OH BTW..brewers yeast and fenugreek did nothing for me.

[sck08]

I didnt read the other posts but 2 oz when you pump is good for 3 week old baby that small...I would go to the hospital and see the lactation consultant.  The lactation consultant told me to take 3 tablets of fenugreek and 3 tablets of blessed thistle 3 times per day.  My milk supply doubled in 48 hours!