Hey,hey, hey....

[Anonymous]

Hey ladys im new here. Im prego and looking for tips on how to increase my supply on breastmilk.... I dont want to give formula to my baby.

[Anonymous]

CHIA SEEDS.

[Chavelita6]

I had a hard time breastfeeding my son as I didn't have a lot of breast tissue & I didn't produce a lot of milk. The doctors recommend mother's milk tea or fenugreek pills which is all natural & herbal. Just in case. I've also heard that a beer helps to produce more milk because of the levadura that's in it.

[Katchills]

I am an OB nurse and oh my I could post a novel on this topic but sometimes you need to keep it simple as possible. The number one thing you can do to increase your milk production is to put your baby to the breast frequently and obtains proper latch. ( do your research, practice cue based feedings and have a lactation consultant in mind) Avoid medications that are used for sinuses or allergies (Benadryl) bc they have been proven to decrease milk supply. Keep well hydrated but don't go really overboard bc that can work in reverse as well. Those are empirically supported methods. Anecdotal thoughts: I did think fenu Greek and oatmeal helped increase my supply. I also drank mothers milk tea but that has a certain taste not many people love. Good luck and enjoy your baby!

[Anonymous]

I'm a mom of 3 my youngest it's 4 months I breastfed them my recommendation its eat normal and healthy, when I was a first time mom I remember being scare of not producing enough milk but you will notice if you baby it's not having enough it's definitely not the same as formula since on formula you give them an specific amount in the bottle but when you breastfeed they will just latch as long as they want always offer both breast so your body can produce more milk by itself also there's not exact time of when will they want to milk again just give them your breast and if they latch they were just hungry again. breastfeed babies have that thing for snacking too..

[Aliciat4030]

oatmeal,lactation cookies,and brewers yeast in my smoothies helped me rain! 😂😂

[Sagesmama]

Just eat. It's really as simple as that. Don't skip meals or you'll see a significant decrease of milk within the next couple of hours. Eat, nurse, and pump when you're done nursing and continue to pump up to ten minutes after it looks like it's stopped. Your body will produce for as much supply is in demand. It'll look like there's none left, but keep the breast on the pump and wait a few minutes and you'll see a heavy flow again. Breast feeding isn't easy, but once you get over the hump, you'll be a pro!

[Anonymous]

I was having extreme issues with producing for my twins. I started taking Mother's Lactaflow supplement from Wise Woman Herbals. It was working wonders till I had complications with my C-section 6 weeks pp.

[mamalongarms]

Hey, I also see that you're pregnant right now. The best thing to do is monitor your babies diapers. As long as they are peeing frequently and pooping at least once a day you are good. Getting a good IBCLC at the very start of post partum can help in assessing tongue and lip tie which can be a huge detriment in the latch. Again, don't look at the clock, don't follow a schedule until your milk is established (around 6-8 weeks old), and try not to stress it. Eat good food, use the newborn phase to sleep when baby sleeps (if you don't have any other obligations or kids). If you have friends that are comfortable in their breastfeeding ability it might be nice to be around them since that confidence can be contagious. Nursing may be "natural" but it does not come naturally. It is a learned behavior that comes from seeing others, learning from those more experienced from us, and trial and error. Let me know if you have any questions. I have a lot of knowledge between my two kids and helping others. If I can't help I can at least point you in the right direction of who will help you more. Good luck with everything!

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much.

[mamalongarms]

Make sure your caloric intake is where it needs to be, you're staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, and its a lot of supply and demand. Don't watch the clock when you're nursing.

Also, what things are leading you to think you need a larger supply? You could be totally fine.

[RocketGirl2002]

Water, water, water! If you aren't hydrated enough, your body isn't going to produce. Big thing though, don't get so caught up in not wanting to use formula that if you and your baby have nursing issues that you either consider yourself a failure or that you try so hard not to use formula that your baby doesn't get enough nutrition. 

[applecinnamon]

Hi,

Try Earth Mama Baby Angel Milkmaid Tea. It helps increasing my milk supply whenever I need a boost. My baby is 15 m.o., i still breastfeed him till now 🙂

[missericamac]

Congrats! BF is an amazing, empowering and beautiful bonding time with your LO. It can be challenging so please don't be hard on yourself if you can't BF. I have GFs who's babies wouldn't latch so they couldn't BF, GFs who couldn't get through the pain and GFs who nursed for 18mo! I definitely agree with all these ladies, meet with the lactation consultant at the hospital once you've given birth, join your local La Leche League, there is a BF tea you can find at Safeway, lactation cookies that they sell at Babies R Us or you can make your own; PINTEREST! Also go through your insurance company to get a free breast pump (might only apply to CA residence tho). And finally from my own personal experience, don't completely cross out the idea of supplementing with formula. I too wanted to exclusively BF but my (tmi) left breast wouldn't produce, no matter how much I pumped, water I drank, teas, herbal pills, lactation cookies.. my daughter lost too much weight and the hospital made me feel terrible, as if I wasn't trying to feed my daughter. They told me I had to give her formula to get her weight up. She's 5mo now and is in the 90th percentile for height and 50th for weight, and I believe that supplementing with formula helped a lot bc BF with one breast wasn't enough. I hope this helps!

[mombieofthree]

Congratulations! I would suggest joining your local La Leche League group! They are a valuable resource before and after pregnancy when it comes to breastfeeding.

[ibblej]

Just as a note, if you decide to use herbal supplements, make sure to clear them with your doctor first; some of them interfere with medications in various ways. (Just for example, fenugreek can interfere with anti-diabetic drugs, which would be unpleasant if you were dealing with gestational diabetes.)

As the other posters have said, make sure to stay fed and hydrated, and the more milk that's removed, the more you'll produce.

Spoiler

sources: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/512049

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3368280

But, remember, having milk supply issues is not a moral failing on your part. You'll try your best, so if something goes wrong, it's not your fault. Breastmilk is great, but ultimately, the most important thing is that your baby receives all the calories they need to grow, and if you have to supplement with formula to do that, you shouldn't feel like you're bad in some way.

[Jb81]

I was having issues with producing milk in the beginning (more like I was always paranoid if I was making enough. Some nights I felt like I made nothing and my poor girl was starving). Im now using a pump to help boost production. Best advice is drink lots of water and pump generallyat the same times every day. The morning pump/feed is always the biggest as well so utilize the a.m.

[madcarlotta]

ITA w/ all your thoughtful advice! Pumping totally helped me too. My daughter spent the first 3 weeks of her life in the NICU and that really interfered w/ my milk production. I was lucky to have excellent support and help from our hospital's lactation specialists and they loaned me an amazing breast pump (far better than what I had at home) and advised me to pump every 4 hours. Everyone's different but in my case it seems like adding in 1 overnight pumping session (to stick to the every 4 hour schedule) kicked my milk production in BIG TIME. I would smell one of my daughter's worn swaddling blankets when I pumped to help stimulate my hormones. Totally helped! "Baby" is now a 2 1/2 yo toddler - incredibly healthy and hearty. Whew!

[6come6]

Yes! I agree with all these mammas here. I know many books may suggest sticking to a schedule when it comes to BFing, but the more you nurse, the more milk you will have! There are also come lactation cookies that seemed to help me. You can find them at Target and Sprouts. Good luck!

[mimmy82]

Drink a lot of water and let baby nurse as much as he or she would like. Also, I was worried when my baby was cluster feeding, but the lactation consultant said it was normal, didn't mean my supply was low, and was the way the baby let my body know to produce more. Good luck!

[Alexbebee]

Take fenugreek and blessed thistle to increase your milk supply of needed. But just let your babe nurse as much as possible and drink lots of water 😉