Is there any possible way to increase your breast milk? I wasn’t able start off with breast milk as soon as the babies were born. I had a c-section, babies weren’t latching on, so the nurses told me to wait a couple days and started the formula. I have been trying ever since without any luck. Lactation consultant has given up too. I am using a breast pump right now just so I can feed the kids some breast milk as well. But, I m not producing enough.
Is there any non-medical way to produce more milk? Or should I pay a visit to my doctor again?
Nohing works a nipple like that a baby's mouth does.... So if u dont put them to ure breast, ure milk production will go down and then disappear.... I happened to me too.... I syarted off with enough milk... But than sahib nawab zaday couldnt be bothered to work hardat the nipple and refused my breast... I would still pump, ate everything anyone said would help production... Buit slowly died down and in 3 months time the milk was all gone....
So even if ure babies fuss and just dont, still put them to ure jpple and try to get them to latch on.... But dont make a big deal bout it... If it doesnt happen... Formula isnt a bad thing either.... :)
I am in the same boat. Your babies won't latch or they are latching and not getting enough milk?? I am told constantly by every single doctor I see that you need to bf. My milk supply is so low that I hardly get a full tablespoon. I did initially tried putting my son on my breast at least 6-8 times a day or whenever he was hungry but that didn't help my milk supply go up. Now at 2 months he wants more milk and gets frustrated and cranky when he doesn't get anything. He will start screaming as soon as I put him on my breast. Most toughest thing I have dealt with after pregnancy is breast feeding.
Khawa, how long does it take for milk to dry out?? I have very very very little milk now, if I start pumping every 2 hours, you think that'll increase my milk supply again to at least an ounce?
My kiddo wouldn't latch on, I tried nipple shields, that worked. Now he will latch on and just not get enough.. Lactation Consultant are no good to be honest. My baby latched on his own the first time when my mom told me how to do it. Lactation consultant in my opinion aren't as good as our own moms when it comes to this.
^Ditto to that! My mother was more helpful than the lactation consultant. I hope this breastfeeding business gets a little easier. After being pregnant and giving birth, you'd think at least this would come easy. But, nopes!
I am at no place to give advise as i m going thru the same. But, Try using a breast pump more often, that may help.
Apiral.... I used an electric pump... But it didnt help... I dont know if it was me or what... But my ,ilk didnt last.... Midwife said that usually happens when u dont bfeed.
Wmen.... Its hard enuff being new motjers.. Dnt put additional stress on ureselbes by thinking u have to bfeed... Yes its the best thing for the baby.... But if it isnt happening... Its ok! Formulas are just as good.... Dony let ute lives revolve arounf bfeeding....especially cuz otjer pl make u feel bad if u arent capable of doing it. Screw others!
Oatmeal, dates, saunf, mother's milk tea all helped a bit. But Khawa is right, without the latch it us very hard. Most desi moms I know didn't get much milk when pumping, so they couldn't keep the supply up.
There is so much more to being a mom than breastmilk. If you're frustrated and overwhelmed with guilt, it will be much harder.
If you do continue to pump frequently, make it as east as possible. Get a double pump and a pumping top. Keep your hands free.
Spiral, I was in a similar situation like yourself. The first couple of weeks after the baby was born, I didn't have a problem b/f the baby at all. Had more than enough milk, and the little guy had latched on perfectly, although it took a couple of days and a few sore nipples for me and him to get used to it.
The milk started to decrease about a month afterwards. And I strongly think it's because of the food quantity/quality that I was eating myself. The first two weeks after birth I stayed over at my parent's house, and my mom made sure I ate. I would have proper breakfast, lunch and dinner. You know, mom's home cooked food :D No problem with my milk supply at that time. However, when I went back home, it was just me and the kids, and I never had time to eat, let alone make myself a good meal. With having to take care of my other son, and my home..and everything else that comes with it, I just didn't have the time or energy to eat. I'd whip out a pb & j sandwich, or have some cereal.
I really think that's why my milk supply started to decrease. So just make sure that you eat! Eat healthy stuff..fruits, veggies, get your meat in. If you have your mom around, see if she can make up some food for you that you have available in the fridge to eat whenever you're hungry. I know that it's easy to get lazy, and not worry about our food when we have to look after the baby.
Farishta - I would say the same to you. Please make sure that you're eating enough. I would say to eat as much as you were when you were preggo. The milk will only increase when you yourself are getting the proper nutrition. Good luck!
The baby sucking onto the nipple is the strongest stimulus.I was able to BF my daughter for about 5 months although I wanted to do it for a year or so.She used to cry so much that BFing became a nightmare..it was like a battle between a crying baby and near crazy mom...:(....I tried everything.I pumped religiously,oatmeal,mother's milk tea,fenugreek(ground fenugreek which I tried to swallow with water...gag...) and fenugreek capsules...but actually nothing worked for me and very soon an ounce was all I got in a day after pumping.It made me so frustrated.It was Ramadan last year,and I was not fasting as I wanted to BF her and be able to drink lots of fluid through the day.
I had to eventually realize that I had done all I could.I did not want to take prescriptions so I just gave up at that point.
I BF her for 5 months and although it was a great thing,but switching to formula had its plus points too...:D
I never thought BFing was something hard...I was so wrong.
Hey everyone, i'm reading this book at the moment called "Breasfeeding Made Simple - The 7 laws of breastfeeding".....i really recommend it for new mothers to be. One interesting thing i found in this book is that it says that when the baby is born you should have lots and lots of skin to skin contact with your baby as this also helps to increase breast milk supply. Also, you should try and breastfeed baby or at least get your baby to latch on in the first 2 hours of the birth as this will also help breast milk supply because after this the baby will go into a long stretch of sleep and when the baby wakes up your milk won't be ready...if you know what i mean. Also, a study showed that mothers who held their baby skin to skin for the first couple of hours were more successful with breastfeeding.
When my daughter was born i held her for like 5 minutes then she was taken to be cleaned, weighed, i was stitched up and then went to have a shower and then all family came and they held her. So i don;t think i had any skin to skin time with her and she certainly didn't feed in the first 2 hours...no wonder i wasn't able to breastfeed her. This time i will ask midwife if i can have skin to skin for longer and try and get her to latch as soon as possible.
Also, i had pethedine as a form of pain relief and apparently that also hinders breastfeeeding...did anyone else have pethedine (it's injected in to your thigh, its not epidural...and kinda knocks you out for an hour or so...) I've heard that women who have this have problems breasfeeding.
I wonder how much of that is true... Here they dont bother cleaning up the baby ...its literally thrown on ure naked breast the min its born... Infact all weighing measuring etc is put on hild for atleast 30 mins... Cuz they are THAT skin crazy here.... Once cleaned off...mother is once again asked to put naked baby against her naked self so it can get xlose to ure smell and u....
I did all this.... Didnt do anything tbh. Mine didnt wanna bfeed nor did it want to sleep... How is that for idiocy.
I did get an injection in my thi but i dont know what it was....this time im gonna ask!
As per my experience milk production is directly related to your stress level when you are under stress or sad the milk production reduces automatically. My daughter was on feeding tube for almost 45 days of her or may be more so the only option available to me was breast pump. It did help in the beginning but slowly the milk supply reduced because she was not able to latch on and because I was under immense stress. Though my mom made me eat all these things like zeera , pop corns etc etc but nothing helped.
My own mother was very upset about my daughter not getting breast milk to date she regrets it but I couldn't help it. She has been on formula ever since and I honestly believe that it has worked better than breast milk for her because the formula helped her in gaining weight which was very important for her at that point in time.
^ I agree diamond. The level of stress you have plays an important factor in your milk production. The more mentally stressed out you are, the harder it is to breastfeed, and for you to produce the amount of milk that's required for baby.
So take it easy, and get others to help whenever you feel it's needed.
I wonder how much of that is true... Here they dont bother cleaning up the baby ...its literally thrown on ure naked breast the min its born... Infact all weighing measuring etc is put on hild for atleast 30 mins... Cuz they are THAT skin crazy here.... Once cleaned off...mother is once again asked to put naked baby against her naked self so it can get xlose to ure smell and u....
I did all this.... Didnt do anything tbh. Mine didnt wanna bfeed nor did it want to sleep... How is that for idiocy.
I did get an injection in my thi but i dont know what it was....this time im gonna ask!
Really? and all this time i was thinking that she didn't latch on because i didn't give her enough skin to skin time. I see posters everywhere in the maternity departments about how good skin-to-skin is but the midwives here rush you so much that you can't actually put it in practice. It's a shame that breast feeding didn't work for us and then i hear all these stories about how some women who adopt a baby are able to breastfeed them and how other women who start breastfeeding their babies when they are 6 months because the baby was in ill/in hospital etc so they couldn't breastfeed earlier.
i actually didn't have a milk issue but an un-cooperative baby issue.
This zeera thing are you suppose to crush and mix in milk? is there a way to guarantee breastfeeding will work?
I dont think there is any guarantee... Some babies just arent born to suck... Which sucks. I had enough milk... Good set of nipples ( sorry for the tmi)... But my son was just an idiot. No other explanation for it.
The zeera u are meant to chew ... And swallow... Drink some water afterwards.... U can also buy them in capsule form... From gnc etc
I don't think he is an idiot...he is actually very very clever and can differentiate between breast and bottle... He also knows that drinking from a bottle means less effort and a faster flow of milk... He also knows that if he makes a fuss u will give in and give the bottle...now who's the fool?
haha… my husband said the same… but after 3 months of trying.. he is teh bigger idiot for not wanting a nautral product … he had to wait for me to make his formula.. and get the formula right cuz of his acid reflux.. etc…
