Breastfeeding Support Group

While breastfeeding is recommended by many doctors, it is not as simple as it seems. This is a community dedicated to parents who are choosing to breastfeed, providing a safe place to discuss everything from pumping, to questions of whether baby is getting enough, weaning, breast care, scheduling, supply, and more.

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need help to increase supply for back to work

lindseylu
lindseylu
I have been pumping but have very little stash. My baby girl is a piggy and I am worried about pumping enough for her. First how much should 9 week old take at feeding and second I need tips to increase supply. I have been taking fenugreek and it is helping a little but not like I hoped. Thanks so much, we have come this far and I really don't want to use formula if at all possible.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I can't speak to how much your LO would eat neither of my babies have taken bottles so I don't know how much they set
As for supply I've heard great success with Motherlove products Either "more milk" or "more milk plus"
deleted_user
deleted_user
Are you pumping exclusively or is baby also nursing at the breast? The best way I've found to increase supply is to co-sleep for a few nights and let baby nurse away all night long.
lindseylu
lindseylu
She is still at the breast as often as possible. We feed on demand and I dream feed before going to sleep. Only pumping before work and during but only getting about 2 ounces total.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Definitely keep her on the breast as much as possible and pump after every feeding. It is hard, but one thing you can do is to keep your pump stuff in the fridge so you don't have to wash it each time. I struggled with supply. The mother love products were the best, of course the priciest too. I also had to drink a ton of water, eat lots of lean protein, and and I would do power pumping weekends whenever I could. You can check out Kellymom.com, Dr. Newman's site or Makingmoremilk.org (don't buy the book, all the info is on their website). I ultimately took domperidone to help with my supply. An LC can help you get it. Good Luck!
N79
N79
I pumped after each feeding and kept the bottles attached to the shields in the fridge so I didn't have to wash and store small amounts. Then the next morning I froze what I had and started over. I also nursed from one side and pumped from the other while she was eating..mine wasn't so much to increase supply but to increase my storage. It was a lot of work and I got really sick of it...that might have been why I only nursed 6m..
deleted_user
deleted_user
You have gotten a lot of good advice so far.
Remember that the pump is sucking differently than a baby so your body needs more exposure to it to get used to reponding to it. The more you use the pump, the more milk you will get from it (not just from production but because your body will learn how to respond to it).
Are you using an electric double pump? With my 2nd I liked my Avent Isis manual pump but with my 3rd I got a Pump In Style electric double (bought it used on Craigslist) and it was so much better!