Thought that would get your attention!
Since neither of my kids wants to actually eat from my actual boob I am pumping as often as I can. Up to every three hours. Usually it is every 5 hours. I get about 1- 2 floz at a time (except in the am). I only have one working knocker and the other has a few milk ducts working but not many.
Here's the question - how to increase supply? I would like to get up to 10floz - is that possible??
I love the weekends but I love the weekdays more now. The kids have an amazing nanny who is calm and wise. I come home and they are happy kids ( or soon to be happy kids if I get home near bath time). Today she made a huge pot of chicken (balsamic marinated chicken - I kid you not). The kitchen is spotless and there is a sense of 'calm' I get when she's looked after the kids.
Cool.
Can I borrow your nanny? Not for times my mom is here - she does fine. But I'd like her to cook for me and clean my kitchen - and calm the place!
ReplyDeleteAh, the boob. They say if you pump frequently enough you'll increase your supply. During my best days, I got 3-4 ounces from Righty and 2 ounces from Lefty. Much of the time, Righty has been a nice little appetizer, and Lefty was, well, left out. I think (I don't know this for sure, and hopefully someone more informed than me will comment) that our boobs are programmed to produce only so much. My pediatrician said that a baby will always get more milk from a breast than a pump, but if you can't get the babes to nurse, I don't how how you increase the supply. But they are getting SOMETHING, which will give them lots of good things, even if they don't BF 100%.
There are herbal supplements you can try to increase supply (Fenugreek is one ... makes you smell like maple syryp!). And there are prescriptions ... my OB wrote me one for 10 days of Reglan, but I chickened out of using it. There are lots of horror stories about it (causing depression, etc) NTM class action law suits ... though I don't know how it was used in those cases. Mel from Stirrup Queens had a terrible experience with it, to name one person. There is another drug ... is it dopimeridone? Not sure it's avaliable in the US. That one is supposed to have less side effects.
ReplyDeleteI think BWUB is right. It's about frequency of feeding/pumping. I'm still pumping, though he's been refusing the boob lately and my supply is down. Sometimes I wonder if it's been worth it -- I think he got less than half of his daily calories from me and now it's even less. I got attached to my hospital pump and the rental has been really expensive. He's been really healthy ... no sniffles, no fevers. Hard to say. I have such a love/hate relationship with BFing.
Kellymom is a great resource online for all things bf.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
http://kellymom.net/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html
I just started exclusively pumping about two weeks ago when my little man was about six weeks old. I have been getting about 2-4 oz from Bessy and 3-5 oz from Bossy. Yes, we named them in the early days. lol. This is up from about 3 oz total in the early days. It helps that I use an iphone app called total baby that tracks feedings, diaper changes, and I added my own in for pumping that reminds me how long it's been since the last time I pumped. Here's what I've been reading:
ReplyDeleteThis was the best info I found: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/maintainsupply-pump.html
She had some nice links about exclusively pumping: http://thelactivist.blogspot.com/2007/03/exclusively-pumping-good-advice-is-hard.html
I just spent 9 weeks with my twins in the NICU and we had a fabulous lactation consultant there. She said to "power pump" which is to pump for 10 min then stop for 10 min and repeat for an hour. She also said to try pumping every 1.5 to 2 hrs for a whole day which simulates a growth spurt and hopefully increases supply. She said at a certain point nothing would be coming out, but to keep going for the day. I only tried power pumping a few times over a couple of days. My milk supply doubled from 2.5 oz total to about 5 oz total per pump. However, I'm not sure if I'm sustaining that amt because the babies are home now or if it a long-term effect of the power pump. My twins do not latch either. I am planning to see Dr. Lauren Macaluso whose practice is dedicated to breastfeeding issues. Her number is (516) 498-2300 (in New Hyde Park)for all you NY ladies. She supposedly does wonders.
ReplyDeleteI was also told that you can try to drink Ovaltine with malt if you don't like or want beer. I would love to try the drugs and fenugreek, but they are not recommended for preemies. Good luck. Kathy