Will I ever make enough?

My twins are six weeks old and I would love to nurse exclusively. At bedtime, it seems like I have nothing left. Despite feeling empty, I put them on the breasts and afterward give a bottle. Lately, I feel as though my breast are empty earlier and earlier. I feel as though I will never make enough for then. They start tugging and going crazy. I don't want to have to givepte bottles during day but I can tell they are still hungry. They are waking from their naps early and I attribute it to being hungry. Do I give in and supplement after each feeding or do I hope my body will begin to make enough to fill their bellies? Help!

 

There are people much more knowledgeable than me on the board but here's what I did:

1- took blessed thistle and fenugreek herbs to boost my supply.

2 - pumped after every feed in the beginning to tell my body to make more.

3. Nursed as often as possible.

4. Drank tons of water.

I also went on a prescription at 4.5 months (domperidone, available only here in Canada I believe) when I noticed a drop in supply in one breast.

There is a wide range of stories and definitions of success so my best recommendation is figure out what works best for you and your babes and do that. Good luck!

 

You can get it in the US from a compounding pharmacy with a prescription but you need a pro-breast feeding Doc to prescribe it since it isn't the norm here (even though it is the best).

 

I never made enough to feed both. I was on fenagreek and something that started like r (reglan maybe) and one of them makes you smell like maple syrup. Some is better than none

 

The short answer is yes! I also agree that you need to find what works for you and that breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing. That being said, supplementing usually causes your supply to dwindle. Breast milk production is a supply & demand process so the more you demand the more you'll make and the less you demand the less you make. When you supplement, you're basically telling your body that no more milk needs to be made at that time. This is assuming there are no underlying medical issues for low supply (ex insufficient glandular tissue: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/insufficient-glandular-tissue/). Don't get me wrong, supplementing can be a god-send when you need a break but it's also important to understand how it affects your supply. And if your goal is exclusive breastfeeding then you may want to consider other options. If you do give a supplement, you should also try to pump at the same time so that the demand for the milk is still there.

Here is an article on increasing low milk supply: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/low-supply/

And here's one on how to wean from formula supplements: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basics/decrease-formula/

All the articles are from Kellymom.com which is an absolutely fabulous online breastfeeding resource. I still search info on there for myself when I have questions.

 

I had this late afternoon / evening drop in supply too, I just felt empty. I noticed it was worse on the days when I had not taken care of myself (as far as that is at all possible with newborn twins), i.e. had not had enough water and nutritous food and rested during one of their naps, or just had a bad day. I read in your other thread that you are also having trouble getting them to fall asleep and sleep enough, so you are probably not getting enough rest yourself.

To boost my supply specifically at this late afternoon / evening time I did mini-nursing marathons with the babies for a week or two in the late afternoon or early evening. So I took a supply of water and snacks and burp cloths and diapers and settled down on the big bed with both babies and cuddled and nursed them as much as they wanted. The constant nursing is hard but the constant demand should tell your body to make more milk, especially more milk for the pre-bedtime hours.

I guess you could also supplement at this time and pump, but pumping never worked well for me and you need extra time for that. For what it's worth: It took me 3 months to build my supply enough that I could stop supplementing completely. Hang on- you are doing great and it will get better soon!