Relactation Success Stories

My babies are 2 1/2 months old now and I'm still producing milk but very low. We had a rough start with breastfeeding compounded by nipple confusion and very low milk supply. It's a vicious cycle that frustrates me and the babies. I have help this weekend and I'm planning to take them to the breast and pump as much as I can.

Anybody here been in this situation and has succeeded in increasing their milk supply. I'm telling myself, these next two weeks will be my last try until I finally throw in the towel. I'm tired of being depressed about not being able to breastfeed despite trying to no avail.

Words of encouragement please? Tips to make it a success?

 

my first son wouldnt take at all.. as were flipping out.. his dad comes home from wk and gave him a bottle..
enfamil.. eek.. he ate.. but it wasnt from me.. gurr..

so then i had twins.. they both ate often..
the thing to do is.. 1 lift the breast..
2 massage.. around the entire breast to produce more milk..

i do hope this helps..

good luck..

 

My advice is this: don't assume your supply is low based on the volume you are pumping out or the babies' behavior. Use concrete signs are your guide: 1. The babies' weight gain and 2. The number of wet/messy diapers they are having. If it would make you feel better, you could bring them in to the pedi once a week for a quick weight check. They should have 5-6 sopping wet diapers daily.

Often, nursing moms make the mistake of judging their milk supply by how much EBM the baby will drink in a bottle (usually way more than they need), or how much formula they drink (definitely more than BM - it does not digest as easily), or how their breasts feel, or what they get from pumping, or fussiness on the part of the babies. These are not accurate measures of supply, so don't fall into that trap and get discouraged!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Michelle

 

first, i want to second what michelle said. are you sure your supply is low? what makes you think so?

tips for success? take it one feeding at a time. are you supplementing at all? how much and when/ how often?

how did your weekend go? were you able to get them to the breast as much as you had wanted? how do you feel they are nursing?

sorry for all the questions!! :laughing: let us know how you are doing!

 

I tandem/double nursed for the first month and then I figured we would switch to formula at bedtime and it seemed I was making less and less milk and had to give the bedtime bottle earlier and earlier and they were more gassy so after 3 weeks of this we decided to go back to exclusively bf. It took a while and it was hard work to go back. The more the babies nurse, the more your milk supply goes up so I double nursed for as long as they and I could stand it. (One baby was content nursing longer than the other so I let him. Then hubby and I each gave a bottle. Every few days, the better nurser got less and less in his bottle until he was all nursed to bed. Then we started working on the second baby. We lowere her bottle slower but after two weeks we were back to exclusively bfing and went until 6 months exclusive at which time my milk supply was a lot more willing to skip a feeding now and then (I just had to pump and remember to plan to nurse a lot the next day to catch the milk supply up)

Good Luck!

 

QUOTE(titania @ Jun 18 2007, 01:36 AM) [snapback]296121[/snapback]
first, i want to second what michelle said. are you sure your supply is low? what makes you think so?

[i][/i] My milk supply is very low since I can't really BF (Babies get frustrated) so I pump and what I get is very low. An LC also confirmed this

tips for success? take it one feeding at a time. are you supplementing at all? how much and when/ how often?

I'm supplementing a lot. The babies only get EBM 2x a day.

how did your weekend go? were you able to get them to the breast as much as you had wanted? how do you feel they are nursing?
Well, I was hoping I'd have more help so I could pump consistently but the help backed out on me last minute. I tried to pump every 2-3 hours though. They take on the breast but don't stay long enough since they scream out in hunger.

sorry for all the questions!! :laughing: let us know how you are doing!


Thanks for asking!

 

I used domperidone (relactation) for my first two boys. While I never had to supplement, I worked full time from two months and am not a great pumper. I saw results from the meds within a day or two, and stayed on it with my first for six moths. With my second, once my supply increased, I weaned myself off the meds and my supply stayed strong. I'd also recommend directly breastfeeding as much as you are able, as that works wonders as well!