Has anyone experienced breastfeeding problems and had to re-establish your supply? If so, how did you do it? I was encourged to supplement with formula due to jaundice, short feeding times and later gas/fussiness and now my supply is VERY low with her getting mosly formula. I spoke with the lactation consultant at the hospital who suggested the support group, a hospital grade pump for a week, oatmeal, fenugreek, beer (lol...yes...beer!), high protein diet and frequent nursing...but I wanted to see if anyone actually experienced low supply and was successful and bringing it back to an adequate supply. I think I did well at establishing the supply for almost 2 weeks but I am concerned that I "set the standard" and my supply will be low from this point forward. I know everyone is different but would still like to hear your story. The breastfeeding books that I have seem to focus on telling women the worst case scenario in order to promote breastfeeding. Many basically say if you don't establish within the first week, all hope is lost on an adequate supply. One says that its not too late but most are discouraging. I am hoping that the breastfeeding support group and pumping will help...I would hate for this to be the end of breastfeeding for this one..since my others nursed for 9 months and 4 months.:sadeyes

Any advice or support would be appreciated.:)

Yes I had some problem when I got sick and one of my prescriptions slowed down my milk production. what I did to "reload" was when I nursed her I Would pump immediately afterward and I did the fenugreek or whatever that vitamin is called. I mainly just pumped lots and lots just to keep them stimulated KWIM? Good luck with it! :hugehug

good luck

Yes, with my oldest we had to supplement as well, and when I went back to work at 6 weeks PP my supply dropped quite a bit. I would pump like crazy, at work, and after feeding baby. Also drank lots of water, and took my prenatals.
Mostly it was pumping that brought it back.

Yeah that is what really worked for me the pumping.

I've had the same problem in the past due to babies that were in the NICU and couldn't nurse as well as dealing with thrush and jaundice. Oatmeal and fenugreek work well. There is also a tea that you can get at health food stores or online called "Mother's Milk" tea. It is good at increasing supply. I also rented a hospital grade pump and it worked much more efficiently than the store bought one that I had.

Good luck in increasing your supply.

I had an low supply of milk due to a lot of stress, poor diet, and being pressured to suppliment feedings....pumping really worked for me, and when I couldn't pump, I would just hand express.

A beer :D usually does it for people and its the quickest and cheapest.

Also, make sure you are eating right and drinking plenty of water.

I had supply issues bigtime with my son. Nothing helped. I pumped, used fenugreek, ate oatmeal, etc etc. If you take fenugreek make sure you take 3 capsules 3 times per day. Eat lots of oatmeal, pump after feedings. If you supplement always offer the breast first. Thats about all I can tell you. Nothing really helped my supply with my son and at 4.5 months I was forced to wean because he was REFUSING to supplement and started to lose weight.

G'luck to you!

Heres a great website http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
also our nursing group recommends this site a lot http://www.lowmilksupply.com/

Pumping, lots of fenugreek, & drinking plenty of water is what did it for me, I struggled with supply issues a lot with my ds but I always got it back.

I had the same problem with Ellie. It took 6 days for my milk to actually come in, and when it did, it was hardly anything! When she was 5 days old, we gave in and gave her formula. I just had such a hard hard time trying to get her to eat, but because there was NO milk, she would get sooo frustrated and eventually refused. From that time on, I pretty much gave up on nursing, and just pumped. That really really helped! But the most I got was 4oz from each side, which at the time was plenty for her. But after I had my surgery and couldnt pump (cuz they kept "forgetting" to get me one) I pretty much dried up. I went from getting 8oz total every pump session to 2oz MAYBE. It was really tough. So at my 6 week check up, the doc gave me a pill to take very similiar to fenegreek and it definitely brought my milk in! The first week was rough because there wasnt much there, but she would at least stay latched until that was gone, but then about day 6 I got a huge huge amount of milk in at once and then I got all blocked up and it hurt soooo bad to pump, nurse, nothing helped. And she got pissed because my boobs were sooooo hard cuz they were sooo full that she couldnt nurse well, so I just stopped taking the pills and dried up. I had frozen a lot though, so she was able to get breastmilk for about 9 weeks or so. So hey, thats better than nothing right??

LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER...Fenugreek is a good way to go if you aren't a fan of Licorice flavor/smell (the mothers milk tea smells and tastes like licorice) Also, always always always offer the breast, nurse on demand, the suckling will draw more milk. Pumping is great way to do it but really the best draw of milk will come from your little one. Also www.kellymom.com is a great resource, contact your local la leche league too they can offer at least emotional support. Keep in mind you may think you have a low supply but sometimes it's just enough for your LO. My breasts rarely engorge or even feel full anymore but yet my DS is obviously gaining well...

Hope you find a solution, if you need to chat I'm happy to help :)

mothering.com also has great breastfeeding boards!


ETA:
I jsut want to add my 2 cents about the beer thing...I've heard it's good to up supply and stuff and that not much passes through to the milk or whatever...I personally would be concerned about that, I mean if you consume it I would just assume so does your LO.

Beer is good from what I have heard :yes I think the yeast in it or something like that? I don't know but 2 of my lactation consultants suggested drinking one beer at a time (I think 1 beer a night or so) and they said it would help a lot. Also, I'd definitely suggest a hospital grade pump. The hospital pumps that I used were soooooooooooo much more efficient. Good luck!

Thank you SO MUCH ladies. Its amazing how fragile your confidence can be with newborns...despite having previous children...lol. Had my breastfeeding confidence been higher (should have read more books and attended support groups BEFORE the baby...lol) I don't think I would have had this problem of having to re-establish. Oh well. I am staying positive that I can return to exclusive breastfeeding at least until I return to work. I am going to go ahead and rent a pump from the hospital for a week or two while I get the supply back up. That fenugreek stuff has my skin smelling like maple syrup....lol..I am sweating maple syrup....that's not so bad....lol. My first support group meeting is next week so we will see how that goes. I have never been to a support group of any kind so I am a little nervous but I am sure it will go fine.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond/share your experience....it really helps to talk with other mothers about these things....thanks!!!