https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Mon, 06 Apr 2026 17:48:47 +0000 Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:53:01 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.05 360 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=6328 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_images/web_wiz_forums.png https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/ https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122403&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122403 Author: yummymummy
Subject: 6328
Posted: 25 March 2007 at 8:53pm

Wow Emma - 2L a day! That's a huge effort!

Thanks for the support everyone - it's been really helpful and I'm feeling more positive about the whole thing. For now my goal is to get past 8 weeks and hope by then things will be easier (and more plentiful) ]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:53:01 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122403&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122403 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122373&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122373 Author: Maya
Subject: 6328
Posted: 25 March 2007 at 7:31pm

Just wanted to give you some big cyber hugs Yummy Mummy. I don't really have any advice that Clare hasn't already given you, but having express-fed my gremlins solely (with occasional breast feeds) for 10 weeks I can still remember how draining it was and how totally inadequate I felt.

The only thing I can say (just to contradict everyone else [;)) is not to express TOO frequently. It takes 2 hours for the breasts to fill completely so if you are expressing more frequently than that it means you are never letting the breasts completely fill therefore your supply is maintained but doesn't increase. It doesn't sound like it makes sense, but trust me it does - at one point I was expressing 2L of milk a day

And it's not the end of the world if you get to a point where you just can't do it anymore. I struggled with that more than anything else - I just couldn't give up. yes breast is best, but don't kill yourself in the process. There are a variety of formula options around and if you talk to your paediatrician (or GP) he or she will be able to suggest which ones might make Gina spill less.

More hugs. Best of luck!

ETA: My baby diary (http://www.ohbaby.co.nz/article.aspx?ContentID=1216) chronicles the whole story of my breastfeeding/expressing mission if it helps...

Edited by Maya]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:31:46 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122373&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122373 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122355&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122355 Author: Redbedrock
Subject: 6328
Posted: 25 March 2007 at 5:29pm

You are doing a fantastic job, I know how much you are wanting the BF to work and you have to go through it in your own time. The expressing is hard work and I am so close to stopping now, it's just a hassle but then i think back at how hard i had to work to get this far and I can't.
Don't think about the longterm, set short term goals mine were to get to 6 weeks, then 8 then 3 months and now it's to get to 4 minths and just review what I want to do.
I so remeber the the 2am feeds where we would both be sobbing with tears and neil would come and try to help and end up in tears too as he couldn't fix the problem. Do what feels right for you but also look after your self.
Thinking of you and hope that things get better]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:29:33 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122355&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122355 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122351&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122351 Author: yummymummy
Subject: 6328
Posted: 25 March 2007 at 5:15pm

Thanks Claire for bumping your old post up!
All those posts are just soo helpful - incredible to read what many others have been thru and knowing it's not just me. Makes me feel a lot less inadequate as a mum that can't feed her own child!!!
I've had a lot of your issues too
- prem baby born 5 weeks early
- flat nipples (forgot that one) - we have to use a nipple sheild
- inadequate supply
We've seen a lactation consultant and Gina can latch on properly, it's just that she un-latches just as quickly and starts crying. I think we've had 1 sucessful breasfeeding session in the last week! I know what you mean about bubs picking up on the frustration, but it's just so heartbreaking to watch her go for it time and time again and just end up screaming and hungry

I'm expressing 8 times a day (and night) too at the moment (10 yesterday!), trying to build up supply. I've given up trying to latch her on at every feed - it's just not happening and we both end up unhappy & in tears
I just soooooo wish my milk supply would build up so I can feed breast milk alone - I don't really mind expressing it but do want to feed her breast milk until she's at least 6 months - really really hope we can make it.]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:15:17 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122351&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122351 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122346&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122346 Author: emeldee
Subject: 6328
Posted: 25 March 2007 at 5:05pm

Have you got a Plunket family centre or LaLeche group around? How about a lactation specialist your midwife could recommend? Breast feeding is hard work sometimes and it can be SOOOO frustrating and demoralising when it isn't going the way you hoped it would. Try and get some help if there is some around (physical help) and give it time. Another way to eat almonds is with LSA (linseed, soy and almond meal) - it's available at most health stores, some supermarkets and a tbs is good on cereal or in a smoothie. Try and get some rest as well - and good luck! (I've been b'feeding my 3rd for almost 6 months now and I still use a tri-pillow to support him and end up with cracks and latching issues every once and a while). ]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 17:05:59 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122346&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122346 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122286&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122286 Author: Redbedrock
Subject: 6328
Posted: 25 March 2007 at 1:56pm

Hey you sound like you are in a similar position to me, Fay was born 5 weeks early and stayed in hospital for 12 days. we had major issues with my milk supply and I am still taking domperidone and a fennel supplement to maintain my supply. I attempted breast feeding for 8 weeks, she latched onmost of the time and pulled off crying most of the time because there wasn't enough there for her. I expressed for 8 weeks about 8 times a day, but couldn't and still cannot increase my milk supply beyond 300ml. I finally stopped breast feeding at my Plunket nurses advice as she could see what a state I was getting in and since then Fay has been fed 50/50ish on breast milk and formula all via a bottle, she is nearly 4 months old now and I am now expressing just twice a day to get my 300-350mls breast milk.
What i am really trying to say is don't feel guilty and try not to put too much pressure on yourself as stress reduces the levels of oxytocin, a hormone which helps milk supply. I have learnt and accepted that some babies just don't know how to breast feed and expressing will never get the same volumes of milk as the baby suckling. have they checked gina out for mouth issues such as the position of her tongue when latching, etc, Plunket referred us to Speech therapy as she held her tongue up when latching which created problems with latching to the breast and bottles, is that something you need to explore?
I hope this doesn't sound like a negative post, I just know where you are and I am a little further down the line with it. Gina may also pick up your distress when breast feeding and this may be the cause of her being unsettled at the breast. Fay used to become furious and scream, hold her breath and hit my breast, she used to gum my nipples really hard too out of sheer frustration.
sorry very long post, hope I am not hijacking it. PM me if you want to ask any questions about my experience also. I will try and find my very long thread that I started about that time with all the advice I received too.]]> Sun, 25 Mar 2007 13:56:09 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122286&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122286 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122179&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122179 Author: SMoody
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 8:21pm

I think she gets onto the boob and then pull off as she isnt use to having to work for it to get a letdown.

Maybe you can try and express a bit so there is a letdown for her and she doesnt need to "work" as such to get it. If you know what I mean.

Or while she is on the boob. If you can let her just stay there for like 30 seconds. Use your other hand to manipulate your boob and literally hand express milk to help her with the letdown. She should get the idea really soon.

Hope it helps. ]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:21:16 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122179&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122179 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122097&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122097 Author: Leish
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 1:11pm

I don't really have any suggestions but lots of hugs. Hope that it gets better for you both really soon]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:11:12 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122097&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122097 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122096&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122096 Author: yummymummy
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 1:08pm

Thanks for the suggestions everyone - I'll def give them a go. I've been trying to express every 1-2 hours today and will keep it up for a couple of days to see what happens.
Trying to b'feed Gina is a nightmare - she goes for the breast with mouth wide open, latches on then spits it out and starts crying. It can go on for a while and we just don't get anywhere I'll keep trying today so fingers crossed it gets better.
I don't really have a problem with let down as such - the second she cries, my milk starts dripping. It's just that I don't seem to have enough to feed her to the point where she's happy.]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:08:12 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122096&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122096 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122094&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122094 Author: fattartsrock
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 12:50pm

Almonds help with supply heaps, I get whole blanched "dessert almonds" from the bulk food section of the s/market. I would say,take her off the bottle if you really want her to b/f like busymum said, she might be getting a little "lazy".]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:50:43 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122094&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122094 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122076&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122076 Author: busymum
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 11:35am

My mw told me to stay away from nipple shields because they lessen milk supply and can cause mastitis Expressing won't boost your supply as much as a good old suckle, even if she suckles on and off for an hour. If you really want to keep up bf-ing then you'll need to take her off the bottle. Even though it's expressed, it's easier for her to suck the teat than you so she's just got a bit "lazy" (I mean that in a nice way).

If she's particularly spilly you might need to check that she doesn't have reflux - in which case it will hurt her tummy if it is too full.

So I'm with gsmum, and expressing a little before the feed (just squeeze out a couple of drops) for her to taste. Big hugs!]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:35:43 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122076&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122076 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122054&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122054 Author: mummy_becks
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 9:38am

I know for me, demand feeding really helped with bring my supply up. Also drinking a lot of water. I can drink up to 6 litres a day some days. Protein is meant o help as well. I took milk flow tablets with Andrew they did help a lot. Once you have Gina feeding from you well and once she is asleep express of more milk to keep you supply up. I am expressing off some milk after Joshua has been asleep for 2 hours so that he can have milk for a big feed at night.]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 09:38:27 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122054&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122054 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122036&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122036 Author: caraMel
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 8:43am

Blessed thistle is also a fantastic natural supplement to help with boosting milk supply. It got reccommended to me by the pharmacist, I took 3 capsules and woke up looking like Pamela Anderson!
Good luck hun!]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:43:09 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122036&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122036 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122028&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122028 Author: SMoody
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 8:05am

Just try lying in the bed for one day. Let her get hungry for a little bit. And then express a bit of milk so there is drops on your nipple. Let her smell it a bit. She will be more inclined to try it out then

Otherwise maybe try with a nipple shield first. She might be use to the taste of a teat. Other thing that you can try when you get up is to have her in a sling. Keep her as close to you as possible for a while. (it does help a bit with production to have your baby close to you.)

Other trick that I have heard that works. Go to the chemist and get glycerine. Put that on your nipple. It is sweet and will clean her mouth as well so no worries for bubs. She might be more likely to try it as well.

But first try just to lie in bed with her. If you can with no top on. And hold out a bit with the bottle. ]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:05:02 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122028&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122028 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122027&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122027 Author: MILF
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 8:03am

milk is made roughly every 40 mins, so if you feel up to it you could try every hour for a day and see if that increases any? poor you, i had enough problems with jordis, but at least she fed really well from me.
i hear you on the formula problem, when i was really struggling to get enough milk for her, everyone was helpfully suggesting formula, but it just wasnt a solution - at hospital she was so much more spilly on it, i didnt want to go down that road. she is spilly enough!
i cant think of anything else to try, i take domperidone, milkflow spray from the naturapharm range, and blessed thistle. does she latch on at all? even if you tried getting her to latch long enough to let down your milk, it might help stimulate production - if you expressed the rest of it. not as easy to do as it is to say though i know.
hope things improve for you, if you can give it another 3 weeks things seem to settle down and become much easier, i swear!]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:03:43 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122027&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122027 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122011&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122011 Author: yummymummy
Subject: 6328
Posted: 24 March 2007 at 4:24am

She doesn't really want to b'feed. Should I just up the frequency of expressing?]]> Sat, 24 Mar 2007 04:24:00 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122011&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122011 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122003&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122003 Author: Bizzy
Subject: 6328
Posted: 23 March 2007 at 11:53pm

milk is made because it is meeting the demand - so the more bub suckles the more is made... you might have to just spend a day or two in bed feeding her and not giving her top ups with formula. ]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2007 23:53:13 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=122003&title=issues-with-milk-supply#122003 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=121990&title=issues-with-milk-supply#121990 Author: yummymummy
Subject: 6328
Posted: 23 March 2007 at 10:26pm

Right from the start I've had problems b'feeding.
Because Gina was a prem and had problems with jaundaice, she did not start feeding and I had to express to try and bring in my milk. In hospital I was expressing every 2-3 hours with no luck. It took over a week for my milk to come in and it only did when I had started taking drugs (domperidone) to help me along.
Since then I've had to stick to expressing as Gina got used to feeding from a bottle. I express every time I feed her and don't have a problem doing it but I just can't bring up my milk supply to keep up with her.
I'm still taking the domperidone as well as blessed thisle (sp?) and fennel tablets, I'm drinking plenty of water and milk and eating protein and almonds and I'm still NOT making enough milk! To make things worse, Gina spills every time we top her up with formula and it makes me feel so guilty
HELP! I'm feeling so hopeless and I really really want to be able to give her my milk. What else can I do to make more milk?]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:26:32 +0000 https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6328&PID=121990&title=issues-with-milk-supply#121990