Increase Your Breast Milk Supply

If your anything like me, you are having a hell of a time with this whole “producing milk thing” for your baby. It really has been making me feel almost like..useless..you know? I have to pump my milk because of personal reasons as well as my baby boy was born with a tooth! Which apparently runs in my family. With pumping, I began with pumping at most between 10-14oz in the morning then my schedule had gotten all messed up and I had got extremely stressed the last few months and now I am down to only being able to provide my little man with 2 4oz bottles of breast milk a day at best, the rest is supplemented with soy formula. *Frown face* So I have been doing some research and have found a bunch of helpful options to increasing your milk production if you are running low as I am.
I have started eating more, because I wasn’t the type for breakfast, DURING pregnancy I was all for it. But after, its almost like you forget to eat as well. Its all baby baby baby. So I have been drinking more fluids, eating more and I think I’m starting to see a bit of a difference. But I am going to start trying more and more options.

1. Drinking fluids, milk, water, juice. Drinking more and more won’t help you produce more milk. But it will keep your energy up so you can properly keep up you milk production. So its important.

2. Eating enough. with breastfeeding/pumping you need an extra 500 calories a day. Make sure your eating your breakfast. At least a piece of toast! (P.S. Oatmeal is said to help with breast milk production.)

3. Caffeine can help stimulate your breast milk production, but also your baby. It can disrupt sleep, make them irritable. Some is fine, just not large quantities (5+) in a day. Baby won’t notice one pop or coffee.

4. Stress can hinder milk production. So try taking a bath or do something relaxing. Don’t just reach for a beer. Try not stewing over issues. Your only hurting yourself.

4. Pumping/Breastfeeding for longer periods and more often. Milk Production is a supply and demand kind of thing.

5. Fenugreek tea/capsules is a good way to help increase your milk production. You can get it from health food stores. I did use this stuff when I began pumping initially and it seemed to be working great.

6. Hops, yes this means a beer too or other forms of hops, like a nice Stout. One a week or every other day or one after supper. The hops acts as a galactagogue which means “encouraging abundant breast milk”
http://www.babycenter.com/400_does-beer-increase-your-breastmilk_955324_539.bc
7. Beer. The barely in beer is said to help with producing milk. But babies don’t like the taste of alcohol! So time it right.

8. More Milk Plus, used to help increase milk production. I have bought this stuff and will be using it shortly.
http://www.motherlove.com/product/530-More-Milk-Plus.html

9. Pump/Feed in the middle of the night. This is very important, going long periods without feeding or pumping tells your body that it doesn't need to make as much, so it won’t! Going low periods without won’t make you have more milk!! So even if baby isn't hungry then pump or express.

I am now keeping my fluids up and pumping so much more often and regularly. And now with more pumping I am starting to notice a difference. I am even trying to wake up in the middle of the night to quickly pump. Because that is extremely important. Its just hard when your tired. So I am slowly on my way to more milk. I have bought the more milk plus which I will be trying shortly and I am wanting to pick up some fenugreek which I know will help because it did for me before. Before I ran out and my personal stresses began. Stress is bad..bad bad bad.
With all that said I plan on getting more fenugreek, taking More Milk Plus, pumping more, keeping fluids up and all the previously mentioned and keeping this updated on my progress.

Now, it's 8 years later. My son is going to be 9 this year and I now have a 14 month old daughter! I also pumped breast milk for her. I constantly drank water, ate properly, wasn't stressed out (not married anymore), my son helps a lot and I drank Mother Milk tea like a mad person!! It all truly helped and I ended up with well over 100 ounces of frozen breast milk. I was doing good, I don't pump anymore. But I must say having a STRICT pumping schedule/feeding schedule, drinking water, eating properly and drinking Mothers Milk tea (at least for me) is a very good step in a forward direction!