Increasing Supply at 3 1/2 months; Possible??

[SeattlePisces]

Hi Everyone,

When my son was first born we battled a pretty serious case of jaundice (bili lights, poor feeding, lack of bowel movements, etc.). On the second week we were recommended to give him some formula to help with the jaundice and maybe get things moving in his system due to the poor feeding off of the breast. Anyway, long story short I got a little too comfortable with the formula feeding and have been supplementing ever since. He still nurses 2-3 times during the day, and is at the breast during the night feedings (although I am unsure how much he eats or for how long since we co-sleep and I tend to fall back asleep during his night feedings). My supply is very low. I am at the point of giving a bottle even after the nursing session to get him satiated. My question is.. Do you think it is possible to increase my milk production at this point in the game? OR is it too late because my supply has already been established and mostly eliminated by the lack of demand from the get go? Have any of you been successful at increasing your production after 3 months?I am starting to pump again at work, and am attempting to pump after each nursing session. This morning when I pumped I got just a little under an ounce. When I pump after feedings I am pretty much empty and just get a trace amount. I started drinking mother's milk tea today and would love any other suggestions. Thanks in advance for reading and any of your feedback!

[paulamc]

I have had great success with domperidone much later than 3 months post partum. I'm not sure if I could have achieved nearly as much with pumping alone -I did try. If you are interested in the domperidone, read up on it at Dr. Jack Newman's website. You can get it online at inhousepharmacy.com - that's how I get mine. I usually take about 4 pills 3 times a day - so 12 pills a day. Dr. Newman recommends starting with 3 pills 3 times a day and increasing up to 4 pills 4 times a day if necessary. It's a bit expensive, but perhaps no more so than formula. Here are links to his site.

http://www.drjacknewman.com/pdfs/Dom...arted-2008.pdf
http://www.drjacknewman.com/pdfs/Dom...pping-2008.pdf

[SeattlePisces]

Thank you for your response. I've read up a bit on it, but am a bit concerned about side effects. Have you experienced any side effects from the domperidone?

Thanks again!

[GreenGranolaMama]

Mothers milk tea works wonderfully. Our story mirrors yours almost completely (severe jaundice, bilie lights etc...), but we never supplemented with formula, however around 2mo my supply was still not meeting his needs. After about a week, drinking 3 cups or so of tea a day, I noticed a definite change in supply as well as consistency. I also pumped after feedings and I think that helped too. Good luck

[SeattlePisces]

Great to hear about the tea! Heading for another cup now....

[paulamc]

Originally Posted by SeattlePisces

Thank you for your response. I've read up a bit on it, but am a bit concerned about side effects. Have you experienced any side effects from the domperidone?

When I first started it, there was a time or two when I took the pills first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and I thought I felt a very very slight queasiness, so slight I wasn't sure it was real. I never notice anything like that anymore, and otherwise have had no side effects at all.

By the way, before starting the domperidone I did try Fenugreek+Blessed Thistle but didn't notice much difference in supply. I've never tried mother's milk tea.

[Eligracey]

My supply went up dramatically at 5 months when I started 9 pills a day of fenugreek, recommended by an LC.

[Baby_Cakes]

My supply seems to fluctuate a lot, and my DD is 11 mo. I have great results in output (I pump b/c I WOH) with eating steel cut oats for breakfast. You could add that to your regime and see if it helps at all.

[SeattlePisces]

All great ideas.. Thanks again! I did pick up some fenugreek yesterday, but wasn't quite sure what the dosage was. I think that I will give the tea + fenugreek + oats a try (and I also heard possibly adding a hearty beer a day) and see how that goes.

If all of that fails, I'll may look into the domperidone.

Glad to hear that others have had success, even months in.