I have lurked in this forum ever since my baby girl was born in March, but this is my first post.
I have struggled with low supply since my baby was born. It was a case of insulin resistance/obesity (though no PCOS) combined with IGT. (Baby's tongue tie, which we clipped at four weeks, probably also contributed.) With the assistance of a lactation MD and an IBCLC, I managed to get my supply to a place where the baby only needed 6-8 ounces of supplement a day. This took 1) domperidone, 2) fenugreek/goats rue/blessed thistle, 3) pumping after every feeding, with some power pumping to boot, and 4) a lot of hard work and many tears. I worked very hard to get to that place.
However, now that the baby is 5 months old, my supply has waned to the point where the baby is getting the vast majority of her food from formula. I am back at work now, and am trying to figure out what to do going forward. I pump once a day at work and get 1.5 ounces (if I'm lucky); I also breastfeed mornings and evenings (1-2 times).
I have considered going back on the domperidone. (Domperidone seemed to help a lot; my decrease in supply seemed to coincide with weaning my way off the domp.) My concerns with this are that the domperidone seemed to make me gain weight (on a very heavy body to begin with) and that I won't be able to pump enough to manually create additional supply. Has domperidone prevented you from losing weight or caused weight gain?
I have also considered going back on the goats rue/fenugreek/etc. It's expensive, though, and never seemed to do much for me. I've read that goats rue can successfully create tissue for breastfeeding success with a second baby. Has this worked for anyone?
At this point, I'm not trying to EBF (obviously). But I would love to have enough supply to continue nursing the baby morning and night, and I worry that if I don't take action, I'll lose the supply I have -- and I've worked so hard for it that it makes me sad to think of losing that nursing relationship. I would really love thoughts and suggestions from you.
I have struggled with low supply since my baby was born. It was a case of insulin resistance/obesity (though no PCOS) combined with IGT. (Baby's tongue tie, which we clipped at four weeks, probably also contributed.) With the assistance of a lactation MD and an IBCLC, I managed to get my supply to a place where the baby only needed 6-8 ounces of supplement a day. This took 1) domperidone, 2) fenugreek/goats rue/blessed thistle, 3) pumping after every feeding, with some power pumping to boot, and 4) a lot of hard work and many tears. I worked very hard to get to that place.
However, now that the baby is 5 months old, my supply has waned to the point where the baby is getting the vast majority of her food from formula. I am back at work now, and am trying to figure out what to do going forward. I pump once a day at work and get 1.5 ounces (if I'm lucky); I also breastfeed mornings and evenings (1-2 times).
I have considered going back on the domperidone. (Domperidone seemed to help a lot; my decrease in supply seemed to coincide with weaning my way off the domp.) My concerns with this are that the domperidone seemed to make me gain weight (on a very heavy body to begin with) and that I won't be able to pump enough to manually create additional supply. Has domperidone prevented you from losing weight or caused weight gain?
I have also considered going back on the goats rue/fenugreek/etc. It's expensive, though, and never seemed to do much for me. I've read that goats rue can successfully create tissue for breastfeeding success with a second baby. Has this worked for anyone?
At this point, I'm not trying to EBF (obviously). But I would love to have enough supply to continue nursing the baby morning and night, and I worry that if I don't take action, I'll lose the supply I have -- and I've worked so hard for it that it makes me sad to think of losing that nursing relationship. I would really love thoughts and suggestions from you.
