Low Milk Supply Tribe -- May/June 2006 thread - Page 4

[Taryn237]

I'm very glad I found all of you too! Atleast now I know I'm not alone in this. Joshua was born by c-section on 6/25 2 weeks late after a few days of induction and a failure to descend. He was still at -3 with molding so he just wasn't fitting out. I did get to nurse fairly quickly in the recovery room, maybe 45 min after giving birth. Basically my midwife held my boob and shoved him on it not quite what I had imagined of my first nursing experience. He weighed 8 lb. 13 oz. and we refused supplementing even though when we left the hospital he was 7 lb. 14 oz. and dehydrated. That was 3 days post partum. I have no idea when my milk came in but on day 5 he was pooping more so some time around then. I just knew something wasn't right. I weighed him at the pedi when he was 2 weeks and a couple days and he was only up to 8 lb. 2 oz. so he only gained 4 oz. in almost 2 weeks. We went to a lactation consultant and from weighing him before and after a feeding discovered he only received 1.2 oz. from me. She gave us some herbs and suggested giving him an ounce of formula after each feeding. I was pretty anti-bottle at this point so I did it with a medicine dropper. He started gaining again but this wasn't what I wanted so since then I've done everything I can think of to increase my supply. We've done fenugreek, blessed thistle, brewer's yeast, reglan, pumping after feedings, and now I'm on dom after bad side effects with the reglan. I had so much hope with the dom but I've been on it for almost 2 weeks without much change. I'm thinking of upping my dosage from 90mg to 120mg but we got it from a compounding pharmacy and had to pay out of pocket (the insurance should reimburse us) and I don't want to go through my refills too quickly. We keep having to up the amount of formula Joshua is getting too so he keeps gaining at a good rate. We are using an SNS so atleast he is getting it at the breast and atleast I have enough to keep him satisified at night. I have PCOS and after reading about breast hypoplasia online and looking at some pics I think I have that too. I really want a long and satisifying nursing relationship (especially since Joshua's birth was so awful) and if we need the SNS to give us that I guess I just need to suck it up and deal with it. I do have a couple questions for you ladies though:

Should I wake him at night to nurse? We co-sleep and nurse on demand but last night he wouldn't nurse at all he was just too sleepy. I'm making sure he has a few good long naps today (he's sleeping in my sling right now) but I can't guarantee he won't want to sleep all night again. Should I let him sleep and just get up and pump instead?

[TurboClaudia]

Taryn: welcome to our group, mama! wish you didn't have to be here...

i will write more later when my son is napping. sorry for the lag in my response, but the weekends don't allow me much time for the computer right now.

~claudia

[TurboClaudia]

hey mamas, can you help this mama out? we use a lact-aid, so i don't know all the tips for the sns... http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=511076

~claudia

[scubamom]

Originally Posted by TurboClaudia

hey mamas, can you help this mama out? we use a lact-aid, so i don't know all the tips for the sns... http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=511076

~claudia

i will go and take a look, ive been using for sooooooo long now, i should be able to help

[BellyBear]

I stopped letting down when I pump...help!

Hi, my name is Hope, and I'm not sure if this is even the correct place to post this, but here it is. My baby girl was born 07/10/06, and through previous advice from this forum, I have been able to maintain an decent milk supply. Thank You! Then, out of nowhere (or so it seems) I completely stopped letting down when I pump at work. Today I got a sad ounce after pumping three times with no let down. I'm so sad that we had to give Annabelle formula, and I want to get back to the way things were as soon as possible. I'm still taking fenugreek, eating oatmeal, and pumping often, yet my milk supply seems to be waning...and it's only been a week! I still nurse exclusively at night and on weekends, but I'm afraid if I don't do something I soon won't be making enough for when I am around Annabelle and can let down. It also seems like every month I get terrible cramps for a day or two, but no period. I don't feel particularly stressed at work, I'm happy at home, and although we just moved, I'm actually relieved because we are saving money. What's going on???

Hope

[nancyfore]

I just found this thread tonight. My name is Nancy and I have a ds born in April. I have never had a large supply. Never got more than 2 ounces from each breast. Now not getting anything from the pump and baby is getting almost nothing.I do the herbs, oatmeal,cosleep, etc. He nurses about 1.2 seconds and starts screaming and doesnt stop until something that runs fast is inserted. He has been on the low side of the charts and still wears newborn size at 6 mos. I want to exclusively breastfeed but cannot keep the supply up. How much does stress really play in all this?

Any ideas to help would be greatly appreciated.....

[puppeteermom]

Intro and stuff

Hi, I have one dd and am expecting baby #2 any day now. I struggled with abysmally low/non-existent supply after the birth of my daughter six years ago. It turns out I have hypoplastic breast tissue/insufficient glandular tissue. I've done loads of research about increasing supply, but most of it didn't work for me because of the severity of my condition.

Using an SNS allowed me to continue having a successful breastfeeding relationship with my daughter. She looooved to nurse, even though she was getting primarily formula via the SNS.

There have been some new things I've discovered this year. I am hopeful about the herb goat's rue and plan on starting a regimine as soon as the baby is born. I also plan on supplementing with some herbs that release prolactin (i.e. fenugreek). Oddly enough, Saw Pawmetto, which is more commonly linked to prostate health, can affect breast glandular tissue as well. I'm working on a tea recipe which will hopefully work on both the glandular tissue issue and the prolactin element, as well.

Domperidone has had good results for many people. I'm not sure exactly what it affects, but if you can get a scrip written for it, it's worth a shot and doesn't have the depressive side-effects of Reglan.

I really feel for everyone with supply issues. Prior to my own issues, I really was flummoxed as to why ANYONE would ever supplement. It seemed so impossible that a woman would be unable to do this natural thing. I'm still a bit puzzled by women who have a perfectly decent supply and choose to use formula. I was completely blindsided by my inability to EBF, but the baby needs to eat in order to grow...so I did what I had to do. I was thankful for our breastfeeding relationship, though, and for the support of my LC and mid-wife.

Good luck...

[Taryn237]

You can dom without a script from www.globaldrug.tv it hasn't really helped me much though personally. My story is at the top of the page.

[jenny-g]

Originally Posted by nancyfore

I just found this thread tonight. My name is Nancy and I have a ds born in April. I have never had a large supply. Never got more than 2 ounces from each breast. Now not getting anything from the pump and baby is getting almost nothing.I do the herbs, oatmeal,cosleep, etc. He nurses about 1.2 seconds and starts screaming and doesnt stop until something that runs fast is inserted. He has been on the low side of the charts and still wears newborn size at 6 mos. I want to exclusively breastfeed but cannot keep the supply up. How much does stress really play in all this?

Any ideas to help would be greatly appreciated.....

Oh, I don't think stress plays all that much in it, compared to insufficient glandular tissue, hormonal problems, etc. My stress certainly did not change when I went on dom but my supply doubled (even though I still can only meet half her needs).

Some of us need to suppliment- and we should. The baby needs to eat first. As long as you try to nurse before you suppliment, and pump if your baby refuses to nurse much at all, you are doing all you can. It sounds like it's time for you to bump up the suppliments.

If it makes you feel better, you can get organic formula at Walmart (parent's choice brand) that has a decent formulation with omega-3, and doesn't support Nestle or anything (although I suppose it supports walmart!). We use the organic formula now and are happy with it, she's luckily had no probs. -j

[TurboClaudia]

stress can play into supply issues a lot. more tomorrow when i have more than half a brain and two hand to type.

~c

[puppeteermom]

Herbs to support IGT

Hello,

Just curious if anyone knows of herbal stuff to support IGT/milk production besides Goat's Rue. I know there are other herbs out there that have an effect on various glands (i.e. Saw Pawmetto) and am wondering about an herbal tea designed specifically for IGT/hypoplasia.

Any thoughts?
Heidi

[TurboClaudia]

have you checked the www.mobimotherhood.org site for more info? i will also consult my copy of Mother Food to see if there are any other ideas in there.

returning to the stress idea, some women do experience significant (mostly temporary) decreases in milk supply when stressed. some women have a plentiful supply and the decreases are smaller so baby still gains and grows well and once the stress is diminished, the supply returns. other women experience stress and their milk supply decreases and their baby becomes unhappy with a smaller supply. i would think that similar to labor, where the stress hormone adrenalin can inhibit the uterine contraction hormone oxytocin and stall labor, that adrenalin can also inhibit the milk production hormone prolactin and also the milk ejection reflex hormone oxytocin and cause changes in milk supply and milk ejection.

do we want a new low milk supply tribe thread for the winter of 2006?

~claudia

[MaryJaneLouise]

New thread!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...76#post6560776