[amymama]

This is such a neat community of people. I'm new here... had my first baby in January (Miranda).

Okay, here's my issue: my daughter is 4.5 months old; I bfed her exclusively for almost 3 months, returned to work 3 days/wk, and have been supplementing with formula since then. the first few weeks I was back at work, we supplemented with formula as I wasn't pumping as much as she eats. That went alright for about a month, but my supply kept diminishing... the last week or so its been terrible -- i used to get 2-3 oz per boob (medela lactina), 2-3x/day, and now I'm lucky if i get 1/2 oz. each. I'm pumping 10 min each time. I started taking fenugreek a few days ago -- and then this morning I got my PERIOD for the first time since she was born. For the past few nights she's started sleeping through the entire night (10-5)... she used to wake up for a night feeding, which my supply has been fine for, but now she's dropped that one as well. (How scary is it that I miss seeing her at night... I thought I would sing hallelujah would this day came but now I'm just sad she's sleeping all the way through the night!)

Any experiences with fenugreek? How long should I try the fenugreek before switching to another herb (have read about the tea)? What does the return of my period mean... am i dry as a bone now? I thought most nursing women didn't get their period until babies were weaned.

 

[schatz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amymama Any experiences with fenugreek? How long should I try the fenugreek before switching to another herb (have read about the tea)? What does the return of my period mean... am i dry as a bone now? I thought most nursing women didn't get their period until babies were weaned.

You are probably not dry as a bone but you need to do some work to get your supply back up and maintain it if you want to be able to pump. I suspect that the fact that your dd nightweaned and you are away from her 3 days per week brought AF back. Some people don't get AF until much later and others get it early in spite of lots of nursing. I got AF back twice (6 weeks pp and then 4 weeks later) and I was nursing and pumping but dd didn't nurse exclusively until she was 3 weeks old. Then I got a depo shot (mistake!), my supply crashed but AF stayed away from then on until dd was 12 months and I went out of town for work. We're still nursing at 17 months and AF comes like clockwork.

So, don't worry so much about the fact that AF is back although that may have adversely affected your pumping output. I suspect that the night weaning and short pumping duration have had more of a negative impact, however. I found after a few months that I had to pump through two let-downs each session in order to get enough milk. This is anywhere from 15-20 minutes for me (medela PIS). When my dd was your dd's age, I was pumping three times per day. I suggest that you try getting up early in the morning and pump before work and then pump 2-3 times at work depending on the length of your work day. Also, since your dd isn't nursing at night anymore, you could get up and pump before she wakes on the days that you do not work. Kind of a pain but it would help you get enough milk. I typically pump just before I leave work for the day and then nurse dd an hour later and there's plenty of milk in there so you shouldn't have to get up super early.

Sometimes fenugreek works well with other herbs (check out kellymom.com for ideas). Are you taking enough fenugreek so that you smell like maple syrup? Also drink tons of water, no caffiene, eat oatmeal. You should be able to get your pumping output back up but it will take some doing. But, it will be very worth it because your dd will get more of the good stuff.

 

[amymama]

thank you schatz for the quick reply & advice. I went to the local natural store and the woman told me i wasn't taking nearly enough fenugreek (bottle said take 1 cap 3x/day and she told me to take at least 3caps at a time)... so hopefully i will smell like a pancake house soon!

 

[stafl]

All the herbs in the world never helped me when formula supplementation made my milk gradually go away. But everyone is different, and they just might help you.

What did help me was to pump longer. I had to pump through at least two let-downs, just like someone suggested above. Most women have good results pumping more often, but after two weeks of trying it and getting the same daily output, I tried pumping longer each session instead. I also had to wake myself up and pump during the night and maybe again in the morning before baby woke up, because my DD also nightweaned herself early on. How I did this was to drink a huge glass of water at bedtime. When I got up to pee, I'd stay up long enough to pump before going back to bed.

Hope you find something that works for you! You just have to stick with it and keep trying different things if one thing doesn't work.

 

[lexbeach]

Are you able to exclusively nurse on the days when you are home with your daughter? Pumping is great, but it cannot replicate your baby's suck. The more you can nurse your baby, the better. Would it be possible for you to take a little "nursing vacation," and just bring your baby to bed for a weekend and nurse, nurse, nurse, nurse, nurse as much as possible?

Are you drinking lots and lots of water?

Have you begun any hormonal birth control methods?

Your baby is still little, and I think it is definitely possible for you to rebuild your supply. Fenugreek may help, but the best way to boost your supply is to increase the demand, by pumping more often and for longer periods (you may want to add in an early morning pumping since your prolactin levels are highest between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.), and by having your baby nurse as often as possible.

Sending milk vibes your way!

Lex

 

[georgia]

You might really want to check out the new book Nursing Mothers Herbal. I was amazed at how many different herbal options there are for increasing milk! It's a fantastic resource that I cannot recommend enough to mamas who want more info about milk supply.

Many women get their periods back when baby goes for long stretches of time (like at night for some babies) or after solids have been introduced. Or just whenever

---it's so variable!

Hang in there---as long as baby keeps going to breast--you won't ever dry up! You sound very committed---you can make this work

 

[DaryLLL]

Many working moms choose to co-sleep. This encourages night nursing and nursing lying down boosts bfing hormones as well.

If you are giving your baby a pacifier to help her sleep, consider stopping it. Any sucking not on your breast will affect her desire to nurse.

Going 7 hrs at night without nursing is hell on your hormones, esp with separation during the day.

If you can't pump for more than 10 mins at a time at work, can you double pump? If you aren't already. This stimulates both breasts at once which is a good hormone boost, plus, it of course, saves time. You can get a setup from Medela which allows you to pump hands-free too.

Are you using a rental or a PIS? The rental Lactina or Symphony work much better for long term pumping situations.

Welcome to mdc!