PLEASE HELP..8 month old...needs more milk. but how?

Question

im confused.. i am still attempting to feed my 8 month old daughter, but i cant seem to produce more milk, ive tried everything, pumping after she eats, fenugreek, blessed thisstle, mothers milk teas, ensure... eating and drinking plenty... is it just too late to make more milk. i dont get engorged anymore. my baby can go happily 8-10 hours without eating and only eats on one side. but like i said.. i pump every time she eats for like 10-15 minutes. i dont like to pump every 2-3 hours bc then theirs not enough for her to drink when she wants some. it seems like i only produce 1-2 oz. every 9 hours or so. please help. she has always refused a bottle. i am thinking she gets less than 8 oz a day... but shes alive. and yes shes on cereal and a jar food a day. and no i cant go on perscription milk producing pills bc they enhance depression.

Answer 1

The same thing happened with a friend of mine, she wasn't producing enough milk for her baby so she knew for the health of her child she had to introduce formula

Answer 2

try to feed her more often, even if she's "happy without nursing" the more she nurses, the more you'll produce. If she's not interested in eating more, you just might have to supplement with formula.

Answer 3

It sounds like she's ready to wean from breastfeeding.  Try different bottles or try the sippy cup and forget about bottles?

If she's healthy and growing then she is probably getting what she needs.  Just because you are pumping 1-2 oz doesn't mean that's all she is getting.

Answer 4

There's always milk when she wants some...the only way to increase production would be to increase how often you nurse or pump. I think that at her age though, there is nothing to worry about. My daughter decided that she was done nursing at 10 months and she is now a happy, healthy, and very intelligent little girl.

Answer 5

You may just have to supplement with formula. I know its hard when you dont get enough milk to feed your child, i went through the same thing, and i also couldnt take the pills, so i was told by my doctor to just supplement with formula. Wish u the best of luck1

Answer 6

drink Odouls the non alcoholic beer. the yeast in it produces more breast milk. thats what i did when i needed to produce more when i was feeding my son a lot more.

Answer 7

Are you concerned about her weight gain or anything else?  If not, I wouldn't worry much.

Babies are much better at getting milk out of the breast than a pump is, so how much you pump is not a good indicator of how much milk your baby is getting.  I can never even get a full ounce when I pump, but my son gets plenty.  If your child is happy, healthy, has enough wet & dirty diapers and is gaining weight, she's probably getting plenty of milk.  If you want to, you can put some pumped milk in a sippy cup and see if she'll drink some that way.

If you want to try something else to increase your supply, brewer's yeast or oatmeal can help.  And yes, beer can help too, it contains brewer's yeast.  The LC I talked to when my son was born suggested I have a beer when I first started nursing (not every time though, lol) to help me relax and to stimulate milk production. :)

Answer 8

You could get Domperidone if you don't live in the US or if you live in the US and your doctor is willing to lie.

In any case what makes you think you don't have enough milk?  Is your baby not gaining weight?  You absolutely should not be engorged at all any more.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-su...

Is your milk supply really low?

First of all, is your milk supply really low? Often, mothers think that their milk supply is low when it really isn't. If your baby is gaining weight well on breastmilk alone, then you do not have a problem with milk supply.

It's important to note that the feel of the breast, the behavior of your baby, the frequency of nursing, the sensation of let-down, or the amount you pump are not valid ways to determine if you have enough milk for your baby.

What if you're not quite sure about baby's current weight gain (perhaps baby hasn't had a weight check lately)? If baby is having an adequate number of wet and dirty diapers then the following things do NOT mean that you have a low milk supply:

    * Your baby nurses frequently. Breastmilk is digested quickly (usually in 1.5-2 hours), so breastfed babies need to eat more often than formula-fed babies. Many babies have a strong need to suck. Also, babies often need continuous contact with mom in order to feel secure. All these things are normal, and you cannot spoil your baby by meeting these needs.

    * Your baby suddenly increases the frequency and/or length of nursings. This is often a growth spurt. The baby nurses more (this usually lasts a few days to a week), which increases your milk supply. Don't offer baby supplements when this happens: supplementing will inform your body that the baby doesn't need the extra milk, and your supply will drop.

    * Your baby nurses more often and is fussy in the evening.

    * Your baby doesn't nurse as long as she did previously. As babies get older and better at nursing, they become more efficient at extracting milk.

    * Your baby is fussy. Many babies have a fussy time of day - often in the evening. Some babies are fussy much of the time. This can have many reasons, and sometimes the fussiness goes away before you find the reason.

    * Your baby guzzles down a bottle of formula or expressed milk after nursing. Many babies will willingly take a bottle even after they have a full feeding at the breast. Read more here from board-certified lactation consultant Kathy Kuhn about why baby may do this and how this can affect milk supply. Of course, if you regularly supplement baby after nursing, your milk supply will drop (see below).

    * Your b*****s don't leak milk, or only leak a little, or stop leaking. Leaking has nothing to do with your milk supply. It often stops after your milk supply has adjusted to your baby's needs.

    * Your b*****s suddenly seem softer. Again, this normally happens after your milk supply has adjusted to your baby's needs.

    * You never feel a let-down sensation, or it doesn't seem as strong as before. Some women never feel a let-down. This has nothing to do with milk supply.

    * You get very little or no milk when you pump. The amount of milk that you can pump is not an accurate measure of your milk supply. A baby with a healthy suck milks your breast much more efficiently than any pump. Also, pumping is an acquired skill (different than nursing), and can be very dependent on the type of pump. Some women who have abundant milk supplies are unable to get any milk when they pump. In addition, it is very common and normal for pumping output to decrease over time.

http://mother-2-mother.com/normal.htm#br...

Normal Breastfeeding Patterns After Eight Weeks:

The following suggestions are "average" recommendations - keep in mind there is no "one size fits all" for nursing frequency. Some babies have predictable patterns, others nurse on irregular pattern. Some mom/baby pairs can go longer than others between nursing sessions depending on mom's storage capacity. A mom with larger storage capacity might note that her baby goes longer between feedings, and a mom with smaller storage capacity might note her baby nurses more often. (Remember, storage capacity is not related to breast size.) It is helpful to keep note of baby's weight gain and elimination patterns when "judging" whether or not baby is nursing enough

From eight weeks (2 months) to a year, here are suggested minimum number of times a breastfed baby should be nursing, in a 24 hr span:

From 2 - 4 months baby should nurse at least 6 times in 24 hr period

From 4 - 7 months baby should nurse at least 5 times in 24 hr period

From 7 - 12 months baby should nurse at least 4 times in 24 hr period

Growth spurts will likely occur at around 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, again at 6 months, at 9 months and again around a year. Increased nursing can also be the result of the approach of a new developmental stage, illness, teething, or a result of change or usual routine, or increased stress or activity at home

Some mothers become concerned if baby begins to nurse in very short sessions. Most breastfeeding experts advise that if the baby continues to have plenty of wet diapers, regular bowel movements, is gaining weight well and meeting developmental milestones, then baby is getting enough breastmilk. Even sessions as short as five minutes can be normal, as long as baby continues to grow and do well.

It is important to remember that breastmilk should be the baby's primary source of nutrition throughout the first year.  

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumpi...

What is normal when it comes to pumping output and changes in pumping output?

Most moms who are nursing full-time are able to pump around 1/2 to 2 ounces total (for both b*****s) per pumping session. Moms who pump more milk per session may have an oversupply of milk, or may respond better than average to the pump, or may have been able to increase pump output with practice. Many moms think that they should be able to pump 4-8 ounces per pumping session, but even 4 ounces is an unusually large pumping output.

It is quite normal to need to pump 2-3 times to get enough milk for one feeding for baby (remember that the pump cannot get as much milk as a baby who nurses effectively).

Many moms are able to pump more milk per session when they are separated from baby. Milk pumped when you are nursing full-time is "extra" milk -- over and beyond what baby needs. Don't get discouraged if you are trying to build up a freezer stash when nursing full time and don't get much milk per pumping session -- this is perfectly normal and expected.

It is very common to have more milk than baby needs in the early weeks, which regulates down to baby's needs over the first few weeks or months. When your milk supply regulates (this change may occur either gradually or rather suddenly), it is normal for pumping output to decrease. For moms who have oversupply, this change often occurs later (6-9+ months postpartum rather than 6-12 weeks).

It is normal for pumping output to vary from session to session and day to day. Having an occasional low volume day is not unusual.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/babys...

Introduction

True SELF-weaning before a baby is a year old is very uncommon. In fact, it is unusual for a baby to wean before 18-24 months unless mom is encouraging weaning. However, it is very common to hear a mother say that her baby self-weaned at 9 or 10 months old, or even earlier. How do we reconcile these statements?



What is self-weaning?

A baby who is weaning on his own:

    * is typically well over a year old (more commonly over 2 years)

    * is at the point where he gets most of his nutrition from solids

    * drinks well from a cup

    * cuts down on nursing gradually

Child-led weaning occurs when a child no longer has a need to nurse - nutritionally or emotionally. The solids part should rule out self-weaning in babies under a year since, for optimum health and brain development, babies under a year should be getting most of their nutrition from breastmilk.



What factors might lead mom to think that her baby is self-weaning?

When a mother says that her baby self-weaned before a year, there is a chance that she interpreted a normal developmental stage (perhaps combined with her own wishes) as baby's wish to wean. Low milk supply can also play a part.

Low milk supply

If mom's milk supply is reduced, baby may become less interested in nursing, and of course decreased nursing will lead to an even lower milk supply. If milk supply is low, baby may grow to prefer a cup or bottle simply because he can get more milk this way. As long as baby is nursing on cue and removing milk thoroughly, mom's b*****s will produce the milk that baby needs. There are a number of things that might interfere with the milk production process after lactation has been established. Some factors that commonly come into play in baby's second six months include:

    * Scheduled feedings or other things that reduce baby's nursing frequency too much (for example, pacifier overuse or sleep training). The answer to "how much is too much?" will depend on the particular mother-baby pair. A consistent decrease in nursing frequency will signal your body to decrease milk supply.

    * Rapid weight loss. A sudden decrease in mom's calorie intake can result in decreased milk supply.

    * Medications or herbs that reduce milk supply (hormonal contraceptives, for example).

    * Early introduction of solids (before 6 months). Besides interfering with baby's immunologic health, solids before six months often results in baby taking less milk at the breast and thus results in a decre