More Milk Please…

Recently I receive several emails/message from dear friends especially who read this blog, asking about how to increase breast milk.

Well, actually, I am very sorry if I’m not happen to reply your email ASAP. Being a SAHM is really time consuming LOL.

To me, through my experience, there’s no solid answer for increasing breast milk. But one thing for sure, MORE STIMULATION. More stimulation meaning, more feeding, more pumping.

Actually it is so normal and natural, when a mother sees her breast milk drop when she returns to work, as the demand is lessen during daytime. And, after several weeks post-partum, as the breast learns the baby demands, it won’t supply milk more than what the baby needs.

But there’s some misconception about milk supply drops. Such as, baby is nursing too often or too long or fussy, etc. And also, no leaking, no engorgement, etc.

What I did was – increase the pumping session. Usual pumping is 4 times a day. I add another 2, during the journey to and from office.

And tried out galactagogue cum lactogenic food (agent that induce lactation).

FAMOUS LACTOGENIC FOOD & GALACTAGOGUE

• Fenugreek (also available in capsule form)
• Dried longan
• Oatmeal
• Alfalfa (als0 available in capsule form)
• Green leavy vegetable
• White raddish
• Barley drink
• Black sesame seed
• Black bean
• Spirulina
• Green papaya
• Herbal tea (e,g, MilkMaid Tea)
• Food with B vitamins , C, calcium and magnesium.

There are also special product formulated for nursing mom who faces problem in milk supply by Motherlove.

There are moms who opt for drugs such as Maxolon or Perimperan but I never buy this idea, except for induce lactation when my milk is 100% dry or I am adopting a baby.

Nursing mother also need lots of rest, and free from stress. Some working mom has quite high stress level, and this might effects the milk supply. In some cases, stress actually inhibit the letdown, or making it becomes slower. So, working mom has to manage her work wisely to be free from stress.

Another think to be looked at is diet and water intake. A balanced diet and plenty of water are needed for a breastfeeding mom. If you don’t drink much water, how could you body produces milk, right?

But, sometimes, the baby’s behaviour during nursing don’t represent the right clue of insufficient milk supply. Baby has different characters in nursing and it’s not because of the problem with his mother’s milk.

Like Fahry, he is a very fussy suckler. He refuses to open his mouth to latch-on, and I have to play some trick to make him stay on my areola. He also doesn’t like the ‘heavy flow’, and he swallows everydrop very slowly. He nurses long and often (Lamaaaa dan kerap). Of course he gets enough milk!

But for working mother, the sign of milk supply drop is very clear. Not enough expresssed breast milk (EBM) for the baby’s supply. What I did before, as I said, INCREASE and ADD the pumping session. I used to pump 4-6 times a day. And if possible, try to pump at ‘dinihari’, at 2 or 3 or 4 am. I tried and recommended to some friends, and they said it works!

Tagged as: b vitamins, barley drink, black sesame, how to increase breast milk, increasing breast milk, maxolon, milk drop, stress level, white raddish, working mom