Here is the key points:
- PUMP, PUMP, PUMP or Nurse, Nurse, Nurse (This is #1-- The key to a strong supply is stimulation! And, In my opinion probably the hardest thing to do and the most common cause of low supply) What has worked for me is a 'round the clock 2 hour feeding/pumping schedule. I started this with Jacob, my preemie, and have somewhat continued that with Morgan. With Jacob, I set an alarm clock and woke up every 2 hours to pump. I really believe this was the KEY to establishing a strong milk supply for him. I continued the 2 hour pumping schedule until he was about 6 weeks old then moved to 2-3 hours during the day and 4 hours at night. With Morgan, I have been much more laid back (everything about this delivery etc.. has been more laid back. Praise God), but I have still maintained every two hour feedings during the day (I am breastfeeding her every two and pumping after breastfeeding every four hours). At night, I am breastfeeding ONLY (Only because I need to to sleep -- And, I am already accumulating a HUGE freezer stock!)
-Skin-to-Skin Contact - I really believe in this one too! I found the effects of this to be very significant while Jacob was in the NICU. My milk supply was SOOO much stronger after "Kangaroo Care" -- This is just a 30 minute to 1 hour skin to skin snuggle session!! LOVE! With Morgan, We will do a skin to skin nursing session followed by skin to skin snuggles! Really believe this has such a BIG impact on supply!
-Diet - Well, I know its easier said than done but don't start that post-partum diet plan just yet! It is so important that you are getting not only the proper amount of calories but protein etc to feed your baby! I have tried to find how many calories you burn while breastfeeding per ounce (all I can find is an average of 500 kcal/day). I know that breast milk has 20 kcal/ounce so if you are making 24 ounces/day that is about 480 kcal/day... I am making about 48 ounces/day = 960 kcal/day.. That's A LOT of extra calories!
-Water - It is important to drink LOTS of water! Just remember you are making an extra 24+ oz of liquid per day! So, you need to drink at least that extra every day!
There are lots of supplements on the market to help increase milk supply (Fenugreek for example). Everything I have read supports the effectiveness of these supplements, however, if you are faithful in stimulating milk production and establish a strong milk supply in beginning you shouldn't need these products.
I hope this helps someone! Like I said, I am no expert but have had success with nursing two babies, and I thought I'd share what has worked for me!
GOOD LUCK! HAPPY Pumping!
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| Freezer Stock Pile 2 1/2 weeks post-partum with baby #2 |
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| This is the first week post-partum with my little man! |
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| After a month or so, I have to upgrade to the 8 oz bottles |
Update September 19th:
I have had some question on freezer storage, stock rotation, milk bags etc... So, Here is so additional info!
1. I TOTALLY recommend purchasing a deep freeze - this keeps your milk longer
2. I rotate my supply so that I am using the oldest milk first! But, I always make sure to nurse or give her at least one feeding per day of fresh milk so that she is getting all of those antibodies and nutrients in fresh milk.
3. STORAGE - I have tried every milk storage bag on the market... They ALL leak! With that said, just be very careful not to bang the corners of frozen bags and you should do alright. I prefer the Lansinoh brand bags they hold a little more milk than some of the other brands and the freeze flat! Flat freezing is particularly important for keeping your stock organized and neat!
4. For milk storage and re-heating kellymom.com has a great chart for safe storage times and temperatures
5. For organizing, I like to fill gallon size freezer bags and number them (as well as put the date). The numbers helps in rotating your stock. I just started number with 1 (I am up to about 25 bags now)-- See the pic above!
