Increasing your milk supply.... -REST! I know this is hard. Try learning to nurse your baby laying on your side, so its cuddly and warm and relaxed -Make sure your baby has a good latch and that you can hear them swallowing -Try not to stress. Stress can inhibit your letdown AND production. This is a learning process, and you and baby will find your groove -Nurse on demand. If youre trying to force a baby that isnt hungry to eat, they wont empty you out. This signals to your body that you dont need as much milk. The same goes for stalling on a feed-if your baby is hungry and you delay them, your body thinks it needs less milk less often. -Try skin-to-skin for best letdown. This is also shown to increase your babys attachment to you, promotes longer successful relationships, and helps your body be more in tune with baby -EAT. Seriously. I know youre tired. I know you would rather sleep...now is NOT the time to lose weight. You need at LEAST 750 extra calories each day-more than you did when you were pregnant. The nutrients you take in are what your body has to build milk with. Dont short-change your baby -DRINK! Its HOT. Cars dont run well without coolant and fuel. If your body is using your fluid resources to cool YOU down (especially in the summer) its expending too many resources to be a good supplier for another human. Rule of thumb: every time you nurse, you drink 8-12oz. That for you AND baby. -Dont put a time limit on nursing. Your baby doesnt need to nurse 15min per side. You dont need to burp them every 5min. Take your cues from your BABY. When they start to squirm around and arent frantically sucking and swallowing in a patterned rhythm, its time to burp. Then try to eat again...we actually have the MOST success nursing only one side per feeding, because my baby doesnt want to re-latch if I interrupt her feed. Every baby is different. -We co-sleep. I believe this helps, because my baby nurses on demand through the whole night. My husband once said If you slept with your face next to a plate of chocolate chip cookies, how many would YOU eat? This is not for everyone, and I get that. It works for us, and I dont grudge those night wakings as much. -If youre trying to pump to increase your supply, pump after the baby eats. It doesnt matter how much you get. I repeat...the amount doesnt matter!!!!! Its the additional prolonged stimulation that indicates to your body that it should step it up. -If youre pumping, make sure you have the right size breast shield. With one of my babies, I started with an improper size. I was only getting 2oz per sitting, and I got a terribly painful plugged duct. I bought a bigger set of shields, and TA-DA! 4-6oz per sitting. -Play with your pump settings. Maybe a softer suction helps you let down? Try to feel two letdown cycles per pumping session-especially if youre pumping in place of a feeding (like at work)
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 02:20:37 +0000
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