Increasing supply at 4.5 months pp

S.

S.K
My baby had a tongue you're at birth that wasn't diagnosed and corrected until 2 weeks of age and I want pumping because I didn't know I needed to so my supply tanked. Turns out the clipping didn't release it all the way as he also had a posterior tie that wasn't released until 3 months of age. Since then, he still hasn't been draining my breasts well and we supplement with the bottle. I'm pumping at work 3x a day but that's it because he's so clingy when I'm home. He also doesn't sleep well (wakes up every 40-90 minutes) so it's very hard to pump at night but I'm told I have to do it to get my supply up. At work I'm currently pumping 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours. I'm to the point where I really need to commit myself to pumping at least 8 times a day to up my supply. My question is, how long until I see an increase in supply if I'm pumping every 3 hours? Anything else I can do to boost supply? I'm currently taking brewers yeast, moringa, goats rue, and mommy knows best lactation aide. And is it possible to get up to a full supply at almost 5 months post partum? I don't want to stop breast feeding.
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COMMENT (12)

Jo

Posted at
Pump every two hours even after nursing and you should see an increase in 48 hours. Try carrots they helped me get back to fully breastfeeding in a few days.

Jo

Jodie • Feb 23, 2017
welcs!

S.

S.K • Feb 23, 2017
Will do. Thanks!

Jo

Jodie • Feb 23, 2017
I just snack on baby carrots throughout the day. walnuts and almonds too.

Bi

Posted at
My supply dropped when my baby was around 7 months, I picked it up in a week. I made lactation cookies and ate a couple for breakfast and ate them as a snack since they were oatmeal so they were filling and great for you! I read you're supposed to eat 2 per feeding/pumping session. I took 3 fenugreek 610mg pills 3x a day for that whole week, and every single time I nursed my baby I pumped after. All in all I was doing a mix of feeding/pumping about 15 times a day, along with my cookie eating and fenugreek taking. I saw a noticeable increase in my supply in a week and once I had the increase I didn't do the extra pumping but I did keep eating the cookies. You can look up any oatmeal lactation cookie recipe but I suggest you do 1/2 cup of brewers yeast (they call for like 2 tbs but I didn't find that to be enough to increase in my case so I added a ton more) I replaced butter for coconut oil and added about 1/4 cup flaxseed instead of the tiny amount it calls for, I added walnuts too for the health benefits. Those cookies worked miracles on my supply, hopefully they work well for you! Just remember to add like 4x what they call for with brewers yeast if you want a quick supply boost :)

Bi

Bianca 👨‍👩‍👧💕 • Jan 24, 2017
I would've liked to pump once an hour but my baby probably would've gotten hungry right after i pumped and I wouldnt have much milk in the breast haha. So I power pumped after she had a full belly.

Bi

Bianca 👨‍👩‍👧💕 • Jan 24, 2017
Well I count nursing and then pumping after as 2 haha. Just as long as you dont let more than 3hours pass between the last nursing or pumping session you should be good for increasing! That hour of power pumping I feel really helped. If you pump an hour after you pumped last youre more likely to get another let down to get more milk out, and an empty breast makes milk quicker than a full one.

S.

S.K • Jan 24, 2017
Also 15x pumping/feeding per day? does that mean sometimes you'd pump even if you pumped an hour ago?

S.

Posted at
Oh man that gives me hope! Ftm and was not counting our planning on having to pump. Idk. I guess I thought it would be easy. Boy was I wrong. How long would you pump each session? I'm currently pumping for 20 minutes each time with one power pump session from 11-12 (lunch). And you got up every 2 hours in the middle of the night too? I'm going to try your suggestion. Hopefully I'll be where I want to be in a week! Thanks so much. Oh and I noticed you're in the Pacific northwest! Me too! I live in the renton highlands!!

Bi

Bianca 👨‍👩‍👧💕 • Jan 24, 2017
I would nurse my baby as long as she wanted til she was full and I'd have the next hour to power pump so id do 15 min pump and a 15 min break, 10 min pump and a 10 min break and then 5 min pump and wait until she got hungry again. I did that power pumping 2 different times a day. The other times id pump after nursing I'd just do it 15 min. But no, I didnt wake up in the night since my baby doesnt sleep through the night I didnt go long enough to where i needed to wake up to pump too. I just did the pumping during the day and nursed at night