| Dear Bzee,
Here are some positive steps you can do to increase your milk supply.
NURSE FREQUENTLY
Nurse for as long as your baby will nurse. Change to the other side if the baby has lost interest in the first side and then change back again when he looses interest in the second. Plan to spend twenty-four to forty-eight hours (or longer if your supply is quite low) doing little else but nursing and resting.
OFFER BOTH BREASTS AT EACH FEEDING.
This will ensure that your baby gets all the milk available and that both breasts are stimulated frequently.
BREAST COMPRESSION
This involves compressing the breast while the baby is at the breast – a bit like expressing into the baby’s mouth while he is feeding. This usually encourages another milk let down.
TRY SWITCH NURSING
Switching breasts four or five times throughout the feeding will help to keep your baby interested in nursing and ensure that your baby receives the richest part of the milk. Watch the baby feed on the first breast. First he will gulp the milk and then go into a rhythmic suck-suck-swallow. As he beings to tier he will do more sucking and less swallowing, e.g. suck-suck-suck-suck-suck-swallow. At this stage, change breasts. Watch again until the baby again starts to get tired and change breasts again. It is fine to change breasts eight, nine or ten times throughout the feed. Each time the baby will drink for less and less time on each side, maybe only a minute or two towards the end. This method increases the amount of active sucking the baby manages at the breast. Most of the milk is transferred while the baby is sucking actively. Thus more active sucking means baby getting more milk and the more he is stimulating you to produce more.
ALL YOUR BABY’S SUCKING SHOULD BE AT THE BREAST
Try to avoid bottles and pacifiers. Pacifiers can interfere with the extra nursing that is needed when you are trying to build up your milk supply. If you can’t take time off work, ask your caretaker to bring the baby to your work during the lunch break – so that you can feed directly – thus cutting down the need to pump so often. Even if you can’t manage this on a regular basis try it for the time that you are trying to increase your milk supply. Also consider having the caretaker travel to work with you and pick you up at work at the end of the day. This will shorten the amount of time you are parted from your baby and allow you to get extra direct feedings in.
GIVE YOUR BABY ONLY BREAST MILK. Avoid all solids, water and juice. As your baby has been receiving formula supplement you will not want to cut these out abruptly. You can gradually cut back on the amount of supplement as your milk supply increases, but you need to watch your baby’s wet and solid nappies/diapers to be sure he is getting enough to eat. You may like to be in touch with a La Leche League Leader or professional lactation consultant while you are cutting back on formula supplements.
DRINK PLENTY OF LIQUIDS and EAT A WELL-BALANCED DIET
Eat a wide variety of foods in as close to their natural state as possible. Try to have a glass of water or juice with you each time you nurse.
GET PLENTY OF REST AND REXALAXATION
Your milk supply will increase faster if you are relaxed and rested. Plan to do as little as possible for a few days. Cut out all non-essential tasks. Be sure to take naps with your baby as often as possible. For relaxation try a warm bath, soft music, exercise or what ever works best for you. Try to spend at least a few minutes each day doing something special to pamper yourself – remember that pampering can that place in the baby’s presence.
Overall if you can’t manage to take a few days off work plan to do nothing in the evenings. Get your husband to bring take away food home for dinner and watch television or read a book with the baby on your lap or at the breast. Try to undress both of you as much as possible. Skin-to-skin contact helps the body to produce more milk too.
I know that spending a week doing nothing but lying around and feeding your baby as much as possible seems a difficult thing to manage but if you can manage it I promise that you will see a large increase in your milk supply.
Thank you for the invitation to the Working Mothers’ Group. And although I work, it is no longer outside the home. With four children, the school holidays are my busiest time of the year.
Best wishes,
Barb  |