Ok Gals...I just don't get it. Am I EVER going to pump more than 1.25 ounces in 24 hours or is this really it? after 6 weeks of EVERY 3 hours and once overnight,,,faithfully pumping and taking my dom and fenugreek I am just tired of doing this for so little milk. We leave in just over 3 weeks for Ethiopia to get our 5 month old so I am not going to quit, but I just don't understand how or why I would be making so little milk. I am tired....
just venting I guess...melanie

Melanie I had a really hard time giving milk to the pump when lactating for my adopted DD. I think some people just do better with the pump than others. Once your daughter is nursing you will see the benefits. Hang in there I know it is hard. ((hug))

MElanie (hugs), I'm in the same boat. I'm only pumping 2 ounces every 24 hours and I've been pumping for 4 months !!

I keep believeing that once our babies are here, they will be able to get more milk out of us unlike the pumps. This is what all the girls here keep saying too.

Don't give up and I'm sure things will turn out for the best when your baby is in your arms.

Hello,

I also agree that once you get your babe things may improve - but just wondering also if you are properly hydrated? That made a really big difference for me...

Also - on Lenore's ok I upped my dom from 90 mg a day to 120 a day, and again that made a very big difference for me. Would that be an option for you?

Congrats on your travel - we adopted from South Africa and our son was also 5 months at pickup!

Karyn

Karyn..please tell me more!! I am only on 80mg of dom a day...so did you take 30 mg 4 times a day? I am probably not quite hydrated enough. Tough to remember to drink when chasing 3 boys under the age of 5!!
Did your son latch and nurse? Please tell me any secrets you have to get our daughter to latch....I appreciate hearing any thoughts from you.
It is getting tough to stay motivated to pump every 3 hours these days. I am just tired of being so committed to this for very little output!!
Thanks!! (18 days and counting until we leave for ET!!) melanie

Melanie,
I also upped my dosage to 30 mg 4 times a day when my daughter was about 2 months. It did seem to help my supply increase (although I had a pretty good supply at the time because baby was nursing already). I needed to increase for her need.
Jennifer

SO does that mean I too can increase my domp. dose to 30 mg 4 times a day ? My supply is not increasing and even the fenugreek has doen nothing !!

Should I increase my intake of domp. now or should I wait till baby is here and then increase it? My baby is supposed to be in our arms mid October.

Thanks

I would wait until baby is here and nursing before increasing the dom. See what your supply does then.

OK then. Thanks for your continuous help Laurie (hugs).

I just up'd my dom to 30 mg 4x per day. I am probably stopping the fenugreek. After 5 weeks on the fenugreek, it has done nothing. I will let you all know if I see an increase in supply with the increase in the dom. Lenore said if I am going to see an increase, it would be within one week...melanie

Oh Melanie, I'm hoping it will work for you. I'm waiting to see if it works for you then I'll try it myself. Good luck.

Like you, the fenugreek has done nothing so far to me ! So much for all the talk I've heard about it :-(

I will post sometime next week Hapi,,,I am hoping it works too!! Melanie

Mel, I have some ideas for you for latching. With my son (who was almost 3 mo. on gotcha day) getting him latched was not a problem. Keeping him latched was. I was using a Lact-Aid and it was extremely difficult to use. He had been exclusively bottle-fed since birth and he wasn't used to having to work so hard for his milk.

I am now using the Medela SNS with my daughter. It actually has 6 levels of milk flow. It comes with 3 sets of tubes (small, medium, and large). But each set of tubes has two levels of milk flow. You can get more milk flow if you open the second tube (each set of tubes is actually 2 tubes) as this provides anther vent hole. What I do is I tape the second tube so it is pointing up and then open it up after baby is latched and sucking from the first tube. You have to close it back up prior to unlatching the baby or the milk will flow out of that tube.

If you use the large set of tubes with the second tube open as a vent you should get a flow that is more like the flow from the bottle. You really want the baby to be getting enough milk when latched or she will get frustrated and reject the breast like my son did.

Also, if you haven't already, you should study the latch videos on Dr. Newman's site. Some of them are also on YouTube. Helping your baby to get the proper latch will help your supply. Proper latch is what sends the signal to your body to make milk. Bad latch doesn't send that signal.

Getting a good latch with the SNS is extremely difficult and requires a lot of practice which you won't have time for with an older baby. Have you considered working with an LC that has a lot of SNS experience prior to going to Africa for your gotcha? I would recommend that. Don't know how you would do it without a baby, but I think it could be very helpful.

I hope this helps.

I wish I had more time. I have learned some wonderful tricks with the SNS: a better way to tape it than on the instructions that come with it, how to get a good latch with it, how to get a latch without the tape, etc. For me using the SNS exclusively (no bottles) is really doing wonders for my supply.