Babies are much more effective at removing milk from your breasts than a pump, and how much you pump is not an indicator of how much milk you’re producing. But pumping can make you painfully aware of how little milk you’re able to produce in a session.  With Charlie, I worked extremely hard to increase my milk supply.  Since Olive eats much less than Charlie did, I’ve been able to keep up with her demand, but I haven’t been able to produce extra milk that I can freeze, which makes being away from her for any extended period of time difficult.  I’d been reluctant to try to increase my milk supply because of my recent bout with mastitis followed by a clogged duct, but now that I’m over all that madness, I think it’s time to embark upon project Pump up the Volume.

This might be helpful information to file away if you need to increase your supply because you’re returning to work, or your supply drops because you get your period or your baby starts sleeping through the night. When I was trying to increase my supply with Charlie, I was a little crazy about tracking how much I was able to pump in each session on a spreadsheet, but it’s been really helpful to look back on all that information.  Of course I’m much more lax now, but I really learned a lot, so I know exactly what I need to do this time around.

First here are some interesting facts that might help you pumping mamas:

– Milk production is highest between 1AM and 5AM.  

–  Milk volume is typically greater in the morning hours, and falls gradually as the day progresses. Fat content of the milk tends to increase as the day progresses. The emptier the breast, the higher the fat content of the milk. A baby gets less volume of milk in an afternoon nursing session, but the higher fat content gives the baby extra calories which make up for the lower volume.

– A mother’s milk volume remains relatively constant from one month postpartum to six months postpartum, when solid foods are introduced. Babies who are in daycare often receive increasing amounts of breastmilk in their bottles based on the theory that as they grow bigger, they need more milk at each feeding. While this is true for the formula-fed baby, this theory does not apply to the breastfed baby. Milk production by the mother remains constant during this time, but the fat content of her milk continues to increase as the baby gets older. Thus, a breastfed baby receives milk that has more calories per ounce as he gets older. Mom does not need to produce more!! (source)

This is what I did to increase my milk supply with Charlie.  My lactation consultant said that I should try to squeeze in extra pumping sessions even if i didn’t get that much, to try to trick my body into producing more milk.  The more often your boobs are empty, the more milk they’ll make, so you have to try to trick your body into producing more milk. I also started taking More Milk Plus on her recommendation.  It’s a tincture that contains fenugreek and other milk increasing herbs like blessed thistle leaf, nettle leaf, and fennel seed that you’re supposed to take 4 times a day. Results are typically seen within 24-72 hours.

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I saw a slight increase right away when I started taking More Milk Plus, but it was nothing to write home about. The increase could have been attributed to my longer pumping times or the obscene amount of water I started drinking for all I knew. Then I came across this article about one mother’s experience with fenugreek (the main ingredient in MMP):

Fenugreek’s mechanism of action seems to be related to its propensity to increase sweat production. As you may remember, the breasts are modified sweat glands. I am one who almost never sweats and that may be why I am a poor milk producer. The sweat that is produced while taking fenugreek smells of maple syrup. If there is no sweet odor, the fenugreek dose is not high enough to affect milk production. Changes in fenugreek dosing affect milk production about 1 to 2 days after the change.

I smelled like maple syrup after the first dose I took, but the smell went away completely soon afterwards. Another mom also told me that she took More Milk Plus before every pumping session instead of the recommended 4 times a day, and she was able to eventually increase her milk output from less than 1 oz to 14-16 oz per session!  I decided that I probably wasn’t taking enough More Milk Plus to effect change, so I started taking an extra dose here and there, and I noticed a difference right away.

Before taking More Milk Plus, I was pumping 2 1/2 oz/session.  On day 5 of taking MMP, I was pumping 3 oz /session.  On day 15 of taking MMP, I was pumping 4oz/session.  Eventually I went on to pump as much as 12 ounces in a session, and built up a nice stash of frozen milk.  I stopped taking More Milk Plus after I finished a 4 oz bottle, and I didn’t see any decrease in my milk production.

I tried pretty much everything you see on our Increasing Your Milk Supply checklist, but I think the most effective things I did were:

* taking More Milk Plus.
* staying obscenely hydrated. I kept a pitcher of water by my bed and added cucumber or lemon to spice it up.
* pumping more frequently. I was breastfeeding and/or pumping 8-9 times a day, but increased it to 10-11 times a day to trick my body into making more milk.  Once I was making more milk, I was able to scale down the number of nursing/pumping sessions per day without seeing a decrease in my milk output.
* pumping for longer periods. I used to stop pumping at the 15 minute mark, but pumping 20-25 minutes enabled me to get a second let down.
* getting lots of rest. I know it’s extremely difficult to get a lot of rest with a newborn, but being as well rested has possible has a huge impact on milk production.  I tried to squeeze in a nap whenever I could because I was always tired!

This is the path I’m going to follow to try to increase my milk supply this second time around.  It does require a lot of dedication, but I would like to achieve my goal of Olive being exclusively breastfed until 1 year.  Right now I’m producing about 2 1/2 oz/session — the same starting point I was at with Charlie.  I’ll report back when that number goes up… hopefully dramatically!

Have you ever done anything to try to increase your milk supply?

Pumping & Increasing Milk Supply part 2 of 11

1. Increasing Your Milk Supply by Checklists
2. Pumping Up the Volume by Mrs. Bee
3. My Pumping System by mrs. wagon
4. Don't Pay for a Breast Pump Until You Read This by Mrs. Tricycle
5. More milk, more milk, more milk! by Mrs. Hopscotch
6. Building up a Breastmilk Freezer Stash by mrs. wagon
7. Exclusive Pumping vs. Breastfeeding by Mrs. Bee
8. How To Clean a Medela Pump by Mrs. Bee
9. My Pumping, Freezing, and Defrosting Strategy by Mrs. Bee
10. Project Milk by Mrs. Bee
11. Feeding and Storing Expressed Breastmilk by Checklists