Hi, I haven't been on here in a long time. I finally had my baby on July 2 (2 weeks overdue - induction - 30 hours of labour with IV antibiotics for group B strep, vacuum extraction, episiotomy, and 3rd degree tear). Fortunately, my baby boy is beautiful and we are all doing well now. Breast feeding has been a challenge, though. When my son was 1 week old, we took him to the pediatrician because he was crying all the time and hadn't had a bowel movement in over 24 hours. He was found to be dehydrated. So I started using a breast pump to help increase my milk supply. My husband has been giving the baby formula after each breast feeding session. Last week, I also started on some herbs (fenugreek and blessed thistle) recommended by a lactation consultant. I'm planning to start a medication (domperidone) recommended by the pediatrician.

My parents are wondering if my diet is affecting my milk supply. I really don't think so, because so many other people I know are having trouble with milk supply and having to supplement with formula (especially first time mothers who are over 35 - I'm 40). I'm not following the Whole Approach diet at this point, but I am avoiding sugar, eggs, cow dairy, wheat, almonds, sunflower seeds, oats, and hazelnuts. I eat beef and pork very rarely. I read somewhere that not eating dairy can interfere with milk supply, so I'm trying to eat more goat milk, yogurt, and cheese.

As far as I know, I only developed one new food sensitivity while pregnant (hazelnuts). There may be things on my avoid list that I could eat now, but I'm still feeling pretty well as far as energy level and other symptoms go, so I don't want to rock the boat.

Any suggestions on techniques for improving milk supply would be most welcome. I had assumed that I would be able to exclusively breastfeed and having to supplement with formula has been difficult to accept. (On the plus side, my son is gaining weight, sleeping better, and generally happier now that he isn't hungry all the time.) He should be waking up for a feeding soon, so I'll check in again sometime tomorrow.

Colleen

Hi Colleen and congratulations on your brand new baby boy!!!!! How wonderful for you!

I'm sorry to hear that you're not able to feed him in the way you would have liked to though--I know that for those of us who empahsize the "natural" it can be difficult to embrace that which is not (100% in any case). However, sometimes it's necessary and I'm just glad you both are doing well...

Unfortunately I have no experience with motherly matters--not yet anyway! So I'll leave it to those who have it, and to Tarilee who will be back on to post Tuesday...

I hope that whatever the issues, that you and your family enjoy every moment together!!

Take good care,

Ashley

Hi Colleen,

Congrats on the new little one in your life!

My sister had problems with low milk supply with her first baby and she found the "Mother's Milk" tea made a huge difference for her. I'm not sure if that is the same thing as the herbs you are taking but wanted to put that out there in case it's different.

best wishes!
Melanie

Hi Colleen,

Congratulations! If you have a midwife she might recommend fennel tea. This is suppposed to open up the ducts and help the milk production and flow. It's quite harmless and can be drunk a few times a day. Having said this, I'm not a herbalist and cannot give medical advise so please don't end your research here. I hope you can get by without having to put other milks into the mix very much. This can cause so many problems later on for kids/adults. If you cannot find any other way than to supplement with formula made with cow milk, at least there is an organic product. It's called My Organic Baby and is reasonably priced and much safer and better than conventional formulas.

Good luck with this challenging time. May the joy of motherhood speed your healing!

Tari-Lee

Hi Tari-Lee,

Thanks for the reply. I'll look into the tea. I think the Mother's Milk tea that Melanie mentioned has fennel in it. A Chinese friend suggested that I drink lots of soy milk to improve milk supply, but I know your recommendations to avoid soy. I do have unsweetened soy milk once in a while but not every day.

Re: the formula - I have avoided looking at the ingredient list. It's the formula the pediatrician gave us - it has DHA and ARA that are supposed to be good for the development of the eyes and nervous system. He seems to be tolerating it quite well so far, aside from a little bit of spitting up. I am hoping that I'll be able to eventually stop supplementing. I'll wait and see what the doctor says tomorrow. The little guy was dehydrated at 1 week old, but he's doing much better now. Sometimes he even falls asleep after breastfeeding and doesn't need formula until the next feeding. So I'm hoping that happens more often. Will keep you posted as things progress.

Colleen

P.S. We don't have a midwife, but our doula has given me lots of helpful suggestions. She recommends raspberry leaf tea.

Good for you! You sound like you're on the right track! Keep up the great work!

TLC

Peppermint Tea and Sage tea will reduce your milk supply. Those herbs reduce lactation according to medela's website, so I would avod them. Put baby to breast more often. I had this issue a week ago- so I nursed him all the time (makes it impossible to leave the house though). That increased my supply. Pumping will, too. If you get up in middle of baby's sleep cycle and pump. Freeze that milk- medela makes safe bottles for storing milk. Most bottles leech- there are only certain safe ones. Glass is not recommended for breastmilk. I use platex with the liners- they do not leach. Or do Gerber's clearviews if you do not want liners do to environmental concerns. I hope that tea will help. Post if it does. Good luck.

Cheers Nebula and welcome to the forum!! Tarilee, our moderator, will be on tomorrow to post you the welcome links in case you haven't found them yet--you seem to already have the spirit of this place though with your considerate advice!

Congratulations on your birth and i hope we hear from you again soon!

Ashley

Hi there Nebula,

Welcome to the forums!

Thanks for piping up with some help for our dear friend.

I invite you to visit our Getting Started section to read the introductory information about our site. Whole Approach welcome post

I'm here Tuesdays and Fridays to answer questions you might have about our program and products. Do let me know if I can clarify anything for you. Take good care,

Tarilee

Diet can effect milk supply,if you are not consuming enough calories. Also, if you are not drinking enough fluid that can decrease your supply. Consult your lactation consultant about how many calories and how much fluid you should consume in 24 hours.

Thanks for posting that advice Naturalmomma,

Are you concerned about candida issues or just dropping in to help a fellow momma?

If you are researching online resources about candida, feel free to visit our welcome site in our Getting Started forum section:

Whole Approach welcome post

Thanks again for dropping in with your great advice. Let us know if we can help you find your way around our candida yeast information here.

Take care,

Tarilee