SCD and breast milk supply

[Guest guest]

I have an almost-6-month-old at home who is just starting solids and has been exclusively breastfed up till now. I went back to work when she was about 4 1/2 months old and I pump at work. Last week I had to take a trip for 2 days and even though I pumped while I was away, my supply is now significantly lower than it had been. We are starting to supplement a *little* with formula, but I would really like to give her as much breastmilk as possible, and avoid formula if possible. (Supply is starting to build up again, but I know that over time it will decrease, as it did with my first child.)

So here is my question: with my first child, I used lots of techniques to increase my milk supply (oatmeal, dark beer, mother's milk tea, and an herbal tincture), and they all worked GREAT, but it turns out they are all SCD-ILLEGAL! (Back then, with my first, I was not on SCD.) The tea and tincture contain fenugreek, which is illegal, and marshmallow root, which is also illegal. Does anyone have experience with this? Any recommendations for SCD-legal supplements or foods that might help increase my supply? This might be a case where I have to ingest some illegals for a little while and accept slower healing during this time. I assume that if I'm going to ingest one of these illegals it'd be better to use the tea and/or tincture (i.e. illegal herbs) rather than oatmeal or beer, does anyone know if that's right?

Thanks for your help,MishaIBS-D since 1996, no medsSCD since June 2010

[Guest guest]

Hi Misha,

I breast fed all my babies and had a similar problem. I never used supplements

to increase my breast milk. I had more problems when I was working full time

with my first than part time- at home- with the younger ones.

One problem was weight. I was eager to lose the baby pounds but I noticed that

below 5-10 pounds above my regular weight slowed down the milk. It's as if my

body wanted those pounds before it made any extra food for anyone else. I am not

a large person, so perhaps this would not happen with a larger person. I also

found when I did finally lose the extra weight it was all in the breasts and not

from the hips where I wanted to lose it. So it was there for a reason.

I found that to make the extra milk I had to add a few and keep those extra

pounds until the babies were weaned. The other issue was simply stimulating the

breasts to make more milk. Obviously I had less opportunity working than when I

was home and could feed the baby whenever I wanted.

I eventually rented an electric pump from the hospital where I had the babies.

This made all the difference. They are expensive to buy, but with renting the

pump I became a COW!!! I just increased the frequency and my calories if I

needed more milk. Pumping and freezing gave me a nice supply at home so I

rarely needed formula.

Babies like to suck so letting the baby nurse more frequently will also increase

your supply.

Best of luck,

PJ

>

> I have an almost-6-month-old at home who is just starting solids and has

> been exclusively breastfed up till now. I went back to work when she was

> about 4 1/2 months old and I pump at work. Last week I had to take a trip

> for 2 days and even though I pumped while I was away, my supply is now

> significantly lower than it had been. We are starting to supplement a

> *little* with formula, but I would really like to give her as much

> breastmilk as possible, and avoid formula if possible. (Supply is starting

> to build up again, but I know that over time it will decrease, as it did

> with my first child.)

>

> So here is my question: with my first child, I used lots of techniques to

> increase my milk supply (oatmeal, dark beer, mother's milk tea, and an

> herbal tincture), and they all worked GREAT, but it turns out they are all

> SCD-ILLEGAL! (Back then, with my first, I was not on SCD.) The tea and

> tincture contain fenugreek, which is illegal, and marshmallow root, which is

> also illegal. Does anyone have experience with this? Any recommendations for

> SCD-legal supplements or foods that might help increase my supply? This

> might be a case where I have to ingest some illegals for a little while and

> accept slower healing during this time. I assume that if I'm going to ingest

> one of these illegals it'd be better to use the tea and/or tincture (i.e.

> illegal herbs) rather than oatmeal or beer, does anyone know if that's

> right?

>

> Thanks for your help,

> Misha

>

> IBS-D since 1996, no meds

> SCD since June 2010

>

[Guest guest]

Misha,Have you tried wine? My sister-n-law said that her doctor told her to drink 4 oz of beer shortly before feeding to help her milk 'come down' and she said she had enough milk for her son and half the neighborhood! I think, though, it wasn't the beer, but the alcohol to help the mother relax so that the milk would 'release' more easily. I can remember trying to pump and getting stressed because I am forever running late -- and of course I would hardly get any milk! Beer, generally speaking, has the lowest alcohol content, so that is probably why it is recommended instead of wine. My only other suggestion would be legal apple cider. I think someone on this board found some, but I might be confusing it with the SCDUK board as apple cider is more common

there.AmeliaTo: BTVC-SCD Sent: Tue, September 7, 2010 9:23:15 PMSubject: SCD and breast milk supply

I have an almost-6-month-old at home who is just starting solids and has been exclusively breastfed up till now. I went back to work when she was about 4 1/2 months old and I pump at work. Last week I had to take a trip for 2 days and even though I pumped while I was away, my supply is now significantly lower than it had been. We are starting to supplement a *little* with formula, but I would really like to give her as much breastmilk as possible, and avoid formula if possible. (Supply is starting to build up again, but I know that over time it will decrease, as it did with my first child.)

So here is my question: with my first child, I used lots of techniques to increase my milk supply (oatmeal, dark beer, mother's milk tea, and an herbal tincture), and they all worked GREAT, but it turns out they are all SCD-ILLEGAL! (Back then, with my first, I was not on SCD.) The tea and tincture contain fenugreek, which is illegal, and marshmallow root, which is also illegal. Does anyone have experience with this? Any recommendations for SCD-legal supplements or foods that might help increase my supply? This might be a case where I have to ingest some illegals for a little while and accept slower healing during this time. I assume that if I'm going to ingest one of these illegals it'd be better to use the tea and/or tincture (i.e. illegal herbs) rather than oatmeal or beer, does anyone know if that's right?

Thanks for your help,MishaIBS-D since 1996, no medsSCD since June 2010