How long and how much? And when do I take Feugreek?

[Ballsy]

How long do you pump and can anyone remember what amount their babies were eating at 8 weeks? I just want a rough comparison.

They eat 4oz a peice of expressed milk but I only express 2oz from each breast per pumping session. I need to be able to keep up!!

Do I take the Fenugreek in the morning or at night or does it matter?

[Paranoid]

I used to pump 6 times a day and I know at 8 weeks they were still on the 4oz bottles so I'm going to guess they took about 3ozs (they were 33 weekers)/6x a day. I pumped enough to keep up with them - I had very little left over.

I took blessed thistle as well as fenugreek. I was told to take it twice a day. I also drank a ton of water, didn't exercise and ate oatmeal. Have you tried pumping near them - it made a difference for me.

[Windy]

At 8weeks, my two were only taking 2 oz of expressed milk at a feeding, but Noa at 8 weeks, when taking a bottle took 5 oz (the twins were preemies and smaller though). So it varies.

For pumping? How long pumping per session or how long pumping total? I pumped about 20-30 minutes each pump, sometimes less, depending on how full I felt (I did have a lot of milk though). I pumped and nusred combine for 13/14 months. I wasn't sure what you were asking, so I threw in both.

Have you tried pumping a few more times each day when you can? I know it's hard, but this helped my supply. I think Iremember you are going back to work soon, correct? I would try to pump every 2-3 hours, for 8 times a day minimum, if you can before then. That might help you build up an excess supply. Or pumping after they nurse would stimulate more.

Also, are you using the double electric pump? that makes a big difference in supply.

I took fenguegree 3 times a day, 3 tablets at first (or 2 tablet - can't remember), and then 2 times, 2-3 tablets, for a maintenance. I also tried blessed thistle, and brewer's yeast.

[Ballsy]

Today is my first day back. I try to pump or feed every 3 hours at home but sometimes it goes 4 hours. They are also sleeping 5-7 hours at night now that I dont feed.

When I pump, I go for about 8 minutes then I dont get any more milk but I let it continue to pump, after two minutes of dry, my left breast starts going again. And its weird, it happens every single time, on the same breast, it never happens on the right one.

I always pump at least 5-10 minutes after the milk stops coming.

Im using the Medela PIS and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

So the Fenugreek isnt something that increases supply immediatly. Example, I take it in the morning and my supply is boosted and expressed successfully. or I take it at night and my supply is boosted, but Im asleep so it goes to waste.

Or does it increase the supply in general and it dosent matter what time of day I take it?

And Paranoid, why does oatmeal help? I have some oat granola bars Im chowing down big time. I hate regular old oatmean though ew!

[Pea]

I think it's the B-Vitamins in the oatmeal that help boost supply.

When I worked, I pumped for 15 minutes every 3 hours. Caitlin drank a 4oz bottle at 8 weeks.

I took Fenugreek in the morning and night.

[Onoliscious Tita]

I EP'd for the first 3 months or so because we couldn't get them to latch on ever. I pumped every 2 hours around the clock for 45 minutes (I had very slow let-down, I'd still be getting some milk after 45 minutes). I started Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle at 8 weeks, I forget the dosage but I took it twice a day. Those teas like Mother's Milk are just fenugreek tea. Root beer (good kind - needs to have brewer's yeast. Dark beers also have it but root beer has no alcohol ) will increase your supply. Also oatmeal, which I hated too but forced myself to eat every day (now I like it). Stay hydrated. I used a PIS for a while too, it was good. I preferred the Medela Classic, that's what I started out with.

I had to pump from 20-30 minutes. I would flow pretty good the first 10 minutes, then have a dump every 5 minutes after that. In addition, I pumped every 3 hours after I had my supply established.

Also, eat a big fat bowl of regular oatmeal every day.

[Pea]

When I was pumping, I would push the horns in on different areas on my breasts to try to stimulate different milk ducts. You may want to see if that helps stimulate your right breast a little bit, or you can hold a warm compress on that breast a couple of minutes before pumping to help it a little bit.

[neuf08]

Hmm....at 8 weeks I'm thinking bottle feeding was about 3-4 oz. Hard to remember. As far as how long to pump, I would do 15-20 min each session. That can give you enough time to get a second let down. I also often found that one breast would produce more milk than the other. A lactation consultant told me this is completely normal. I would definitely try the oatmeal (the instant kind will work, but more natural is better), drinking lots of water, and taking fenugreek. I just followed the directions on the bottle. I think you can even take just a bit more if you need to. I also found that when pumping was necessary (I pumped exclusively for a few weeks due to latch difficulties), using a hospital-grade pump made a huge difference. When I went back to my regular pump my supply definitely decreased. So you could look into renting one of those for a while (or buying them, but they're very expensive).

[Shoveller]

A little late with the reply.

[Oracle]

Originally Posted by Shoveller

A little late with the reply.

Nawww, we always reply to threads from 2005

[snowflake]

My first thought was "Holy crap, Ballsy's back!" Second thought, "She had a baby!?"

Then I saw the date.

[MASK]

Originally Posted by snowflake

My first thought was "Holy crap, Ballsy's back!" Second thought, "She had a baby!?"

Then I saw the date.

Me too!