HELP!! Advice Needed

JayTee146

My caloric intake was 1700 and I even allowed myself the extra 500 calories... I sometimes went over but I've noticed my milk supply had dropped! :sad: :sad: I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I've been drinking the 8 glasses of water(which is a stretch for me) I express 3 times during my 8 hour woring day... Around 5 or 6am I normally get between 5 to 8 ounces on one side but this morning I barely got 4. Yesterday I expressed and barely had enough to complete my bottles for my lo while she's at the sitter. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG! Please help guys... I really am trying. I'm listing my diet for the past few days please tell me if something's wrong.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Morning around 8 I have breakfast at work 2 packs of oatmeal and 16 ounces of water
Lunch I have a turkey sandwhich and chips
snacks are normally apples or peanutbutter crackers
and until last night I had tuna sandwhiches for dinner and maybe a bowl of cereal as a snack

CMmrsfloyd

What do you have your weightloss set for? If it's set for 2 lbs per week, bump it back to 1.5 or 1 lb per week. Or if it's set at 1 lb per week, try bumping down to 1/2 lb per week. That will give you extra calories. Drink as much fluids as you can - if you can't stand water (totally understand) try flavoring it with something (you can use those little flavoring powder packets or even fresh fruit - some people like water with a bit of cucumber or lime or something in it) - you can also drink other fluids, not just water, just make sure you're staying really well hydrated. Sounds like you're already working pretty hard to try and eat enough calories, it may be that you personally just need even a little more than that estimate to keep up your supply, at least for now. How old is your baby? If you've been breastfeeding for less than 2 months, your body may still be trying to regulate milk supply and you might consider setting your MFP settings to 'maintain your current weight' and then add those extra breastfeeding calories on top for a little while, while your body gets back used to producing like you need it to. Then when you get your supply really well established again, you can try setting to lose 1/2 lb per week for awhile, if that works and you don't lose supply you can try 1 lb per week. Just don't try to go too fast especially if your supply is taking a hit.

Also, there are some foods and herbs that are suggested for helping boost milk suppyl - I see you're already eating oatmeal, that helps out some women - something I've heard is that the less processed variety can be better for boosting supply but I haven't tried that out personally. Some supplements that help out a lot of women are fenugreek, fennel seed, blessed thistle, and there are more I can't think of at the moment. Some companies even make a tea that is a blend of various milk supply boosting ingredients. While you're trying to get that supply back up, you might consider researching and deciding if you want to add in some type of supplement to try and help out while you're getting back on track.

If all else fails, contact your local La Leche League or a lactation consultant for advice. Losing weight is important but baby and your supply are more important. Good luck and I hope you can figure out a way for everything to work together.

And by the way your picture of you and your baby is just BEAUTIFUL. :-)

JayTee146

Thank you sooo much for your reply :flowerforyou: my lo will be 4 months on the 22. I've gone from 8 to 10+ glasses of water and that seemed to help alot. I'm not able to get 8 ounces anymore but I am getting 6 so I feel slowly but surely I'm moving back up there:bigsmile: I thought 2 pounds was a bit much so as you mentioned I moved to the recommended 1 pound a week. I felt like something was wrong as last week when I weighed in I lost 6 pounds. :noway: I didn't realize it until I saw a significant drop in my supply.

maru84

I would skip the packs of oatmeal and go for old fashioned or steel-cut oats- those will be more likely to boost your supply. I cook them on the stove and add 2 egg whites so that I feel full longer (and it's only 300 calories!) Add 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal to your diet as well. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water (example: if you weigh 150, drink 75 oz of water). I would see if eating a few more calories would help too- read some of the other blog posts about how to add calories to your diet and how it has helped with the weight loss.

shedntonePHAT

Based off of the mock diet you've given, it sounds like you need to eat a lot more. BF takes a lot out of you, while you need to drink a lot of water, one thing I have found that helps before pumping or latching...is to drink something warm, tea, ovaltine, whatever you prefer. Also to not let my blood sugar dip to low, so eating at a minimum of every 3 hours something like (a sandwich loaded with protein ((chicken or eggs)) and veggies ((tomatoes, lettuce)), a fruit or a smoothie, a yogurt. Drinkable yogurts are great to have on the go....but the biggest thing is YOU HAVE TO EAT OFTEN. It does affect your milk production, as well as stress.

Somehow, you to find things or ways to reduce your stress level, so it'll be much easier to have a let-down of your milk. And lastly, you probably already know that your body is a milk making machine and that its genius. The more you pump or feed, is the more you produce....the less demand is the less you supply. You tell your body how much you want it to make. So...

1. Eat and eat often, drink something warm prior to feeding
2. Reduce stress or keep it manageable (maybe a hot bath, or something calming)
3. Keep that demand high! Feed or pump!

JayTee146

Thanks for the support guys. :flowerforyou: my supply is back :bigsmile: I had to eat more and drink wayyyyyy more water than I was taking in. I have to admit I'll miss the added calories after lo weans.. but until then yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :smooched:

Werglum

Hi there, this is a recipe for cookies which help to boost your milk. I'm glad that things are improving for you! (I haven't worked out the calories yet but I'll enter the recipe so it should come up on the database.

Lactation Boosting Biscuit Recipe


1 cup butter or marg
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal*
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats, thick cut if you can get them
1 cup or more chocolate chips
2 tablespoons of brewers yeast* (be generous)

Directions:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes. Cream (beat well) margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well. Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the margarine mix. Beat until blended. Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips. Add to margarine mixture. Stir in oats then chips. Scoop or drop onto baking sheet, preferably lined with parchment or silpat. The dough is a little crumbly, so it helps to use a scoop.

Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

Serves: 6 dozen cookies - freeze some!!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

*can be found at any local health food store.
*NOTE* IT MUST BE BREWERS YEAST, NO SUBSTITUTIONS

Werglum

Sorry, the recipe section isn't sharing yet but the stats are as follows:

Per Serving: calories: 90, Carbs: 13, Fat: 4, Protein: 1, Calcium: 1

JayTee146

Thanks Werglum! :flowerforyou: that recipe sounds awesome!