Lactating Ladies?!?

bcweisen

I am currently exclusively breastfeeding my 2 month old son. He is my 4th but I have always struggled with having enough milk. This little guy has had a few other issues that have added up to a pretty rough start with nursing. When he was 2 weeks old I was only .6# away from pre-pregnancy but with all the stress and not enough sleep of the last few weeks have actually gained about 5#. I need the advice and support of other lactating ladies to help me add in exercise and get back on track without damaging my milk supply.

Willbenchforcupcakes

I'm currently breastfeeding my second, who is 5 1/2 months old. While I have never struggled with low supply, we were dealing with low gain. Since upping my calories and protein, she is gaining weight beautifully, and I'm losing a couple pounds a week. I'll send you a friend request:)

yesthistime

Breastfeeding support:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/197-breastfeeding-support

slkehl

Seeing as this is your fourth child, you probably already know this, but for all the lactating ladies out there-:
Low milk supply is a really common complaint among nursing women, and it doesn't help that so many hospitals out there have poor educational support for women about breastfeeding. There are a number reasons why this can happen, and it's important to talk to your doctor to figure out if there's any way you can alter your breastfeeding to increase your milk supply. For example, since milk production is stimulated in response to suckling by the infant, you will produce more milk if you allow the baby to nurse when the baby wants to do so rather than by having a regular nursing schedule that you stick to more rigidly. It's worth checking out since the more milk you produce, the more fat you burn!

Also, studies show that exercise generally does NOT have an effect on the volume of milk production. The nutrient content should be the same too, but if you do really intense workouts, it could change the flavor of your milk. Here is an helpful article that goes into more detail: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-after-pregnancy/MY00477 (sources from peer reviewed journals)

yesthistime

New mom group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/639-post-partum-pack

bcweisen

My son has had slow gain as well. At about 5 weeks we discovered that a posterior tongue tie was responsible for his low milk transfer, difficulty swallowing, slow weight gain, clicking, and my still sore and damaged nipples. He had a minor oral surgery to release the overly tight tissues. So far nursing has finally gotten better - still not easy but better. I am also taking domperidone prescription and more milk plus herbal to boost milk production. Unfortunately I think both increase appetite hence the weight gain.