Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply 1 OZ after 3 day of pumping - feeling discouraged

I have been pumping for a week now. I pump 8 times a day every 2-3 hours starting in the morning and get up at 3 AM to pump. I pump for 20 - 30 minutes each time. I do compressions and the other tactile methods while I pump (ususally once or twice per pumping session for a couple of minutes). I take Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek at the recommended dose in addition to Dom 80mg per day. I eat oatmeal at least 3-4 times a week. I was the hormone (Provera) for 3 months. Our baby is due in mid-August.

I am discouraged.

I know the bonding I have with our baby is priceless and not about the amount of milk I produce but I am largely doing this to provide nourishment to our baby. If I have to use a supplementer and continue to pump after the baby arrives, I doubt I will continue with this because of the amount of time it takes.

Will I produce more milk? Is there anything else I can be doing?

Jill,

You will increase as your body responds to the stimulation of the pump. When the baby is here, they will be able to get more out of you than the pump. I pumped for 7 months and saw increases week by week but not day by day.

After the baby is born I pumped after nursing for 10-14 days because I wanted to make sure I had a good supply going. After that I stopped pumping and what I had was what I had.

As far as what I would change, I would increase your Dom to 120mg per day. This step alone could make a significant difference.

Also know that stress can play a significant role in inhibiting milk production, just like in nursing moms who give birth. Try to just relax and remember that the immunological effects are achieved with just 4oz of breast milk a day. That fact alone helped me relax and look at the long term effects that nursing has and the benefits of nursing vs breast milk given from the bottle gave me hope.

Don't get me wrong there were times that I so discouraged. I had my husband and people around me telling me how amazing they thought it was that I induced lactation. It helped keep me going by talking about it with friends and family when I was getting discouraged because I had plateaued. I only pump 6oz/day after 7 months of pumping!! It would have been easy to give up and feed her formula but I wanted her to have the advantages of breast milk.

My daughter has only had 2 cold and one dose of antibiotics for an ear infection because we were flying home in 25 months! Granted I am able to stay home with her, but I am convinced that it is because of the immune benefits that she got from breast milk.

So what this long-winded response to your question is meant to say is...

DON'T GIVE UP!!!

WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS AMAZING!!!

YOUR ARE DOING THE BEST YOU CAN FOR YOUR BABY BEFORE HE/SHE IS EVEN BORN!!!

Jill, Michele has given excellent advice. Please don't give up. It's actually pretty great that you are already getting 1 oz per day after only 1 week. There is every reason to believe that your supply will increase and just continue to go up as you keep at this.

I started about 2.5 months ago, and after the first week, I only saw about a tablespoon per day, combined from both breasts. Now I have between 9 and 10 oz per day. There is every reason to believe that you will be able to increase between now and when your baby arrives, and you'll continue to increase even more when the baby arrives, because he or she will be naturally more efficient at removing your milk and increasing your production. Even if you never get much, the health benefits of *any* breastmilk will be well worth the effort.

I agree with Michele that you should think about increasing your dom. to 120 mg/day. In my experience, though, the herbs are optional. They don't seem to help me at all, so I stopped taking them after a couple of months. You may respond to them differently, though.

Hang in there! Do you have a hands-free pumping bra? I have one but don't use it much. Instead, I balance my bottles on a pillow while I watch Netflix movies, TV shows on Hulu, or catch up on e-mail.

Don't give up! You won't regret giving this priceless gift to your little one, not to mention the fact that with my other babies, I found it much more convenient to nurse than to give bottles, particularly in the middle of the night. My last little guy and I got pretty good at nursing while he was in his sling, too. It kept him happy and helped me to stay on top of things with my two older children.

-Jennifer in Michigan

Yes I agree with Michele
"...increase your Dom to 120mg per day."

Oh you have to RELAX! Go into a room, put some music on, and close the door to pump if you have to. But RELAX!!! That plays a major role as I found out. I went into the nursery and closed the door with music on and it was amazing the difference.

Once we were placed with ds he was able to get a whole lot more milk that I ever pumped. Not that ds didn't have issues of bf. We went through a time where he didn't want to latch and was having a hard time latching. I thought at one point that I might have to just give up. I didn't and I am so thankful I didn't. I went to see several different LC's until I found one that was more supportive of adoptive breastfeeding.

Check with a Latation Consultant or your OB-GYN office to find out if you have the right size horns for your breast pump, that can make a difference.

Oh and ds is a healthy toddler!!! I am so thankful I found this site and the amazing support it has provided to adoptive moms!!!

It sounds to me like you are doing GREAT!! Try to not get discouraged!
Even if you are getting little milk when baby arrives, don't give up!
You can gradually increase the amount of domperidone you are taking up to 120 or even 160 mg/day.
When baby comes you can do all feedings at the breast and supplement as needed with formula using the Lact-Aid. If you do this you will not need to pump! I increased my supply and decreased my formula needs w/o pumping at all with baby nursing at the breast with the Lact-Aid.
Remember that in the first few days baby does not need much (teaspoons, not ounces). Get in bed with that baby on your chest and stay that way for a week and you may very well likely have a full supply by the end of the week.
Even when I did not have a full supply I go to the point where I only needed to supplement with formula in the evening. I was able to exclusively breastfeed all day, and just give a few ounces in the evening, so even if you don't get a full supply, it can still be very worth it!

I am up to 4 oz. after 5.5 weeks of pumping. So just keep at it. It is really good practice for those baby wake up calls.