Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply Lots of questions !

OK so I've been on the domp. for 3 months now, pumping for 2 months and lately I have just added the fenugreek. I have a health issue that prevents me from doing any hormones, so it's only the domp. for me.

Now I'm starting to freeze what I pump.... I pump only like 1.5 to 2 oz. per day !! Will that ever increase ?

OK here are my questions:

1- When I leave the pumped milk in the fridge during the day to add to it, it kinda separates...like into milk clots and water, and with a little shake to the ottle it's back to normal milk. IS that normal, or does it mean my milk is bad ??

2- How long can I keep my milk in the freezer? We're adopting and baby is not going to be placed in our arms until end October.

3- I am using ordinary plastic bags I buy at the super makrket....do I need to sterilize them first? ANd if yes, then how? boiling will ruin the plastic and even if I put them in a bottle sterilizer, they'll just soften up and ruined too.

4- I pump using a manual pump and it's OK so far, but I need to remove from my breast to adjust it every few pumps, does the room air that goes into it when I remove it ruin the milk?

5- While pumping I get a good flow for the first 2 minutes, then lesser and lesser over the 7 minutes session of pumping per breast... is this normal or does it mean my milk is VERY weak ?

6- I never pump during the night...once I sleep, I wake up the enxt morning..and the maximum I pump during the day is 4 times. Will that affect my milk supply once baby is here? I mean, surely the baby will nurse more than 4 times, will I have milk everytime she/he is nursing?

7- I'm taking 2 caps of FEnugreek 3 times /day.... is that OK, or can I decrease it to 1 cap only 3 times/day? The pamphlet on the box I bought said I should take 2 caps 3 times/day only for the first 3 days then decrease the dose to 1 cap 3 times per day. I need YOUR opinion.

8- Is it normal to have more milk flow in one breast than the other ALL the time? I'm not in pain and I don't feel like I have blocked ducts or anything, it's just how things are. IS it normal?

OK...enough already. Thanks if you're still reading and thank you even more if you can reply and help me out.

Hapi I will try to answer these in order.

1. Milk separates it is normal your milk is not bad. It is the fat separating.

2. I know for a deep freeze it is one year. But even after that you can pasteurize it and it will be fine for another year. So October it will be fine past that.

3. You don't need to sterilize the bags. You might want to think about getting the plastic bottle liner bags. They make storing t he milk a little easier and have markings on the bag so you know how much milk is in there.

4. The air won't hurt your milk.

5. That is kind of normal you can stop and do breast massage then pump again it should help the milk to flow some more. No your milk is not weak.

6. I would suggest as October gets closer you rent an electric pump and up the times you pump during the day to closer to 8 times. Basically every three hours which is what a newborn will nurse. You will have milk every time baby nursing the more you pump or baby nurses the more milk your body will produce.

7. The recommended dosage for inducing lactation is 3 caps 3 times a day. I would not decrease it.

8. Yes it is normal most people have one breast that seems to produce more than the other.

Thanks Laurie for your reply. You always jump to our help :-)

OK, so how long can I freeze the milk if I am freezing the bags in a freezer/refrigerator unit, with 2 separate doors, so the freezer opens separately and a lot less than the refrigerator door. Can it be kept for 6 moths or a lot less?

Oh, and I have noticed one other thing, when I pump only twice a day I get a lot more milk than when I pump every 3 hours !!! So this means I can freeze more. OR wilol that mess my milk supply later on when baby is here?

Thanks again for your time and all your help.

Milk is based on supply and demand. The more you pump the more you will get in the long run. You should try to pump every 3 hours during the day. If you only pump two times a day, your supply will start to really decline and you won't have milk for your baby when they want to eat more during the day.
Jennifer

Yep, what Jennifer said is exactly right. While it seems right now like more pumping is getting you less milk. In the long run the opposite will be true as your body will start making more and more milk to keep up with the demand of the pump and later the baby.

Thanks Jennifer and Laurie. I know you are both right about more pumping, it's just that I feel very frustrated when I only get less than 10 ml. per session :-( . I do pump a lot but those days when I am out all day with friends and cannot excuse myself to pump are the days I get more milk because I pump only twice.

Ok, so how about the freezing? will my frozen milk homd for at least 6 months? in a refrigerator/freezer unit or should I wait and freeze near the time baby is here?

Thanks again.

It should be fine for at least 6 months. I would start freezing now.
Jennifer