Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply too late for hormones if already nursing?

Hi- I've posted in three places- but I think I've found the appropriate place at last!!
I didn't take hormones really (well 1 1/2 months of natural progesterone cream)to prepare for adoptive breastfeeding. I didn't see any breast changes. Now, I'm not making enough milk. I have to suppplement 10-13 oz / day for my 6 week old adopted baby. Its not for lack of Dom (im taking 160mg/day) or lack of herbs- lots of fenugreek, blessed thistle, shatavari and mothers milk tea, lots of pumping and feeding.

Can I take hormones now to help???

Some people do do the accelerated protocol after they have the baby to increase their supply. You can continue to breastfeed while doing the protocol, but your supply will drop significantly and you shouldn't pump at all. After you finish the protocol (at least 30 days) you can start pumping to try to increase your supply.

I don't know if it will help or not, and I'm not sure what I would do if I was you. Some people never take any hormones and have a full supply with just the dom, it just may take more time.

How much milk do you think you are making a day? How big is your baby? I wonder if you could try a weekend where you don't supplement and just spend the weekend nursing all the time and see if that helps your supply. When I stopped supplementing, I was not making quite enough for the baby and it was a total leap of faith that I would increase to meet her needs. And I did and she was ebf from that point on. But that said, she was a very small baby to begin with and I wasn't supplementing 10-13 oz a day, only 3-4 maybe.

Good luck!
Jennifer

I started accelerated protocol when my son was a month and a half old. I wasn't making any milk at that time. I did it for 45 days. I was Breastfeeding with a supplementer that entire time, but using a nipple shield on recommendation from someone that wasn't helping. I've been off protocol for almost a month now and am only making 8-9 oz a day. It's still slowly increasing but I'm thinking I'll have to supplement the whole time. He gets 16-17 oz of formula a day. Some people make more or less but since you're starting behind the baby it's hard for your body to catch up, or so I've read. I pump after every feeding as well as two additional times at night.

Good luck!

Jennifer - When he starts eating solids his breastmilk needs might drop a little and you might be able to catch up then (if you don't before then).
Jennifer