How Can I Increase My Milk Supply?

There are a number of things you can do to increase your milk supply.   There are a number of things you can do.

1. Make sure you have a good latch (see latch videos listed under resources)  If latch is painful or nipples are sore, get help from an IBCLC qualified lactation consultant
2. Increase your frequency of nursing to 12 times or more in 24 hrs. Make sure you breastfeed or pump at least one time during the night.
3. Do lots of skin to skin with the baby (mom or dad) Put only a diaper on baby, put baby on your bare chest,  and cover with blankets as needed.  Skin to skin does amazing things for the baby and also stimulates mother's milk producing hormones.
4. Pump 8 to 12 times in 24 hrs after every feeding for about 15 minutes.
5. Check for proper flange fit--nipple should not be touching the sides of the flange tube when pump is working
6. Use breast massage or compression
7. Use herbs that increase your milk supply such as More Milk Plus. You should notice a difference within 48 hrs if it is going to work. 

Breastfeeding Tidbits

• Babies thrive on direct contact and social interaction with you.
• Car seats are for when you are traveling in the car

Don't leave your baby in the car seat when you are out of the car. Babies need to be in different positions in order to strengthen all the muscles of their neck and torso. Hold the baby, or use a sling or baby carrier if you need to get some things done. These things will also help prevent the flattening of the back of their head. Carrying the baby around in the car seat is terrible for your arm and back as well.

Breastfeeding Tidbits!

• If you are breastfeeding, avoid using the gel hand sanitizers.

Just wash your hands with soap and water instead. Why? The gel sanitizers have alcohol in them. Alcohol can irritate your hands as well as the sensitive skin around the nipple and areola when you hold your breast to latch baby. The alcohol fumes are toxic to baby. I've seen cases where babies have had "breast aversion" because their mommy was using hand sanitizer after all diaper changes.

The Best Way to Avoid the Flu

The flu season is here! Protect you and your family in a very simple way.

• Wash your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds

When? Before you eat, after changing diapers or using the bathroom, after sneezing or wiping your nose or eyes, when you get home after being out...this goes for your children's hands as well!

• Try to keep your hands off of your nose and eyes

• Avoid touching public hand rails and door knobs as much as possible. Keep your paper towel in public restrooms, use it to open the door or push the door open with your back or shoulder instead of your hand.
• If you or a family member are coming down with "something", do everyone a favor, and stay home. There is no heroism in keeping an appointment and pushing yourself to do something if it is going to spread disease to someone else. Be considerate of others.

Breastfeeding Tidbits!

• The best breastmilk storage containers are either glass, or BPA free hard plastic containers

Why? Research has found that the a large percentage of the immunoglobulins that are in your breastmilk will stick to the sides of the plastic bag breastmilk storage containers. So...baby never gets those stuck cells that protect her from infections.

• When storing expressed breastmilk, never add your warm, just expressed milk to a container with frozen milk. Cool the just expressed milk in the refrigerator first!

Breastfeeding Tidbits!
Keep your eye out for various "Tidbits" about breastfeeding. Today, I'd like to tell you one about cleaning breast pumps.

• Do you know that you should never, never wash your breast pump tubing?
• If you notice condensation in the tubing after pumping, leave the pump running for a while after disconnecting the bottles--this will dry it out.

The reason you don't need to wash the tubing, is that the tubing has nothing but air going through it.  The expressed breast milk never touches the tubing.  If you wash the tubing, chances are that it will get moldy.  If that is the case, you must get some replacement tubing.