How to Make Plenty of Milk For Your Baby

By Stephanie Duszynski

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Making milk is easy! 10 Steps to Make Plenty of Milk.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Frequent feeds, not formula. The more often you feed, the more milk you make. If you give formula, your baby will feel too full to nurse frequently.

Step2

All you need is breastmilk! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that your baby have a diet of purely bresatmilk for the first 6 months - no other food or drink is needed.

Step3

Feed early and often. Feed at the earliest signs of hunger: if baby is awake, sucking on hands, moving his mouth or eyes, or stretching.

Step4

If he didn't swallow, he didn't eat. Listening for the sound of swallowing will help you know if your baby's getting enough.

Step5

Say "No" to pacifiers and bottles. If pacifiers and bottles are used when your baby is hungry, you may not be nursing often enough to make plenty of milk.

Step6

Sleep near your baby and nurse lying down. You can rest while you feed your baby!

Step7

Have baby's mouth open wide like a shout, with lips flipped out. The tip of your nipple should be in the back of his throat. He should be directly facing you, chest-to-chest, chin-to-breast. Proper positioning prevents sore nipples.

Step8

Watch the baby, not the clock! Feed your baby when she's hungry, and switch sides when swallowing slows down or she takes herself off the breast.

Step9

Go everywhere! Plan to take your newborn everywhere with you for the first several weeks.

Step10

Don't wait to ask for help if you need it. If you wait too long to get the help you need, it may be harder to breastfeed. Stick with it - it's worth it!

Tips & Warnings

You cannot overfeed a breastfed infant! Feed often to ensure a good milk supply.
Crying is a late stage hunger cue. If you wait until your baby is crying to feed him, he may be too frantic to latch on well.

Resources

Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition

Comments

sduszynski said

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on 4/6/2008 Hi GreenMomma!

It's quite common to hear people recommend a glass of beer for a boost in milk supply, but current research doesn't really indicate there's any correlation. There is an ingredient in milk that has been shown to increase levels of prolactin in the mom (the theory is that the prolactin helps Mom relax, and then her milk flows more easily), but that ingredient is in non-alcoholic beer as well. I'm guessing that the LC you referred to is aware of that study! :)

I definitely don't think a single beer every once in a while is going to cause any problems, and it COULD potentially help. I know that I personally HAVE noticed an increase in supply the morning after I've had a beer or two. So it doesn't hurt to try!

That said, have you tried oatmeal, fenugreek, Mother's Milk tea, etc? Here's a GREAT link from Kellymom with even more ideas: http://www.kellymom.com/her

GreenMomma said

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on 4/5/2008 What do you think of the idea of drinking a dark beer for producing milk? I've heard this many times and even my pediatrician recommended a non-alcoholic version. My lacation consultant in the NICU said the alcohol in the beer actually reverses the good stuff that the beer does. I'm still nursing my 15 month old and I have noticed a serious decline in my milk production and have been trying to come up with ways to boost it once again. I nursed twins so I know what my breasts are capable of!

CrunchyMama said

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on 4/24/2008 Great article. A sling can be a lifesaver for keeping baby close, and also makes it very easy to nurse as soon as baby needs to instead of waiting for a more discreet moment.
Plenty of skin-to-skin contact also increases baby's urge to nurse, which is a must if you have a low birthweight, premature or failure to thrive baby.

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