Hello! I'm not pregnant yet but am ttc! I want to know if theirs anything that could help bring in more milk once I do concieve? I wanted to bf my daughter but I didn't produce enough milk. I pumped for 2 hrs I think and only got 5ozs. She wouldn't latch on either because she wasn't recieving milk. This next one I would like to breastfeed and have excess. As in be ready to bf. Can anyone give me any tips on bf, latching, or producing more milk? I just want to be prepared for #2 thats all. thanks


sorry just realized I posted in the wrong catagory.

How long did you BF for? It can take a week for your milk to come in fully and 5oz is good going, it took me 48 hours to get 1oz when I first started pumping, but LO doesn't starve... she gained 1lb this week! Babies are more efficient suckers than a pump and can always get much more milk from you. Don't think baby isn't getting enough if they're feeding all night and fussing at the breast. They're just getting your supply up. Pumping before your supply is established (around 6 weeks) is very difficult and some never manage it at all.

As for refusing to latch, you'd need a midwife or breastfeeding counsellor to help with that. Some babies just don't take to it easily, for whatever reason, and it takes perseverance. One BF lady on here is just celebrating her LO latching after 7 months!

Make sure you have help and support. Beyond that, it's sheer dedication that will get you through it. Not much can prepare you.

I always seemed to have a lot of milk when baby fed but if I pumped I could only get about 2oz,I dont know how much time you gave it but it doesnt happen straight away,maybe just try to feed for a few weeks before you try pumping.

I BF my DS for 6 months and had no problems feeding him but couldn't express. It used to take 2 weeks to get enough milk to give my mother to keep him going when he stayed overnight. I soon gave that up as a bad job and allowed him to have formula when he stayed out. I've decided to BF this LO but I'm already made my mind up not to even try expressing as it was just too stressful.

You will get more milk by having baby take it from the breast then you will when you pump. Just how nature works I guess. Some women will lactate during pregnancy, but that is an exception to the rule. Generally your milk will come in between 3 and 7 days after baby is born, and baby needs to be latching on frequently to help the milk come in. The milk is produced by the breast being stimulated. For the first few days you will have colostrum. There is not much colostrum but it's all that baby needs for the first days of life. To properly latch baby you want to make sure he/she is opening up mouth real wide and then get your breast in there and make sure baby is taking nipple plus about 1 inch of areola. If baby only has nipple, he/she won't get much and it'll make you sore. If you can see baby's ears moving and hearing baby swallow, he/she is getting something. It can take weeks to get a proper latch. Try going to La Leche League meetings before hand, talking to a Lactation Consultant and/or Midwife. You might want to get a Doula who can help aswell. Most women will produce enough milk for baby, but remember, baby must be latching on to get the milk and to keep your production up. Pumping can reduce your production, so only pump if you need to. Have baby latch on about every hour or 2 hours, try not to go more than 2ish hours. If you aren't producing enough milk, then talk to a Lactation Consultant. Sometimes they'll perscribe things to help.

They all gave you great advice... but want to add.... please do not ever pump for 2 hours! Thats horrible. No more than 20 minutes TOPS! You will hurt yourself!

And 5 oz is a lot! I could rarely get that much!

Thanks so much ladies! I will keep that in mind!