Motilium - Low milk supply

[hope8nzc]

I don't know if it's because of my son's tong, it was tied and he couldn't breastfeed properly, it took us almost two weeks to figure it out and fix it. or the problem is with my body.
I have a very low milk supply, it's not enough to feed him he is two months old now and I started with Motilium more then three weeks ago. first 2x3 - I didn't feel much of affect. then moved 3x3 and now 4x3.
I feel there is an improvement but not enough to breastfeed him exclusively and that's what I want!
I read online that some women feel the difference after 4 weeks, so should I wait this long before I increase the dosage again? is it safe to go above 4x3?

I tried pumping and took all kinds of supplements, nothing worked!

Yesterday he didn't want to breastfeed in the evening and chose the bottle, after a few hours my breasts got full, I pumped and got 20ml from the left breast and 50ml from the right and that's after it got full!! the amount is really frustrating.

Please help

[Ladylove]

Hello. there are a few wonderful women here with lots of experience in this are so hopefully they will respond soon. I just couldn't not write something. Hang in there, you are doing more amazingly than you probably feel right now. My second baby had tongue and upper lip tie. We had it revised (laser) at around 3 months old (she is 7 months now). Before the revision we were on a slippery slope, many many BF issues including my supply which went from abundant bordering on oversupply to undersupply. Motilium helped enourmously and I noticed a small improvement in days, my GP started me on a high dose.

That said, motilium won't do much if you haven't addressed bubba's attachment and feeding as if he is not extracting milk properly your body cannot build up supply properly. So it is likely not a matter of your body or baby's but the two are interdependent. Tongue tie can cause poor attachment and ineffective milk extraction which in turn really messes with supply.

Pumping a couple of times a day between feeds may be helpful in assisting the motilium, especially if you are having trouble getting baby to stay on the breast (as I did with DD2- we had screaming and at times refusal) but again the only real improvement would lie in addressing the core causes of the low supply...

Have you seen a lactation consultant? That would be an ideal first step. Who diagnosed the tie and what was suggested in relation to this? Have you been working on attachment? Getting baby to breastfeed direct from you as often as possible is hands down the best way to boost supply but if it is not always as easy as that!

ETA- 20 and 50ml pumping output is not bad at all.

[hope8nzc]

Hello. there are a few wonderful women here with lots of experience in this are so hopefully they will respond soon. I just couldn't not write something. Hang in there, you are doing more amazingly than you probably feel right now. My second baby had tongue and upper lip tie. We had it revised (laser) at around 3 months old (she is 7 months now). Before the revision we were on a slippery slope, many many BF issues including my supply which went from abundant bordering on oversupply to undersupply. Motilium helped enourmously and I noticed a small improvement in days, my GP started me on a high dose.

That said, motilium won't do much if you haven't addressed bubba's attachment and feeding as if he is not extracting milk properly your body cannot build up supply properly. So it is likely not a matter of your body or baby's but the two are interdependent. Tongue tie can cause poor attachment and ineffective milk extraction which in turn really messes with supply.

Pumping a couple of times a day between feeds may be helpful in assisting the motilium, especially if you are having trouble getting baby to stay on the breast (as I did with DD2- we had screaming and at times refusal) but again the only real improvement would lie in addressing the core causes of the low supply...

Have you seen a lactation consultant? That would be an ideal first step. Who diagnosed the tie and what was suggested in relation to this? Have you been working on attachment? Getting baby to breastfeed direct from you as often as possible is hands down the best way to boost supply but if it is not always as easy as that!

ETA- 20 and 50ml pumping output is not bad at all.

Thank you for answering, it's nice to hear that I'm not alone in this
His attachment is good now, i'm putting him on the breast first thing before I give him the bottle.
How much Motilium did the doctor tell you to take at first? how is feeding for you now?

My son has colic and gas, when I breastfeed him he wiggles and turns a lot, I need to hold him and make sure that he won't detach himself. it also might be due to low flow.
I want to fix this issues as fast as possible, I heard children tend to prefer the bottle over the breast! this is one of my fears.

My lactation consultant said that I'm doing all that I can but I'm still wondering if I can do better, that's why I'm considering to increase the dosage.

[Raupe]

Hi! Sorry, I don't have any personal experience, but I've heard of another few ideas that might help:

1) Have you tried lactation cookies? The recipe is on this website and has helped my supply enormously. Brewers yeast is the active ingredient, but you could also take it in tablet form. Fennel also is meant to help.

2) Keep putting him on the boob. All. The. Time. Everytime he is unsettled or grizzly put him on the boob. Make sure you put him on both sides. The more he sucks, the more your breasts will be stimulated to produce more. Which brings me to...

3) Talk to your LC about SNS (supplement nursing system). I really think this could be your solution. It is basically a feeding tube that attaches to your breast. So bubby will drink all his milk on the breast, even though some of it is formula. This way he will stay on the breast longer, which will increase the supply. Also he won't squirm so much and get frustrated, as he is getting enough milk on the breast. Lastly, this way he can't get used to/prefer the bottle, as there is no bootle.

I hope there are some ideas that could help!

[hope8nzc]

Hi! Sorry, I don't have any personal experience, but I've heard of another few ideas that might help:

1) Have you tried lactation cookies? The recipe is on this website and has helped my supply enormously. Brewers yeast is the active ingredient, but you could also take it in tablet form. Fennel also is meant to help.

2) Keep putting him on the boob. All. The. Time. Everytime he is unsettled or grizzly put him on the boob. Make sure you put him on both sides. The more he sucks, the more your breasts will be stimulated to produce more. Which brings me to...

3) Talk to your LC about SNS (supplement nursing system). I really think this could be your solution. It is basically a feeding tube that attaches to your breast. So bubby will drink all his milk on the breast, even though some of it is formula. This way he will stay on the breast longer, which will increase the supply. Also he won't squirm so much and get frustrated, as he is getting enough milk on the breast. Lastly, this way he can't get used to/prefer the bottle, as there is no bootle.

I hope there are some ideas that could help!

Lactation cookies? wow didn't hear of that, cool!
I didn't find the recipe on this site, I searched on Google and found it there, thanks

Sadly the tube didn't work for us, after a few sips he detaches and doesn't want to eat anymore, I think this time the flow is too strong for him.
I put him on my breasts as much as possible.

[Barb Glare]

Hi,
It sounds like you have had a difficult and frustrating time of it. I wonder, how many times are you breastfeeding your little one? You may not be as far off track as you think. 70mls is a pretty worthy effort. The baby will generally more out than the pump - and babies feel usually 10 or more times a day - so if he got 70mls 10 times a day he would be getting 700 mls which is what babies would normally get at this time. Frequent feeding will also ease the colic and it’s a great way of settling the baby. Some women opt for frequent feeding during the night and condense supplements in a bigger bottle last thing at night. That way you are just breastfeeding normally in the day. Many women go on to breastfeed just fine with a bottle or two a day - it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, and giving bottles doesn’t make you less of a breastfeeding mum. Are you still working closely with your LC? It’s important to identify the problem and select the right solution. Motilium works by increasing your prolactin levels, but if your prolactin levels are not low then no amount of motilium will solve the problem. It would be best to work with your LC and doctor to get the suitable level of motilium, but I personally wouldn’t recommend increasing the dose - the dose you are taking is above what is normally prescribed already.
Warm Regards
Barb

[onthefly]

Hi Hope,
Sounds like you're doing a great job to feed your baby.
Perhaps you've been over all this with your LC already, but how often are you feeding and how are you feeding? Also, what is your bottle feeding routine?
Frequent feeding, switch feeding, breast compressions and breast milk top ups are all ways to maximise the amount of milk baby gets. When feeding formula, it can be helpful also to pace feed to minimise the amount they take (it's easy to overfeed from a bottle).

It's understandable to be disappointed when we fall short of our goals, but you are still breastfeeding and doing a good job taking care of your little one. Sometimes we have to define our own success - for some mums that's not 100% breastfeeding, but that doesn't mean they've failed.

There are some articles on the ABA website that might be helpful (if you haven't seen them already)
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfi...la-supplements
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-...0%93mum/supply

Take care,

[hope8nzc]

Hi,
It sounds like you have had a difficult and frustrating time of it. I wonder, how many times are you breastfeeding your little one? You may not be as far off track as you think. 70mls is a pretty worthy effort. The baby will generally more out than the pump - and babies feel usually 10 or more times a day - so if he got 70mls 10 times a day he would be getting 700 mls which is what babies would normally get at this time. Frequent feeding will also ease the colic and it’s a great way of settling the baby. Some women opt for frequent feeding during the night and condense supplements in a bigger bottle last thing at night. That way you are just breastfeeding normally in the day. Many women go on to breastfeed just fine with a bottle or two a day - it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, and giving bottles doesn’t make you less of a breastfeeding mum. Are you still working closely with your LC? It’s important to identify the problem and select the right solution. Motilium works by increasing your prolactin levels, but if your prolactin levels are not low then no amount of motilium will solve the problem. It would be best to work with your LC and doctor to get the suitable level of motilium, but I personally wouldn’t recommend increasing the dose - the dose you are taking is above what is normally prescribed already.
Warm Regards
Barb

Yeah it's not easy with him, but it's getting better and longer
Yesterday (24/7) he ate from a bottle total of 385ml and I breastfed him 9 times. As for now I always give him a bottle after the breastfeed and if he is hungry again after an hour or less I just give him the bottle cause I know I don't have much.

I got 70ml that time because my breast got full and he didn't eat from it, so with each breastfeeding if it's one to three hours a part I have less.
My LC said there is nothing else she can do for me, that's why I wrote here for help.

[hope8nzc]

Hi Hope,
Sounds like you're doing a great job to feed your baby.
Perhaps you've been over all this with your LC already, but how often are you feeding and how are you feeding? Also, what is your bottle feeding routine?
Frequent feeding, switch feeding, breast compressions and breast milk top ups are all ways to maximise the amount of milk baby gets. When feeding formula, it can be helpful also to pace feed to minimise the amount they take (it's easy to overfeed from a bottle).

It's understandable to be disappointed when we fall short of our goals, but you are still breastfeeding and doing a good job taking care of your little one. Sometimes we have to define our own success - for some mums that's not 100% breastfeeding, but that doesn't mean they've failed.

There are some articles on the ABA website that might be helpful (if you haven't seen them already)
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfi...la-supplements
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-...0%93mum/supply

Take care,

I breastfed him 9 times yesterday and give him the bottle 10 times. Our bottle routine is not good as well, he has issues there too. Right now what's good is that after a good breastfeeding of mine he won't take more then 30ml from the bottle, he can get hungry a hour after and eat 50ml. There are also times when he seems hungry! he tries to drink and struggles with the sips, he seems to be out of air or has problems to swallow and breathing in between, it reminds me a bit of when he wiggles around on my breast. he also started to suck the bottle for sucking in between sips.

We try not to use formula we have a woman who donates us her breast milk, she has a lot of it!

Not being able to do a 100% breastfeeding is something I need to think about, thank you for your advice and thanks for the links.

[Ladylove]

It is fairly normal for little bubba's to feed hourly sometimes especially if they feel uncomfortable (colicky, refluxy etc) or at certain times of day (cluster feeding, very common late afternoon and evening but can occur anytime). That's great you have access to donated milk! If he gets hungry within the hour could you offer the breast first- before the bottle? You might not have much but it's still good to pop him on the breast as this will help your body to learn to produce more milk- as long as he can get the letdown and have a bit of a drink. I think you are doing so well!

[hope8nzc]

It is fairly normal for little bubba's to feed hourly sometimes especially if they feel uncomfortable (colicky, refluxy etc) or at certain times of day (cluster feeding, very common late afternoon and evening but can occur anytime). That's great you have access to donated milk! If he gets hungry within the hour could you offer the breast first- before the bottle? You might not have much but it's still good to pop him on the breast as this will help your body to learn to produce more milk- as long as he can get the letdown and have a bit of a drink. I think you are doing so well!

I'm giving the breast first now he is two months old, before that he was eating up to 14 times a day.
I didn't know frequent feedings are because of colic, thank you for the information.

[onthefly]

What have the weight gains and nappy output been like?

Feeding frequently can certainly be normal and there's no reason you can't put him back to the breast again an hour later, rather than the bottle. it's really up to you.
In some cases babies have upset tummies, feed more, then get more of an upset tummy, feed more and end up with too much milk.

Have you just seen the one LC? If she's out of ideas, perhaps you could try another?

[hope8nzc]

What have the weight gains and nappy output been like?

Feeding frequently can certainly be normal and there's no reason you can't put him back to the breast again an hour later, rather than the bottle. it's really up to you.
In some cases babies have upset tummies, feed more, then get more of an upset tummy, feed more and end up with too much milk.

Have you just seen the one LC? If she's out of ideas, perhaps you could try another?

He pees a lot so that's good if we give him formula he has constipation and he cries a lot, with the donor's milk his poo to me looks more like diarrhea (I"m not sure) and after I increased my breastfeeding he started staining the dipper a lot, overall he poops once or twice fulling every day
I heard the upset tummy passes after three months, is it true?
Before I stated with the Motilium his weight gain was good because of the donor's milk and bottle feeding, we have an appointment one week for now to vaccinate him and get his measurements, I will know how me breastfeeding him more affected him

We had two LC come in and I went to another one that worked in a public place, the first one didn't suggest to fix his tongue, the second one done all she could for us, she was the one that suggested Motilium, and the third one said that I need to increase my milk supply by taking supplements. It didn't work for me.

[Frangipani Lou]

Hi Hope. I'll post more when I'm more awake. Just wanted to pop in and say good on you for persisting. I have diagnosed low supply and DD is still breasfeeding at 2 years old.

[hope8nzc]

Hi Hope. I'll post more when I'm more awake. Just wanted to pop in and say good on you for persisting. I have diagnosed low supply and DD is still breasfeeding at 2 years old.

How did you get diagnosed? what did you do? how much milk did you have at the beginning and were you able to increase it?

[Frangipani Lou]

Hi Hope. Sorry it's taken ages for me to respond.
I had a breast reduction 20 Years ago so I knew I would probably have low supply. I had an awesome LC supporting and educating me from about 34 weeks gestation. At the most I could pump was 80mls in 30 minutes in total.
I used motillium under the guidance of my doctor and LC as well as herbs so if get maximum supply. I also ate raw lactation cookies minus the egg for months!

[hope8nzc]

Hi Hope. Sorry it's taken ages for me to respond.
I had a breast reduction 20 Years ago so I knew I would probably have low supply. I had an awesome LC supporting and educating me from about 34 weeks gestation. At the most I could pump was 80mls in 30 minutes in total.
I used motillium under the guidance of my doctor and LC as well as herbs so if get maximum supply. I also ate raw lactation cookies minus the egg for months!

The maximum that I was able to pump was 100ml, it happened once or twice.
How well were you able to produce milk after the herbs, pumps, cookies and motillium?

[BellyBelly]

Here's BellyBelly's article on Motilium for supply:

Motilium & Breastfeeding - Using Motilium to Boost Milk Supply

There are also a load of great articles in our breastfeeding section!

Breastfeeding Articles - All About Breastfeeding on BellyBelly