[melarooni17]

Hey everyone, I can relate to you all that are pumping queens. I feel like it is my part time job!! I pump all day long it feels like. I'm getting to the point where it is hard to keep up with my boys. DH is suprised I have kept up this long w/o supplementing. So, my question is have any of you tired "fenugreek." It is an herb that my ob recommended to increase my milk supply. I would love for the boys to just be on breastmilk, even if it means pumping as my part time job I bought it the other day (THursday) and have been taking it as directed on the bottle, which is 1 capsule 2 x daily. Though I read on the internet that I should be taking 2-4 capsules 3x daily, which would be 12 a day. i have not seen an increase yet, but may be it is bc I only take 3 a day. Anyone have any experience with fenugreek?? Let me know if you do! Thanks!

[MaggieMoo]

I didn't take an herbal pill but I did drink an herbal tea that I think was called mother's milk (it has been over 7 years since I bought it). It is suppose to increase supply too. I think it did help me a little. It comes in a tea bag form.
Just nurse (or pump) as much as you can. Also warmer showers or warm compressions will stimulate your milk a little more too. Good luck!

[lisa37]

I used it and it was 2 capsules at the same frequency during the day. It seemed to work but our little one had colic so the stress dwindled my supply--otherwise, I did notice a difference when I took it.

[charms]

I started taking fenugreek also.....so far i am not sure if it was the fenugreek or the Reglan that has increased my supply - it is only about a half oz so far, but since i decided to stop the reglan, due to its side effects, i am hoping the fenugreek is helping!
when i started the fenugreek, i was getting nice headaches, but that has subsided and it is lowing my blood sugar a little, but not enough to be concerned with yet.

i am taking 2 with each meal.......i was told by the MFM that once my urine starts to smell like mapel syrup - it will be in full effect and that i should keep taking the same dosage 3 times a day, but if after 2 wks i do not have the mapel syrup smell, to increase to 3 with each meal

[dndtaylor]

Well, my milk has sorta but not really came in, and Mya is almost 3 wks old. Not sure what the problem is but I've been working with my LC from the beginning to get a pattern and hopefully some milk production going on. We first started with Fenugreek (3 pills, 3 times a day, yep 12 pills total) and I've seen alittle difference in production but not enough to where I don't need to supplement formula. So just the other day I started Reglan on top of my fenugreek. I figured I'll give this route a go and see if it helps. So far not much but I'm only on day 2. But I know the most important thing for production is consistency so each feeding I'll BF, then DH will give supplement and then I'll pump. Busy Busy but well worth it. If I'm not able to BF for long because of my lack of milk supply then I want to at least know I gave it my all before calling it quits. I can't wait to see how fenugreek works for you all. Best of luck!

[MustLoveDogs]

I am currently on Reglan, and that has helped my milk supply a whole lot. I was drying up, and now I can alternate feedings of breast milk and formula, and my baby seems satisfied.

[dizzyb]

Fenugreek did not help me, but my pediatrician said to ignore the label and take 3 3x a day and that the studies show that 1 does not help, she gave me an article.

I am with Devan, I pump after every feed, and then give a bottle because Sam is underweight. We just started adding formula yesterday, I just can't keep up with the little guy, but I made it 2.5 months. I am going back to work next week, so he will get formula because we have depleated our freezer supply. I tried my hardest!

[SchmennaLeigh]

I took 4 capsules, 3x a day when my cycle started back up to combat the normal drops associated with that. It was a big help. You need to be taking however many it takes to make your urine smell like maple syrup. Also your sweat. If you're not smelling it, you're not taking a therapeutic dose. Everyone will differ on what their own therapeutic dose is!

Also, my Husband loves maple syrup so the smell was okay.

[melarooni17]

Wow - thanks for all the responses!! I did know it was possible for urine to smell like maple syrup, but Id idn't know that I had to take the pills until tha happened. Good to know!! I increased my dose to 2 pills 3x daily. We will see how that works!

[dndtaylor]

I was talking with my LC and I was recommended another herb combo to try for production (Fenugreek alone 3 pills, 3 times a day wasn't working for me). I've only been taking it about 12 hours and I can tell a difference when I pump. The testimonials on the website sure sound promising and amazing. But, I think I'm slowly getting more milk. I'll let you know today after a full dose how the pumping is going. It is on motherlove.com and it is the More Milk Special Blend that I'm trying. It has Fenugreek in it as well as some herb (goat's rue) to help with low mammary tissue (my LC thinks I could just have small tissues). But I wanted to pass it on. I'm not sure if you were up to trying more possibilities or not. Best of luck to us all!

[keeppraying]

I tried fenugreek as well as blessed thistle. Nothing really worked for me... at the most I would get about 2oz at a time! I nursed and supplemented for the first 4 weeks, then I did formula. I was driving myself insane trying to up my supply.

One thing to note is that I have talked to other ladies who have PCOS and there seems to be a lot of women who have low supply issues. My LC also commented that my low supply was related to my PCOS. Just something that I thought was interesting.

[kcmour]

I did fenugreek (2 pills 3x day) and blessed thistle as well. I have never been diagnosed with PCOS officially, but as Kellie mentioned above, my LC seemed to think that may be the case with me as well. She said that women with PCOS often have a low milk supply. I was never a good pumper. Best of luck to you! Keep up the good work!!

[melarooni17]

Well, I have been now taking fenugreek 3 pills 3x daily and depending on the day I notice a difference. Not that much, but I only had to supplement 1 oz of formlua per baby the other night..so, I was happy with that, but tonight we may have to supplement too. I used to pump AFTER every feeding, and I still try too, but since I don't get enough milk for each baby after the feeding I end up pumping 2 times before the next feeding, so when the next feeding is over, I have nothing to pump afterwards..if that makes sense! I haven't tried the thistle yet. I also saw at GNC organic mother's milk it was called - it is a tea. I went with the capsules, bc I hate tea, but I may give it a try. I don't have PCOS, so I don't think that would be the same for me. I just think I am producing JUST enough and not more. When the babies were first born, I was like a freaking cow - I pumped 8 oz at each pumping during the day - we had tons frozen in the basement. DH thought we would be set for months!! Sadly..that is gone I cried my eyes out when I wasnt pumping a lot - I had a breakdown in the middle of the night last week - it was horrible. I know the stress doesn't help either and I get myself all worked up, bc I am a control freak and I don't want them on formula - I know...so stupid. My one friend told me once you supplement, you will think that it wasn't that bad and when we did it the other night, it wasn't bad, but I still felt like a failure. I know I am not and I know I have twins and I am doing the best I can, but I was so set on giving them only breastmilk, thinking that my supply would last forever...its just hard for me to realize that I may have to do the formula thing eventually. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with formula - I don't want anyone to think that I am against it, bc I am not. I just have control issues haha. Anyway, I will update later! Thanks for listening to my rant!

[bunniswife]

I was put on Domperidon four capsules, four times a day to help increase my milk supply with my daughter...In the end, however, I couldn't breastfeed and once I accepted that I was alot happier...Best of Luck.