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01-16-2013 at 10:13 AM
smtrepanie...
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smtrepanier is not online. Last active: 06-07-2013, 10:40 PMNewbie

Any issues with Fenugreek, Mother's Milk Tea, and Blessed Thistle.

My son is 12 weeks and around the 5-9 week mark I was taking Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle pills along wtih Mother's Milk tea to increase my milk supply. On the upside it worked! On the downside I found that he was extremely fussy and would wail for 1+ hours in the evening. (Later found out fussy babies are a common issue with Fenugreek).

However, since stopping I have dropped from producing 30oz per day to 20oz. Nothing else has changed in my diet, or routine, I am still pumping and bf. I now have to supplement with formula while he's at daycare which is extremely disappointing.

I am thinking about going back to just one at a time to see which one actually caused the issues. Wondering if anyone has had issues with fussy babies from just one of these? Any input would be appreciated 

 
01-16-2013 at 10:21 AM
MandJS
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Have you tried lactation cookies? They helped my supply a lot, and bonus - COOKIES! Google will yield a bunch of recipes, but basically, they have oats, brewer's yeast, and flax seed in them. Also, increase your water intake. Seriously. Drink a lot, then drink even more.


AngelSmitty: This reminds me of something my college Human Sexuality professor used to say in class. "Sex is between the legs. Gender is between the ears."
 
01-16-2013 at 11:04 AM
DottyBlue
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I have had zero issues with Mother's Milk Tea.

Fenugreek gave my DS horrible gas though.  I was taking 4 pills, 3 times per day and he started getting uncomfortable after 4 or 5 days of my taking the pills.  He was miserable until it worked its way out of my system.

No experience with Blessed Thistle, but I plan on trying lactation cookies like the PP recommended.  Good luck!


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01-16-2013 at 11:28 AM
AmyG*
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Mother's milk teas usually contain fenugreek and blessed thistle and other helpful ingredients. so you may have just been taking a little bit too much fenugreek with the tea plus the pills that made baby be a bit fussy/gassy.

Realize that often it isn't the actual fenugreek that makes baby fussy/gassy, sometimes it's the increased milk--which means more foremilk that baby is taking in. Hindmilk slows digestion so the lactose in breastmilk can be digested easier by an immature gut.

 I will also say that if you are nursing as well as pumping, getting 20 oz is really really great! most breastfed babies, regardless of sex, age or size, never take in more than about 25 oz a day on average 1 oz per hour. the range of total intake is 19-30 oz, and after starting solids the ounces begins to drop.  So if you are at daycare for say 9 hours, most babies would only take in 9 oz during that time.  if yours is taking in more than twice that amount, consider that overfeeding may be occuring. 

 

 there are hints to slow down feedings that may help, like taking at least 20 minutes to feed a bottle, since it takes about that long for the brain to get the signal that the stomach is full, slower flow bottle nipples, sitting baby upright when feeding and tilting bottle downward so baby has to work to get the milk like they do when breastfeeding, as well as frequent stops every 1/2-1 oz to burp for several minutes and change sides you hold baby on to stimulate both sides of the brain and simulate breastfeeding switching sides.  also it is more normal for a young baby to take in small amount of oz 2.5-3 hours more frequently, just like it's healthier for adults to eat small amounts more frequently.


AmyG 
01-16-2013 at 12:32 PM
Litgirl77
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Litgirl77 is not online. Last active: 06-19-2013, 8:56 PMNewbie

We had gas issues with Fenugreek as well - it seems way more common than I thought. No issues with the tea, but my lactation consultant didn't think there was enough to the tea to make an impact.  


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01-16-2013 at 2:06 PM
lbatchler
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Where do you get flax seed meal? Is brewers yeast at any grocery store?
 
01-16-2013 at 3:45 PM
Kemare20
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Yes, my son got SUPER fussy when we were using a supplement with fenugreek in it. It also made my stomach upset. We quit using it and consequently had to go exclusively FF (which would have happened anyway as I had a breast reduction and can't produce enough milk to feed a child)

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01-16-2013 at 3:52 PM
MandJS
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lbatchler:
Where do you get flax seed meal? Is brewers yeast at any grocery store?

You should be able to find most at any grocery store, and certainly places like Whole Foods or Sprouts. 



AngelSmitty: This reminds me of something my college Human Sexuality professor used to say in class. "Sex is between the legs. Gender is between the ears."
 
01-16-2013 at 4:47 PM
lbatchler
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Thanks! I'll check it out!
 
01-29-2013 at 11:35 AM
smtrepanie...
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Thanks so much! I"m going to make some cookies this weekend :)
 
01-29-2013 at 11:38 AM
smtrepanie...
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smtrepanier is not online. Last active: 06-07-2013, 10:40 PMNewbie

I hadn't thought about the foremilk/hindmilk. I'm going to try to reintroduce some fenugreek as my milk supply has gone down again for some reason. I'm able to pump twice at work which is super helpful, but my older son is in sports so it's hard to find the time to pump in the 5-7pm timeframe.

Thanks so much for the feedback!

 
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