-THank you

-Regarding the pump - I am now using the Medela Freestyle. I did a lot of homework and also talked to a lactation consultant before purchasing this one. Last baby, I had the Medelea Pump in Style, which I did not like. I know that they're the same brand, but for some reason my PIS wasn't very reliable. Sometimes it worked great and other times it seemed weak. The lactation consultant I spoke with recommended either the Freestyle or the Hygeia pump, however, due to the fact that I normally travel 1-2x a month for work, the Freestyle is much smaller. It's even smaller than the PIS - I love it!! (I still will hate going through airport security with a breastpump. but that's another story..)

-My babies have all been skinny too. My breast milk just doesn't have a lot of fat in it. My kids have all been under the 10th percentile for weight as babies.

The FreeStyle looks nice! I bought a new PIS for my daughter, and it worked better than the ancient PIS I had.

I have been back at work for a little over a month since my son was born in August and am still using my heavy PIS, ugh! Did you see the article on flange size? That made a difference in output for me, although don't the FreeStyle ones use a different size?

I stayed at home for 7 years and have been working part time for almost 3 years now. I hope it's working out for you, burbuja!

I think I might have just had a faulty PIS. The pump worked great a lot of the time, but not sometimes. I honestly don't know if the flange size is the same as the Freestyle. I sold my PIS a while ago.

I just love that the Freestyle is so small and also has the same type of battery that an iPod does. (don't know what it's called but all you have to do is charge it every once in a while and then it's totally portable with no batteries!)

If I worked more than night a week, I would want to purchase one of those!

I will leave a note in your journal.

Nina! Thanks for the links. I will try more different herbs (I don't like teas so I will buy capsules) and I will try taking more fenugeek. It was interesting to read about soaking oatmeal. I still haven't decided to try it. I don't understand how it is meant to improve quantity.
burbuja - I will look in to a different pump.

I usually don't travel to this area of the boards as my last child is 8. I had loads of trouble making enough milk with the last. I ended up having to actually rent a pump from the hospital - not very portable at all. I don't know where you are pumping but it was suggested to me to bring in a photo of my son and a small blanket or something like that to pick up the scent of my son to help with the letdown reflex. And as always drink plenty of fluids.

Good luck to you.

I have an office full of pictures, and awful allergies - I can't smell... I am looking for a better pump.

I exclusively pump and whenever I lower my carb intake my supply drops dramatically....over 10 oz a day!

REALLY! I've been all over these boards, and you are the first to connect carb intake and amount. I try to keep to maintenance, and lower carbs a bit when I gain. I still have not been able to find the science in oatmeal and BM so I still haven't decided whether to eat it. Do you eat oatmeal? How many carbs a day do you find necessary to keep up your quantity?

I will keep this in mind!!

I hope you your milk to increase, sondacop. Around how many carbs/day do you eat for now?

I'd say around 50, maybe a bit more. I did not go on induction to lose weight pp. When dd was first born I ate a lot of nuts, as soon as I cut that I started losing. I am now less than 4 lbs from my goal weight. I am in no rush to lose, that is what I like about Atkins - I feel in control and losing is a matter of choice.

Burbuja - you say your babies are skinny, are they tall? Does that change when they start solids? What was their birth weight? Did you consider attributing this to LC and not to lack of fat in your milk? Did you have your milk checked, is that how you know it is low in fat?
My baby is skinny (less than 2 percentile) and till starting solids she was tall. But she was born small (2.170 kg) and only recently started to stall (1 yr) so I can't attribute it to the milk. I see a nice layer of fat when it separates in the fridge, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Slowly I'm getting a bit more (up to 100 ml, 2 pumping sessions in a 8 hour shift), I've been taking more herbs.

I keep telling myself - something is better than nothing, and she bfs every few hours when I am home and 3-4 times during the night.

My babies have all been average height, but very low on the weight chart. They have been born at average weight, so I don't think birth weight has anything to do with it. Birth weight has ranged from 6.9 lbs to 7.8.

The reason I think that my milk doesn't have much fat is because of what it looks like. We have a nursing mother's room at work with a fridge to store milk. When I look at the other mothers' milk, it just looked like they have a lot more fat separating than my milk. (sorry a liitle weird, I know...)

Are you ok with 3-4 feedings ~ night? That seems a little frequent to me. Of course if both you snd baby are happy, that's all that matters.

What fun, having other women at work pumping too! I think that hight is important, and that the charts were composed charting formula fed babies as the norm, they tend to be fatter. Med people put lots of emphasis on weight, even though there are many other important categories to compare.
I am happy with night feedings. I am unhappy that I can't pump enough while at work, and I read on nursing forums that babies with working moms tend to consume less milk, bm or formula, during the hours separated and supplement with frequent feedings when together, including night. I don't mind it, we co-sleep, and I used to work shifts. I feel she needs it so it is necessary and I'll do it.