Surgery, low supply

[mammax4]

I just spent 9 days in the hospital having surgery and being seperated from my one month old. The baby received formula while I was gone and I did do some pumping. My supply dropped from 2 oz per breast to about 1/2 oz per breast. Now that I am home how do I get my supply back up so that we can exclusively bf again. Right now I am putting baby to breast at every feeding and then supplementing with formula.

[KerryS]

Instead of supplementing with formula after feedings with a bottle, I would recommend supplementing at the breast with an SNS or homemade lactation aid:

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/05lactation_aid.html

That way you'll get additional breast stimulation and she won't become nipple confused.

In addition to breastfeeding, I would also pump for 5-10 minutes after each feeding, and between feedings whenever possible. As you get more milk, you can supplement with that instead of the formula. How much formula does she get after each feeding, and how much does she get altogether in a day? What kind of pump do you have?

You might consider taking fenugreek or other galactagogues to help boost your production.

http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/herbal_galactagogue.html

It will take some time and commitment, but you should be able to bring your supply back to almost where it was, if not completely. It will probably take a couple weeks before you see your supply back to how it was before the hospitalization.