Hi all, I have a question regarding the use of fenugreek. I'm wondering if we can expect the increase in milk production to occur simultaneous to the increased diaphoresis/sweating. I have a Mom that has been taking fenu x 5days and today noticed a large increase in sweating and a slightly noticeable increase in breast fullness. If so, do we deduce that the potential benefit has peaked as well? If anyone cares to offer more input, I will detail the case below; Mom called because her one month old, 1st baby, hadn't returned to BW. BW=6-4, 1mth visit 6-2. On exam baby appeared cachectic, mildly jaundiced, skin turgor tenting but vigorous, alert, ferociously rooting and sucking on pacifier, stooling and voiding "frequently" per Mom. Pedi, on visit the day before, had requested supplementation but Mom was resistant so pedi agreed to hold off til after visit with me. Mom's breasts appeared smallish and assymmetrical ie. left 2xsize of right and somewhat conal in shape. Milk easily hand expressed from each side. Details of typical fds per Mom revealed that she had little understanding of the mechanics of an adequate latch or nutritive suckling ie. she thought every suck was a swallow! With positioning assist in f-ball hold, baby latched deeply and with instruction Mom quickly was able to discern (a very bright lady!) suck/swallow. With massage, Mom was able to elicit 2 discernible letdowns per side but periods of active suckling were very brief, 1-3 minutes after letdown. After letdown subsided baby would become frantic, which Mom was easily able to understand at this point, as frustration d/t lack of flow. She had been managing his "irritability" after fds, up until this pt., with a pacifier. I left her with a plan to feed and pump every 2 hours throughout day, no longer than 3hrs. at night and to keep fdng and followup pumping total time to under 1/2hr. 2 Days later I returned for f/u visit, wt. check; wt. remained the same and fdng appeared the same. She was able to accrue 1-11/2 ozs EBM which she gave via bottle at night fd. Visit scheduled for 2 days later revealed 1/2oz difference in wt, little change in fdng character thus it was decided to add supplemental nursing system with formula at each fd. This Mom began last night and on speaking with her today she is easily managing system and gives 1oz supp per fd which allows fdng freq of q21/2 hrs, a little less frequent to allow for longer time at breast. Fdng and pumping takes about 45mins. Today she has noticed that she is pumping slightly more each time and that baby will settle after fd with minimal pacifier use. My plan is to establish some wt gain, evaluate responsiveness of supply to fenfreek use/ increased stimulation and plan accordingly. Any ideas? sorry so long!! Lynn Shea Rn,Bsn,Ibclc Franklin , Ma *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html