Going from combi-feeding to exclusively pumping - can I do this successfully?

[HopefulPony]

Hello,

At the moment our baby boy is combi-fed, he can't breastfeed from me due to jaw misalignment so he has expressed milk and formula. After the birth I basically lost my supply due to stress and exhaustion so he was mainly formula fed, I've now managed to build up my supply and he has between 2 and 4 bottles of breast milk every day. I use a manual pump at the moment but am looking to get a Medela double electric pump as it takes forever to express at the moment. If I do manage to get one I would love to be able to exclusively express, as its just not possible with the pump I have right now. Would this be achievable, given that he is seven weeks old and has never been exclusively breastfed? I'm more than happy to put in the time needed as I always wanted to exclusively breastfeed him. Is there anything I can do to help? I take fenugreek at the moment, but I don't want to take domperidone as I have PND and it can worsen depressive symptoms.

 

[LadyGriz11]

It's definitely possible, at 7 weeks there is still plenty of time to increase your supply. Once you get your electric pump try power pumping once a day (10 minutes on the pump, 10 minutes off for an hour), eat oatmeal, make sure you're getting plenty of rest/calories/water, and most importantly make sure you pump every 2-3 hours around the clock especially between 11pm-5am when prolactin levels are highest.

Good luck!