nursing and pumping question

[tattlebaby]

So I'm 3 wks postpartum and desperately trying to build my breast milk stash. I'm so bummed that I'm having issues with my milk supply. At first I was able to produce up to 3 oz from one breast at least. But now I can't seem to get any more than 2 oz from both breasts , Idk what happened. Baby is only getting bigger and is going to start demanding more..I'm really worried. I'm trying to nurse her and pump as much as possible because I hear thats the best way to up your supply, but its hard to feed her and pump "every 2 hrs" like I've been told. its almost impossible to pump every 2 hrs., when I constantly have her attached to me, cuz I'm feeding her on demand. This only leads me to fall short at nursing her and at pumping. Any suggestions??

 

[misspriss]

It is generally not encouraged to pump until your LO is 6 weeks or so. Otherwise you risk oversupply (I know that sounds contradictory with your experience, but you don't want to wake up at 5 or 6 weeks with your baby choking every time you nurse!)

It is difficult for you to pump EXTRA. Your body is trying to adjust to feed a person and meet your child's needs. You are asking it to make MORE than it needs for that person, which is why it is having trouble. Pumping 1 ounce extra each feed is perfectly normal, your body is doing what it is supposed to do and making enough for your child. Any extra is extra.

I would wait until your LO is a bit older, JMO though. I would pump first thing in the AM

But I had oversupply, and it was really rough, so I may not be the best person to ask.

 

[susywoosy]

I'm in a similar situation. I can get 2 oz from both breasts but my first few days pumping i was getting anywhere between 3-5 oz. My mw explained that there is an over supply at first (around 7 dsys) until your breasts/supply adjusts to what LO needs. I have cried worrying that i am not supplying enough milk but my DS lost 6 % of his birth weight and over a couple of days put weight back on. The next week he gained 10 oz so i know he is def getting enough milk.

i try to express straight after my DS has had a feed and is asleep. I express what ever is left but leave enough time for milk to build up again for next feed. I usually can get 1-2 oz and can build that up over the day. If i dont do a bottle feed with expressed milk, i could b putting 6 oz away a day which would soon build up.

I dont know if that helps but its working for me at the minute... until he has a day of cluster feeding and i worry i'm not producing enough again. Try not to stress tho as apparently it can affect supply x

 

[Emmy0320]

For starters, your baby will consume about the same amount in ounces from one month to six months. It's not like formula where you will keep needing more. As other's have said, your body is designed to make just the right amount.

I do understand your plight though. I went back to work and was so worried about building up a stash. (FYI baby will need about an ounce per hour you are gone)

BUT, it all worked out in the end when baby started sleeping longer at night. I woke up when she didn't and pumped. Boom, I had a bottle every night. Within two weeks I had a few days worth of milk built up. I continued pumping during her skipped feed from six to twelve weeks. I now have more than I know what to do with. It will all work out, I would try not to worry too much. Let your body make there right amount. Add one extra pumping session if desired and try and enjoy your little one!

 

[tattlebaby]

It is generally not encouraged to pump until your LO is 6 weeks or so. Otherwise you risk oversupply (I know that sounds contradictory with your experience, but you don't want to wake up at 5 or 6 weeks with your baby choking every time you nurse!)

It is difficult for you to pump EXTRA. Your body is trying to adjust to feed a person and meet your child's needs. You are asking it to make MORE than it needs for that person, which is why it is having trouble. Pumping 1 ounce extra each feed is perfectly normal, your body is doing what it is supposed to do and making enough for your child. Any extra is extra.

I would wait until your LO is a bit older, JMO though. I would pump first thing in the AM

But I had oversupply, and it was really rough, so I may not be the best person to ask.

thank you for your response! you said, "Pumping 1 ounce extra after each feed" is ok. wondering if i could refrigerate my first ounce and then add my second ounce later to that same bottle. would there be a bacteria issue with this?? pumping 1st thing in the morning makes alot of sense, especially because thats when i think i prouce the most.

 

[tattlebaby]

I'm in a similar situation. I can get 2 oz from both breasts but my first few days pumping i was getting anywhere between 3-5 oz. My mw explained that there is an over supply at first (around 7 dsys) until your breasts/supply adjusts to what LO needs. I have cried worrying that i am not supplying enough milk but my DS lost 6 % of his birth weight and over a couple of days put weight back on. The next week he gained 10 oz so i know he is def getting enough milk.

i try to express straight after my DS has had a feed and is asleep. I express what ever is left but leave enough time for milk to build up again for next feed. I usually can get 1-2 oz and can build that up over the day. If i dont do a bottle feed with expressed milk, i could b putting 6 oz away a day which would soon build up.

I dont know if that helps but its working for me at the minute... until he has a day of cluster feeding and i worry i'm not producing enough again. Try not to stress tho as apparently it can affect supply x

Exactly, me too..i can pretty much express only when LO naps..haha. And i've cried too about my supply..but i see little one has gotten bigger, has got to mean shes getting to my hind milk. I express after a feeding too, but LO stays attached to me for sooooo...long, sometimes feeds like in a frenzy..makes me think like im starving her ..idk its all so confusing. But i'm hanging in there. Thanks for your response! May I ask what is cluster feeding?

 

[HBGirl]

Cluster feeding is when they feed constantly to build your supply.

 

[lxb]

I pumped after each feed for the first 6-8 weeks (I had to return to work after the 8th week) and I was trying to build up my milk supply.

It is hard~ to pump "every 2 hours". For the first 4 weeks, LO was under birth weight and she had jaundice. So I would spend ~15min to wake her up... it takes her 20+min to nurse one side, then had to wake her up again when I switch it the other breast (spend another ~10min?!), then it takes her 20+min to nurse the other side. THEN, I would pump for ~10min after nursing since LO would most probably be sleeping after nursing. I really just got about ~15min "break" between feeds (since I had to feed every 2-3 hours).

Sometimes when LO nursed more... you pump less. pumping is just to make sure the breasts are empty~

Also, I tend to get more milk in the morning compared to the afternoon time.

 

[misspriss]

It is generally not encouraged to pump until your LO is 6 weeks or so. Otherwise you risk oversupply (I know that sounds contradictory with your experience, but you don't want to wake up at 5 or 6 weeks with your baby choking every time you nurse!)

It is difficult for you to pump EXTRA. Your body is trying to adjust to feed a person and meet your child's needs. You are asking it to make MORE than it needs for that person, which is why it is having trouble. Pumping 1 ounce extra each feed is perfectly normal, your body is doing what it is supposed to do and making enough for your child. Any extra is extra.

I would wait until your LO is a bit older, JMO though. I would pump first thing in the AM

But I had oversupply, and it was really rough, so I may not be the best person to ask.

thank you for your response! you said, "Pumping 1 ounce extra after each feed" is ok. wondering if i could refrigerate my first ounce and then add my second ounce later to that same bottle. would there be a bacteria issue with this?? pumping 1st thing in the morning makes alot of sense, especially because thats when i think i prouce the most.

Yes. Breastmilk is good at room temperature for a few hours, so I see no problem adding fresh milk if you are within an hour or a few. Granted, I am assuming your child is healthy and is not immune-compromised. I was told not to mix when LO was in the NICU, but at home I don't see a problem. If you wanted to be extra careful, you could refrigerate 1 oz, refrigerate second 1 oz, and then when they are both cold combine them.

Now LO is old, I mix fresh and refrigerated all the time. No worries.

FWIW, I only pumped every 3 hours when LO was in the NICU and I was exclusively pumping. My doctor said I might want to try every 2 hours, but since the LC said 3 I stuck with 3. I had NO problems with supply (as I mentioned earlier, I caused oversupply and battled with it for months and months)

Some days I only pump 2 oz at a session at work, when I'm not breastfeeding before hand, in the afternoon. Afternoon production is not that much, I wouldn't worry so much. I can drop 3-6oz in the AM, but then only 2 or maybe 3 in the afternoon, and that is when I am away from the baby so the pump is pumping everything.

 

[twin4life27]

"FWIW, I only pumped every 3 hours when LO was in the NICU and I was exclusively pumping. My doctor said I might want to try every 2 hours, but since the LC said 3 I stuck with 3. I had NO problems with supply (as I mentioned earlier, I caused oversupply and battled with it for months and months)"

Hi there, I'm new to breastfeeding/pumping (LO is 8 weeks today, but was almost 6 weeks early, so 3 adjusted?). I've been reading through the forums trying to find anything about transitioning from pumping to EBF, and I came across this thread and your comment about oversupply. My LO was in the NICU for 13 days and I was exclusively pumping for her, and bcs I was worried about not having enough milk, I was pumping for too long each session, as well as taking things like Fennugreek, Mother's Milk, and Brewer's Yeast. My supply ended up being GREAT but now I'm running out of room to store all my extra milk

I want to transition to EBF but I'm terrified of getting mastitis. I was wondering if you had any advice. I've stopped taking all the supplements and still have plenty of milk. I currently pump every 3/4 hours and am getting about 3 oz each side (6 total). LO is only taking about 3 oz at each feeding so I'm producing at least double what she needs. I've tried days where I EBF but worry about being engorged and getting clogged ducts/mastitis so I immediately pump the side she didn't nurse on, so I think I'm just prolonging the problem, if that makes sense. I want to get to a point where I'm nursing one side at each feeding, so alternating them, bcs LO isn't the best latcher and gets tired easily, so once she falls off, it's hard to get her back on, especially if I try to switch sides.

Any advice you (or anyone else) may have would be greatly appreciated! We bought a deep freeze chest freezer while LO was in the NICU and it's more than half full now, and I still have 3 mo before I have to go back to work! I'm desperately afraid of running out of room to store the milk, plus the whole bottle feeding and then pumping/cleaning/storing routine is getting old...

 

[lxb]

What is the plan when you go back to work? (if you don't mind me asking). If you're afraid of running out of room for milk storage, you can always donate your milk

as for switching to ebf, how often does she nurse? (if she only nurse on one side)

 

[misspriss]

"FWIW, I only pumped every 3 hours when LO was in the NICU and I was exclusively pumping. My doctor said I might want to try every 2 hours, but since the LC said 3 I stuck with 3. I had NO problems with supply (as I mentioned earlier, I caused oversupply and battled with it for months and months)"

Hi there, I'm new to breastfeeding/pumping (LO is 8 weeks today, but was almost 6 weeks early, so 3 adjusted?). I've been reading through the forums trying to find anything about transitioning from pumping to EBF, and I came across this thread and your comment about oversupply. My LO was in the NICU for 13 days and I was exclusively pumping for her, and bcs I was worried about not having enough milk, I was pumping for too long each session, as well as taking things like Fennugreek, Mother's Milk, and Brewer's Yeast. My supply ended up being GREAT but now I'm running out of room to store all my extra milk

I want to transition to EBF but I'm terrified of getting mastitis. I was wondering if you had any advice. I've stopped taking all the supplements and still have plenty of milk. I currently pump every 3/4 hours and am getting about 3 oz each side (6 total). LO is only taking about 3 oz at each feeding so I'm producing at least double what she needs. I've tried days where I EBF but worry about being engorged and getting clogged ducts/mastitis so I immediately pump the side she didn't nurse on, so I think I'm just prolonging the problem, if that makes sense. I want to get to a point where I'm nursing one side at each feeding, so alternating them, bcs LO isn't the best latcher and gets tired easily, so once she falls off, it's hard to get her back on, especially if I try to switch sides.

Any advice you (or anyone else) may have would be greatly appreciated! We bought a deep freeze chest freezer while LO was in the NICU and it's more than half full now, and I still have 3 mo before I have to go back to work! I'm desperately afraid of running out of room to store the milk, plus the whole bottle feeding and then pumping/cleaning/storing routine is getting old...

Well I'm afraid I can't offer too much advice, I quit pumping cold turkey pretty much when I started rooming in with LO at the hospital. I didn't get super engorged at first, I think I would pump like 1 oz off when he fed, to take the edge off, but no more, but only for the first couple of days. I then would just hand express into a towel a few squirts to take the edge off. After the 4th day, I was getting quite engorged, and LO lost some weight, so I went home and let them tube feed him for 1 night and didn't pump much, just before bed and once during the night. I pumped out like 8-9 oz that session, and wasn't engorged again. I got a lot of restorative sleep that night, and then spent one more night in the hospital and he came home. I think I probably risked mastitis, but I didn't get it. I did use "warm compress" gel packs a little, but only a little.

I too had a huge freezer stash, the NICU sent me home with a giant bag of milk in addition to what I already had! I ended up donating it all to a local woman with insufficient glandual tissue. I have donated to her again since then. I STILL pump more than he takes every day, so it is hard to remember to rotate the freezer stash. Having a freezer stash kind of sucks, every time I start the rotation, LO gets a cold, probably due to the lessened immuno factor in frozen milk. I would suggest rotating it right off, instead of waiting until it is 4-5 months old to rotate.

Not to hijack this thread any further, if you have any questions please pm me or we can start a new thread if you want

 

[twin4life27]

When I go back to work, I was hoping to bf at night and pump at work. I know I can donate but I like having the stash in case pumping doesn't work out when I go back to work.

Currently I only nurse her once or twice a day bcs her latch isn't good and it HURTS! My nipples sting and burn after

 

[misspriss]

When I go back to work, I was hoping to bf at night and pump at work. I know I can donate but I like having the stash in case pumping doesn't work out when I go back to work.

Currently I only nurse her once or twice a day bcs her latch isn't good and it HURTS! My nipples sting and burn after

By all means, keep it that long, and in a deep freeze, it can go 12 months not the 6 in a regular freezer. We just couldn't keep it that long (regular freezer) and I was adding to it each day instead of using it, and we wanted to buy some frozen groceries!

You might want to get her latch checked out, it really shouldn't hurt like that.

 

[twin4life27]

"FWIW, I only pumped every 3 hours when LO was in the NICU and I was exclusively pumping. My doctor said I might want to try every 2 hours, but since the LC said 3 I stuck with 3. I had NO problems with supply (as I mentioned earlier, I caused oversupply and battled with it for months and months)"

Hi there, I'm new to breastfeeding/pumping (LO is 8 weeks today, but was almost 6 weeks early, so 3 adjusted?). I've been reading through the forums trying to find anything about transitioning from pumping to EBF, and I came across this thread and your comment about oversupply. My LO was in the NICU for 13 days and I was exclusively pumping for her, and bcs I was worried about not having enough milk, I was pumping for too long each session, as well as taking things like Fennugreek, Mother's Milk, and Brewer's Yeast. My supply ended up being GREAT but now I'm running out of room to store all my extra milk

I want to transition to EBF but I'm terrified of getting mastitis. I was wondering if you had any advice. I've stopped taking all the supplements and still have plenty of milk. I currently pump every 3/4 hours and am getting about 3 oz each side (6 total). LO is only taking about 3 oz at each feeding so I'm producing at least double what she needs. I've tried days where I EBF but worry about being engorged and getting clogged ducts/mastitis so I immediately pump the side she didn't nurse on, so I think I'm just prolonging the problem, if that makes sense. I want to get to a point where I'm nursing one side at each feeding, so alternating them, bcs LO isn't the best latcher and gets tired easily, so once she falls off, it's hard to get her back on, especially if I try to switch sides.

Any advice you (or anyone else) may have would be greatly appreciated! We bought a deep freeze chest freezer while LO was in the NICU and it's more than half full now, and I still have 3 mo before I have to go back to work! I'm desperately afraid of running out of room to store the milk, plus the whole bottle feeding and then pumping/cleaning/storing routine is getting old...

Well I'm afraid I can't offer too much advice, I quit pumping cold turkey pretty much when I started rooming in with LO at the hospital. I didn't get super engorged at first, I think I would pump like 1 oz off when he fed, to take the edge off, but no more, but only for the first couple of days. I then would just hand express into a towel a few squirts to take the edge off. After the 4th day, I was getting quite engorged, and LO lost some weight, so I went home and let them tube feed him for 1 night and didn't pump much, just before bed and once during the night. I pumped out like 8-9 oz that session, and wasn't engorged again. I got a lot of restorative sleep that night, and then spent one more night in the hospital and he came home. I think I probably risked mastitis, but I didn't get it. I did use "warm compress" gel packs a little, but only a little.

I too had a huge freezer stash, the NICU sent me home with a giant bag of milk in addition to what I already had! I ended up donating it all to a local woman with insufficient glandual tissue. I have donated to her again since then. I STILL pump more than he takes every day, so it is hard to remember to rotate the freezer stash. Having a freezer stash kind of sucks, every time I start the rotation, LO gets a cold, probably due to the lessened immuno factor in frozen milk. I would suggest rotating it right off, instead of waiting until it is 4-5 months old to rotate.

Not to hijack this thread any further, if you have any questions please pm me or we can start a new thread if you want

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. I was going to PM you but couldn't figure out how

 

[misspriss]

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. I was going to PM you but couldn't figure out how

No problem. I tried to send you one but I think you may have to have a certain number of posts Hope I helped!

 

[lxb]

it took me a while to get LO to latch properly too. I think it was still hurting after 6-8weeks. And it was because she didn't latch on deep enough (which caused the burning after she nursed. THEN she would take like 2-3oz after the 30min nursing session )

I definitely agree about keeping a nice freezer stash as it will ease your mind in case you had a hard time pumping at work. Just keep at it until you really run out of room~! And you can either donate to create more room or let your LO drink the frozen one maybe once/twice a day so you can have more room for the newer milk

my schedule now:
I nursed her in the morning... pump before I go to work (and pump twice at work). She had 2-3 bottles during the day. And I would nurse her for the rest of the day once I return from work.

Perhaps you can start her on that schedule in a few weeks?

Or like misspriss mentioned, you can pump 1-2oz to take the edge off if LO only nursed one side.