pumping question

[birdlee337]

I am having to pump most of the day due to a yeast infection in my breasts. I am using a hospital grade pump...i am only able to get about 2-2.5oz out of my right...and about 1 oz maybe out of the left. My right has always seem to produce more. My lo is 11 weeks old. Is this normal? Pumping maybe every 4 hours. I have nursed her a few times during the day. Its 2:30am now and I am pumping. And what I said above is what I got out. I am worried about my supply. She is gaining weight and seems satisfied after she eats. Thank!

 

[Disneyfan88]

I exclusively pump for several reasons and have to supplement with formula due to low supply, but I do know that a baby is able to extract your milk a lot better than a pump. If your little one seems satisfied after every feed and is gaining weight while you are breastfeeding, I'm guessing that your supply is probably ok. For a frame of reference, I average only 2-2.5 oz total when I pump every 2.5-3 hours. If I pump more frequently, I produce less during each session. If I go over 3 hours without pumping, I typically get a little more during that pumping session. I try not to so this as my milk supply is not yet established and is still "fragile", and I don't want my body to reduce my milk production any further because it will assume that the baby is feeding less.

Because you're not currently breastfeeding, and the pump is less effective than your baby feeding from the breast, you may want to consider temporarily pumping a little more frequently (perhaps every3 hours during the day) to ensure that your body does not adjust your milk supply while you are bottle feeding. I'm far from an expert, though, so perhaps it's actually not really necessary to do that...

 

[missbabes]

It's perfectly normal to have one side that produces more than the other. Sounds like you've got a nice balance of breast feeding and pumping