Supply Issues

[lenorajoy]

There must be other mamas on here that have had the same issues I have and may have some advice.

I've tried everything.

Fenugreek - worked, but gave DD terrible gas! We're working on managing reflux, so perhaps I'll give it a try again once we have that under control now that she's a bit older.

Power pumping - I started out trying to pump 20 mins, 10 min break, pump 10 mins, 10 min break, pump 10 mins every morning. That didn't work and the timing didn't seem right for me as I would still have milk dripping when it was time to turn off the pump. So I just kinda pump for an hour straight, using compression to get out every drop I can for that hour. I do this all day while I'm at work... So about 4 hours of my day. I have been getting a little bit more with this adjustment, but still only 6-8 oz total. That's a little over half what DD eats while I'm at work.

Oats, lactation cookies, drinking tons of water, fennel, etc - I've tried all of it, but don't really notice much difference in output.

I'm trying to see a lactation consultant to see what they have to say, see if DD has some kind of tie that isn't obvious, something wrong with her latch, maybe change how I'm pumping.

It's so frustrating and discouraging! There have been so many times I've just cried because I'm doing everything I can and it just isn't enough! I feel so useless being incapable of doing what it seems most every other woman in the world seems capable of doing. What is wrong with my body??

If anyone has any thoughts or encouragement or suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Or if anyone want to commiserate...

 

[Teri7489]

Are you feeding as well as pumping? And what kind of pump are you using?

I found that an electric pump didn't work for me as I had to be leaning forward or pushing at certain angles to get a good flow. Once I changed to a manual it was far more comfortable and easier. A little more tiring on your hand but mentally far better when you get a good let down.

If you are bf are you trying to pump right after? It will boost your supply if you try right after feeding as it tells your body baby needs more. Also middle of the night pumping is best for really boosting supply. It's very tiring but for me it meant it could get maybe 14-18oz overnight to store. It took a while to get to that supply but after a while I was able to stop it as I had good supply in the day and a frozen stock that would last. I managed to bf/express until my son was 14 months old with a lasinoh manual pump.

And BTW, if you wean from bf as you supply drops there is nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. I couldn't feed my first daughter no matter how hard it tried. She is a healthy 3 year old who had formula and I don't feel like I failed her because she didn't have breaatmilk. You are trying. That's all that matters! Big hugs. Hope some of the tips help xx

 

[Berri]

There are loads of women who have trouble pumping - using the exact same pump I could get 80ml in 25 minutes, my sister would get 250ml in 10 minutes. It was very demoralizing to say the least! I had to pump 7 days to get enough to last him 2 days while I was at work. Some days I just couldn't leave enough but he would cluster feed at night to make up for it.

I found that setting my alarm for around 11:30pm to pump gave me the best result. Stay calm (hard I know) and know that you are doing the best you can!

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

did you get a hold of LLL yet?

 

[lenorajoy]

Are you feeding as well as pumping? And what kind of pump are you using?

I found that an electric pump didn't work for me as I had to be leaning forward or pushing at certain angles to get a good flow. Once I changed to a manual it was far more comfortable and easier. A little more tiring on your hand but mentally far better when you get a good let down.

If you are bf are you trying to pump right after? It will boost your supply if you try right after feeding as it tells your body baby needs more. Also middle of the night pumping is best for really boosting supply. It's very tiring but for me it meant it could get maybe 14-18oz overnight to store. It took a while to get to that supply but after a while I was able to stop it as I had good supply in the day and a frozen stock that would last. I managed to bf/express until my son was 14 months old with a lasinoh manual pump.

And BTW, if you wean from bf as you supply drops there is nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. I couldn't feed my first daughter no matter how hard it tried. She is a healthy 3 year old who had formula and I don't feel like I failed her because she didn't have breaatmilk. You are trying. That's all that matters! Big hugs. Hope some of the tips help xx

Sorry, I forgot to say I'm pumping at work and exclusively breastfeeding (unless she's super hungry and gets frustrated waiting for a letdown) when I'm home.

I have a Lansinoh Smart Pump provided by insurance. I really wish we could try out different pumps to see which is most comfortable/works best for us before choosing! I've been considering buying a manual pump to see if it works better for me. Who knows, maybe it will! The electric pump doesn't feel at all like nursing, so that may be why I don't let down well to it. I'll check out the Lansinoh one. Have you ever tried the Avent or any other brands of manual pumps?

I kind of gave up on pumping between feeds... She would fall asleep while eating, then I would wait until she was asleep enough to transfer her to the swing or glider so I could pump because if I didn't wait long enough she would wake up immediately and the process would start over again. Then by the time I was halfway through a pumping session or immediately after I finished she would want to eat again and just be frustrated because she wasn't getting a letdown, so then I would have to feed her what I just pumped. I got tired of that cycle and decided I would rather breastfeed. She does a better job of getting letdowns than my pump, so she gets more milk that way. Plus I just love breastfeeding!

I could probably manage to pump through the night, but we're working on trying to get her to sleep somewhere other than on me. We have a bassinet, but she keeps waking up as soon as I set her down. If I can get her to sleep in the bassinet I can start pumping at night. I was just reading yesterday about how prolactin levels are the highest at night, so that seems like a great idea. I just have to figure out the logistics of it all. I've been getting great sleep with her sleeping on me, so I'll have to sacrifice that in order to get breastfeeding to work.

There are loads of women who have trouble pumping - using the exact same pump I could get 80ml in 25 minutes, my sister would get 250ml in 10 minutes. It was very demoralizing to say the least! I had to pump 7 days to get enough to last him 2 days while I was at work. Some days I just couldn't leave enough but he would cluster feed at night to make up for it.

I found that setting my alarm for around 11:30pm to pump gave me the best result. Stay calm (hard I know) and know that you are doing the best you can!

It seems so unfair, doesn't it? I pump for 4-6 hours just to get half of what she needs. I'd say about 75% of the time I stay calm, but the other 25% of the time... If only the milk would be free-flowing during that 75%! I'm going to have to try setting an alarm to pump at least once during the night.

did you get a hold of LLL yet?

I sent an email to my local LLL consultant yesterday while I was pumping so I couldn't forget. I haven't heard back yet, but I'll be calling her if I don't hear from her before this afternoon. I'm waiting on a call from insurance to let me know if they're going to certify a local LC, but in the mean time I'm going to see if LLL can help.


One of the most frustrating things is that everyone says the worst thing you can do for your supply is supplement... am I just supposed to let her cry? I don't understand how that is supposed to work. A super hungry baby doesn't have the patience for a slow flow/letdown. I'm out of time to stay home with her and try to nurse as much as possible during the day, so I hope a manual pump and LC can help. If not, it is what it is and I'll keep giving her everything I can and hope that with baby #2 things will be easier.

 

[Teri7489]

Yeah sadly best time for hormones is night time. Just another one of those silly things to make being a parent harder. I tried an avent one but i have really big boobs so the cup wasnt big enough so had to buy a new one. Have a look on ebay, i got my lasinoh for £3.50! Not expensive at all. Can you go elsewhere for even 20 minutes at night. Easier said then done at 2/3am i know. But honestly a 20 minute pump would probably do wonders for your supply for a few weeks. even if shes awake just kicking away in the bassinet just so you can get it done but she cant smell the milk and want it xx

 

[lenorajoy]

Thanks Teri, that's good to know! I'm with you in the big boob club, so that one's out for me. At least I have a Lansinoh electric pump, so I know the Lansinoh manual flanges will fit well enough. I also bought some other flanges (a set of S, M, L) on Amazon that were highly recommended, but I guess I must have very large boobs with abnormally small nipples or something... The smallest ones seem to fit best on the nipple, but I feel like I need the large ones for the parts of my boob that don't go into the tube part. Sigh...

The manual Lansinoh pump kit on Amazon comes with a nipple for the bottle, so I can try those, too. It would be great to be able to pump into the same bottle she'll eat from if the nipple works out well! Lansinoh also sells these 3-in-1 hot or cold therapy gel pack things that I'm thinking of buying to see if they help with letdown. If I end up at any point having issues with engorgement pain again the cold is supposed to be good for that, too. For $6 I'll try it!

I'll have to try just putting her in her bassinet and let her stay awake if she won't stay asleep. Classical music (especially string instruments) tend to put her to sleep, so I can try to use that to help with the transition to the bassinet after feeding.

Thanks so much for your help ladies! I'm willing to try anything if it can help! I'm probably going to ask a LC about the prescription meds, too, but I'll probably try night pumping first to see if it can make that much of a difference before going on medication. Anything that messes with hormones makes me nervous... Our bodies require such a specific hormonal balance for everything to work properly.

 

[Teri7489]

You will get there, honestly you will! Just can be so frustrating and tiring at times. Our little growing bundles are worth it xx

 

[lenorajoy]

It's getting especially tiring after 3 months. But if I've ever been stubborn about anything, it's nothing compared to this! I'm determined to breastfeed as long as I can, even if it's only to supplement. I really didn't know what to expect with breastfeeding, I just knew I wanted to try it. There's really nothing better in the world!

 

[Teri7489]

It really is amazing. Amazing bonding feeling and lovely seeing them grow knowing it's you that's doing it. There were times I almost gave up, crying because I was getting only an oz or 2 then a week later after MOTNP I could do 2 or 3 pulls on the pumps and could just sit there and had such a let down I would get 6/ oz without even trying on each side.

 

[lenorajoy]

Man, that would be so nice! I really hope I can get there, too. I've had a family friend stay with me a couple of times since LO was born and she's been such a HUGE help, especially with breastfeeding! But she had oversupply issues. Whenever she's telling me about her experiences with breastfeeding her sons (who are the same ages as my sister and I) I can't help but think man, that must be nice... It would be a pain because then you have to deal with having to pump or feed or express somehow more frequently so you don't end up engorged or with mastitis, but man, I'd love to have a freezer overflowing with breastmilk!

 

[Teri7489]

Just remember that when you are sat at 3am craving your pillow while expressing lol. Just pump pump pump during the night! I really hope it helps like it did for me. got everuthing crossed for you! x

 

[lenorajoy]

Thank you! I tried last night, but it was a rough night. Every time I set baby girl down she would cry. I'll try again tonight. I'm dying to run to Target to get a manual pump! It just seems like it would be so much easier to start pumping quickly compared to the electric, and much less noisy. They have 10% off pickup orders at Target right now, which makes it $7.50 cheaper than Amazon. I might drive out of my way to pick it up after work today...

 

[Teri7489]

I really would get one. They are fab and easy to take out and about too! May sound mean but crying will help you, her crying will help you make milk. Used to be quite uncomfortable actually at times but as soon as my son squeaked i could feel both boobs swell a little and got a really uncomfortable sensation. It will get easier when she settles more and more away from you x

 

[lenorajoy]

Manual pump purchased and waiting at Target for me to pick up on my way home! Can't wait to try it out tonight! The motor on my electric sometimes sounds like it's dying already. I wonder how long it will be before I'll have to call Lansinoh to get a replacement. At least now I'll have a backup in case it does die on me. Just curious - I'm assuming you have just the one manual pump and use the other hand to massage/compress? I'm wondering if it would even be feasible to double pump with two manual pumps, but I guess I'll find out either way very soon.

I'm going to try my hardest to get her in the bassinet as soon as she's finished eating tonight and get her to fall asleep in there. I don't know what the chances are of that actually working, but I'm going to try. If it doesn't work, my only other option may be to get her to sleep lying down with me in bed and sneak off while she's sleeping. I did that this morning to get ready for work and she didn't wake until after I was ready for the day.

She did feed a bit more than normal last night, so I'm hoping that helped to make up for the lack of pumping. I could hear her swallowing big gulps the whole time she was eating until she fell asleep, so I was really hoping I'd get a chance to pump once she was done!

 

[Teri7489]

Yeah I had no option but to hold and compress with the other hand, had to do that while my son was latched on too. Just being so busty I couldn't do it any other way. Just try whatever works for you.

Don't be discouraged but her last feed before bedtime say 11pm, feed her and pump. You might get nothing you mighto get some. same during the night and the same in the morning. Don't stress her out by taking her feed and putting it in a bottle. All you are trying to do it tell your body that you need more milk. After a week or so your body will make what she eats plus more as it thinks it needs to. Just like when she was tiny. There will have been a point she was nursing and getting nothing but she will have kept sucking to tell your body I need more. That's what you need to do with the pump. It's annoying but it doesn't take long. Each night you will get more till you are getting a good supply and eventually after she feeds she will stop and you will have extra to store.

 

[lenorajoy]

Thanks for all of your help and encouragement with this! I knew I wasn't alone, but I finally feel like there might be some hope! I'll keep coming back to update and hopefully have a good report.

 

[lenorajoy]

OMG. My daughter slept in her bassinet the whole night! She passed the floppy arm test, so I put her in her bassinet and she slept 5 hours! Woke up to eat, had her fill, put her back in her bassinet once she was floppy again, and then woke up when my alarm went off. I pumped for probably about an hour after she first went to bed and again after she ate the second time and got four ounces to add to what I pumped yesterday!! I was so ecstatic! I LOVE the manual pump! If I could somehow manage to pump both sides at the same time I would get so much more milk than I do with the electric! I finally felt empty for the first time in a long time and I think I actually felt a few let downs for the first time! And my boobs started hurting when my daughter cried all the way to her sitter's house this morning. That was rough.

THANK YOU THANK YOU for suggesting the manual pump! I definitely prefer how quiet it is, too. I'll keep doing the same thing each night and hopefully I'll be able to pump for a shorter time and get more milk eventually.

 

[Teri7489]

aww I am so pleased to read your update. I'm glad you had a good night and are getting results already. Keep going. you are doing great! xxx

 

[lenorajoy]

The manual pump feels so much more like my baby nursing. It only takes about 5-10 seconds to get a letdown vs the full 2 minutes of the letdown phase with the electric pump, plus usually a little bit into the extraction phase. Then I have a continual spray for 10-15 minutes. I finally saw that for the first time yesterday afternoon with the electric, but only on the right side.