Less amount of milk

[mum_inlove]

Hi everyone :wave:

I've been pumping regularly since about 2 weeks ago, once first thing in the morning and one arounf 9pm which I'll feed to dd straight away, like a dream feed.

I never had any problem pumping and sometimes could get up to 180ml in say 10 min. Which is good as dd is only drinking around 120ml at the moment (is that how much she suppose to drink when she's 6 weeks old?).

However in the past a couple of days I'm getting lesser amount from my 9pm pumping. I'd be lucky to get 100ml out from both boobs. It takes forever also. I massage, drink litres f water until I'm about to burst, but yeah it's so hard to get it past 100ml.

Does anyone know why it occurs? Is there anything I'm suppose to do?

TIA

[the_queen]

Hi :wave:

:hugs: Sorry if maybe you've already posted about this - how come you're pumping? Is she feeding from the breast at all?

Babies extract milk much more efficiently than breastpumps, so if she can feed from the breast that would be the best idea.


There are ways to increase supply - if you are feeding her from the breast during the day, try pumping from the other breast while she's feeding.
There's a Lactation cookie recipe in the breastfeeding section - lots of people have had great success with that.
PROTEIN for breakfast EVERY morning - eggs, or meat, every single morning. Make breakfast a really big meal and get plenty of protein into you.
Vitamins can improve your general health, which has a positive effect on supply. Take lots of B vitamins (I take a "Mega B formula") and Vitamin C+Zinc.
Remember that fuzzy warm snuggly new-mum feeling when you have a newborn? That feeling is caused by oxytocin, and the release of that hormone assists with let-down. When you're pumping, perhaps first have a little read of your pregnancy diary, or baby book, and surround yourself with photo's of your bubbies as newborns. When i was pumping, I'd think back to that feeling of pushing her little body out of me, and that first time I felt her, counting her little fingers and toes, that first time I kissed her little head... then watching her daddy fall in love with her... (ok i'm letting down right now :laughing:)

:hugs: I hope you can find a solution soon - also, are you a member of the ABA? I highly recommend it - they have a forum which you might find helpful, also their counsellors are really good at giving advice.
I don't know where Yeppoon is, so here are all the QLD ABA helpline numbers:
(all 07 area code)
3844 8977 (brisbane)
3844 8166 (brisbane)
4058 0007 (cairns)
4723 5566 (townsville)
4639 2401 (toowoomba)

[mum_inlove]

Thanks the_queen :yes:

I've started pumping before we went to dh christmas party and since then my milk supply has increased. She's still feeding on the breast and I only pump twice a day, you know the very first thing in the morning like around 6am, where both of your boobs are so full, I could easily get 180ml from just one breast. Anyway, as my milk supply has increased, I thought I might as well keep doing it and just store it in the freezer in case of 'emergency', haha..

I feed dd EBM for her 9 or 10pm as I found she'll go to sleep 5 min on the boobs. In that way, I just know she'll has a full feed. If she wakes up again a couple of hours later, she'll feed from the boobs.:yes:

So do you think I'm losing supply? In a way, I could feel that there are more milk in the breast. They just don't wanna come out:laughing: I must be a cold hearted woman, as thinking about her doesn't give me a letdown :laughing:

[the_queen]

No you're not cold-hearted :no: Let-down stimuli is different for everyone.


I don't think you're necessarily losing your supply - it's just that babies are better at getting milk out than breastpumps. Try pumping from one while feeding from the other, because that can definitely help boost the output.

:hugs: :hugs: