did the amount you can express change?

[jag5000]

hi all,

just wondering if the amount that you could express changed as bub got older?

my DS is 10 weeks today and at the start I could express about 50-100 ml per session... but now it's suddenly gone down in the last few days to only being able to get 20 odd mls. I'm not happy as I like to have a emb stash for daddy feeds, or if I get called away for something with DD for others to use etc. I assume it's not my supply.. he's doing great, weight gain, wet nappies etc... I've done the massage, heat packs, expressing in the morning - no good :(

my boobs have settled down heaps - no more rocks! back to pretty normal boobies. I'm actually a bit sad that the 'hard as rocks' stage is passing, I liked knowing there was a heap of milk in there!

[MilkOnTap]

20mL is great!!!

I've never been able to express more than 5mL at a time, so to get anything more than that I consider to be a pretty good achievement!

Sorry not much help lol - but great job!

[Sammilee]

For me, definitely. At first I could only express approx 100mls total from both boobs, now I can easily express 150mls from each boob! From memory there was a stage around the 12 week mark (I think) that I noticed I couldn't express as much, but I think that coincided with a bit of a growth spurt from DS so he was actually consuming more and therefore not a lot left over to express. But my boobs soon caught up on the supply.

[jag5000]

milkontap - so does that mean you've never been able to leave Jedd? (btw - I have been meaning to say to you for ages that I LOVE his name!)

sammilee - oh, that's good to hear - so maybe it's a growth spurt and I might be able to express more again after it's over - fingers crossed anyway! I feel strangely nervous if I haven't got a good emb stash - like what if I had an emergency or had to take meds or something, I like to know that DS could still get his boobie juice :)

[Hollywood]

DS is 16 months old and the amount I get varies greatly. Sometimes I very easily get 100+ mls from both sides combined, then other times I scrape in with 60mls.

By the way, it's totally normal that the boobs settle down eventually and don't become engorged, it just means that they're making just the right amount for your baby, so that's great, your supply is perfect.

Also, babies are HEAPS better at getting the milk out than breast pumps, so I'd say it's not unusual to struggle to get as much as you did previously.

[RedPanda]

I'm the other way around. My son is nine weeks, and for the first seven weeks, I could barely get 20Ml. This morning I got 80ml from the side I'd just fed off!!

Maybe it's the time of day that you're expressing? I can always get more in the morning than I can in the early evening.

[michelleB]

my dd is 4 months and cos i have been bfeeding and unable to express she has never left my side in that time. i tried everything and couldnt get more than 10 mils. bloody useless $100 electric pump! but this week i FINALLY found the key to my freedom...i expressed while bubs was feeding from the other side. this was slightly awkward but i got 150 mls and im getting some free time at last yeehaaa