New and needing encouragement
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New and needing encouragement
| Wed, 11-10-2010 - 11:25pm |
Hi everyone! My little boy will be 12 weeks on Monday and I have been exclusively pumping for the last 7 weeks. I have had to supplement a few of his feedings each day with formula because I don't produce enough. He takes 4 oz per feeding and approximately 28-30 oz per day. I don't have a surplus of EBM and have been lucky if I can make the 4 oz that he takes per feeding. I have been trying to pump at each of his feedings but have gone back to work part-time and have skipped the night time pumping. I guess I am looking for encouragement from anyone who has increased their milk supply this late in the game. I would love to stop formula altogether and am willing to put in the work if it'll make a difference.
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Hi and welcome! I am new on here too, and the women on here have some good advice. I have a 15 week old and just this week passed me up on her intake. I was told by my LC to try to pump on the hour every hour for 3-4 hours each day.
Hang in there!
I started pumping late (I think it was between 8 and 10 weeks?) and my supply was so low I could barely get a measureable amount at each pumping session. To get my supply up, I power pumped constantly, drank tons of water and ate one minute oats.
Whenever you can sneak in the night pump, it makes a difference (I still do it when I can). Even if you can only get it in a few times a week, it will help. Just pump as much as you can, whenever you can aiming for 8-12 double pump sessions per day to rebuild your supply. If it is difficult to fit in a solid 20 minutes of pumping at a time, you can also go based on total number of minutes a day (160-240minutes). If you just can't quite do that much pumping, relax about it and just pump as much as you can when you can. Any breastmilk provided is better than no breastmilk so congratulate yourself for making it this far and working so hard.
Some people will notice a difference in a few days, some will find little change for a week or even two. The key is to constantly tell your breasts that the demand has increased so they produce more milk. I was pumping for 10-20 minutes every hour for the first week. At the beginning, I was so frustrated and exhausted, I cried every day. I spent weeks doing nothing but pumping or caring for the baby. I got so angry one day that I threw my pump across the room and swore I was quitting. Every once in awhile I had to cutback on the pumping for a few days to get some rest just so I wouldn't quit out of exhaustion.
It is harder to rebuild your supply at the 12 week mark but it is not impossible. You can also try a galactagogue like Domperidone, Reglan, Fenugreek etc. but their effectiveness after 12 weeks may not be as great.
What is most important is that you are healthy, happy
Hi, and welcome!
My supply increased steadily until my daughter was around 6 months, and I attribute a lot of it to pumping often, getting more rest, and being more relaxed than I was in the first few weeks. I did order domperidone from inhousepharmacy.biz, but by the time it arrived, I really didn't need it anymore because I had already boosted my supply 10 ounces per day above my DD's intake. I took it anyway, starting at around 14 weeks (I think) and did further increase my supply.
You're doing great. :) The early weeks are hard, but it gets easier as you become more accustomed to the routine and start learning how best to fit it into your life with your new baby.
-Jenn
Mom to Ashley Elizabeth, born 11/3/09
Thanks for sharing your story, it made me feel alot better!
Its possible to still increase, dont give up :) I increased with the jhelp of more milk plus and reglan so now Im neck and neck with my LO. Im hoping once my dom arrives that I can go over what she needs but we shall see. I agree with the others though to get rest and drink a ton of water. I wasnt drinking enough and I started getting an extra oz at each pump but drinking 100 oz of water per day. It sounds like a lot but its really not that much spread out. It helps! Good luck and welcome.