How can I increase my supply enough to be able to express in time for Thursday?

[PrisonerZero]

My DS is only 4 weeks old and exclusivily breastfed, but I need to leave him some expressed milk on Thursday night as I have to leave him for about 4 hours (I don't really want to leave him but I promised my nan I would go to the theatre with her and if I drop out then she will miss out which will be a shame).

I need to leave enough milk to make sure they wont have any excuse to give him formula as they would love the opportunity too (another story!) but at the moment he feeds on both sides every hour day and night, so when i've tried to exress there has been nothing less only drips. Is it possible to run out of milk? Maybe he is feeding so often because he isn't getting enough? My breasts never feel full or heavy, always soft and 'empty'

Is there anyway to increase my supply in two days? Whats the best way to go about it as I need to make sure DS is not going without. I need to make about 4-5 6oz bottles I should think at the least.

Thank you.

It may be nothing to do with your supply, some mothers just have trouble pumping. This is why BF counsellors say never to use pumping to check your supply, it's a recipe for worry for some mums. This should help reassure you about your supply.

Have you tried hand expressing? Sometimes it can yield better results although it can take some practice. Here's a

4 hours is an awfully long time to be away from a 4 week old though, especially in the evening when he's likely to be cluster feeding. Can you not take him with you in a sling? He'll probably sleep through most of it or you can just sit and feed him, he can't cry with his mouth full

4 or 5 6oz bottles sounds like a huge amount! That's probably a good bit more than his entire 24 hour intake. I'd think 2 3oz bottles at most if you're feeding him just before you leave.

I thought the figures were meant to be about 1oz per hour at that stage? Which would suggest you'll need to leave 4, possibly up to 6oz. If you exclusvely fed him from one side today and tomorrow and pumped the other side at the same time or just after, you might be able to get 4-6oz.

I cannot for a moment believe your son will need 30oz of milk for a 4 hour period! Nor, I'm afraid, are you likely to be able to increase the amount you can pump to get an extra 30oz in the next 24 hours, in the extremely unlikely event he would need it (or indeed take it)!

I also think that expressing from one side while feeding from the other is the best way to get milk if you can manage it - when I first started expressing I wasn't very good at getting the milk to flow using the pump so needed the baby on the other breast to stimulate the let down reflex.

5oz/150ml max would be fine for that time period. He may cry anyway when that's gone but it'll be because he's without his Mum, not because he's actually hungry.

Try expressing when feeding and expressing sitting in the bath. Also, try to collect small volumes through the day, chilling it and then adding each day's together. That way, even if you can only get 5-10ml a time, it adds up to a significant amount quite quickly.

After reading your previous posts I would deffo take along in a sling!! I'd be worried they'd give formula anyway just to prove a point.....

Be careful. Depending on how responsive your breasts are to upping your supply you could find yourself seriously engorged, sore and risking mastitis if you try to pump too much.

The problem is that you can't just turn it on and off like that.

I agree that you won't need anything like 4-5 bottles and little amounts at a time is the way to go.

I'd agree with the feeding and pumping at same time idea. And DS always manages to feed from the expressed side even when the pump says it's "empty"! Or - and this may sound odd - when I first started expressing I had a video clip on my phone I made of me picking DS up crying and settling on the breast. Something about the sound of his hungry cry and the image seemed to get my milk flowing when I was expressing!