Expressing/pumping - what will happen to my supply?

[Iamsuchatit]

I know that you need to express 8-12 times a day or every 4 hours. I am just unable to find the time to do it so I just express when I can, so usually 5 times a day between 20-30 mins.

5 week old DD is formula fed but gets one bottle of breast milk a day as I am unable to breastfeed her. I know it’s not much but I want to at least get some breast milk in her.

If I carry on like this will my supply decrease or stop altogether? Had wanted to get her to breastfeed or get or expressed milk in her but it’s not possible

It works on supply and demand, so your body will make the same level of milk if you just carry on pumping 5x per day. If you want to make more milk you will have to pump more. Pumping is hard work, and often the pump gives less than a baby would take directly. Why cant she breastfeed? Is there any hope of getting her to latch? 5 weeks is still early days! Xx

I've been exactly in your shoes 3 times. Breastfeeding exclusively just never worked out and I tried HARD each time. Youngest is currently 6 months and combi fed.

My experience is that if you continue expressing what you are then your supply will stay the same. If you drop a session then your supply will drop. You can increase it again but it takes time. I have found power pumping invaluable and has increased my supply. I do it twice a day every weekend and once a day in the week. Then in between I express as much as I can (usually 2-3 times @ 10 mins each) and I get about a bottle a day for my 6 month old. It's nowhere near what I wanted but better than nothing like you say. I was actually advised by a feeding professional that expressing for 10 mins and switching sides and repeating was more effective than sitting for 30 mins in one go.

I too find it impossible to fit in lots of expressing and with lots of children and other demands it's hard. So do what you can and be kind to yourself. It's not easy.

Some will say it's not too late, and it might not be for you. It was for me though. With my 3rd she lost 14% weight within her first few days and was hospitalised for that and other reasons too so by the time she got home and was able to eat properly again she was a couple of weeks old and my supply had dropped and with older children who needed my time I just couldn't sit and feed all the time to rebuild my supply (although I tried for a while). I still feel the need to justify it. My point is that you will have your reasons and you need to do what is best for you. Your baby is still getting breastmilk which is an amazing thing.

Thanks both.

I was worried incasey supply would fall off a cliff after week 6.

I’ve been trying to get her to breastfeed but I’ve had a combination of 1) no support in hospital when she was born 2) flat nipples (that are almost non existent) 3) largest breasts (I was a 32GG prior to falling pregnant) 4) a long and heavy baby 5) no support from DH

When I do try to breastfeed her she gets really frustrated and cries. Yesterday she got so frustrated I think she forgot what she was worked up about and took ages to settle. She tends to go from 0-100 really quickly.

I’ve tried nipple shields and I’ve had help from the health visitor and I’ve been to a couple of breastfeeding support groups.

I saw a breastfeeding counsellor yesterday and we tried to get DD to latch. I came back with some good advice but DD got herself in such a state I wondered if it was actually worth it

I have a 9 week old, so have very recently gone through this too, OP, and it feels horrible! It feels like you're failing the poor baby, and you can get obsessed over "what's best for baby"

I tried ebf which was physically impossible for me too, but people give such conflicting advice and then both sets of our parents were pushy/passive aggressive regarding bf it was horrible so in the end he's combi fed, and I've even stopped expressing so now i bf his night feeds and bottle the day. This works for us!

And that's what I came to stress - I'm happy now that I've accepted this is what works uniquely for us, I'm happy because he is getting breast milk some of the time and I'm not in pain, or worrying about ebf.

You'll find a rhythm, and it'll be soon as she adjusts these next couple weeks more than the past 5 (which IMO are the hardest) and don't expect too much from each of you - possibly even set low expectations and then you can only be pleasantly surprised. Remember what's "best for baby" is a happy mummy who's relaxed and self assured in her choices and approaches. (Even if sometimes we get completely overwhelmed)

If you feel like you want to try bf her at a particular feed, do it. If you don't, don't - and don't stress over it. She'll be fed, at the end of the day, no matter what and she'll thrive and grow no matter what. You're doing great whichever route you choose.

I echo what the PP says - I'm happy once I accepted that this is what works for us. But it took me 3 children to get to that place. The pressure I put on myself by listening to "breast is best" was immense and pushed me into depression a couple of times.

Thanks!

I don’t even want her to be exclusively breastfed now as she’s seemingly thriving on formula but I want to get some breastmilk in her and I want that closeness that breastfeeding gives (and I hate pumping! Breastfeeding would be so much easier)

It’s far easier for me to try it when DH isn’t here but I’m hoping I’ve not left it too late

I was super worked up about not being able to breastfeed a couple of weeks ago (and I was in a bad place mentally, it made me hate my body and made me think mean thoughts about my DD) but I’m now gradually reaching acceptance of the situation. I said I’d give it until 6 weeks as that’s when I was told the cut off point was.

But at least she’s getting some breastmilk so 🤷‍♀️

Sounds good, OP. On the bonding side of things, feed her with as much skin to skin as possible to feel that a little more perhaps. :) and don't feel bad about feeling overwhelmed with it, baby blues are 100% real! I had days where I was in tears over everything and everything seemed scary. Have you been to any groups yet? I've found having a couple of "Mum friends" has helped me realise what's "normal" as often it's not exactly the medical advise, and it's not the "ideal" I know I pictured in my head a few months back! Xx

I managed to move from combi feeding to ebf at 3 months with my first. My friend did it when her son was 6 months. I think the 6 weeks thing depends on many factors.

Setting a mental deadline is a good approach. I did that with my second and it really helped to prolonge things.