Expressing

[ShitMotherHere]

I have a 4 month old who is “exclusively breastfed”. Initially I had issues with latch and oversupply. My supply has now regulated but I do think my lo latch needs to be a lot better. That said, She is gaining weight fairly well. However, her feeds have always been incredibly short. I’m talking 5-7 minutes and done.
I understood that she could be getting full quick with the oversupply but now that’s it’s drastically reduced, I would expected longer feeds. They are still roughly the same time and she is feeding about every 2.5-3.5 hours and twice at night.
Anyhow, I got worried about my supply so tried all the tips, and teas and fenugreek and oatmeal etc but didn’t see a huge difference. I have now hired the Medela symphony and have been trying (and trying) to pump as often as possible but sometime it’s over 6 hours apart. I have noticed my milk is plentiful for her during the night but she gets frustrated during the day.
During the night, I can hear her glugging away for a good few minutes when my letdown is fast, and then continue at a slower place for 5 minutes and that’s it.
But during the day she has been getting frustrated, so I am having to express and store in fridge to
Use within a day. I did have lots of frozen breast milk from when I had my oversupply but that has now run out.

When I am pumping, I usually ensure I pump at least 30 minutes as I used to have a second let down at 25 mins in approximately. This has now seemed to have stopped and I’m able to collect about 1-2 oz per breast (about 3oz total). No more than this. Is this normal? Will this increase? Ive had the pump for 2 weeks now but not been as consistent as initially planned.
I constantly observed my nipples and while the pump is “sucking”, the nipples don’t leak anything after the initial letdown. So is this what is happening when my lo breastfeeds?

I hope someone can help.

I really don’t want to resort to formula just yet.

Thank you

Hiya, I'm not expert but could she just be going through a developmental leap and that is why she's fussing at the breast? It can be quite normal for them to do this sometimes. Are you getting enough wet/ dirty nappies? Are you drinking enough water yourself?
Fenugreek/ oats etc never did anything for me but drinking loads of water did. I also had more joy with a manual pump rather than my electric.
There's a useful Facebook group called UK Breast feeding support that I find very helpful with advice x

I express for my almost 5mo. If I pump following a feed I collect 2-3oz. If I pump instead of feeding (and give DS formula) I get up to 5oz. So I’d say what you’re collecting is normal. Remember your baby is more efficient so will be getting it quicker. Mine is also done in around 5-10mins. If I give him a bottle he downs 5oz in 5mins with a slow flow newborn teat. Some babies are just really efficient feeders.

One tip I have is not to look at the bottles when you’re pumping. Place a sock over them and don’t look until you’ve finished. Play with your baby or if she’s sleeping look through photos of her. I’ve read this so many times and it works for me.

If your baby is gaining weight as normal and having enough wet/dirty nappies then try to trust your body.