Do I have low supply? Disillusioned with pumping.

[Moancup]

DS is just over three weeks old. He was born at 36 weeks weighing only 1.9kg due to IUGR and spent five nights in hospital. After the first couple of days I mainly fed on demand on the breast, but most of the nurses were obsessed with getting me to pump instead so they could measure his intake and giving formula top ups. We did do formula top ups for the first five days at home to help avoid jaundice. He now seems happy on the breast, has lots of wet and dirty nappies and is gaining weight. We’ve also been lucky that he had a perfect latch from the start.

DP takes him for 3-4 hours at night and this is working well for us. It means I pump during the day. But I only get 30ml at best each 20 minute session. Is this a low amount? My milk was slow to come in due to a c section and stress and the nurses made me feel like I have a supply problem. My (already small) breasts are rarely if ever engorged and don’t seem to have grown particularly. DS often wants to feed far more frequently than every two hours and I’m worried he’s just not getting much at each feed. (Although I know that cluster feeding is normal and good for supply).

I’m upset that often I can’t pump enough for DP’s shift and he has to do formula top ups. I’m worried that I’m negatively impacting my supply by taking a 3-4 hour (normally 4) break from feeding, but it feels like the only way to stay sane at this point. I feel dispirited that I’m not pumping more. I also find pumping an additional chore so part of me is tempted to accept that DP gives him formula at night - but I’m worried about that affecting my supply even more.

Any advice would be welcome!

It's a complete myth that what you get when you pump bears any relation to what the baby is getting! Just keep feeding on demand, you're doing great if you can. Your body produces what your baby needs. Sometimes you'll be feeding again after 90 minutes, sometimes there'll be a long nap & you won't have fed for 5 hours. I've EBF 3 DCs, all healthy weights, but my pumping output varied enormously, often near nil. Your body responds very differently to a baby's suckling than it does to a machine.
Check out this podcast for advice:
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/badass-breastfeeding-podcast/id1268282458

Pumping bears no relation to how much milk you produce. Some women can never produce anything on a pump. Baby sucking is far more effective than any pump will ever be.

As long as baby is producing wet and dirty nappies and putting on weight then you are producing enough milk and pump or formula is for breaks.

My second was born at 34 weeks and I had to pump for 2 weeks as I was too unwell to breastfeed and baby was on a NG tube to start. But once we got baby on the breast I only pumped enough for one bottle a day so DH could do a night-feed. Sometimes though I just couldn't pump enough so we added some formula - or I just breastfed.

Please don't be stressed about the amount you are pumping. A bit of formula won't do baby any harm.

whats his weight gain like? How old is he now, and how much does he weigh?

You’ve had bad advice from professionals.

You do NOT need to measure output. Nappies and weight will tell you it’s fine.

I could NEVER pump more than a few drops, honestly, even tried hospital grade pumps, but my baby is now 2yo and still feeding.

The way to increase supply is to keep baby at the breast and lots of skin to skin. Sack off the top ups, they reduce your supply.

Tbh, if he's weight gain is fine as are nappies, I'd ditch the DP shift overnight and feed him yourself.

Swap your DP's time to either straight after he finishes work so you can nap, or he does early mornings between feeds so you can sleep in.

He takes on another chore around the house, he has a cuddle mid afternoon while you nap, he cooks dinner while you feed.

Any of those can help you out. The stress of pumping is meaning you're losing any benefit you might have had from that overnight shift

God that made me angry to read. If your baby is producing lots of wet and pooey nappies then they're healthy. Pumping is really tricky and is not a reflection of your supply. I could never get more than 4oz at a time yet my baby would nurse quickly and then collapse into milky comas!

I could never pump, but successfully breastfed.

He’s coming up to four weeks. The midwife and HV are happy with his weight gain but we’ll review again this week on the four week milestone.

DP is still off work and is already doing lots else, so for now me getting some solid rest at night is the best option for all of us. I think I’m resolved to keep pumping for that until six weeks, even if it does take 3-4 sessions, and then review once breastfeeding is fully established. I suppose my worry is that the hit to supply if I were to switch to combo feeding will impact across the whole day.

I combi fed my eldest. Tbh it was way more work that EBF my youngest.

Your supply will adapt to the combination feeding and after 6 weeks that adjustment happens quite fast.

Really though, it does sound like this expressing is just causing you more worry than doing you good.

I could never express much. Combi feeding was done with CMPA formula. With my daughter, she was a proper chunker and fed great but I could hardly express an oz.