Frustrated with how little milk comes out when I pump

[Anonymous]

I delivered my baby boy 2 weeks ago. He was small (5.5 lb range) and has had some trouble regaining the weight he lost after birth so we are on a 2 hour feeding cycle to get him to gain weight.

Our doc wants me to breastfeed for 45 min and then pump for 15 min and feed the baby .5 oz of pumped milk after he's done breastfeeding. By the time I am done with all of this, I have 15 minutes before I have to start the process all over again. As you can imagine, I get no rest, which I know is expected for new moms.

I am 2 weeks postpartum and I just started pumping yesterday. I am only producing .25 oz total from both breasts per pumping session. This is very frustrating since I am supposed to be supplementing my baby with an extra .5 oz of pumped breast milk.

Is this normal? Can I expect my milk supply to increase? How long will it take? I am stressed that my baby is not getting enough

[Anonymous]

The stress and lack of sleep will totally affect your supply so try, as best you can, to relax and not stress. Make sure you are eating enough and drinking a TON. Your body will likely adjust and start producing more milk - sounds like you just started pumping so you need to give your body a chance to catch up with the demand.

Congrats!

[Anonymous]

It is totally normal not to get much when you first start pumping. Your body isn't used to the pump yet. I quit trying after my first few attempts and didn't pick up the pump again until a week before I had to go back to work. Had I known then what I know now, I might have kept going, but fortunately I didn't really *need* to, I just wanted to have some extra on hand. Don't be discouraged -- if you are feeding your baby and pumping after you're not going to get that much, but I assume the reason this has been suggested is to get your supply up. Even if you don't get much at first, the extra stimulation from the pump will help improve your milk supply, so it is not wasted time. Hang in there, the first 4-6 weeks of BF are tough, but it will get better (and much less time-consuming)!!!

[Anonymous]

PP here -- I should add that your baby's stomach is tiny at this point and can't hold very much. As he or she grows, your milk supply will grow to match her needs. Other things to help increase supply: eating oatmeal and taking herbs (fenugreek and blessed thistle being the most common ones recommended). But mostly, nursing and pumping, signalling your body there is a demand for more milk. If your baby is making the recommended number of wet and poopy diapers each day, then there is no immediate danger in terms of not getting enough. If, after a week or two of this regimen, the baby is not gaining weight, or not gaining as much as recommended, then you might have a true supply issue and might consider taking domperidone, a prescription drug that improves milk supply in many women who otherwise struggle to produce enough.

Whatever you do, don't start supplementing with formula if you want to EBF. It interferes with the supply/demand relationship bc it fills the baby up, she won't want to nurse, and without that stimulation your supply will never improve. Also, I highly recommend checking out www.kellymom.com -- it has excellent, detailed info about any question you could have about breastfeeding and pumping.

[Anonymous]

Just give your baby what you're able to pump. It is what it is. (And that small amt sounds about right so soon after giving birth).

A strategy I cooked up for myself was to pump FIRST and then let baby breastfeed. My rationale was simply that the baby seemed to be much more efficient at getting milk out than the pump. So by pumping first when my stores were at their greatest I figured I'd be optimizing that process. And Little Miz Efficient Infant would have no problem sucking out the rest for herself.

[Anonymous]

Watch this video for tips on maximizing pumped milk by massaging the breasts: http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watch this video for tips on maximizing pumped milk by massaging the breasts: http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

Oh, indeed, the part about squeezing breasts while pumping was, for me, absolutely vital. Every time I pumped, the squeeze might be a bit different (and I may have to move around throughout a single pumping), and I figured out where and how hard to press by watching the spray/expression.

[Anonymous]

OP- I had similar issues (only DD was 6 lbs). Our pediatrician made us feed her every 2 hours too- through the night just like you. My milk supply never came in good enough so that I could breast feed and pump, so we eventually supplemented with formula. At first I was bummed, but then I looked on the bright side- at least DH can feed DC while you sleep through some of the feedings. Good luck to you and don't let it stress you out too much.

[Anonymous]

Yes, don't worry, you'll be producing more eventually. Really, your milk supply gets largely set by one month. But at this age, their stomach are still somewhat bigger than a marble. They just can't fit that much!! And I had to do the same thing as you but feed with a syringe which was awful. It will get better fast, though it will feel like it takes forever. All of a sudden, when you don't have to pump, it feels amazing about the time you suddenly have on your hands (ok, not ever 'free' time, but much less stressful and awful). It's not just the feeding and pumping, but the washing of the pump parts etc. It will get better, just get through this part. And if you have issues/questions with what the doc is telling you, go, go go, to a lactation consultant. Worth the time, effort and money for the check in and advice.

[Anonymous]

I had to do that too -- every 2 hrs, I breastfed, then handed baby over to DH so that I could pump and he could feed the baby expressed breastmilk from a syringe (later a bottle).

IT WAS HORRIBLE. Hugs to you. FWIW, my milk totally did come in like gangbusters in the end, and we ended up breastfeeding for a year.

Are you using a hospital grade pump? Don't use any other kind. I didn't think it made much of a difference, but having used many kinds now, IT DOES. Only hospital grade pumps (like Medela Symphony) are strong enough to get your milk really coming in well.

Are you drinking TONS of water?

Can you get someone else (a partner/DH, relative, friend) to do the supplemental feeding, so that you can breastfeed, pump, and then catch some sleep?

And frankly, I would get a second opinion from a lactation consultant. Obviously getting enough food into your baby is hugely important, but you need to get enough sleep to be able to MAKE the food. You can't survive on 15 minutes. I got opinions from my ped and two LCs back in the day! (The Breastfeeding Center will do phone consults, although I hear their in-person consults are great.)

I just reread your post and realized you only started pumping yesterday -- TOTALLY hang in there. It does take a while to bump up your supply when you start pumping.

I have a two-week-old too, and FWIW this time the breastfeeding is going smoothly. (All the drama was with my first baby.) I wish you lots of luck, and send you lots of sympathy. It will get better!

[Anonymous]

OP here--Thank you SO MUCH for the support, ladies. This is a rough time!

[novabrooke]

I also had a similar problem -- my supply was slow to come in and my baby gained no weight until a little over 3 weeks of age. In addition to the other suggestions, you might consider feeding the baby even more than every 2 hours. I did this mainly because my baby seemed constantly ravenous, so I just keep her nursing up to and, sometimes longer than, an hour, often with no more than a 15-20 min. break to eat or shower. I had rented a hospital grade pump from an LC and tried to pump a little when I could find a few minutes, but I -- like you -- got virtually no milk, and the trouble of assembling and rinsing, etc. the pump was too much for me. So, I ended up just letting her nurse on demand which literally was most of the day and night. My supply eventually came in, and she gained a ton of weight the first couple of weeks after that, and now -- at 10 weeks -- things have regulated. She's now nursing 6-8 times a day for 15-30 min. and gaining well. I love breastfeeding now, and it was worth the trouble. Good luck! I hope things turn out well for you too. Oh, and I also tried all the other tricks to increase my supply -- not sure if they helped, but worth a shot -- oatmeal every day, lots of water and healthy, high calorie meals, herbal supplement (a fenugreek blend by "Motherlove"), rest as much as you can given the circumstances -- let your husband or other support person take care of the house, meals, etc.

[novabrooke]

Also, just want to mention that I also was very stressed that my baby was not getting enough to eat, and my doctor reassured me that she was fine if she was well hydrated, which the doctor can tell from her eyes, saliva, etc, and you can tell by baby having a lot of wet diapers. My baby was having only 1 stool a day, but the doctor said she was fine since she was well hydrated. Once my supply increased, her stools increased to 3-4 or more a day.

[Anonymous]

I second the recommendation of using a hospital grade pump. There is no comparison: much more milk in much less time!

[Anonymous]

I was in a simlar situation.

One of the things I realized after my 2 week check up was that my son was not feeding during our nursing sessions - but using me as a pacifier. So double check that your baby is actually nursing.

I had suplemmented with formula after my 2 week visit - but after figuring out that I was being used as a pacifier, I used formula as a bonus for when I was just too tired. My supply got established and I nursed until my child was 17 MO (and I was 4 months pregnant with #2).

I want to caution on the advice of drinking tons of water. I read that drinking too much water can actually hurt your supply. I can't find the referance for that right now - but if I do I will send a link later.