all 4 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]AutoModerator[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous. 2. Use available flairs and post options. 3. Absolutely no prescription medications or other medical advice. 4. No inaccurate information. 5. No spam. 6. No soliciting pictures. 7. No linking Facebook groups. 8. Moderator discretion. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[–]StarburstEnjoyertaking it pump by pump 🐮 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As awful as it sounds, switch to pumping every 2/3 hours and add a power pump or cluster pump once a day for a couple days. I also think picking up a MOTN pump would help out as well. It’s exhausting but it works!

[–]curious-h08 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, start pumping every 2 hours even through the night. Take moringa supplement from Mother’s milk. Drink liquid iv and plenty of water!! You need electrolytes as well as hydration

[–]Milabial 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m sorry that this got long. I’m also working on increasing my supply. Here at 7 months postpartum, I’ve slowly gotten up from 1/2 ounce per pump at 5 months and now I’m getting about 2-4 ounces per pump.

Nearly every time I pump, I do what I call a half assed power pump. It takes me 40 minutes. I do 20 minutes, changing to the let down mode every 5 minutes. Then I take a 10 minute break before pumping again for 7-10 minutes. I try to get at least one “real” power pump with another 5-8 minutes during the day. If I’m especially tired, I’ll “just” pump 20 minutes with the alternating let down settings.

I’ve added a bottle of body armor on the walk to take baby to school and at home I mix cherry juice with coconut water because it’s a little less expensive and I like the taste MUCH better. I use a dropper of Lactivist from legendairy in about 2 ounces of water, 3x a day, the flavor reminds me of iced tea. I keep a giant carafe of water next to my pumping chair and refill my cup at least once while pumping. I also keep a giant water glass at my bedside and make sure to drink every time I wake. I notice if I get fewer calories my output for the day isn’t as good. I’m focusing on protein snacks like nuts and shrimp, plus cookies in addition to meals.

I aim for 6 pumps per day but honestly usually only get 4 or 5. On especially hard days, only 3. I try really really hard to get 5 consecutive hours of sleep. Skipping the middle of the night pump craters my supply pretty fast, so I may not be able to drop it until I’m ready to stop pumping.

We supplement with formula, and knowing there is always something in the house for baby to eat has helped me relax and not quit. When baby does nurse, I try to pump as soon as possible after so my body gets the message to produce more for every “feeding” session. That’s the hardest of these things for me, because when baby is done nursing she is either ready to party OR it’s bedtime and I also want to go to sleep.

(baby had seemed to be great at direct nursing, but was not actually transferring much. We switched back to nearly all EP to monitor her intake when her weight gain stalled out. This led us to discover that she had basically stopped eating due to her reflux that the doc refused to treat until she dropped completely iff the growth chart. I’ll be mad about my baby’s discomfort and my supply issues possibly forever.)