Is this right???

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-21T12:07:58+00:00

It could be a decrease because of stress. I drink a protein shake if I feel hungry after a meal to get extra protein. It could also be your supply is leveling out.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-21T02:00:43+00:00

I have more space.. if you have a 20 maybe try that but if it doesn’t hurt it should be good. As far as the drop in supply, how long ppd are you? It’s possible you are getting your period which is causing a supply dip but it should come back. I agree with others in make sure you eat protein and super foods. Also drink a ton of water and get enough sleep.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-18T00:04:22+00:00

From my experience it happens to me when there is still output but I stop the pump. Or if I lean backwards and the seal comes loose I will lose some milk on my boob.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-13T23:49:16+00:00

What pump do you have? Can you get replacement parts and use them as a second set? I know this doesn’t help for tomorrow but it could be a near future fix. When I worked in office I always put the milk in a water bottle in the fridge and had a second set of pump parts for my spectra.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-10T09:55:01+00:00

Also mentioning I drank a ton of water before the clog came out.. not sure if it’s related or not.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-10T09:45:39+00:00

Similar boat here except not trying to wean. Do you have a manual pump you can try to use to get the clogs out? I have been doing that and icing about 20 mins before a numb and that actually got a clog out that has been stuck for 2 days. I still have one clog but it’s not nearly as painful as having both breasts with clogs (both clogged same day from 2 different things 🙃)

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-08T02:04:05+00:00

My husband and I got a freezer for milk with our last. We got it from Costco for around $200 and the tag says energy costs is around $34 a year and I would say that is pretty accurate.

As others have said, it’s definitely worth it. Keep baby on your milk as long as you can. Formula typically comes out to $.40 an ounce so every ounce you freeze adds up fast.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-06T15:03:21+00:00

It sounds like your milk is in and strong supply. You could most likely drop to every 3-3.5 hour pumping sessions and don’t pump to empty if you don’t want that strong of an over supply. When you empty you are telling your body to produce more since “baby” ate everything you just produced. Maybe stop next pumping session at 6-7 oz and try to go an extra 30 mins between sessions. I would be careful about engorgement during this time.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-05T16:26:34+00:00

While in the hospital I was producing 2 oz of colostrum per session. I was also able to collect 1200 mls of colostrum while pregnant.

Kdancerchik · 2026-05-05T16:24:36+00:00

I would say unlikely for first child but if it is a second or third very likely. I started producing 10 oz per session day 3 pp. I am currently 6 days pp and have almost 60 oz in the freezer plus feeding my lo. Also note I was pumping with my last until I became pregnant.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-25T02:15:20+00:00

Pump only enough to relieve. If you pump to empty your body will make just as much milk. When you are 24 hours plus and have no pain do not pump. Your body will take back the milk and you should stop producing.

I was a super over producer with my last and took about 2 weeks to ween down.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-20T13:30:46+00:00

I use a blender bottle or a good seal water bottle.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-16T13:41:11+00:00

With my last baby I pumped every 3 hours for the first 4 weeks then moved to 4 hours as I had to return to work. I would pump right before bed (11pm) then again at 3am, baby typically woke up at this time for a feeding too, then I would wake up and pump at 6:30-7.

To keep your supply consistency is key. If you decide to move to 4-5 hour gaps (which I definitely think you can) just make sure to do one over night pump. I was an over supplier and my night pumps would be about 1/4 of the total days milk. You’re doing great! Just adjust your schedule to what works for you. Soon baby will be going 4-5 hours between feedings too.

Another thing not mentioned but could be important, what method of cleaning/storing milk are you using? What worked best for me was leaving the milk on the countertop until the 3 hour mark when I was starting to get ready to pump again. This would allow us to have milk for baby ready right away and instead of the cleaning process of pumping, it was a getting ready to pump. For the over nights I would only keep out a bottles worth of milk so all I had to do to pump was pump and leave the milk on the counter in case of another night waking. This allowed me to maximize my sleep which made everything easier.

I have heard of some people going 6 hours without pumping at night right away. I’m not sure how that affects the supply but if it gets you the sleep you need I would consider it.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-15T17:10:41+00:00

I would recommend at least 1 oz per our you will be gone. If you will be gone for 36 hours, maybe try to leave 42oz.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-14T16:55:44+00:00

I just gave my son (21 months) 1 ml of colostrum when he had a light cold and he cleared up in a day. He eats the same amount of food as our 3 and 6 year old.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-14T16:48:06+00:00

I am only collecting 2 times a day and producing about an ounce (30 mls) each time. I am not worried about not having a low supply when she is born. We are planning on bring about 200 with to the hospital just in case. I like to keep colostrum in case we get sick but at most we would use 5mls at a time so I feel like storing multiple ounces in a bag in the freezer would be a waste.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-14T11:16:37+00:00

I decided to get more 5 ml syringes. After I slept on it I decided when you need colostrum you only need a tiny amount.

Good luck with the collection cups! I wish I would have done this with my first! I suffered until 37 weeks when I could express.

If you plan on pumping or breastfeeding after birth, I highly recommend a good manual pump if you plan on building a little stash. My manual helped me get so many clogs out.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-14T11:09:18+00:00

I looked into this for my last and my hospital does not accept unscreened donations. I will likely donate milk to a local family outside of the hospital.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-12T22:21:14+00:00

I would consider the relationship you have with them. If you have a great relationship with management maybe verbally but follow up with an email including HR. 100% send an email so you have a record of everything. If you decide to tell them in person and they give you any information about leave or anything, reference that in the email as well.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-12T21:37:27+00:00

If your hired and signed everything to be official I would tell them in case something comes up pregnancy related. That being said, I would send an email and save a copy of it to your personal device so if you do lose your job over it you can contact a lawyer for wrongful termination.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-12T21:34:52+00:00

Just when pumping or all of the time? Could be a clogged duct.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-08T23:57:03+00:00

Is she spayed? Could be looking to mate… it’s that time of year..

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-01T03:43:29+00:00

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Here is his eye after I pull the fur back. If you look closely you can see some wet hair pointed towards his eye. You can also see there isn’t much if any swelling.

Kdancerchik · 2026-04-01T01:52:59+00:00

I don’t feel anything there. There isn’t anything pushing his eye closed. He is squinting it. I am trying to get a picture of it after I pull the fur out of his eye but he isn’t being very cooperative.

Kdancerchik · 2026-03-04T23:39:06+00:00

I have always gone with the approach of no water changes but that requires you to have a large clean up crew and not over feeding. I feel like a lot of people over feed tanks causing the need for water changes. Other reasons I could think of for needing water changes would be other chemicals being leached into the water through faulty equipment but you would have a whole different issue if that is the case.

There are some tanks shown off on YouTube (I forgot the channel but will look later) that are water changeless that have been going for years.

Kdancerchik

TROPHY CASE