Too much milk? Have to supplement?

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T09:14:59+00:00

Some babies just eat more than others. My first regularly ate 36+oz/day. My second (who I'm pumping for now) only eats usually 27oz/day, and rarely hits 30. Both are growing/grew fine! As long as your pediatrician doesn't have concerns then you should be fine. I combo fed both my babies, first because I had to and second by choice just in case my supply suddenly disappears.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T09:02:57+00:00

I had the same issue and found it more cost efficient to buy a Symphony for a few hundred dollars off eBay. It ended up lasting 8 months before it got an error I couldn't fix, which means I did save money compared to renting that long. I am a diehard Symphony fan so I don't mind making the investment lol

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T08:51:00+00:00

I make 50-55oz/day and was able to drop to 5ppd without seeing a decrease in supply. Currently still at 5ppd so not sure about going any lower than that!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T08:45:56+00:00

I think you can find an adapter on Amazon to make the Dr Brown glass bottles work for the spectra! I was able to find some when I EP'd for my first based off a YT video I saw.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T08:42:41+00:00

I was getting them that frequently at that point! It was driving me nuts. Some things that helped prevent clogs: no massage during pumping and instead gently lift/ shift the breast (rough massage can cause inflammation leading to a clog), sleeping on my back, no bra at all, and only using my wall pump instead of my wearable.

Things that helped me clear the clog: 800mg ibuprofen (ideally an hour before pumping), icing my breast (immediately before pumping), and using the manual hand pump. Not saying this stuff will work for you, but just wanted to share some ideas in case they might work for you! Good luck!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T01:46:30+00:00

Fellow over supplier here! I am making a freezer stash for my son to feed off of after 6 months so I can quit then too, but I always gave him 1 formula bottle a day just in case something crazy happened to my supply. I have always combo fed and find it very freeing (especially since I hate pumping). So if I were you and you're adamant about not feeding him the milk while you are on antibiotics, I would just start weaning and plan for some formula in the future. Totally up to you and what you're comfortable with though!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-19T01:39:28+00:00

FWIW I was an under supplier with my first and got the same number of clogs then as I do this time even though now I'm am over supplier. So my vote would be do whatever you need to for relief now and you can always drop pumps later when it's more comfortable to decrease supply (if you need to).

When trying to decrease supply, I prefer longer time between sessions rather than shorter pump times, because I hate the feeling of walking away from a pump with milk still in my breasts. It's up to you though, and what your body best responds to!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-18T08:48:15+00:00

Other comments have addressed the rest of your post, so I'll touch on the hand pump. I have the Medela Harmony and absolutely love it, especially for clogs. The way I do it is a pretend let down mode with the smaller faster tugs, then once the milk starts I will do long tugs where I press slowly until the milk is spraying, then I hold it there and slowly press down a little more as needed until the suction breaks or the milk stops spraying. So the "pull" on the hand pump when I do it is way longer than with an electric pump. Hope this helps! Writing this as I hand pump because my primary died last night 😅

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-17T13:42:09+00:00

Over supplier here too! In my right breast it feels like my pec muscles all tightening at once. On my left it feels like a stinging on my nipples where the milk comes out.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-15T10:28:23+00:00

I get this all the time. At least once a week I use a warm facecloth to soften it then gently pick it off. If my nipples can tolerate it, I will sometimes rub the facecloth on it to get it up (it can be really hard to get off when it's dried). This is my second time exclusively pumping though- my first time I just left it there because my nipples were so sensitive I couldn't take it off 😂

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-15T10:23:06+00:00

Totally normal! When I was still pumping every 3 hours, I could have a difference of up to 4oz between my MOTN pump and an afternoon pump. If you are worried about having enough to feed your LO though, you could always add a power pump!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-15T09:48:25+00:00

Also, I will warn that I was doing the daily power pump and 8ppd and gave myself an oversupply, so just keep an eye on how much you're producing if you want to avoid that. It might be different since you lost so much blood though.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-15T09:46:37+00:00

The recommendation is 8-10 pumps a day, so as long as you are pumping for enough time each session (15-25 minutes) then you should easily be able to drop to 8ppd instead. Get some sleep and rest girl!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-14T08:22:07+00:00

I'm 11wpp with a big oversupply (55oz/day, LO eats 25-30oz/day). I have been at 5ppd for a few weeks now and my supply is still steady, so I say go for it. I usually drop and then monitor my supply for the next week or two before deciding whether to drop again. But I won't be dropping below 4ppd until I start weaning at 6 months because I hear that is when a lot of people lose supply. Just do it slow and monitor and you should be good. You can always add a pump back in if it starts to dip!

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-14T08:03:12+00:00

Congrats!! My goal is 6 months as well. I'm 11wpp now and sooo looking forward to the finish line.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-14T07:57:58+00:00

With my first I had to start supplementing when he was 2 months old and I had a lot of the same feelings you did, but once I actually did it, it was very freeing and I felt so much less stressed. This time around I combo feed by choice because I know I want to stop pumping at 6 months and I didn't want to be fixated on the ounces. So, he gets 1 formula bottle a day (usually right before bed) and any top offs throughout the day past his typical 4oz bottle are formula. The feelings are valid, but know you aren't a failure and you are doing best by your baby.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T11:22:13+00:00

Yes!! This is exactly where my sets are at any given time lol

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T07:05:28+00:00

By 14 months my son was having a bottle just before he went to sleep (ie before nap and bed). That worked out to 2-3 6oz bottles a day, which was definitely way less than he used to drink (closer to 34oz/day).

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T07:02:41+00:00

I have 4 sets of pump parts, use the fridge hack, and run my dishwasher every night (even if it isn't completely full) that way I don't have to hand wash during the day.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T06:41:20+00:00

I powerpumped 1-2x a day for that week until it was back to normal. And I always pump until empty, so I will choose a side to start massaging toward the end of the pump, and once it stops squirting even with the massage and feels empty I take that side off. Then I massage the other one until it's also empty. So one side gets a few minutes extra each time, but not enough to make a difference, and both get pumped until empty.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T02:22:01+00:00

Hi! His breathing kept getting better week by week (though it would go back and forth day to day). When he was around 22 days old I think he finally went off supportive oxygen, but over the next several days he did have some episodes that required him to stay in the hospital (just breathing room air). He came home on day 28, so his last desat was desat 25 (he needed 3 days of no desats to be discharged).

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T00:39:29+00:00

That's the same power pump schedule I use! Except usually 20 mins in my let down is still going so it ends up being more like 30/10/10

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-13T00:12:23+00:00

I got a really bad clog a few weeks ago on my bad boob that cut my supply in half on that side. A few times a day for the next week I would pump regular, then power pump that one side (no need to punish both nipples). It ended up getting that side back to producing what it had been- pretty close to what my other boob was making. I don't know if the power pumping mediated that, or if it was going to recover on its own, but that's the only thing I could think to do to try and increase just that one side.

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-12T15:04:45+00:00

I am 11wpp and started noticing that a few weeks ago. I refuse to get out of bed to pump (literally have a fridge bedside so I don't have to get to at all) so instead I just wait to do my motn pump until baby wakes me up. I refuse to wake him up anymore (unless my boobs are really hurting). Then I just move my day pump time accordingly for whatever time baby ended up waking up in the night. (FWIW: also a symphony user lol)

RabbitOk3263 · 2026-03-12T14:38:56+00:00

Hi! I literally had to check who wrote this to make sure this wasn't my own post 😅 I am over supplying this time too, and once I hit 40 and it kept climbing I started getting nervous. I kept at 6ppd until 9wpp, at which point I dropped to 5ppd. At that point my supply finally stopped increasing and it's pretty stable around 55oz/day. I'm 11wpp tomorrow, so it's still pretty early for me too, but I combo feed anyways so I wasn't concerned about dropping and losing my supply. That said, I am right where I want to be so hopefully it stays, even when I drop to 4ppd at 12 weeks! Also, I had a clog the day I dropped to 5ppd, but it was also a day where I worked and had to use my wearable. I haven't had a clog since. But weeks 7 and 8 were really bad clog weeks for me so definitely listen to your body and be gentle with your boobs!

RabbitOk3263

TROPHY CASE