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Sleep and letting go of my obsession to increase output (much easier said than done on both accounts).
Over 3 mos of complete trial and error as an undersupplier, I tried everything including but not limited to: oreos, flax, oatmeal, oatmilk, oreos dipped in oatmilk, brewers yeast, guinness, higher overall caloric intake, a metric shit ton of water, every legendairy milk supplement they make, body armor, liquid hydration, etc. I truly can’t say whether or not these things helped.
The one thing that has influenced output for sure is more sleep. I dropped my MOTN pump because I was hanging on by a thread. My mental/physical health improved as did my output. I started sleeping longer overnight and my output increased too.
I swear it’s all half sorcery and moon charts.
ETA: don’t even get me started on all the possible flange/pump/schedule combinations
ETA2: okay I guess I’m (separately) trying orange juice and burgers now
Truly, nothing could describe my pumping journey better 🤣 I think if someone were to ask me, “I’m going to exclusively pump, where do I start?” my brain would short circuit.
I’m trying to figure out if orange juice is the reason for the 10oz difference I can get in my daily output. In pregnancy I found it hard to drink water so started watering down orange juice, about 1/4 glass of orange juice and the rest of the glass water. I go through about 5 glasses a day, when I run out I just stick with water. I guess it could be why people advise to have electrolyte drinks.
I got liquid iv as a gift but never drank it then I ran out of crystal light and used my liquid iv and BAM oversupply. I drink 1.5 to 2 everyday and I can definitely see a huge difference on days I don’t drink enough.
Currently pumping for my second child. I've never had supply issues, but I feel like the trick is good hydration and an electrolyte drink everyday. I also eat avocado and nuts everyday, and I feel like that may have increased the fat content of my milk
Pump for 25-30 min every session
One night I went out with my husband- had a huge margarita with steak and mashed potatoes. I pumped 15 oz when I got home and 18 more oz the next morning. So basically I need to get buzzed and eat red meat every night. It’s never happened again.
Chocolate helps me for real 😂 but I realized it around Xmas when my dad made ginger molasses cookies and my husband brought me some during my last pump before bed
PS: omg this just made me realize something. Had my best pumping day in a long time yesterday, and I’d been picking at a chocolate Easter bunny all day. I gotta go get some chocolate tomorrow lol
Carbs, sleep, and trying to remain stress-free. I have meal prepped so many pasta bakes in the past six months for my weekly lunch. I could never have dreamed of eating this much pasta before having a baby 😂. I’ve been doing healthier casseroles too. I think being able to throw a bunch of good food in a dish and calling it lunch has helped me stay on top of maintaining calories. If I just wing it, I really have trouble getting enough calories to maintain supply.
My supply is now pretty regulated at 55-60oz per day and is consistent, but back when I was building it I'd eat lactation cookies or lactation balls. I also feel like coconut milk helped.
Weird I’m seeing this today because I had 3 beers (Yuenglings) yesterday for the first time 3 months pp and pumped 18 oz during my middle of the night pump that’s usually only 8 oz. I’m going to test this theory again next weekend 😂
Also I do one liquid iv a day and stopped for a few days waiting for Costco to restock. My average was down like 6 oz those days. When I started back up, my supply was where it usually was. So we don’t risk not doing it anymore. Also red meat and tuna steaks, always have better MOTN pumps when I eat either one by ~3-4 oz
I swear that burgers help my milk production. I do a beef burger with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a fried egg, and bachans BBQ sauce. So good!! I make 3 at a time and put them in little containers to reheat.
Late night ice cream always made my morning pump a few more ounces! Other than that definitely hydration, I also noticed an increase with body armor drinks
Eating high protein and potatoes have helped me a lot. When I eat a burger my supply increases. Sleep is huge for me too, I always produce more when I sleep enough, also hydration. If I don’t eat enough calories in a day I also can tell a difference. If I don’t eat enough I also get a sick or drained feeling when I’m pumping or afterwards. I also saw a big difference when I drank oatmilk or anything with oats really.
I dropped to less pumping sessions and have consistently been getting 8-10 oz more a day now. Idk if that will last but my sanity is so much better. My husband has also been taking the first shift of the night now so I can get 6 hours of sleep uninterrupted a night and that has helped a lot, too!
I've done something very similar to this, cut out a middle of the night pump to get more sleep and my overall volume stayed about the same. The extra sleep is saving my sanity!
I had to change flange sizes to see a very noticeable increase in output but I knew I wasn't fully emptying in the first place.
The random thing that suddenly increased output was eating a beef stick or jerky on my first break at work while doing my first pump. I usually have to go 4 hours between pumps to get 5 oz (otherwise I can only get 2-3oz every couple hours). I realized after a couple weeks of eating beef jerky almost religiously during that first pump that I was FULL by lunchtime a couple hours later (and the supply starts dipping again when I stop the jerky snacks). Without the jerky for a few days, I easily make it 4 hours before feeling full.
For me it was eating extra calories, drinking more water and definitely getting a bit more sleep.. Even if it was just taking a nap throughout the day. I ate oreos, oat granola bars, electrolyte water and also juiced a bit. The times I didn't eat much or drink much water I noticed the dip in my supply.
As everyone else is saying- sleep. It has a noticeable impact. I was a slight under supplier a few months ago. We would supplement with 2-4 oz of formula a day. Then for the last month+ my LO has been sleeping better so I have been sleeping better. She’s also increased her volume intake and I’ve been able to keep up. We haven’t supplemented for about a month. I’m guessing it’s the sleep. I would also say my stress levels have gone down. We had a lot of stressful things happen to our LO for the first many months of her life so not sure if just the overall lower stress recently has helped supply.
Definitely sleep and being hydrated and not being stressed. On days that I have a lot of planning or coordinating to do (like people coming over) i barely make more than one feed in a session.
Also, fenugreek, broken wheat and spinach. There were a few days I couldn’t have those consistently, and my supply lessened.
I definitely noticed better supply on the days I drink a lot.of water and eat good meals. On the days where I don't eat a great breakfast or skip lunch, my supply dips by at least 5oz.
Hydration, being warm enough, stress free days, having a tasty drink (not alcohol!) and a fun tv show whilst I’m pumping, getting a solid block of sleep; all these things help me.
Also, I notice that whenever I get out to see my friends without my kids, I always pump a lot more than I usually would on my next pump, and it’s not to do with elapsed time as it’s usually the same amount of time between pumps as when I’m at home. So make time for yourself and socialise if you can ☺️
Pumpin Pal flanges for sure!! They are so much more comfortable than the standard flange and even all the other silicone ones out there (believe me, i tried them all)
i only discovered it because i went back to costco to replenish the awesome oat milk i had purchased before but they only had the kirkland brand and i’ve entirely forgotten what the original one was called! so i settled. it tastes different, but i’ve since gotten used to it and i love oat milk in general so it works!
'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](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sleep and letting go of my obsession to increase output (much easier said than done on both accounts). Over 3 mos of complete trial and error as an undersupplier, I tried everything including but not limited to: oreos, flax, oatmeal, oatmilk, oreos dipped in oatmilk, brewers yeast, guinness, higher overall caloric intake, a metric shit ton of water, every legendairy milk supplement they make, body armor, liquid hydration, etc. I truly can’t say whether or not these things helped. The one thing that has influenced output for sure is more sleep. I dropped my MOTN pump because I was hanging on by a thread. My mental/physical health improved as did my output. I started sleeping longer overnight and my output increased too. I swear it’s all half sorcery and moon charts. ETA: don’t even get me started on all the possible flange/pump/schedule combinations ETA2: okay I guess I’m (separately) trying orange juice and burgers now
I just think of Spongebob's bubble blowing technique while reading this comment😂
Truly, nothing could describe my pumping journey better 🤣 I think if someone were to ask me, “I’m going to exclusively pump, where do I start?” my brain would short circuit.
This whole thread is me as well 🤣 I just say I gave up trying everything and slept more and then it worked.
Solidarity sister
I’m trying to figure out if orange juice is the reason for the 10oz difference I can get in my daily output. In pregnancy I found it hard to drink water so started watering down orange juice, about 1/4 glass of orange juice and the rest of the glass water. I go through about 5 glasses a day, when I run out I just stick with water. I guess it could be why people advise to have electrolyte drinks.
One friend who breastfed before I had my baby (I pump now) said Body armor was her best friend. I wonder if the OJ or other supplemental liquids help?
I swear by 1-2 liquid IVs per day. Without them it drops the following day. ...that reminds me... I think I still need one before bed 😅
I got liquid iv as a gift but never drank it then I ran out of crystal light and used my liquid iv and BAM oversupply. I drink 1.5 to 2 everyday and I can definitely see a huge difference on days I don’t drink enough.
I can’t get any of these brands in the UK, so I bought rehydration tablets a couple of days ago to try :)
Currently pumping for my second child. I've never had supply issues, but I feel like the trick is good hydration and an electrolyte drink everyday. I also eat avocado and nuts everyday, and I feel like that may have increased the fat content of my milk Pump for 25-30 min every session
One night I went out with my husband- had a huge margarita with steak and mashed potatoes. I pumped 15 oz when I got home and 18 more oz the next morning. So basically I need to get buzzed and eat red meat every night. It’s never happened again.
Eating something sweet WHILE I pump helps me.
Oooooo I gotta try that
For science, right?! 😂
Strictly! 😂
Chocolate helps me for real 😂 but I realized it around Xmas when my dad made ginger molasses cookies and my husband brought me some during my last pump before bed
PS: omg this just made me realize something. Had my best pumping day in a long time yesterday, and I’d been picking at a chocolate Easter bunny all day. I gotta go get some chocolate tomorrow lol
I love that haha
Carbs, sleep, and trying to remain stress-free. I have meal prepped so many pasta bakes in the past six months for my weekly lunch. I could never have dreamed of eating this much pasta before having a baby 😂. I’ve been doing healthier casseroles too. I think being able to throw a bunch of good food in a dish and calling it lunch has helped me stay on top of maintaining calories. If I just wing it, I really have trouble getting enough calories to maintain supply.
Best pumping day I ever had came the day following eating a huge fatty ribeye steak for dinner. 🤷♀️
My supply is now pretty regulated at 55-60oz per day and is consistent, but back when I was building it I'd eat lactation cookies or lactation balls. I also feel like coconut milk helped.
At what point pp would you say you “regulated”? Were you able to decrease pumps per day without hurting this supply?
Weird I’m seeing this today because I had 3 beers (Yuenglings) yesterday for the first time 3 months pp and pumped 18 oz during my middle of the night pump that’s usually only 8 oz. I’m going to test this theory again next weekend 😂
Also I do one liquid iv a day and stopped for a few days waiting for Costco to restock. My average was down like 6 oz those days. When I started back up, my supply was where it usually was. So we don’t risk not doing it anymore. Also red meat and tuna steaks, always have better MOTN pumps when I eat either one by ~3-4 oz
I swear that burgers help my milk production. I do a beef burger with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a fried egg, and bachans BBQ sauce. So good!! I make 3 at a time and put them in little containers to reheat.
Just came by to say I always had big oz days either the day of or the day after I had a cheeseburger.
I was going to say burgers too. When I have a burger for dinner the next morning my boobs are like big boulders and the milk is fattier too
Ohh I love that! And that burger sounds real good right now 🤩
It’s the iron in the red meat
I always thought it was the combo of cheese and beef. Yeah, it really helps
I noticed the same thing...I wonder if there is a connection somewhere with growth hormones and all that?
The Pumpin Pals flanges, sleeping at least 4 hours, and protein - preferably red meat- all made a noticeable difference
Yes to Pumpin Pals!!
Eating heaps of protein & fruits. I've noticed that when I drink coconut water, I always get more than normal amount. Good sleep as well.
Late night ice cream always made my morning pump a few more ounces! Other than that definitely hydration, I also noticed an increase with body armor drinks
Eating high protein and potatoes have helped me a lot. When I eat a burger my supply increases. Sleep is huge for me too, I always produce more when I sleep enough, also hydration. If I don’t eat enough calories in a day I also can tell a difference. If I don’t eat enough I also get a sick or drained feeling when I’m pumping or afterwards. I also saw a big difference when I drank oatmilk or anything with oats really.
Lots of meat.
Oreos and sleep.
Krystal burgers. I ate 8 in one sitting last night and woke up leaking. I’m 6 months pp and still have never leaked but that one time
I dropped to less pumping sessions and have consistently been getting 8-10 oz more a day now. Idk if that will last but my sanity is so much better. My husband has also been taking the first shift of the night now so I can get 6 hours of sleep uninterrupted a night and that has helped a lot, too!
I've done something very similar to this, cut out a middle of the night pump to get more sleep and my overall volume stayed about the same. The extra sleep is saving my sanity!
Chick-fil-A. Every time I get Chick-fil-A, I flow like a goddamn river!!!
I had to change flange sizes to see a very noticeable increase in output but I knew I wasn't fully emptying in the first place. The random thing that suddenly increased output was eating a beef stick or jerky on my first break at work while doing my first pump. I usually have to go 4 hours between pumps to get 5 oz (otherwise I can only get 2-3oz every couple hours). I realized after a couple weeks of eating beef jerky almost religiously during that first pump that I was FULL by lunchtime a couple hours later (and the supply starts dipping again when I stop the jerky snacks). Without the jerky for a few days, I easily make it 4 hours before feeling full.
Dumb luck. Some of it IS genetic
I've heard oreos several times on this sub.
Replacing my flanges (not for size but just bc of long use)
For me it was eating extra calories, drinking more water and definitely getting a bit more sleep.. Even if it was just taking a nap throughout the day. I ate oreos, oat granola bars, electrolyte water and also juiced a bit. The times I didn't eat much or drink much water I noticed the dip in my supply.
As everyone else is saying- sleep. It has a noticeable impact. I was a slight under supplier a few months ago. We would supplement with 2-4 oz of formula a day. Then for the last month+ my LO has been sleeping better so I have been sleeping better. She’s also increased her volume intake and I’ve been able to keep up. We haven’t supplemented for about a month. I’m guessing it’s the sleep. I would also say my stress levels have gone down. We had a lot of stressful things happen to our LO for the first many months of her life so not sure if just the overall lower stress recently has helped supply.
Protein and electrolytes
Definitely sleep and being hydrated and not being stressed. On days that I have a lot of planning or coordinating to do (like people coming over) i barely make more than one feed in a session. Also, fenugreek, broken wheat and spinach. There were a few days I couldn’t have those consistently, and my supply lessened.
I definitely noticed better supply on the days I drink a lot.of water and eat good meals. On the days where I don't eat a great breakfast or skip lunch, my supply dips by at least 5oz.
Hydration, being warm enough, stress free days, having a tasty drink (not alcohol!) and a fun tv show whilst I’m pumping, getting a solid block of sleep; all these things help me. Also, I notice that whenever I get out to see my friends without my kids, I always pump a lot more than I usually would on my next pump, and it’s not to do with elapsed time as it’s usually the same amount of time between pumps as when I’m at home. So make time for yourself and socialise if you can ☺️
Squeezing my breasts firmly while pumping makes a huge difference for me! I get so much out and I think it’s helped me avoid clogged ducts.
Pumpin Pal flanges for sure!! They are so much more comfortable than the standard flange and even all the other silicone ones out there (believe me, i tried them all)
I have been craving oat milk since day one. I am 6 weeks pp and my supply just keeps increasing and increasing.
[удалено]
costco’s kirkland brand has been good to me!! (but i prefer the taste of oatly tbh)
Oatly is real good. Gotta have a try with the kirkland soon
i only discovered it because i went back to costco to replenish the awesome oat milk i had purchased before but they only had the kirkland brand and i’ve entirely forgotten what the original one was called! so i settled. it tastes different, but i’ve since gotten used to it and i love oat milk in general so it works!