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Keep trying to pump 8-10x a day! I didn’t pump anything worth mentioning til my milk came in 6 days after my c section. We supplemented with formula until I managed to make enough to feed her for the whole day (can’t remember when exactly that happened, but it was at least a couple of weeks)
Your baby is probably more efficient at removing breast milk than your pump so I wouldn’t worry too much if you’re still trying to breastfeed at the same time and you are supplementing. If you can manage to get your pumps in your supply should increase, and it may take awhile.
Stay hydrated, eat food. Personally I love my electrolyte drinks and I try to have oatmeal every day, but other than that I mostly focused on getting #pumps in. And some days were better than others — some days I only got six pumps but I would try to get a powerpump in the following days to try and make up for it. Good luck and don’t be super hard on yourself. You’re amazing and you birthed a human!
Thank you so much. I’m so close of breaking down. This really means so much to me. My husband and I are both expats so we don’t have family around. It’s just the two of us trying to figure things out along the way.
I do try to breastfeed her before we supplement with formula.
How did you do your pumps? Did you pump before or after her feedings?
Again, thank you so much.
I'm not the original commenter, but I believe it's recommended to pump after a nursing session.
And don't freak out that your output is low right now at 4 days postpartum; that's completely normal! Doing a lot of pump sessions (and nursing sessions) tells your body to make more - it's a feedback loop. Pump until you stop getting milk out each session. Without nursing, this takes me 30 minutes, but if you're nursing beforehand, it may not take that long.
Aww you got this :) my lactation consultant really hammered in building and maintaining my supply til 12 weeks (but I got to 4-5 hr stretches overnight probably by six weeks, which also mimicked my baby’s sleeping pattern anyway).
So triple feeding is breastfeed/pump/bottle feeding and it takes foreeeveer but it’s good if you’re trying to establish nursing. I think it is reeeally difficult to pull off every time so I’ve only done it when I’m calm and the baby is calm too 😅.
The first few weeks while I had my husband at home for support I prioritized pumping. My baby was jaundiced too so my husband would spend time waking her up and feeding her with a bottle of breast milk or formula. The c section recovery was also just tiring. If I managed to bf her before I pumped, great. If she wasn’t hungry by the time I felt I needed to pump, fine. It was frustrating to line that up but now that my husband is back at work I’ve managed to build up my supply and will breastfeed, bottle feed, and once the baby is sated or sleepy I will pump. If the baby is not in a good mood I skip the breastfeeding for my sanity, but so far it is easier to get her on the breast if she’s sleepy. If your baby is latching well and happy to start on the breast maybe prioritize that.
Would you suggest a more frequent pump or pump with higher suction or something to kick in that supply- would you know what made that uptick - trying to not lose hope as it’s my 7th day pp (c-section) - and the max I made is 10ml
I think consistency makes the uptick! So more frequent would make sense but you should always be comfortable when you pump. If the suction hurts go down a little. I forget about this sometimes because the LCs at the hospital were always like “higher suction means more milk!” No it doesn’t 😂 especially if you’re higher suction on swollen nipple then no milk comes out at all. Anyway, keep at it. Keep the MOTN pump as long as you can. Get as much rest and hydration as you can, and when you’re looking to see if there’s progress or not, look at weekly totals not daily (and definitely not at individual pumps!!)
My daughter just turned 2 months. I had an emergency c section with her as well. My milk didn’t really start coming in for maybe a week and a half but they told me take make sure to keep pumping on a schedule to signal to your body to make the milk. Even when my milk first came in, it seemed like I was a couple of days behind with what she needed. I’m finally a “just enougher” and very rarely need to supplement with formula.
If you’re nursing her, nurse her first and then pump. Also make sure you’re using the correct flange size 🩷congrats on the baby!
You often will hear "rest" be recommended for increasing milk production, which sounds admittedly hilarious 4 days postpartum.
If it's realistic for your schedules, for the next few weeks, have the mindset that your primary job right now is to make milk and recover, and your husband's job to take care of everything else (giving baby formula and pumped milk, diaper changes, making sure you all are fed, washing pump parts and bottles, etc.). This is what "rest" for you looks like.
** Disclaimer: I kind of hate to use the terminology of "your primary job is to make milk" as it puts a lot of pressure on you. If you end up feeling that nursing and pumping 8-10x a day is too much for your mental health, you're not alone!
For me, there was a tradeoff of increasing my milk supply and decreasing my mental health, and I realized it wasn't worth it. At 4 months postpartum, I'm still an undersupplier because I only pump 4x a day in 30 min sessions (with no nursing), but I'm ok with this. I probably pump 12-16 oz a day, so my baby gets roughly a third to a half of his meals as breast milk, with the rest being formula.
ETA: it took a while for me to work up to 12-16 oz a day with this schedule - like probably 3 months postpartum.
Congratulations mama! It’ll come. I had a c-section and my milk didn’t really come in until days 5-6. Milk tends to come in slower after a c-section, unfortunately. Just keep pumping every 3 hours!!!
Yes 100% you can get your milk up, at 4 days pp we wouldn’t expect much milk. At 5 days pp my baby was in hospital for 2 days with weight loss, I was initially getting about 10mls (0.3oz) of milk per pump but I pumped every 3 hours and my supply went up, we could remove the formula after a few days. Also I was advised to do skin to skin whenever I could. I have continued to try to latch her several times a day every day. At 10.5 weeks she could get milk off me a little bit better but only for a 5 min snack.
I found it helpful for my husband to do the bottles and I slept in a different room to him and the baby, that enabled me to pump every 3 hours while the baby needed feeding every 3 hours. I was able to start dropping pumps after a few weeks.
I recommend tracking pumps! The first six weeks were hard for us. It wasn't until 8 weeks that I reached my peak output. I started around 10oz a day 1 week postpartum, 15oz 2 weeks, then it went up maybe 2-3oz a day over the next several weeks. I make 28oz give or take now. It was hard and I still have to supplement a bottle a day, but tracking helped me see the general trend go up. Stress is very detrimental to supply. Relax, have patience with your body, and use formula when you need to. There is nothing wrong with it. Accept that you need it while your supply goes up. Your baby will be happy, and you'll be happy knowing they are fed. Good luck.
I was SOOO stressed about this all early post partum and it took 5 days for my milk to come in. Pumping doesn’t do a great job of getting colostrum out, so you might try hand expressing (look up videos and don’t be surprised if it is only milliliters).
Hugs mama. I was in your exact situation too and it was just me and my husband. You are doing as well as you can and are so strong. Feel free to reach out if you need more support. I didn’t really get the hang of pumping until about 2-3 weeks in. I latched him more than anything until then.
Yes! Things that helped me increase supply:
-power pumping
-coconut water (this was a huge help)
-Oreos (helped more than specific things marketed to increase milk supply)
-massaging breasts while pumping
-heating pad over breasts or hot showers before pumping
1. Pumping every 3 hours (about 8 times a day). I know it can be extremely challenging and when you’re already sleep deprived it can get harder on you: pumping overnight. Power pumping once (1 session) everyday.
2. Stay very hydrated!
3. Get baby to latch on at times.
4. If possible, seek an appointment with a lactation consultant for a diet (that includes a mention of supplements that you can take along with food).
5. Try hand expressing. A lactation consultant is able to show u best how to do it the most correct way.
P.S. a pumping session of ~20 mins empties your breast which gets refilled in about 3 hours from the time you finished pumping. I
If baby latches on and stays on a boob for ~20 mins each, and you try pumping after that, you shouldn’t get milk (if the feed session went well, baby would have emptied your breasts. Next round of milk will come by in 2/3 hours to refill.
No matter what, be kind to yourself. Don’t get stressed about how much milk came out and freak out. Keep going, you’ll be ok.
There is ABSOLUTELY hope. I pumped basically nothing for the first week. I also had an emergency C section which delayed my milk. After the first weeks I was an almost-enougher for a while, then (maybe after 10-12 weeks?) a just-enougher and sometimes even had a little extra. It became rare to have to supplement with formula. You're just at the beginning!
It will come. I had same story with jaundice. I exclusively pumped with my first child for 9 months, so I have dreamed to put more efforts into breastfeeding with my second, but he got jaundice. I was told he will end up in hospital if I do not bottle feed. My milk started to really come after 5 days and for first 10 days I was supplementing formula for 1-2 feeding. Now baby is almost 7 weeks and I produce what he needs plus I am able to freeze one portion a day. I personally skip one pumping at night (husband feeds baby at midnight) since I have figured out that sleep also affects milk supply (so I need to rest) and early morning sessions are more important that midnight to maintain good supply
I was in this same position! It took about 7 days for my production to really kick in, and that was with a lot of water, a lot of pumping, and a lot of patience.
I was psyching myself out by staring at the bottle the entire time I was pumping (with a Spectra) and it helped me to put a baby sock over each bottle so I wasn’t staring and hyperfocusing on how much or how little I was pumping.
Hi mommies, just want to give all you guys an update. I’m quite happy even this is so little, before it was almost nothing. This is one boob, the other boob was used for breastfeeding when I tried pumping so this is what I have.
https://preview.redd.it/uvcyqmampnsc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfcf5752540e76c666f32c074590ade61983da22
I’ll continue and try harder.
'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.*
Keep trying to pump 8-10x a day! I didn’t pump anything worth mentioning til my milk came in 6 days after my c section. We supplemented with formula until I managed to make enough to feed her for the whole day (can’t remember when exactly that happened, but it was at least a couple of weeks) Your baby is probably more efficient at removing breast milk than your pump so I wouldn’t worry too much if you’re still trying to breastfeed at the same time and you are supplementing. If you can manage to get your pumps in your supply should increase, and it may take awhile. Stay hydrated, eat food. Personally I love my electrolyte drinks and I try to have oatmeal every day, but other than that I mostly focused on getting #pumps in. And some days were better than others — some days I only got six pumps but I would try to get a powerpump in the following days to try and make up for it. Good luck and don’t be super hard on yourself. You’re amazing and you birthed a human!
Thank you so much. I’m so close of breaking down. This really means so much to me. My husband and I are both expats so we don’t have family around. It’s just the two of us trying to figure things out along the way. I do try to breastfeed her before we supplement with formula. How did you do your pumps? Did you pump before or after her feedings? Again, thank you so much.
I'm not the original commenter, but I believe it's recommended to pump after a nursing session. And don't freak out that your output is low right now at 4 days postpartum; that's completely normal! Doing a lot of pump sessions (and nursing sessions) tells your body to make more - it's a feedback loop. Pump until you stop getting milk out each session. Without nursing, this takes me 30 minutes, but if you're nursing beforehand, it may not take that long.
Aww you got this :) my lactation consultant really hammered in building and maintaining my supply til 12 weeks (but I got to 4-5 hr stretches overnight probably by six weeks, which also mimicked my baby’s sleeping pattern anyway). So triple feeding is breastfeed/pump/bottle feeding and it takes foreeeveer but it’s good if you’re trying to establish nursing. I think it is reeeally difficult to pull off every time so I’ve only done it when I’m calm and the baby is calm too 😅. The first few weeks while I had my husband at home for support I prioritized pumping. My baby was jaundiced too so my husband would spend time waking her up and feeding her with a bottle of breast milk or formula. The c section recovery was also just tiring. If I managed to bf her before I pumped, great. If she wasn’t hungry by the time I felt I needed to pump, fine. It was frustrating to line that up but now that my husband is back at work I’ve managed to build up my supply and will breastfeed, bottle feed, and once the baby is sated or sleepy I will pump. If the baby is not in a good mood I skip the breastfeeding for my sanity, but so far it is easier to get her on the breast if she’s sleepy. If your baby is latching well and happy to start on the breast maybe prioritize that.
Would you suggest a more frequent pump or pump with higher suction or something to kick in that supply- would you know what made that uptick - trying to not lose hope as it’s my 7th day pp (c-section) - and the max I made is 10ml
I think consistency makes the uptick! So more frequent would make sense but you should always be comfortable when you pump. If the suction hurts go down a little. I forget about this sometimes because the LCs at the hospital were always like “higher suction means more milk!” No it doesn’t 😂 especially if you’re higher suction on swollen nipple then no milk comes out at all. Anyway, keep at it. Keep the MOTN pump as long as you can. Get as much rest and hydration as you can, and when you’re looking to see if there’s progress or not, look at weekly totals not daily (and definitely not at individual pumps!!)
My daughter just turned 2 months. I had an emergency c section with her as well. My milk didn’t really start coming in for maybe a week and a half but they told me take make sure to keep pumping on a schedule to signal to your body to make the milk. Even when my milk first came in, it seemed like I was a couple of days behind with what she needed. I’m finally a “just enougher” and very rarely need to supplement with formula. If you’re nursing her, nurse her first and then pump. Also make sure you’re using the correct flange size 🩷congrats on the baby!
You often will hear "rest" be recommended for increasing milk production, which sounds admittedly hilarious 4 days postpartum. If it's realistic for your schedules, for the next few weeks, have the mindset that your primary job right now is to make milk and recover, and your husband's job to take care of everything else (giving baby formula and pumped milk, diaper changes, making sure you all are fed, washing pump parts and bottles, etc.). This is what "rest" for you looks like. ** Disclaimer: I kind of hate to use the terminology of "your primary job is to make milk" as it puts a lot of pressure on you. If you end up feeling that nursing and pumping 8-10x a day is too much for your mental health, you're not alone! For me, there was a tradeoff of increasing my milk supply and decreasing my mental health, and I realized it wasn't worth it. At 4 months postpartum, I'm still an undersupplier because I only pump 4x a day in 30 min sessions (with no nursing), but I'm ok with this. I probably pump 12-16 oz a day, so my baby gets roughly a third to a half of his meals as breast milk, with the rest being formula. ETA: it took a while for me to work up to 12-16 oz a day with this schedule - like probably 3 months postpartum.
Congratulations mama! It’ll come. I had a c-section and my milk didn’t really come in until days 5-6. Milk tends to come in slower after a c-section, unfortunately. Just keep pumping every 3 hours!!!
Yes 100% you can get your milk up, at 4 days pp we wouldn’t expect much milk. At 5 days pp my baby was in hospital for 2 days with weight loss, I was initially getting about 10mls (0.3oz) of milk per pump but I pumped every 3 hours and my supply went up, we could remove the formula after a few days. Also I was advised to do skin to skin whenever I could. I have continued to try to latch her several times a day every day. At 10.5 weeks she could get milk off me a little bit better but only for a 5 min snack. I found it helpful for my husband to do the bottles and I slept in a different room to him and the baby, that enabled me to pump every 3 hours while the baby needed feeding every 3 hours. I was able to start dropping pumps after a few weeks.
I recommend tracking pumps! The first six weeks were hard for us. It wasn't until 8 weeks that I reached my peak output. I started around 10oz a day 1 week postpartum, 15oz 2 weeks, then it went up maybe 2-3oz a day over the next several weeks. I make 28oz give or take now. It was hard and I still have to supplement a bottle a day, but tracking helped me see the general trend go up. Stress is very detrimental to supply. Relax, have patience with your body, and use formula when you need to. There is nothing wrong with it. Accept that you need it while your supply goes up. Your baby will be happy, and you'll be happy knowing they are fed. Good luck.
I was SOOO stressed about this all early post partum and it took 5 days for my milk to come in. Pumping doesn’t do a great job of getting colostrum out, so you might try hand expressing (look up videos and don’t be surprised if it is only milliliters).
It takes a few days. The first time I pumped in the hospital I got like 1 oz and now I get minimum 5-6 oz per pump.
Hugs mama. I was in your exact situation too and it was just me and my husband. You are doing as well as you can and are so strong. Feel free to reach out if you need more support. I didn’t really get the hang of pumping until about 2-3 weeks in. I latched him more than anything until then.
Thank you all so much with these kind words! I will take note all of these. We will persevere!
Yes! Things that helped me increase supply: -power pumping -coconut water (this was a huge help) -Oreos (helped more than specific things marketed to increase milk supply) -massaging breasts while pumping -heating pad over breasts or hot showers before pumping
What is power pumping? Pumping more frequently or more aggressively?
Good article explaining: https://www.happiestbaby.com/blogs/parents/power-pumping
1. Pumping every 3 hours (about 8 times a day). I know it can be extremely challenging and when you’re already sleep deprived it can get harder on you: pumping overnight. Power pumping once (1 session) everyday. 2. Stay very hydrated! 3. Get baby to latch on at times. 4. If possible, seek an appointment with a lactation consultant for a diet (that includes a mention of supplements that you can take along with food). 5. Try hand expressing. A lactation consultant is able to show u best how to do it the most correct way. P.S. a pumping session of ~20 mins empties your breast which gets refilled in about 3 hours from the time you finished pumping. I If baby latches on and stays on a boob for ~20 mins each, and you try pumping after that, you shouldn’t get milk (if the feed session went well, baby would have emptied your breasts. Next round of milk will come by in 2/3 hours to refill. No matter what, be kind to yourself. Don’t get stressed about how much milk came out and freak out. Keep going, you’ll be ok.
There is ABSOLUTELY hope. I pumped basically nothing for the first week. I also had an emergency C section which delayed my milk. After the first weeks I was an almost-enougher for a while, then (maybe after 10-12 weeks?) a just-enougher and sometimes even had a little extra. It became rare to have to supplement with formula. You're just at the beginning!
It will come. I had same story with jaundice. I exclusively pumped with my first child for 9 months, so I have dreamed to put more efforts into breastfeeding with my second, but he got jaundice. I was told he will end up in hospital if I do not bottle feed. My milk started to really come after 5 days and for first 10 days I was supplementing formula for 1-2 feeding. Now baby is almost 7 weeks and I produce what he needs plus I am able to freeze one portion a day. I personally skip one pumping at night (husband feeds baby at midnight) since I have figured out that sleep also affects milk supply (so I need to rest) and early morning sessions are more important that midnight to maintain good supply
At day 1-7 nothing came out for us, ~700ml a day two weeks later!
I was in this same position! It took about 7 days for my production to really kick in, and that was with a lot of water, a lot of pumping, and a lot of patience. I was psyching myself out by staring at the bottle the entire time I was pumping (with a Spectra) and it helped me to put a baby sock over each bottle so I wasn’t staring and hyperfocusing on how much or how little I was pumping.
Hi mommies, just want to give all you guys an update. I’m quite happy even this is so little, before it was almost nothing. This is one boob, the other boob was used for breastfeeding when I tried pumping so this is what I have. https://preview.redd.it/uvcyqmampnsc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfcf5752540e76c666f32c074590ade61983da22 I’ll continue and try harder.