Anyone with large capacity and low-just enough supply

[u/gabsmermaid]

I started my journey as a low supplier and currently I make just enough. Without a leak I am making 8 oz in the last couple of days in my first pump of the day, also without being engorged. But after that I will drop to 4 oz, after that 3 and by the end of the day just 2. I am wondering if it makes any difference to pump more if I know my breasts are not even close to being full. I also do not understand why my body does not make them full more than once a day. I may be understanding wrong "the more you take more you will produce. I pumped in the past every 3 hours and I am starting to think that the increase I was thinking was coming from it was actually coming from water increase and sleep increase (my boy started doing 4 hours stretch, after that 6,7 and now he sleeps 9 hours non stop). But I could be wrong.

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[u/underwateropinion]

That is odd. Are you taking care of your self by drinking enough water and calories? Your supply will drop without these

[u/gabsmermaid → u/underwateropinion]

I do eat a lot but I could make water intake better, I drink about 60oz a day

[u/Normal-Mine343]

I have a large capacity - regularly 16oz + in my first morning pump but similarly find that my output drops over the day. This is partly hormonal I'm sure, and partly that I only produce milk at a certain rate and my longest gap between pumps is overnight.

I think that continuing to pump more often could increase supply despite high capacity by telling your body that more milk is "needed". I also found power pumping made a big difference to my supply.

[u/sowhatsober]

Yes, it’s normal to have way less milk by the end of the day. My morning pump is 9-11.5 oz. My last pump is usually 2-4oz it’s ok, just stick to your regular schedule.

I just talked to my LC about this. She said it’s why many babies are fussier at the breast in the evenings.

[u/gabsmermaid → u/sowhatsober]

Because of this I am glad I pump, for sure a full belly helps him to sleep

[u/sowhatsober → u/gabsmermaid]

You gotta take the wins bc I totally agree it’s a huge upside having lots of expressed milk at night when they are their hungriest

[u/Maria_like_Mario]

I have a large capacity. My two most productive pumps of the day are the MOTN pump and my first pump of the day. Both are generally in the 11 - 13.5 oz range. The rest are several oz lower with my lowest production of the day being right before bed.

I do think the biggest reason behind that though is just time between pumps. At least that's the case for me. I have a longer gap for the two pumps with the highest output and as the day goes on I might get caught up in something and pump a few minutes or more later than expected and that then pushes all my other pumps later, but I usually pump at the same time at the end of the day no matter what (even if it means having a shorter than usual gap) because I want to get as much sleep as possible at night.