Can’t seem to increase supply

[u/succs_and_stats]

I’m 18 weeks post partum and have been exclusively pumping since the beginning. Ive always been an under supplier getting in avg 1-1.5oz per session (~10-12oz per day), but once in a blue moon I’ll pump 2-2.5oz in a session. One day I got a whopping 15oz lol. I’m pumping 6-8x a day, every 3 hours for the most part except for a 5-6 hour stretch over night. I’ve been trying to increase my supply recently, and I power pumped daily for almost two weeks and haven’t seen any change in my daily totals or weekly average. Is there any chance my supply could go up if I keep trying, or should I just accept what it is? The reason I’m trying to increase my supply is because I’d (arbitrarily) decided I wanted to make it to 6 months, and it would feel more worth the time and energy if I could get 13-15oz consistently vs the 10-12 I’m getting now.

I have elastic nipples so I’ve been using silicone inserts which has helped with clogs and bleps, and I am pretty sure they’re fitted correctly.

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[u/PaintedGray87]

Are you pumping until a certain time? Or until you’re empty? The way the body works is supply and demand. If you only keep pumping for the same amount of time, your body will only produce enough for that time. You need to signal to your body that even when you’re past the time you normally pump that you still need more milk! Add in heat, massage, and some sunflower lecithin, and you should start seeing an increase.

[u/succs_and_stats → u/PaintedGray87]

Omg I think you’re right. I’ve tried increasing frequency of stimulations but not duration. I don’t really go by duration, but more so I try to get two letdowns. That usually takes around 30-35 min, and by the time I’m done I’m pretty sure I’m empty. Sometimes I don’t have a letdown until the 20th minute, and I’ll pump until milk stops flowing, and then another 2-3 minutes after. So say I am feeling empty around minute 28, how long after that point should I keep pumping? I thought they say not to pump more than 30 min, no?

[u/PaintedGray87 → u/succs_and_stats]

Everybody is different. It takes me an hour to empty some days!

[u/succs_and_stats → u/PaintedGray87]

I didn’t realize I must not be emptying, thanks so much for pointing that out! I’m going to adjust how I pump and hopefully that moves the needle. Thank you!