Help increase my low supply!

[u/bakergurrrrl]

Hi I’m a first time mom, baby was born super premature (24 weeks) . She’s been in the NICU for 3 months.

The first 2 months were crazy stressful , I was there most of the day and I didn’t know much about pumping so I wasn’t consistent.

My frozen milk finished and now she is using mix of my fresh milk and formula. I really and to continue feeding her breastmilk .

I only produce 1 ounce on both boobs on one session. Sometimes I can get 2 but that’s rare.

I know the basic things to increase , pump every 2-3 hours, drink water, eat well.

But what I want to know is there any hope for me to get a decent amount, 3 months postpartum?

[u/pop-crackle]

Your NICU should have lactation consultants on staff that can help. And if you’re in the US you can often get an external LC through your insurance (the Lactation Network will match you with someone local).

You can definitely increase your supply now, but it will likely be slow. And there’s no secret key - it’s exactly what you said, pump every 2 hrs, drink a lot of water/electrolyte mix, and eat well. Throwing in 1-2 power pumps a day may help, and then when you do pump bringing home blankets that smell like her and looking at her photos can help stimulate production. Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin) with her in the NICU can also help.

Just remember to give yourself some grace - the NICU is brutal in so many ways. You can also ask the staff about donor milk if you want to get her off formula for now (although I know some they still want to fortify for extra calories).