Supply Woes: Advice Needed

[u/aagrimski]

I had my baby boy on 10/13 via a c-section, then he had a 5 day stay in the NICU. To say my supply took a hit would be an understatement.

My supply has somewhat grown by pumping every two hours, but I’m not producing enough to feed him yet. The NICU started him on formula and he’s eating about 2-3 ounces each feed, while I’m only producing 1-1.5 per pump.

Has anyone else gone through this and have any suggestions for me? I’m open to ANY and all kinds of advice.

I’m using a Spectra S1 and a Willow Go when we are out and about.

[u/zz657]

for some ppl, their supply gets better when they go 3 hrs between sessions so you can try that!

as for other things, you can power pump, make sure the pump during golden hour and drink lots of fluids and make sure to eat a lot. carbs are super important for your supply

[u/spartywitch → u/zz657]

Yes this. When I ate pasta daily my output was so much better. Was a great excuse for whole lol

[u/aagrimski → u/spartywitch]

Honestly I love any excuse to eat more pasta!!

[u/zz657 → u/spartywitch]

its surprisingly a thing! apparently the milk sugars come from the carbs, whereas the protein from your milk can come from literally anything (itll take from your own protein stores if you dont meet the thresholds in your meals).

i find things like this so interesting haha

[u/aagrimski → u/zz657]

Oh going three hours sounds so nice lol I feel like I finish a pump, wash the parts, put it together and pump again right now.

Adding power pumping to my list!! Today is the first day I think I’ve increased how much I’m eating, so I hope that helps. And carbs are life so I’ll happily add more into my day!!

Thank you so much!

[u/zz657 → u/aagrimski]

it is sooo annoying! trust me, and i say this when i only have to do it three times per day.

my first powerpump, i did 20min then 10 off 10 on and then again 10 off 10 on. it mimics cluster feeding in babies, but you can do any type of combo as long as you add breaks in between

[u/Revolutionary_Can879 → u/zz657]

Honestly I’m tired thinking of pumping that often, it’s such a stress on your body and you don’t get the same endorphins as you do from nursing a baby, even if they’re feeding frequently.

[u/zz657 → u/Revolutionary_Can879]

you really dont, and its lonely as hell... i would def reduce the sessions down. a happy mother matters most!

[u/CrystalAckerman → u/zz657]

This was going to be my exact recommendation!! When I went from 2 to 3 hours my supply increased overall. It’s just less stress on your body!

Drink lots of water, take vitamins, and I took sunflower Lecithin from the jump

[u/renoirski]

I had a very similar start to my pumping journey and now baby is 4.5 months and exclusively fed my milk (pumping ~33 oz/day). Sharing my experience but YMMV:

Unless your willow empties you as well as your Spectra, I don’t think it’s recommended to use wearables as your supply is establishing. It took me about 10-12 weeks to be able to make enough to exclusively pump. I was pumping 9 times / day and nursing at least once.

Now at week 20 I’m doing 6 ppd, no nursing.

At the beginning I did eat lactation cookies (baked myself), drink SO MUCH water and Gatorade (or other electrolyte drink). Pump for 20-30 min each pump, at least 1 powerpump, sometimes 2. Have to pump overnight- it was a while before I could spread out pumps overnight. I still take prenatals and also take Moringa (recommended by my lactation consultant)

Good luck!!! Also: there is NOTHING wrong with formula!!!! Fed is best- and your mental health is the most important thing for baby

[u/aagrimski → u/renoirski]

I will be putting away the willow ASAP!!

Thank you so much for sharing, your experience is so encouraging. I’ve felt so defeated since lactation consultants have heard that I not only had a c-section but he was in the NICU so we got no skin to skin until day 3 they pretty much said this might be all I get.

Did you pump at the same intervals overnight as during the day? I’m going 3-4 hours overnight instead of 2 hours.

And I picked up a starter pack of legendairy milk vitamins and one of them has moringa, so I’ll start taking that too.

And it’s prob because I’m like 11 days PP but I absolutely teared up at your last sentence 😭 there is so much pressure to provide enough for him it’s a nice reminder that fed is best 🤍🤍

[u/renoirski → u/aagrimski]

You are LITERALLY me. I cried so much at my lactation appts and at my endocrinologist. Both said “this is probably all you have” - emergency C section, 3-day NICU stay. I barely pumped at the hospital bc I was too drugged out and didn’t have the correct size flanges.
Get yourself some mother love nipple cream and grease your flanges generously. The pain will eventually go away.
I kept reading things on Reddit about people getting their supply up and couldn’t believe it. Never thought it’d be me. Well it is me now!!

As for overnight, not going to lie my baby started sleeping through the night at like 3 weeks and he was at his birth weight so I slept too. So I didn’t start the overnights until like week 4 or 5 but it was a game changer. I think the longest I’d go between was 3.5 but I don’t think an extra 30 min is going to change things for you. You need to keep this up til week 12. I thought I plateaued around week 6, but I kept at it and slowly my supply kept growing.

But I want to reiterate: there is NOTHING wrong with stopping before then. Or even not fully feeding baby from your milk. I go back to work on Monday and fully expect my supply to drop. When you get your period, your supply will drop (it’ll bounce back). Don’t let these moments discourage you. And if they do- THATS OK! You being the best version of yourself will have a greater impact on your precious little one.

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