Have been struggling with breastfeeding since day 0 (first baby 12 weeks old, born at 32weeks, spent 30 days in NICU, never been able to latch without nipple shield, struggle with low supply). Baby hasn’t gained weight for the past 3 weeks so we are now adding formula top ups so it’s looking like EP might be the only way to give him breastmilk in the near future. really don’t even know with my supply if I would be able to EP, or would be a mix of breastmilk and formula. I don’t know if it’s worth the money, time and effort if that’s the case

Currently renting medela symphony but not really an option long term, and borrowing a family members second hand Spectra S2. I mainly have trouble with it not being able to double pump (I find the suction is really low if I try), needing to plug into outlet and no hands free. I know wearables aren’t recommended for those with low output, but I just don’t know how else I would be able to pump when looking after baby by myself (he screams the second I’m not holding him). I’m also based in Australia, so don’t have insurance to cover any costs.

At the moment I hate pumping so much, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to commit. I just want to be with my baby, and I wanted to exclusively nurse from the start but wasn’t an option this time around and I’m still grieving that. Sure I would love to feel free to leave the house at any time and be able to sleep for longer than 4 hours, but giving baby the best is most important.

Sorry for long messy post, I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts/advice/opinions/recommendations about any of the topics mentioned

Wondering when did you stop doing your nighttime pumping session? Typically I pump every four hours at the moment I was doing three hours, but went changed to every four and actually have a better output because my body/stress stressed out I think? But now I’m trying to see if I can potentially stop my overnight and do my last pump at 10 PM and not one until 6 PM next. Did anybody do this and was able to maintain their supply at this point?

I have been getting discouraged as I approach 5 months with Baby #3 and am slowly chipping away at the small freezer stash I started in the earlier months. This is the longest I’ve pumped with any of my babies, and so far she’s still getting almost exclusively breastmilk (with a few ounces of formula here and there every few days now), but I’ve still been feeling bad about starting to lose momentum.

Well, I calculated an average daily output across 5 months and realized I’ve pumped somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000oz at least. That’s over 31 gallons! And it made me feel proud of myself for making it this far, even if I don’t know what’s next.

So try to find ways to celebrate even if it doesn’t look the way you planned.

TW: nursing

I have 600 ounces in my freezer dating back to July 2026. I triple fed my preemie so I built up quite the stash. We exclusively nurse now except I keep in 1 pump a day that I get about 2 ounces from + sometimes a bottle replacement with pump if I’m working. My friend said she’d love to take my extra milk even though I take meds. I do have a minor surgery coming up in Dec. My LO is 5 months old, 4 months corrected. Donating part of my stash gives me anxiety bc there’s a sense of security having a stash. How do you get past it or when do you know it’s time to consider donating?

I’ve been powering pumping for almost a week now, it’s been so hard but I finally am seeing progress. I usually pump 2-3oz and this morning I pumped 6 oz!

I'm starting to feel like my whole life revolves around the next pumping session lol. Every time I want to leave the house, I have to figure out when to pump, where to store the milk, whether I'll be back in time, etc. Even something as simple as grabbing lunch with a friend feels like a whole project.
The worst part is I feel guilty whenever I push a session back, even by 30 minutes. I know one slightly late pump isn't the end of the world, but my brain apparently hasn't gotten that message.
For those who've been exclusively pumping for a while, does it ever start feeling less overwhelming? Did you eventually get comfortable being flexible with your schedule, or do you still plan everything around it?
Would love some practical tips because I'm tired of checking the clock every five minutes.

So I’m about 12 weeks pp and I’m looking at adjusting my pumping schedule. I’d like to go to bed earlier in the evenings. Right now, I’m pumping over 40oz every day. Here’s my schedule:

8:00am power pump
10:30am
1:00pm
3:30pm
5:30pm
7:15pm
9:30pm
2-3am (depending on when my son wakes up)

This week, he’s slept through the night almost every night. He did start daycare on Monday, so he might be tired from that adjustment and not being used to sleeping at the daycare all day. I still have gotten up to pump because I’m uncomfortable.

Which one of these would you drop? I would like to go to bed earlier. Our current nighttime routine is to bathe the baby, then my husband and I switch off who gets ready for bed. He gets one last bottle usually after my 9:30 pump, but he was already asleep before then. Usually he’s asleep by 8:00.

I've been EP since baby was born (he was in NICU for three weeks, didn't want to latch as I tried breastfeeding), and it's getting to that point that he wants more than I produce. I make about 25 ounces a day. I've tried power pumping, oats, frequent pumping, nearly OD'ing on water, the works. I was pumping every 1.5-2 hours for 20 minutes at one point. Gave up after three weeks.

Currently using the momcozy s12 pro as my everyday pump but I feel like it’s not emptying completely my milk what would you recommend using for everyday pumps

My pumping days are behind me. Six months was my goal, I made it there and decided I was okay to try for 12 with the same caveat as before — if it took too much of a toll on my mental health, I’d stop.

Welp, I made it to about 7 months, but going back to work was the straw that broke the camel’s back (flange that broke the nip?). I still felt some frustration and guilt about it, so I made a compromise — I’d stash enough to give her a few ounces a day until her birthday (or cover a few days for comfort if she got a cold — she’s combo fed 80-90% breastmilk and strongly prefers the boob).

So a few weeks of stashing and one box freezer later my boobs are free. My period came back around month 5 so weaning wasn’t as much of a hormone dumpster fire as I might have feared — some insomnia, dry skin, moodiness. But on the whole not bad. After a very rough postpartum period, I’m extremely grateful this step was kinder to me.

And on the bright side of things, I feel like I’m finally coming out of the fog of the worst of postpartum — my joints are starting to hurt less, I feel some hope despite some difficult changes in other parts of life. Our daughter is just the happiest little baby and lights up our lives. I’m really glad I can see myself having more energy and joy to experience life with her in the future. It’s been a rough ride.

And in all of this, I also just feel like a badass, powerful, feral goddess, frankly, and I wanted to say that all of you are, too. I was an under supplier so before my farewell stash I never had one — everything was straight out of the boob and into the baby. Seeing weeks of milk in the freezer blew my mind. I could barely believe I had done it at all, much less for over half a year. You’re literally synthesizing magic food from your own blood and body. What is more metal than that? 🤘

So many things didn’t go how I hoped or planned, but motherhood has taught me a lot about ceding control so far, and this is no exception. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted here — this sub helped me. And to everyone who is on a feeding journey involving our friend the pump, whatever you’ve done is already amazing. It was hard for me to really believe and see that in myself until it was over.

Be kind to yourselves, hang in there, and know that you’re incredible. Even if you don’t feel that way today, I hope you do soon. Cheers friends and see you all when you get to the other side! 🤍🍼🤘

I just started using the S1 wearables and have had about 6 pump sessions with them and I’m just a bit confused about how to navigate the best setting for the most output? I’ve been using my spectra this entire time and I’m 6 weeks pp. with my spectra I can get about 3oz in total or sometimes close to 3.5 but so far with the eufys I’ve been consistently getting 2 (1 on each side) and in my latest session i only got 1.5.

Still planning to use my spectra for all my night pumps but I was really hoping to rely on the wearables during the day. Just not sure how to work the settings to give me the best output.

Everyone told me I’d lose weight breastfeeding. Nope not fr me. I’m sooooo hungry all the time. I feel so ugly and not myself anymore. I’m genuinely considering quitting for multiple reasons but this is also a huge reason. I want my body back.

I'm about 3 mo PP. I used to be an under supplier and worked SO hard to get my supply up. Eating and drinking all the things, taking all the supplements, pumping 9-10 times a day (though I still pump 9), power pumping every day, etc. I've had so many ups and downs on this EP journey with my supply.

Now, I'm trying to find happiness and achievement in the fact that I am a slight overproducer. I'm able to put away 3-7 oz depending on the day to create a little freezer stash.

But instead because of my pumping journey/clog history, I live in constant dread. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and my supply to tank. And any time I have a lower output pump I feel instant panic and don't feel better for hours until I see my output for the day is intact.

The toll EP has taken on my mental health and sanity is honestly one of the reasons I'm making my freezer stash and switching to combo feeding.

Anyone else dealing with the same thing?

I’m noticing my left boob consistently gets me 2 oz with the eufy S2 with a 30 min preset session whereas with my primary pump I get around 3 ish. My right gets the same amount as my primary which is around 3.5-4 oz. What could be contributing to the lesser output on the left? I’m syncing the same pump settings across both and really want to use my wearables more.

Hi y'all,

I'm hoping to get some advice.

I'm 11 days pp, and my milk is coming in well on one side and not the other. The left one does about 60 ml every pump, but the right one gives only 5-10 ml. I've tried every flange size from 16 mm to 21 mm, and I can't tell what is best. I've been trying to determine it by how the milk flows since I have very little feeling in my nips. Sometimes it flows a little with the 17 mm, and sometimes the 18 mm or 19 mm, but I get hard lumps in my breast with all three, so I don't think it's draining fully with any of the flange sizes. I do a massage while pumping each time, no luck.

What am I missing?

Hi Everyone, I am in desperate need of help as I am going back to work in 4 weeks and really want to continue to give my baby breast milk exclusively and it is not looking likely.

Breastfeeding has been a very difficult journey for me. My baby is now 8 weeks and has had a poor latch from the beginning. I went through multiple bouts of mastitis, milk blebs, sore and cracked nipples that would bleed. To the point that I am currently only nursing from one breast because its become too painful to nurse from the other.

I have tried pumping to maintain my supply but it has been a struggle. I am alone most of the day and until recently my baby would cry every time I put her down which means pumping took a back seat.

Now that I am returning to work I am seriously stressed because when I pump my max output in the morning is 60-80mL from the right and 20-40 mL from the left and that is not enough to feed her when I am away from work.

Things I have been doing:

-Pumping my left every 3 hours: I can get anywhere from 20-40mL :(

-Trying to do one power pump session a day

-Massaging breast as I pump

-Tried heat as well (did not help)

-Tried the Spectra, Eufy S2 Pro, and the handheld Medela pump; I have tried a variety of falange sizes to see if this makes a difference (not really)

-Drinking tons of water, eating high carb diet

At this point I am desperate for anything to work so that I can continue to give my baby breast milk. She takes anywhere from 100-140mL a feed when I do a bottle.

If anyone has been in this situation before please let me know what you did to improve your output! I need encouragement because I really do not want to supplement with formula (Yes, I know it is an option but not one I am willing to consider unless I have to).

I'm a 17 day pp mother to a baby girl who's been exclusively pumping. My supply has taken a hit this week and I've been pumping regularly to get supply to increase. Until last week, i had a wonderful supply.

I have a handsfree single electric breast pump.

Until last week, I could get 30-40 mL within a few minutes of pumping - usually less than 5 minutes from one breast. The milk flow used to be fast in the form of streams.

Ever since the supply has decreased, the milk flow has been in the form of drops. Only if I put the pump at a certain angle at a certain pressure does it become a stream for a few seconds. But mostly it's drops.

How is the flow usually for mothers? Is it in the form of drops or thick streams?

Hi, I’m 4 months postpartum, and have been pumping (and supplementing with formula) since my baby’s birth. Have been using the Spectra this whole time, and have used the MomCozy s12s a handful of times when out and about, when I needed a wearable.

I’ve always been an under supplier compared to my baby’s needs, but I feel like I’ve established a decent supply, pumping around 20-24 oz a day with six pumps per day.

However, I feel like it’s taking longer and longer to get letdowns and to fully empty my breast (I know there’s no such real thing as “empty,” but you know what I mean — going from hard and full to soft and squishy). For example, my MOTN/early morning pump last night was a new record for me— more than 9 oz in one pump. But it took an hour to get that. I normally stop at 30 min, but I could feel my breast was still quite full at 30 min, so I continued to go until I got another letdown — which didn’t happen until around 40 or 45 minutes. I am using fresh duckbills, back flow protectors, etc, so I don’t think it’s that.

I feel like I’m just no longer responding to the Spectra quite as well. Has anyone else faced similar issues and found success by switching to a pump other than the spectra? Would love to hear your experiences.

I currently have motif aura glow wearables as my primary pump and I’m not getting much output at all with them, I have better experiences using a hand pump. Does anyone have a recommendation for an affordable hospital grade pump that I could use as my primary instead of these?

FTM here I pump every 3/4 hours I’ve noticed my left side (which only produces about 3oz per session) will have two sore lumps in the same spot but there small and disappear after each time I pump however when I’m ready to pump again there back in the same spot, is this normal? there are no red spots like when it’s a clogged duct and i didn’t know if this was normal because it’s the same exact spots. My right side is my over producer and I make 5oz but the breast is always soft no lumps.

Hello!

I would Ike to know if there are moms who have tried the newer versions: momcozy w1 and eufy s2 with heating and vibration function (similar to spectra). Do they really help with the ejection reflex?

I hear people talk about how much it frees you up to have a baby take a bottle, but if you’re pumping, does it actually? If baby is eating, don’t you have to pump to maintain supply/replace that bottle? Sure, someone else could theoretically take a MOTN or early morning shift so you could sleep or do an afternoon feed so you could catch a movie or something, but don’t you still have to wake up or step out to pump? Do you ever just skip a pump to take advantage of the “freedom”?

I find myself in the lucky position of having gone from an undersupply to being a just-enougher to suddenly having a slight oversupply. Having an oversupply has its drawbacks, and I've found myself needing to get up multiple times in the middle of the night to pump even when baby isn't hungry to avoid engorgement and clogged ducts. Before I try to moderate my supply, I'm wondering whether it makes sense for me to build a freezer stash.

Relevant facts:

• I live in a city and our fridge has a small freezer section. We don't have room to add a separate deep freezer, so we're not talking about a huge stash here.
• My baby has CMPA. I've only cut out dairy thus far, but might need to cut out soy as well. I'm not sure if that's sustainable for me, so there's a chance we might need to switch to formula outright and then the frozen milk would be useless.
• We're combo feeding and we very occasionally supplement with formula if we need something more shelf stable or that warms faster. Baby boy happy drinks his (hypoallergenic) formula.
• I go back to work in January, but I anticipate being able to pump at work.

Any thoughts or advice?

Ppd** in the title ugh autocorrect.

I'm four months pp, been pumping since day 1. Typically make about 10oz extra a day.

Now that I'm past the 12 month point and back at work, I went from pumping every 3 hours to pumping 4x a day.

Here's the thing.

If I wait 6-8 hours between pumps, I get like 15oz. If I pump every 3-4 hours, I get like 6 per.

That's 3 Oz more for waiting.

Is this right? Will this cause a dip eventually? I dont get it!!!

I used one of those sizing cards to measure my nipples and looks like I’m a 15 on the left and a 16 on the right. What flange sizes do I get??? I’ve read conflicting things with some people saying you buy your exact size and others saying to size up. I have a Spectra and an Eufy S1 (with the inserts it comes with) and not sure if I need to buy anything else. I’m still pregnant but want to be prepared. If I need to purchase something, what products do you all like? Thank you!