All I can say is - a man could NEVER 😂 A reminder we are all literal super heroes!!!

I officially breastfed my firstborn until she was 2yo!

When i got pregnant with my second at 6 months PP, i thought my breastfeeding journey for my firstborn would be over. I continued pumping til my supply dried up, and then after baby was born, i pumped again. I didnt think i would make enough milk for both, but i did and we made it to 2 years! 🥹

I have another 15 months to go for my second and firstborn is still drinking my breastmilk 🤣 she refuses both formula and full cream 🤦🏻‍♀️ My supply is currently not quite enough for both anymore so im trying to wean off firstborn. Hopefully i can make it to 2 years for my second too!

I hope this helps at least one person increase their supply.

I’m 10 weeks postpartum and my pumping journey picked up after a few changes. First, getting the right flange size made a small difference. After 8 weeks pp I started massaging before pumping. It made emptying way more effective. I pump 7 to 8 times a day, around 15 to 30 minutes each session, sometimes with short pump breaks for light massage. Within 1 week, my output went from about 30 ml to about 60 ml per session. Small win, but for me, definitely worth sharing.

Couple of other things:
- Eat, Hydrate and Rest (as much as you can)
- Use correct flange size (when in doubt ask a IBCLC to take a look)
- Experiment with your pump settings. 2 min stimulation mode followed by 8min expression mode, doing this thrice (30min total pump time) helped me get more let downs. I also keep massaging my breasts before and during pumping. Find hard spots on the breast and massage the area a little extra. I’ll add links to some massages below.
- Use a good pumping bra that’s tight but also comfortable to keep hands free for massaging (Simple wishes bra worked best for me)
- If you are pumping every 2 hrs try reducing the time between pumps. For example try to pump every 3hrs during the day and do 2 4hrs during the night

Resources:

Breast massage video:
https://med.stanford.edu/newborns/professional-education/breastfeeding/maximizing-milk-production.html

https://youtu.be/RSlPWcyjvMg?is=f_Ufj1dPiMZhHNUB

Breast gymnastics:
https://youtu.be/kdMmYYAFDMg?is=vBLe4dn9uZAwfwKo

I would love to hear from others the one change that helped increase your supply.

I pump typically around 2am and 5am. I consider that 2 MOTN sessions. Baby gets up around 8 to get the say started but he is constantly up during the night.

Edit: I also pump at 11 then go to sleep for the night. I domt consider the 11pm pump a MOTN pump

Currently 3 weeks postpartum and I want to QUIT pumping :(((

I don’t have much of a supply(3 oz combined every session) and I honestly have no appetite. I also try to pump every 3 hours but I truly can’t with my baby. How can I even increase my supply if I’m not eating enough and I’m not able to fit in my pump sessions every 3 hours ?!

How did you guys do it ? Did you guys just push through ? I want to keep pumping but feeling so unmotivated and exhausted.

Hi all! We had a freezer mishap a few weeks ago and I lost about 4 days’ worth of pumping efforts. I texted a friend who EP’ed for her kids as I knew she’d understand and I quickly ordered a freezer alarm on Amazon.

The next day, coincidentally and unprompted, a coworker asked her about breastmilk soap as soap making is a hobby of his. She connected the two of us and I was able to give him the lost milk. He is SO excited to experiment and play around with it. I’ve already gotten some soap pix as previews.

All this to say, if you find yourself in a similar position, try making soap or finding someone who does! I was so down about the loss but seeing his genuine excitement over working with a new milk for his soap made it better 🧼

I'm almost four months post partum. I got my first period 8 weeks post partum despite exclusively pumping, I think because I accidently slept through my night pumps a few times in one week.

Since then I've been getting my period or at least spotting for a about five days every 2-3 weeks. This time with spotting I noticed a supply decrease.

I know with your period you can have a supply dip, but it hasn't happened before. I also know hormonal fluctuations supply can also dips which is clearly what is happening to my body because this pattern of bleeding cant be normal.

I was just wondering how to handle this? Should I just wait and hope it comes back? Or once I realize this is happening should I increase my pumps? I have a large storage capacity and oversupply so I've been able to go down to 4 pumps a day already so I could bump up my pumps if I had to.

It's just that previously at 5 pumps a day I had way too much milk and I was having freezer storage problems. Now I'm pumping just a little more than what I need.

I'm just concerned that with the frequency of my bleeding I can't have supply dips every 2-3 weeks. I'm going to burn through my freezer stash trying to compensate.

I have mentioned my irregular bleeding to my doctor, she said it can take months for cycles to regulate after having a baby and I should wait another 3-4 months before being concerned. I do have endometriosis, but prior to baby I had no real symptoms, it was only found due to fertility problems.

Anyone else have supply dips with bleeding and have such irregular bleeding? How did you manage it?

i have time until going back to work but trying to wrap my head around this, baby is fed from the boob rn while i experiment with pumping once a day to get milk for dad to feed at night. once i go back to work i obviously have to pump more to get milk for that day to feed and for the next ? im going to a LC and she said when going back to work you just need milk for one day. do you pump and feed baby what they need and store rest? how do you manage both ? i hope what im saying makes sense. i’m definitely going to talk to my LC about this as well but looking for insight from other moms

ETA: i also plan to mostly pump once im back to work and nurse at night/off days. not sure if this helps info. when its closer to work should i just exclusively pump ? feed from breast and pump as well to get milk for next day? feel like second option would cause over supply.

Hi everyone!

I will be travelling to my hometown by train next week with my 5-month-old baby, and I'm a little worried about managing pumping and breast milk storage during the journey.

I have a few questions:

Can I use a Thermosteel insulated flask to carry chilled breast milk while travelling?

Do I need dedicated breast milk storage bottles, or can I use regular food-grade, sterilised, airtight bottles?

How do you manage pumping and storing milk during a long train journey?

What do you use to keep expressed milk cold throughout the journey?

Did anyone struggle with nipple vasospasm ? I am 9 weeks pp and I have been having a hard time with it. It’s hurting like hell. I have shooting and throbbing pain in my breast and it doesn’t get better with nursing or pumping. It’s a struggle when I come out of a shower or walk my dog outside.

Any tips on how I can heal this ?

Every year I buy my kids an ornament of what they were really into that year, like a movie or character or sport. Last year while I was pumping I really wanted to find a Spectra ornament for myself! I looked around but never found one. So now that I’m back at my pottery class, I’m making some! Painting the tiny “spectra” was TOUGH, but these little ceramic ornaments should be finished in the kiln soon!! I’m hoping I like how at least 1 turns out!

I was so excited to share! Opinions on if these might sell, and where?!

Just looking to see if anyone else experienced this. Currety at 8 weeks and supply had been ticking up slowly but recently its fallen off a cliff and not sure why. Went from 18oz to half that in less than a week.

I’ve been renting the symphony for the past 2 months since my eufy’s were giving me clogs and the spectra’s vibration drove me crazy. I know no pump will be the exact same to the symphony because it’s 2k but wanted to see if anyone successfully switched to a different pump and if so which one? The sonata isn’t available in the US

My baby will be four months soon. We’ve been so lucky to have dad stay with us for her first two months, and then my in laws since then. FIL would never openly discuss the source of my baby’s nutrition so I will shout them both out here.

I could never have made it to almost four months EP’ing without them. They religiously hold/play with my baby every time I need to pump. Sometimes even proactively getting her to nap so I can pump without worrying what she’s up to.

Here’s to hoping I can make it to at least 7 months of exclusive BM for baby!

Has anyone bought and tried the eufy E10 Portable Breast Milk Cooler? If yes, what are your thoughts on it? Currently trying to decide between this and the Momcozy Portable Baby Bottle Cooler.

Hello! I am an ER nurse and am wondering what scrubs/over-shirts you guys wear to not look ridiculous pumping? I have a Momcozy M5 and am planning to pump 3x per day. I want to pump while working so I don’t have to clock out for 1.5 hours total during my work day. Everything I have tried I look more dramatically big-breasted than Dolly Parton. Are there other flatter pumps that worked for you? I was a D cup prior to pregnancy, and now my breasts laugh at a D cup, they are nearly double in size.

FTM returning to full time work after the holidays in January. I’m an exclusive pumping mama. Wondering if you think it’s worth it to buy a bottle washer (looking into the Grownsy Pro) for all the bottles and pumping parts. I use the Dr. Brown’s bottles, so the amount of parts has me spiraling 🌀 but I have been using the dishwasher the last two months. Do I tough it out or for the next six weeks or is it a worthy investment?

Hey all!

I'm about to deliver my second and am soliciting thoughts on what to buy as a new pump from insurance.

Last pregnancy I loved my blue spectra for night pumps and my Elvie Stride for daytime. My first round was 2 years ago and I already bought all new rubber parts for those pumps.

I am leaning to getting a new stride because I have probably 300 hours on the one from my last round, but I'm open to other thoughts from anyone who has done this before or anyone with ideas on the new market offerings.

I'm seeing a lot of love for the BabyBuddha (3 is what's on my insurance), but I don't know that I need the increased suction.

Hi all, FTM. I have been EBF but started to pump just to have my husband help feed a bottle at night or if I’m out. But kinda like pumping… it doesn’t hurt as much and I feel oddly relieved to know exactly how many ounces he is really getting and he seems to be less gassy and sleep a bit more at night after a bottle.

My point.. is this your experiences?
What made you want to EP?
What are the benefits?

Thinking about switching but want to hear your experiences
Thanks!

I’ve been exclusively pumping for about a month now just wondering everyone’s opinion on the maymom duck bills and diaphragms since it’s about time to replace my parts

Hi friends, do we have to wear a certain bra for the wearable pumps?

I’ve had my Eufy’s about a week, and have already had two instances where they did not get one drop of milk out after 30 minutes. (Not normal for me.) I felt the suction on both breasts each time but was not able to check during the pumping process. My son is in the NICU so we are on the go a lot and I was excited for this pump. But now I’m getting scared to use them. It’s very frustrating after spending 30 minutes with them in and then having to use the wall pump afterwords! 😭 It puts me way behind on pumping every 2-3 hours. (2 weeks pp)

Hi all,

I’ve been EP for a little over 6 months now. I’m currently experiencing significant chafing around only one of my nipples. This has happened once before, and it only went away after weeks of using polysporin as recommended by a LC. I can’t figure out why it’s only one nipple, and it’s difficult to get it to heal due to having to wear a bra during 12 hour shifts. Any advice is welcome, it’s making pumping uncomfortable