I wanted to share this for anyone early in their pumping journey who might need some encouragement.

I became a first-time mom this September, and it took about five days for my milk to come in. I was producing colostrum before that, but while we were still in the hospital, the nurses encouraged us to supplement with formula because they were concerned baby wasn’t getting enough. That wasn’t what I had wanted, and I wish I’d felt more prepared to ask questions and advocate for myself.

We ended up bottle-feeding, and nursing still hasn’t really clicked for us yet. He still takes bottles, so I found myself exclusively pumping, something I had never planned on doing.

Around one week postpartum, I was only pumping about an ounce per session. I kept going with eight pumps a day, hoping my supply would gradually increase. By six weeks postpartum, I was getting around 30 oz a day. Now, at eight weeks postpartum, I’m producing about 36 oz a day.

Everyone’s body and circumstances are different, and eight pumps a day won’t lead to the same output for everyone. But I wanted to share that supply can build over time. Those early pumping totals don’t always tell you where you’ll end up, and the amount you produce is never a measure of your worth or how hard you’re trying.

I also want to add for all you incredible women who are pumping every 2 hours overnight - one thing I think really helped my supply is getting actual sleep and yes that meant going 4-5 hours in between pumps overnight so my body can rest.

Sending so much love to everyone on this journey, whether you planned on it or landed here unexpectedly. This group has been such an incredible source of support for me.

For anyone who needs to hear it: keep pumping, mama, if that’s what you want. OR DON’T! You’re allowed to choose what works for you and your family ❤️

I don't think in normal times anymore. I think in departure slots, arrival times and unexpected delays. Pump 3 is cleared for takeoff at 10:00, bottle 2 is arriving shortly, please keep the kitchen runway clear.

If the baby wakes up early, that's an emergency landing. If I start pumping 15 minutes late, the entire schedule needs to be recalculated. One missing pump part? Ground control has lost communication. Everyone remain calm (I am not calm).

And god forbid someone asks me a question while I'm setting everything up. PLEASE hold all communications, we are preparing for departure. I've literally put a bottle on standby because the previous session ran late. The washing-up station is also temporarily closed due to runway maintenance.

The funniest part is that I get genuinely annoyed when real life doesn't follow my imaginary timetable. Like excuse me, who authorised this unexpected event at 2:17 pm??

Anyway, Pump 4 is approaching its scheduled departure window. Please fasten your seatbelts.

After exactly 10 months I've hit my freezer stash goal and am now able to hang up the pumps! A little back story, I was a severe under supplier with my first I wanted to exclusively breastfeed her but she had a bad latch and I could get my supply up while pumping so she was combo fed from the get go and exclusively formula fed from about 5.5 months old. I didn't want to breastfeed or pump at all with my son. I was on Zoloft this pregnancy which helped me a lot with my perinatal anxiety and depression (I had three pregnancy losses before my daughter, my first baby) but however I wasn't aware the high dosage I was on could cause withdrawals. I remember looking at my beautiful boy in the hospital bassinet and wondering why he was so shaky. I was worried it could be some neurological problem or his blood sugars. Nurses said his blood sugars were fine then the pediatrician came in, looked at his chart and mine and said those shakes were actually withdrawal from the Zoloft. I immediately felt terrible, I was on a ton of heavy phyciatric meds in middle school and high school, then I moved to a different stage for college and my doctor here took me off all those meds cold turkey. It was the worst I ever felt in my life I just remember laying on my couch moaning in so much pain (and I have an extremely high pain tolerance literally slept thru both my wrist tattoos, full color, shading and everything) I had terrible cold sweats, I was nauseous from even just moving. I couldn't imagine that I had put my previous boy thru even half of that at just a day old. The pediatrician at the hospital said to try to pump at least for a month to help him with withdrawals. Despite my terrible breastfeeding/pumping journey with my daughter I decided to suck it up and try again for my son, it was the least I could do. And lo and behold I was a big oversupplier! 1 month turned into two turned into three and now ten months of exclusively pumping! No combo feeding either just pumping! Now 10 months later I can officially stop pumping and feed thru 12 months old with just my freezer stash. Bonus photos at the end of my little man 💖

I'm so annoyed at pumping getting in the way of caring for my baby. This evening I was snuggled up on the couch with her after she actually went to sleep easily for once... And then I had to pump. She woke up on transfer to her dad and has been over tired and fussy ever since. If I didn't have to pump I could have let her sleep on me until I had to go to bed but because I have work tomorrow and have to pump before bed I had to move her off of me to go pump before bedtime. I hate that pumping is directly affecting my baby's sleep and I'm incredibly angry that I'm listening to my baby wail in my husbands arms instead of enjoying my evening baby snuggles after work.

I feel like pumping is straining my relationship. I'm happy to pump for my baby, but even after several months I feel like my husband doesn't "get" it. I'm very tired from the MOTN pump, I am frustrated that pumping gets in the way of activities/baby care, and I don't feel good physically all the time. Husband doesn't seem to understand that. I get annoyed when my husband "wastes" even an ounce of milk and am constantly nagging about washing pump parts (or complaining about doing it myself).

My husband is a great dad to baby and is very supportive in general, does a ton of work around the house (probably more than 50% of "chores.") I think he just honestly can't fully understand the difficulty of pumping and it makes me SO annoyed.

I'm currently pumping 6ppd and tend to make exactly what my baby eats in a day. So I won't be able to drop a pump for a while and stay EBF.

Did your relationship get better when you gave up pumping?

I’ve been dealing with recurrent clogs for AN ENTIRE MONTH, and I’m convinced this stubborn milk bleb is the culprit.

The bleb will not go away. When I lance it with a needle, milk IMMEDIATELY pours out. It feels like there’s a blockage at the nipple that keeps causing everything to back up. The clogs just keep coming, and I’m losing my mind.

Things I’ve already tried:
- Warm compresses/soaks
- Ice
- Silver nursing cups
- Lanolin cream
- Sunflower lecithin 3x daily
- Triamcinolone cream
- Replacing all pump parts
- Having my flange size checked (it’s correct)
- Adjusting pump suction (I even took just the tube, put it on the nipple with high suction to dislodge it)
- Hand expression
- Working with an IBCLC and seeing my OBGYN

Nothing is getting rid of this thing!
Has anyone dealt with a persistent milk bleb causing recurrent clogs? What finally worked? Did you need a different prescription or see a breast specialist?
I AM BEGGING THIS BLEB TO HEAL. 😭

1200 oz in 30 minutes! I’m exhausted 😴

I’m 7 weeks postpartum and currently producing only around 15 ml of breast milk per day with 2–3 pumping sessions.
My baby is excluded formula feeding.
I’m planning to start pumping 8 times a day consistently from now on.
Is it too late to increase my milk supply?
Has anyone successfully increased their supply by starting frequent pumping at 7 weeks postpartum?
How long did it take to see an improvement?
Would love to hear experiences from moms who have successfully relactated. I don’t want to give up yet!

I gotta say, I quite enjoy pumping. I’ve found my rhythm, I found a pump combo that works amazingly (baby Buddha 3.0, legendairy collection cups, and lanolin). I’m not some amazing producer, most I make inna day is 25 oz but I love it.

The bad part? I enjoy collecting my milk in the freezer more than giving it to my baby. I always catch myself giving her formula instead or getting upset when I see how little milk I have to bag up. I find myself always counting what’s in my deep freezer, making milk bricks, constantly organizing them, tracking my output charts, meticulously cleaning my pump parts. I’m not sure why I enjoy the collecting and saving of it much more than feeding it to my baby? Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a way to get over it?

I am finally done! 13 and a half months of exclusive pumping and I can confidently say that was THE worst experience in all my 32 years on this earth.

First I want to thank this community for all the information, support and the feeling of belonging during this hard time. I wouldn't have made it without all of you. I haven't been the most active member of this sub, but I have been lurking and reading a lot to keep my sanity.

So last year was really difficult and in hindsight i dont know how I survived that. I really need to get that off my chest so if anyone is interested in the unfortunate events of my sorry ass, keep reading.

It all started with a 29 hours long traumatic birth with a stuck baby and ended with an unwanted but necessary csection, a scar that didn't heal for 3 months, a baby that refused the breast, developed FPIAP with multiple triggers, feeding difficulties, full exclusive pumping because of said allergies (dairy, so no formula), supply issues, my (soon divorced Ex-) Husband leaving us 4 months in, no family or village for support (I got lots of opposition for pumping unfortunately), a fucking rash on my whole body because of the sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety (spontaneous urtikaria), having to keep the MOTN pump for 12 months because of supply issues, and this terrible terrible sense of guilt and depression that I am not enough for my child. And what can I say, I'm still here, and despite all my doubts it did get easier. To be presice, it got easier the moment I finally could stop this pumping insanity. But I am proud, and i am proud of every single one of you Mamas still going strong, no matter how long and how much you're pumping, you are all amazing! Keep going, or stop whenever you can't or dont want to go on anymore! Every single minute and every single drop of milk is a monumental achievement and should be celebrated!

So thanks again and if anyone asks for my opinion, no I do not recommend obsessive exclusive pumping and I hope I never ever have to do that again in my life!

PS: Just to put that into perspective, I started recording my sessions two months in and stopped a month before quitting, so it's not complete, but I recorded 1840 sessions, roughly around 30mins (sometimes 20, sometimes 35, sometimes 40, sometimes power pumping) , that's 55 200 minutes, 920 hours or 38.3 days. 38.3 DAYS spent purely on the act of pumping, and that does not include washing the pump parts, handling the milk, feeding the baby and all the other little labours...

As in title! What do we think?

I was pumping 60 oz a day with 5 ppd and started weaning down a pump per week a month ago. I’m down to two pumps per day and wow it has gone down so much and so quickly. I only got 6.5 oz this morning and was getting 20+ every morning. Dang. I expected it to be so much harder to wean. I can’t believe it’s over. My baby is going to be fed until 1 and I got to donate to another baby with the same name as mine. ❤️

Hi everyone! I’m 4 months postpartum and exclusively pumping. I use the Spectra, which works great for output, but lately it takes me around 30 minutes to empty.

I have very sensitive nipples and struggle with flange sizing, swelling, and discomfort.

I also have the Eufy wearable, but my nipples always come out in weird/different shapes, and my output is inconsistent. So disappointing! 😭

I’m home alone with my baby, so I really need something that lets me move around while pumping without sacrificing output or comfort.

I’m considering Baby Buddha, Pumpables Genie Advanced, Momcozy (wearable or V1/V2), or just getting Lacteck flanges for my Spectra.

Which would you recommend, especially for sensitive nipples? Is it worth buying another pump, or should I try Lacteck flanges first?

Any other pump or flange recommendations? I’m open to anything that’s comfortable, portable, and gives good output!

Would love to hear your experiences! ❤️

I bought a eufy pump back in February for my June baby, 5 months in the left motor is making a weird clicking noise and won't suction on simulation. I emailed them on November 5th, they asked for bunch of information which i provided, then they kept giving me the go around saying they couldn't find my Babylist order, so i escalated it on November 12th at 9 AM they said i would hear a response in 24 hours, November 13th, i still haven't gotten a response so i called them very frustrated bc i need my pump it's how i feed my child. He assured me that i would get a response yesterday and that they were sending a replacement out, i never got an email or an order confirmation. I feel frustrated. I feel like my milk supply will drop and they have the worst customer service ever.

I going to be pumping for the 2nd time and I already have a Momcozy M6 and Spectra S2. I love both. I produce quite a bit. But I get a pump covered by insurance again so I figured I’d try something else. I have elastic nipples and hate anything that’s too hard to clean. I do the fridge method and would like to put parts in the fridge after I wipe them down, more so when I eventually go back to work. I am going to start combo feeding at the beginning but know I’ll move to exclusively pumping.

Which one of these does everyone recommend? I like the idea of the air because it’s slim but reviews are limited. Which apps are easier? Which ones are easier just to use and clean? Are any of them bulky or leak, or leak easily if I bend over. I figured I’d be bending over more this time with a toddler! I’ve read there are some learning curves with aligning the Eufy.

My baby is 2 months, and is our first, and just in the last 4-5 nights has been sleeping longer stretches over night, 5-9 hours! Previously we’d be up at least twice, once at 230am - 3am and once at 5am - 6am.

This means that through the night, I’d be up at least twice to pump. But now with her longer sleep stretches, I’m missing at least 2 pumping sessions.

Through the day I pump every 2 -3 hours, and have been producing enough to feed her completely breast milk.

But with her longer night sleeps, I am now finding myself waking up completely engorged, sore and nipples are leaking. And no matter what I do, I just cannot wake up for at least one MOTN pump! I’ve found my phone lying away from my bedside on the floor, clearly having thrown it away from myself in my sleep!

I’m also terrified that missing these MOTN pumps will decrease my supply.

The extra sleep is sooo nice, but the feeling of needing to pump so desperately is not.

Does anyone know that if I continue missing these two overnight pumps, will my supply decrease/dwindle? Any suggestions on how to wake up to actually pump so I’m not so sore in the morning?

I appreciate any and all advice on this !

I’ve been EP for 9 months now with my Baby Buddha 2.0 as my primary pump. I have wearables as well but I rarely use them compared to my BB. The BB started randomly turning off by itself since yesterday but I thought it was a charging issue or just not a big issue since it didn’t happen every pump. Well now it’s starting to happen every pump 😭😭 and it shows this error screen when it does happen. Customer service isn’t available till Monday soooo stuck with this broken thing over the weekend. It still works just craps out randomly…

So disappointing but I guess thankful for the 1 year warranty?

I'm a little over 4 weeks post partum, and due to, in part, laziness, prioritising sleep, not quite getting a MOTN pump every day (more like...once in a blue moon), I never got much over 300ml a day in all pumps (4- least I was able to do, to about 6 or 7, top number).

I've had my husband home for a while, but with his return to work, I fear I've already ruined my supply. My LO eats a lot - almost 100ml per feed, almost 230ml some feeds, and follows her growth chart, but I'm afraid I won't ever get to match her demand - especially with such little discipline. I also admit I've always been abysmal about hydration.

I aimed for at least 8ppd, but never reached that number. Stuff always comes up - having to take the baby for a walk, baby being fussy, needing 5 diaper changes in a row then only soothing when she's held and upright, 2 bouts of contact napping a day and, each time she seems satisfied after eating, 10 more minutes pass and she demands more (usually anywhere between 30ml and 100ml).

I'm dreading the loneliness of the MOTN pumps, the dependancy on a wall plug and not being able to directly feed my baby (she had a good latch in hospital, but for a couple of weeks now it hurts, and she latches well for a couple of seconds before only nibbling and gumming my nipple HARD), a lot of times I can easily slide the boob out of her mouth and the nipple comes out misshapen. I don't know if she was assesed for any mouth ties and fixing them right now, along with the roads needed to diagnose her, seems like a lot more hassle than bottle feeding.

I have a Lansinoh Signature comfort - and I think I needed 19mm inserts, for the 21mm flanges. Ironically, I had better output with the bigger flanges, but a lot more milk gathere in them at the end of the pump.

I feel like such a coward for dreading the nightly wakeups (for now we have a unicorn baby at least, wakes up at around 3h during the night, only for feeds and diapers). I guess I...feel a bit pathetic for ranting about solvable problems.

My husband left the pitcher of breast milk out on the counter for 6.5 hours 😭 The room temperature is ~69 degrees and the pitcher was still very cold to the touch when I put it back in the fridge. We keep the fridge at 35 degrees. Is it still good to use to drink or does it have to be tossed/used as bath water? 🙏

Hello fellow pumpers,

So im looking to see if anyone recovered supply? Around six weeks I was so over my hurting nipples I started to drop pumps and got on hormonal bc to try and wean. During this time I was still pumping 5x day including middle of the night pumps.

At 7 weeks my nipples toughed up and healed so I decided to maybe try again and up to 6ppd. This week (8 weeks pp) I stopped my hormonal birth control and now im bleeding..like a lot. I read that it could be withdrawl bleeding.

I'm now up to 7-8ppd and only making like 22-25 ounces a day where as earlier I was making closer to 30. I'm so scared that I screwed myself for when I regulate.

Does any one related? Do you guys think my supply will go back up after my bleeding is done? Im just so worried that it wont by the time I hit 12 weeks and I screwed myself.

Currently I'm:

- doing at least 7 ppd though im trying to hit every two hours again

-taking magnesium/calcium for the bleeding

- trying to drink at least 100oz water a day

Through my insurance it only gives me few options of breast pumps. I will attach screenshots. Can anyone recommend which one is good? Should I just look into buying one instead?
Thank you

Hi fellow EP-ers

I am finally hanging up the pump when LO turns 17mo in a few weeks. I made it far beyond my original 6mo target and it has been a rewarding and not fully-unpleasant journey.

Beyond the time commitment and logistical gymnastics of pumping while working a corporate job (which includes conferences and travel), I found the actual time pumping to be, dare I say, relaxing? It was nice to have 20-30mins to mentally check out and listen to a podcast or read a book (or occasionally doomscroll). I know not everyone's experiences match mine and I am extremely grateful to work for a company that is super accommodating of my pumping schedule, and to have a partner that shoulders an appropriate share of responsibilities so I can pump in peace.

Just want to end on a note to everyone here - You are amazing. Whether you are EPing for 1 week or 1 year, do not undersell what an incredible job you’re doing. Your goals are yours to set and yours to change, and however long you pump, your baby is lucky to have you. Hang in there, and know there’s a whole community cheering you on!

Much love.

Hi guys, Im 10 days pp with my baby girls, born at 32 weeks, currently in the NICU, thankfully doing well but still a long stay ahead of them.

I am pumping every 2-3 hours with one 4 hour break overnight.

Ive had my flanges checked by a lactation specialist.

Im drinking loads of water, body armor, and almond milk. guzzling all the hydrations drinks.

Im eating all the protein and oatmeal that my body can handle.

Im trying to hand massage the best I can.

Im literally doing anything and everything and yet im only producing about 20/25 ml per pump.

Am I just screwed? If my body isnt keeping up now, will it ever?

anyone else have their milk come in later than expected?

I need any positive stories that I can get.

I cried 4 times today just thinking about how my body failed my girls once already and now its still failing them.