Question: how does your supply regulate / increase as your newborn begins to need more ounces if you aren't nursing? Does your body know "ok now it's been three weeks"?
Long version: I've been EPing since day 2 with my daughter and she is now a week old. I'm pumping 8x a day for 15-20 min and getting about 3oz total per time which is what she is now eating. As she eats more how do I increase supply? Does it happen naturally at the beginning or do I need to add pumps ?
grapefruit / 4731 posts
I don’t know if it happens naturally. I was always kind of freaked out about my supply. I tried to increase with supplements, fenugreek and mother’s milk tea.
I was also told you can help your supple by faking cluster feeding… aka pump for 10 minutes… stop your pump for 10 minutes… pump for 10 minutes. I think you do this for 30 minutes to an hour. I actually never did this.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
Wow,
Props to you for getting so many pumps in a day! I know that's not easy.
For me, my body became a much more efficient pumper. As my supply established I found I could do less pumps and get the same amount (or more) than I did when I was pumping 6-7x a day. I had low supply so taking domperidone and power pumping (15min on/15min off repeat for an hour) helped boost my supply if I noticed it dropping. But it all just kind of happened very naturally. I supplemented with formula to fill in the gaps, but it was never more than 1-2 bottles a day so I know my supply was growing with her.
grapefruit / 4291 posts
Breastmilk babies tend to max out at around 30-ish ounces per 24 hours (it can range from 24-40 ounces) and the calorie content of the milk changes as baby gets older so if you're already getting 24 ounces in a day then you're doing great!
You could try power pumping in the evenings to simulate cluster feeding and up your supply that way, otherwise have you thought about containing an IBCLC to get some professional advice? It's also worth noting that supply isn't fully established until around twelve weeks so you might find your supply continues to increase anyway.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@charlotte: I pumped a lot in the early weeks (weeks 2-6?) and saw my output increase little by little every day. I upped pumps and feeds to 9x/day week 3 due to weight gain issues and that seemed to help. I used the Medela app on my phone to track output abc that helped me see patterns.
Is LO taking a full 3 oz already? We started with 2 oz at one week, 2.5 at 2 weeks and didn't give 3 oz until he was a month old.
kiwi / 706 posts
@Raindrop: @Charm54: @Kemma: thank you guys for the encouragement 
that is all great info. We have had a lot of family help which gives me the time to get all this pumping done. Hopefully it will continue to increase naturally and I will try the cluster feeding trick if her intake increases before my supply. But hopefully it will just happen...
@MamaCate: thanks, good to know. I'm going to get the app right now. She was taking like 1 oz and we had to wake to feed every three hrs day and night. After a couple days of that its like she has woken up starving. She was finishing 2oz easily so we started offering more since she is still supposed to be catching up on weight gain and she usually takes it all. Sometimes she will be closer to 2 or 2.5.
pear / 1718 posts
Way to go! I personally had a borderline oversupply from EP in the early days. I think if you keep up what you're doing, you'll be in good shape. Just make sure you always pump as much as she takes in every 24 hours. If you drop below that add a pump or go for a second letdown.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@charlotte: that's a lot of milk she's taking. I would think more around 20-24 oz would be closer.
24 ounces (maybe up to about 30 oz) is the total amount an older infant will take and it will stabilize there until six months when they start solids (milk will stay the same but they will get the extra calories from food instead of more milk).
You also could try going past 20 minutes pumping. If I got to like 22-25 minutes I would have a second let down.
grape / 99 posts
I'm not sure this is possible for you but my lactation consultant said to try and let LO at least root at your breast (key is to get their saliva on your nipple) a few times a week because it's their saliva that tells your body how old they are and what calorie content they need (but i don't think this does anything for actual supply- just milk quality). Women who tandem nurse two children are able to because each child's saliva will tell her body which type of milk to produce for them. Breastmilk is pretty incredible!
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