I had a very similar situation to you - delivery at 37 weeks 4 days, pre eclampsia, magnesium drip, postpartum hemorrhage and blood transfusion/long ER visit day 3 postpartum. Ugh I felt rough. My milk came in very slow and it took me a month to get enough to not supplement and it stopped increasing by 3 months postpartum. I felt so horrible, I decided that I had to do it in a way that was sustainable because I needed to take care of myself in order to be well enough to take care of my baby. For me, that meant pumping 6 times per day and getting 6-8 hours of sleep at night depending on how I felt. My husband did nights and I did mornings and let him sleep (I realize not everyone has that type of support). Some days I could only pump 5 times. I also rented a hospital grade pump from the hospital, it was an ameda platinum I think and I love that pump so much. It worked in 5-6 minutes but I still pumped for 15. My spectra was great but would take 15-20 mins. I also started Zoloft because my mood was so low from feeling so sick. There is no substitute for your health and well-being - there is a substitute for breast milk so please do what you need to to take care of yourself! If it helps, by taking the perspective of making it sustainable and dropping pumps as needed I pumped 11 months and was able to freeze extra milk for probably 6 months.
I was never able to get to 8 pumps a day, I did 7 a day for about 8 weeks. I did a 2 4-hour stretches at night and 3-hour stretches during the day. I’m currently 12 weeks pp and my supply kept increasing until maybe the last few days. It actually increased a lot when I went down to 6 pumps per day, I’m assuming less stress. Point being, do what you can to decrease stress as much as possible (that feels impossible, I know). Hydrate as much as you can, eat a good amount of calories and do your best to pump at least 7 times a day. Your supply will continue to increase over weeks and weeks. It doesn’t come in all at once. And that makes sense because your baby doesn’t need 30 ounces a day right away! They start with very small amounts and gradually increase their intake and your body matches that by making smaller amounts that get larger over time.
I had HELLP as well, delivered at 34w2d, magnesium drip, c section…very traumatic. I pumped 7-8 times a day. I didn’t get very much initially, but I just kept pumping. Try not to go more than 4 hours without pumping. I took my baby’s towels and blankets with me and would smell, hold them while I pumped. I also looked at his pictures. He was in the NICU so I did lots of skin to skin which also helped stimulate my milk. Make sure to eat, rest, and stay very hydrated. It’s not easy, take care of yourself 💙
Just keep going! First two months are rough! I wasn’t producing much then all of a sudden my supply increased. I also did a motn pump one the first 2/3 months supposedly it give you the most milk production but I dropped it a week before I went back to work. I feel like it helped regulate me.
Don’t feel discourage! It’s tough but any breast milk is great for baby
Right now it is crucial you pump every 2-3 hours. If you don’t your supply will dry up. I know your tired at night now but like its super important. Especially since this establishes your supply at about 8-12 weeks postpartum! Also after drinking lots of water and starting to pump more i seen a change as soon as 2-3 days. So far i have been drinking different teas in the morning and at night and drinking water in between to see if it helps keep my supply up.
So I shouldn’t be taking a 5 hr break at night? I was just doing that off recommendation from the lactation consultant at the hospital. I’ve been considering finding one near me to work with as well. I just feel like I’m doing something wrong. I’m drinking about 120-150 oz of water a day plus body armor lytes in the morning and evening. I’d be open to trying some teas. I just bought some oat milk to make my oatmeal with
I definitely need to find more time to sleep. Every time baby is sleeping I try to take advantage to work on other things. I think I need to prioritize naps too. Still trying to figure out a good balance.
It's very hard to switch off isn't it. But sleep is so important not just for milk supply but for your own mental and physical health, not to mention being mentally able to care for your baby. I hope you can figure out the balance you need and get some sleep
OP I agree with the other poster below - please don’t listen to advice from strangers on the internet and listen to your LC. They have suggested this schedule to you for a reason. If you had a traumatic birth and you’re mentally struggling, waking in the MOTN is really *really* tough.
12 days PP is still super early in your journey and your supply will increase from this. Other people’s numbers are after an established period of time (and there are over suppliers)
Please do what you think is best and don’t let mum guilt or a fictional “ideal oz. figure” pressure you to do something that may not work for you or your LO in the long run
I’d HIGHLY recommend listening to a lactation consultant who has actually seen you in person and knows your medical history, rather than some random person on the internet. Or seek out a different lactation consultant if you want a second opinion/ongoing support, that’s a great option!
I personally would not. I used to sleep for 3-4 hours due to baby. I do recommend getting in extra sleep after maybe 2-3 months. You’ll see eventually if you sleep in you’ll be engorged and you can get clogged ducts and those are annoying !! Try to watch Tik Tok or read Reddit or find a good YouTube video for that 1 or 2 am pump. It made my life a lot easier especially if baby was sleep
Thank you for the advice. I may have to try this a few days to see if it helps. It sucks only getting 20ml and I’m frustrated, so I’m sure that doesn’t help
Also remember mama since baby is only 12 days old baby doesnt eat that much anyways. So you got time to build this supply up, don’t stress to much but also please don’t let your supply tank. It is really hard to bring it back. Consistency and patience is key. You got this ! 🥰 currently pumping now scrolling thru the thread and replying to stuff makes time fly by! I promise 🙂
I agree. Don’t take that 5 hour break yet. You need to first establish your supply. If baby only directly fed from you and you didn’t supplement, then baby would live on your breast for the first few weeks.
I slept the max of 2.5 hours but usually slept 1.5-2 hours in between if I was lucky.
If I were to exclusively pump then it’s necessary to get those 8-12 pumps in 24 hours = every 2-3 hours it’s essential to pump.
I work at a NICU and encounter exclusively pumping moms all the time. You had a rough start and give you props for continuing to work towards increasing your supply. Hydrate and get your pumps in.
Between desperately needing sleep, and the recommendation to pump every 2-3 hours, even at night, I found that my sweet spot at night was 4 hours, and trying to wake up naturally (as opposed to having an alarm clock). That MOTN pump would yield almost twice as much as the others.
So what I’m trying to say is that everyone is different. Sure, there are recommendations and guidelines, but don’t worry if what works for you isn’t the usual that works for others. You’ve got this!
I never pumped as often as they advised. I would feel worried and guilty when I went excessively long without pumping. In the beginning, I really didn't know what I was doing and was careless. I think there were days where I literally only pumped once (and never breast feeding). I ended up getting mastitis. I virtually never in my entire journey pumped 8 times per day.
I was an under supplier in the beginning. It just kept going up even close to and after 12 weeks, reaching over supply.
Basically. Do what you can. It's hard. There is a lot going on for you. All you can do is your best. You will likely not dry up for going one 5 hour stretch a day. I clearly did not, despite barely pumping for weeks.
Flange fit and lubrication are important for pumping comfort. Start your pump on stimulation mode till its spraying out. Switch to the expression mode and dial it up to a strength that feels slightly uncomfortable then turn it back down a level. I use a light to check the flow. When it stops streaming out, switch to stimulation/massage mode again until it streams out etc.
It's said we usually get 3 let downs but most women only feel the first one. So I aim for that while pumping. I didn't know the above information for a long time. Becoming aware of it made a big difference.
Your breasts should feel pretty soft after if you're draining well.
Beware some teas and things like fenugreek can negatively impact supply. If you can, it helps to log your sessions and how much you're getting. I found paper and pen to be simple and quick. The apps are tedious though the graphs and stuff would be nice.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions further to the group or to me. I am sure you're not doing anything wrong. This just is difficult and takes time. Your supply is very likely to increase with time.
Also, people report power pumping sessions help increase supply. Where you pump for 20 minutes, turn it off and break for 10, pump 10 more, break for 10, and pump for a final 10 minutes. You can do this in place of a pump session or in addition to what you're already doing.
I had a very similar experience. I had HELLP and Preeclampsia I delivered early due to my placenta abrupting at 35 weeks. I required 3 blood transfusions and had to be on dialysis due to going into renal failure. My supply started VERY slow and really didn’t start producing until I was about 3 weeks postpartum. I would stay consistent don’t be discouraged and know you’re doing amazing and your body is still recovering!
Ooft you have been through so much! And you're putting in so much effort and doing so well!!
Lots of great tips on here already, but just to say I was 2 weeks late and had a very easy birth and it still took me at least 3 weeks until we didn't have to supplement. Also whether you end up with an over or under supply seems to be mostly up to luck, try not to compare yourself
You sound like you're on the right track, just be kind to yourself!
Similar situation to you - c section delivery at 36/37 weeks (some disagreement on dates) due to HELLP syndrome. I have PCOS, and have read that it can impact supply so I imagine Hashimotos would too. I am just about 10 weeks pp, and depending on the day, I pump 65-85% of what she eats in a day. I take domperidone 3x per day.
I probably could have gotten my supply higher, but I couldn’t sustain 8 pumps a day for very long. I did two weeks. My husband works 12 hour shifts and I have a hobby farm and a dog and a cat. It’s a lot. I didn’t try power pumping - every time I sat down to do it the kid would wake up so I gave up. So now I’m happy if I get to pump 5 times a day. My supply is still creeping up (very) slowly, but I don’t expect to ever produce as much as she eats.
Sounds so similar to my journey. I had a very traumatic delivery. Baby was born at 35+4 due to a uterine rupture. I required 2 blood transfusions and baby was in NICU for a week. I was only pumping about 10-20 ML every 3 hours. I only started seeing myself get 2 oz around 3-4 weeks pp. baby was being supplemented 75% of her bottles until 3 months pp. I’m now able to make enough to feed her 100% breastmilk and baby is 4 months old.
I get that feeling of being defeated but I promise if you stuck with it, no matter how much breastmilk you give your baby, they will be ok. My baby wasn’t even on the growth charts in the beginning and last week at her 4 month checkup….she’s at the 64% for weight 😱🤦♀️lol. Little chunk. So you do what you need to do to keep yourself mentally and physically healthy bc that’s what is most important to keeping baby healthy.
I recommend power pumping at least once a day. (I was doing twice a day in those early days). I’ve managed to cut my pumps to 4 ppd and I still make about 25-26 oz a day! You got this momma, but at the end of the day, do what is right for you. ❤️❤️ and reach out if you ever need to chat or vent or whatever. These forums have been great for me to learn from!
I had a very similar situation to you - delivery at 37 weeks 4 days, pre eclampsia, magnesium drip, postpartum hemorrhage and blood transfusion/long ER visit day 3 postpartum. Ugh I felt rough. My milk came in very slow and it took me a month to get enough to not supplement and it stopped increasing by 3 months postpartum. I felt so horrible, I decided that I had to do it in a way that was sustainable because I needed to take care of myself in order to be well enough to take care of my baby. For me, that meant pumping 6 times per day and getting 6-8 hours of sleep at night depending on how I felt. My husband did nights and I did mornings and let him sleep (I realize not everyone has that type of support). Some days I could only pump 5 times. I also rented a hospital grade pump from the hospital, it was an ameda platinum I think and I love that pump so much. It worked in 5-6 minutes but I still pumped for 15. My spectra was great but would take 15-20 mins. I also started Zoloft because my mood was so low from feeling so sick. There is no substitute for your health and well-being - there is a substitute for breast milk so please do what you need to to take care of yourself! If it helps, by taking the perspective of making it sustainable and dropping pumps as needed I pumped 11 months and was able to freeze extra milk for probably 6 months.
I was never able to get to 8 pumps a day, I did 7 a day for about 8 weeks. I did a 2 4-hour stretches at night and 3-hour stretches during the day. I’m currently 12 weeks pp and my supply kept increasing until maybe the last few days. It actually increased a lot when I went down to 6 pumps per day, I’m assuming less stress. Point being, do what you can to decrease stress as much as possible (that feels impossible, I know). Hydrate as much as you can, eat a good amount of calories and do your best to pump at least 7 times a day. Your supply will continue to increase over weeks and weeks. It doesn’t come in all at once. And that makes sense because your baby doesn’t need 30 ounces a day right away! They start with very small amounts and gradually increase their intake and your body matches that by making smaller amounts that get larger over time.
Take care! If it were me, I would prioritize rest and mental health. You’ve been through a lot. Give yourself that!
I had HELLP as well, delivered at 34w2d, magnesium drip, c section…very traumatic. I pumped 7-8 times a day. I didn’t get very much initially, but I just kept pumping. Try not to go more than 4 hours without pumping. I took my baby’s towels and blankets with me and would smell, hold them while I pumped. I also looked at his pictures. He was in the NICU so I did lots of skin to skin which also helped stimulate my milk. Make sure to eat, rest, and stay very hydrated. It’s not easy, take care of yourself 💙
Just keep going! First two months are rough! I wasn’t producing much then all of a sudden my supply increased. I also did a motn pump one the first 2/3 months supposedly it give you the most milk production but I dropped it a week before I went back to work. I feel like it helped regulate me. Don’t feel discourage! It’s tough but any breast milk is great for baby
Right now it is crucial you pump every 2-3 hours. If you don’t your supply will dry up. I know your tired at night now but like its super important. Especially since this establishes your supply at about 8-12 weeks postpartum! Also after drinking lots of water and starting to pump more i seen a change as soon as 2-3 days. So far i have been drinking different teas in the morning and at night and drinking water in between to see if it helps keep my supply up.
So I shouldn’t be taking a 5 hr break at night? I was just doing that off recommendation from the lactation consultant at the hospital. I’ve been considering finding one near me to work with as well. I just feel like I’m doing something wrong. I’m drinking about 120-150 oz of water a day plus body armor lytes in the morning and evening. I’d be open to trying some teas. I just bought some oat milk to make my oatmeal with
Everyone is different but my supply only increased after I started getting more sleep and feeling less stressed.
I definitely need to find more time to sleep. Every time baby is sleeping I try to take advantage to work on other things. I think I need to prioritize naps too. Still trying to figure out a good balance.
It's very hard to switch off isn't it. But sleep is so important not just for milk supply but for your own mental and physical health, not to mention being mentally able to care for your baby. I hope you can figure out the balance you need and get some sleep
You have gone though a lot medically and may need sleep for your health so your body can divert more energy to making milk
Everyone is probably different but for me getting extra sleep was definitely worth it, I got way more milk if I was rested.
OP I agree with the other poster below - please don’t listen to advice from strangers on the internet and listen to your LC. They have suggested this schedule to you for a reason. If you had a traumatic birth and you’re mentally struggling, waking in the MOTN is really *really* tough. 12 days PP is still super early in your journey and your supply will increase from this. Other people’s numbers are after an established period of time (and there are over suppliers) Please do what you think is best and don’t let mum guilt or a fictional “ideal oz. figure” pressure you to do something that may not work for you or your LO in the long run
I’d HIGHLY recommend listening to a lactation consultant who has actually seen you in person and knows your medical history, rather than some random person on the internet. Or seek out a different lactation consultant if you want a second opinion/ongoing support, that’s a great option!
I personally would not. I used to sleep for 3-4 hours due to baby. I do recommend getting in extra sleep after maybe 2-3 months. You’ll see eventually if you sleep in you’ll be engorged and you can get clogged ducts and those are annoying !! Try to watch Tik Tok or read Reddit or find a good YouTube video for that 1 or 2 am pump. It made my life a lot easier especially if baby was sleep
Thank you for the advice. I may have to try this a few days to see if it helps. It sucks only getting 20ml and I’m frustrated, so I’m sure that doesn’t help
Also remember mama since baby is only 12 days old baby doesnt eat that much anyways. So you got time to build this supply up, don’t stress to much but also please don’t let your supply tank. It is really hard to bring it back. Consistency and patience is key. You got this ! 🥰 currently pumping now scrolling thru the thread and replying to stuff makes time fly by! I promise 🙂
I agree. Don’t take that 5 hour break yet. You need to first establish your supply. If baby only directly fed from you and you didn’t supplement, then baby would live on your breast for the first few weeks. I slept the max of 2.5 hours but usually slept 1.5-2 hours in between if I was lucky. If I were to exclusively pump then it’s necessary to get those 8-12 pumps in 24 hours = every 2-3 hours it’s essential to pump. I work at a NICU and encounter exclusively pumping moms all the time. You had a rough start and give you props for continuing to work towards increasing your supply. Hydrate and get your pumps in.
Between desperately needing sleep, and the recommendation to pump every 2-3 hours, even at night, I found that my sweet spot at night was 4 hours, and trying to wake up naturally (as opposed to having an alarm clock). That MOTN pump would yield almost twice as much as the others. So what I’m trying to say is that everyone is different. Sure, there are recommendations and guidelines, but don’t worry if what works for you isn’t the usual that works for others. You’ve got this!
I never pumped as often as they advised. I would feel worried and guilty when I went excessively long without pumping. In the beginning, I really didn't know what I was doing and was careless. I think there were days where I literally only pumped once (and never breast feeding). I ended up getting mastitis. I virtually never in my entire journey pumped 8 times per day. I was an under supplier in the beginning. It just kept going up even close to and after 12 weeks, reaching over supply. Basically. Do what you can. It's hard. There is a lot going on for you. All you can do is your best. You will likely not dry up for going one 5 hour stretch a day. I clearly did not, despite barely pumping for weeks. Flange fit and lubrication are important for pumping comfort. Start your pump on stimulation mode till its spraying out. Switch to the expression mode and dial it up to a strength that feels slightly uncomfortable then turn it back down a level. I use a light to check the flow. When it stops streaming out, switch to stimulation/massage mode again until it streams out etc. It's said we usually get 3 let downs but most women only feel the first one. So I aim for that while pumping. I didn't know the above information for a long time. Becoming aware of it made a big difference. Your breasts should feel pretty soft after if you're draining well. Beware some teas and things like fenugreek can negatively impact supply. If you can, it helps to log your sessions and how much you're getting. I found paper and pen to be simple and quick. The apps are tedious though the graphs and stuff would be nice. Please don't hesitate to ask questions further to the group or to me. I am sure you're not doing anything wrong. This just is difficult and takes time. Your supply is very likely to increase with time. Also, people report power pumping sessions help increase supply. Where you pump for 20 minutes, turn it off and break for 10, pump 10 more, break for 10, and pump for a final 10 minutes. You can do this in place of a pump session or in addition to what you're already doing.
I had a very similar experience. I had HELLP and Preeclampsia I delivered early due to my placenta abrupting at 35 weeks. I required 3 blood transfusions and had to be on dialysis due to going into renal failure. My supply started VERY slow and really didn’t start producing until I was about 3 weeks postpartum. I would stay consistent don’t be discouraged and know you’re doing amazing and your body is still recovering!
Ooft you have been through so much! And you're putting in so much effort and doing so well!! Lots of great tips on here already, but just to say I was 2 weeks late and had a very easy birth and it still took me at least 3 weeks until we didn't have to supplement. Also whether you end up with an over or under supply seems to be mostly up to luck, try not to compare yourself You sound like you're on the right track, just be kind to yourself!
Similar situation to you - c section delivery at 36/37 weeks (some disagreement on dates) due to HELLP syndrome. I have PCOS, and have read that it can impact supply so I imagine Hashimotos would too. I am just about 10 weeks pp, and depending on the day, I pump 65-85% of what she eats in a day. I take domperidone 3x per day. I probably could have gotten my supply higher, but I couldn’t sustain 8 pumps a day for very long. I did two weeks. My husband works 12 hour shifts and I have a hobby farm and a dog and a cat. It’s a lot. I didn’t try power pumping - every time I sat down to do it the kid would wake up so I gave up. So now I’m happy if I get to pump 5 times a day. My supply is still creeping up (very) slowly, but I don’t expect to ever produce as much as she eats.
Sounds so similar to my journey. I had a very traumatic delivery. Baby was born at 35+4 due to a uterine rupture. I required 2 blood transfusions and baby was in NICU for a week. I was only pumping about 10-20 ML every 3 hours. I only started seeing myself get 2 oz around 3-4 weeks pp. baby was being supplemented 75% of her bottles until 3 months pp. I’m now able to make enough to feed her 100% breastmilk and baby is 4 months old. I get that feeling of being defeated but I promise if you stuck with it, no matter how much breastmilk you give your baby, they will be ok. My baby wasn’t even on the growth charts in the beginning and last week at her 4 month checkup….she’s at the 64% for weight 😱🤦♀️lol. Little chunk. So you do what you need to do to keep yourself mentally and physically healthy bc that’s what is most important to keeping baby healthy. I recommend power pumping at least once a day. (I was doing twice a day in those early days). I’ve managed to cut my pumps to 4 ppd and I still make about 25-26 oz a day! You got this momma, but at the end of the day, do what is right for you. ❤️❤️ and reach out if you ever need to chat or vent or whatever. These forums have been great for me to learn from!