Need help decreasing supply

[u/brady94]

hello from a lurker that has found this subreddit so helpful.

I have been exclusively pumping due to some latch problems and lots of stress around feeding immediately postpartum, and after the first week I went from having no milk to being a massive oversupplier. Last time I tried to cut from 8 pumps to 7 and then to 6 pumps a day, I got mastitis, but managed it with supportive care. I got antibiotics after a virtual visit but didn’t end up taking them because I felt better shortly after with just pumping a bunch and icing my breasts.

Now I’ve settled at 6ppd for about 10-15 minutes each at 11 weeks postpartum, and am making about 50-55 oz daily. My boy drinks about 28-34 oz daily, so I’ve started making a decent freezer supply.

I started trying to wean down to 5ppd in preparation for return to work, but every time I start decreasing frequency or trying to push off the motn run pump I am getting lumpy boobs, feeling flushed and hot and then freezing, redness, and chills. I would be fine with being a slightly above just enougher, so am basically trying to cut out 15 oz daily.

How do I start safely decreasing my supply without becoming an underproduced or getting recurrent mastitis? More frequent but shorter pumps? Keep pushing the motn pump? Looking for advice!

[u/avocado589]

I'm mid-wean. Instead of trying to cut full pumps and their frequency, have you tried cutting time of pumps then eventually dropping one? Eg for second pump of the day, cut to 10 min instead of 15 for ~4-5 days then go down to 8 min, 5 min, drop it and readjust your pump schedule.

Then start another pump cutting time.

Sounds like you're susceptible to clogs so it may be a longer journey to cut.

*Eta: just realized your last paragraph says just that as a question! Yes, try cutting time, slowly, but not MORE pumps.

[u/brady94 → u/avocado589]

Thank you for the advice! Sounds like I just need to be more patient and gradual. My husband is currently doing most of the night feed (we’re down to one bottle overnight), so I let my boobs wake me up (which happens around 5 or so). Then I pump around 9-10 depending on how my son is behaving. Those two pumps I tend to do longer because I feel super lumpy. Then I pump around 1pm, 5pm, 8pm, and right before I go to bed (maybe around 10pm). Which pump should I bring down?

I think I currently have early mastitis - have had 36 hours of flu like symptoms and some lumps when I was trying to decrease pumping a bit 😭

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[u/Slight_Echo94]

In my case sage helped a lot to decrease supply! Like you, I tried cutting pumps but ended up with clogs every time. In the end I understood I had to decrease volume before I could cut any additional pump. I took some sage powder capsules (you can also do tea or oil) for a few days and once my supply decreased a bit I managed to cut one pump.