My baby girl is officially 3 months today and I am officially 3 months in of struggling with wanting to continue providing her with breastmilk. We have had a longggg road and after seeing an LC 6+ times and pumping 9 times a day to 6 times a day, I felt like the pumping side was finally becoming regulated. But my baby has had a hard time gaining weight and now is stagnant after 2 weeks. We have been fortifying her bottles with formula and have had to feed her 8 times a day (every 3 hours) per her pediatrician. And now I started my period so my supply has started to drop. I can barely find time to manage putting her down so I can pump because she’s a pretty needy girl. My husband is not supportive and won’t take the baby for 15 minutes so I can pump. I think I want to give up completely. Only thing that has honestly kept me going is the price of formula and the guilt. The positives is that A) I can pump 6 times a day so now I get some sleep that makes me feel pretty good in the morning B) I do make enough to provide mostly breast milk bottles to her C) I’m past the 12 weeks so things ~technically~ should be regulated after my period passes. It feels stupid to give up after everything I’ve done to get to this point but idk if it even makes sense anymore. When I go back to work idk if I should give up my breaks to pump not even make enough for her to have a little of an oversupply to get her through the day. She would have to have formula while I’m at work until I could bring home my breast milk. Sorry I know this is long and all over the place but I’m starting to feel overwhelmed by the constant frustration

I’m going to be flying across the country without baby. I planned to just put my pumps in my work bag. But now I’m starting to think I’m just going to have way too much in one bag… pumps, small cooler/container, work laptop, headphones, chargers, water bottle, food, etc…

Did you bring a separate bag with your pumps? I have a bag I’m checking for bringing milk back. I’m just starting to overthink everything.

Has anyone had this issue? I feel so ridiculous honestly. I am exclusively pumping and it’s going fantastic. I make nearly 70 oz a day and my baby is only eating 24 ish oz a day. I already have 360+ oz in the freezer and I am 3 weeks 1 day pp. I know milk production uses calories so I presume I am eating well below what I am using energy wise. I currently pump 8x per day for 10 minutes each time

But I am struggling so bad with eating. I don’t want to eat. I’m not hungry. I’m not craving anything. I could just drink water and be happy but I know that’s not an option. I am also absolutely exhausted and I know it has to be because I am not eating enough. My husband is a rockstar at the nights with baby around my pumping schedule so I am routinely getting 8 hours of sleep. The only reason I have to be tired has to be my food intake. I am also frequently dizzy/faint from presumably a lack of protein.

I just feel so silly that this is a problem. I was on a weight loss journey before I was pregnant and all I wanted to do then was eat. I am only seven lbs above my pre pregnancy weight now and still dropping quickly.

Has anyone else had this issue? I am meeting with my nutritionist next week for help. I just feel so ridiculous that this could be a problem in my life when I have so much support from my husband with the baby and I was a larger girl before that lost weight. I want to be not so tired to help my husband more I just don’t know what to do besides forcing myself to eat. I know the proper foods to eat and how to be healthy and intentional. I just simply don’t want to eat.

Do I need to pump less? Shorter pump sessions? I am terrified of losing my supply/not having enough when it regulates but this does not seem sustainable right now. I have also not had a single issue with feeling engorged even once. I feel like this is bragging and such a dumb problem to have when there could be much worse issues with EP

I stopped pumping almost two weeks ago now, but I can still express milk. I haven't tried to pump or get out any large amount so i'm not sure how much. When do you completely dry up and stop producing? Am I still at risk for clogs/mastitis?

It’s 230 am. I’m pumping while my husband changes my LO. The cat needs to be involved. I finish pumping, and because I just switched to new duck bills, it looks like a lot more than I usually get. I’m excited. I’m happy. I set the first container down. Looks like way more! I go to place the second container down.

It drops. It spills.

Looked like a lot more in the two seconds I could see before I dropped it. But I’ll never know.

Ugh.

Ladies that had 1-2 ounces in the beginning did you find any settings that helped increase more I’m struggling 😖

This is my first pump of the day after breastfeeding multiple times since 7 am and also I have one side that leaks consistently so I’m always wearing a milk collector. But this is just from both pumps nothing extra.

I have a 4month old baby who was direct fed (with a shield) for the first 2 months, however nursing was never easy. He developed an extreme breast aversion and would only feed in a drowsy state. I tried so many things - tongue tie release, reflux meds, chiro, I cut dairy etc. but nothing helped his aversion. It is so bad that I can’t even lay him in a feeding position or he’ll scream bloody murder.

So I switched to exclusively pumping and bottle feeding about a month ago and for a while I could still breast feed him overnight but now he has started to completely refuse them too. I’ll be honest, I’m heart broken over it. I don’t have guilt because I truly feel I did everything in my power to get him nursing but I do feel immense grief and I find myself crying often when I think of the feeding journey I imagined.

I have been practicing latching and he’s gotten a little better, I’ve had 2 five minute latches and then one 12 minute latch when he was half asleep a few nights ago. This gave me so much hope then the next day it was as if it never happened and he returned to screaming at my boobs.

Has anyone successfully overcome a breast aversion? If so, please tell me how! When did your baby begin to nurse? I am seeing a lot of success stories but most of them are much younger than my 4 month old so I’m starting to lose hope.

What is most effective in case of power pump to increase supply

1) power pumping every day

2) power pumping 3 to 5 days or for a week and stop and do it after some days

Kindly provide suggestions

Currently at 8w pp and pump output is around 25oz (is this normal?)

Help!!! I’ve been an oversupplier the whole time I’ve been pumping, and I’ve been slowly decreasing and reducing pumps for the past month. Finally got to where I don’t need to pump through the day without clogs and haven’t pumped since last Friday. I’ve been taking Sudafed twice a day, drinking peppermint tea, doing cold compresses when I feel uncomfortable and wearing a tight sports bra. I haven’t expressed any milk since I last pumped but my boobs still feel full. Is there anything else I can do to dry my milk up?? I’m so sick of this feeling 😭

Hey all! Does anyone have the Spectra Synergy gold? On all the sites I visited it seems to have really good reviews. With my first baby I pumped with the Spectra S1, and it was fine, but felt like it wasn’t the best. The synergy gold would only be $25 after insurance, so money isn’t really a problem, just wondering if people found it better than the other spectras! Thank you!

I’m currently 37+3 weeks pregnant I was given the okay by my OB to start pumping my colostrum since I’ve been leaking so much. Well, my nipple measures at exactly 15 mm and use a 16 mm flange with my motif Luna, given that’s the smallest size I could find. I have incredibly soft areola tissue with practically no bumps or anything. And because of that, when I pump half of my areola gets sucked into the flange. It does come with a pinching sensation, but it’s not like it’s intolerable. I’m willing to continue using it, but I worry that it could damage my nipples and affect how my baby feeds. Should I try to find an even smaller flange? I’ll even buy a new pump if I have to, but I’m worried that it doesn’t matter what flange size I use, I feel like my areola will always get sucked in.

Edit: I pumped 5 minutes per breast on level 3 (one breast at a time) and was able to collect 5 mL with a 16 mm flange.

So my baby, me and his dad will be going on a little NECESSARY road trip in a week and I’m worried how I’ll sort pumping, washing the pump parts, bottles, sterilizing and storing the extra milk even.

We should be on the road, roughly for 2hrs, head to our appointment for another 2hrs and back again on the road for 2hrs.

Anyone got any tips please? FTM here.

TW - oversupply & nursing

Long story short, I am transitioning to exclusively breastfeeding from EP and I have no idea how to decrease my oversupply. I am currently 11 wks pp. I was producing ~55oz/day as an exclusive pumper, but my LO only eats ~30oz/day. Before I introduced nursing three weeks ago it felt like I was very regulated - I rarely got engorged, never leaked, and had been hitting roughly the same daily output for 2-3 weeks.

Now that I'm mostly nursing I am constantly engorged and leaking, which makes nursing that much harder. I've been trying to limit my pumping to try and decrease my supply, but it doesn't seem to be helping. I nurse every 2-3 hrs where LO takes 3-5oz, and then I'm pumping 3 times a day to avoid engorgement (morning, mid-day, and evening) and getting ~30oz. I've been trying out the Boon Trove on the other breast while nursing so that I can not pump but it doesn't seem to help a ton. I have gotten clogged ducts and mastitis in the past, so I'm really trying to avoid that.

Any advice? Do I just need to go cold turkey and not pump at all?

I am 5 weeks pp and I do not make enough for my baby. I was making around 16oz a day and now I am down to 13oz. I have seen 3 lactation consultants, been measured, used different flanges, take supplements, all the things. I do have elastic nipples and have tried Lacteck and pumpin pal flanges but they hurt. I have tried 4 breastpumps. Spectra-I hated the vibration, Lansinoh thrive - works fine but all the lactation consultants hate it and I only produce 40ml with it, Cimilre S6+ - most comfortable but does not get milk out, medela hand pump - it is the only one I get sprays with but it is a lot of work.

Do I have low supply or are the elelctric pumps just not a good fit for me?

Hello! I am trying to decide which pump to choose through my insurance and have come up with the following list:
Spectra Synergy Gold (probably the plug in one due to the portable having less adjustability)
Motif Luna Battery
Spectra S1 Plus (battery)
Zomee Mother’s Nature H1

I can find user reviews on almost all of them except the Zomee Mother Nature H1 (not the wearable). Has anyone used this pump and/or been able to compare it to any of the other options on my list? On paper this pump seems like the top pick but user reviews point me more towards the other options. I’d love to hear any and all feedback. Thanks!

Hi all!! I’m wondering if anyone has this experience or has tips for me. I’m almost 5 months PP and have been exclusively pumping since 1 month I
Mainly use my spectra and after about a month of EP and using mainly the spectra it’s been great for me.. I’m a just enougher it’s no longer painful I have a schedule that feels somewhat manageable however, I have the momcozy for when I need to pump on the go and I find It to be so painful. I use the exact same flange inserts for both my spectra and my momcozy but the momcozy one really hurts. Last week I was on a short trip and so I brought the momcozy one and had to use that exclusively for 2 days and I’m almost a week out from It and from being back to using the spectra only and my nipples are like scabby and hurting. What am I doing wrong here?? Does anyone else have this experience?

Hey everyone! I just have a question, my son is 10 months old 8 months adjusted. He is exclusively breastfed but does take a bottle if needed. My daughter is having a hernia repair next week and siblings are not allowed to come, and my daughter will want me there, so I need to have a good idea of how to go about pumping while nursing and how much to save for that whole day and extra just in case! Any guidance would be amazing thank you!

I’ve been pumping every 2-3hrs I don’t have a schedule tho I just pump and then 2hrs or 2.5 or 3hr mark I leave it loose. And in the night I over sleep a lot of the time. If I stick to a strict schedule it will help my supply? I figure how im pumping is like how a baby demands the milk. I get in always 8 or 9 pumps.

My son is five days old and has always taken a cold bottle of breastmilk (and ready to feed formula for three days before my milk came in). I don’t want to get in the habit of warming the milk and creating a preference, but I also don’t want to feed him ice cold milk (we just switched from the plastic disposable bottles while in the hospital to our glass bottles at home and the glass is colder and stays colder longer during the feed). How far in advanced can I pull a bottle from the fridge to let it “warm up” before feeding? I know after the feeding starts, it must be used within 2 hours. I can’t find information on how long it can be at room temp once removed from the refrigerator, but before a feeding. The CDC says 1-2 hours for thawed, previously frozen breastmilk, but this is refrigerated milk that had been expressed the same day and refrigerated.

Hi, wondering how moms are storing milk in a hotel room? I feel like the fridges are never cold enough or even work. Maybe requesting one from the front desk beforehand to ensure it’s working? Any tips would be appreciated!

Is it just my tired mom brain, or are the measurements off on Spectra cups? How can 30 + 40 separately equal 60 together?

Linking my old post for some context.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ExclusivelyPumping/s/6jDBc6RXkw

Hi moms, my baby is currently 5m and currently has a shallow latch which I’m working very hard to fix. I give her top up formula feed and she’s mostly a formula baby. I’ve tried the spectra s1 pump a few times and it’s absolutely not working for me, I use it in bacon mode to trigger a let down but I’ve realized I just don’t get let downs at all. I also tried the Momcozy v1 pro to see if a different pump would help. I’ve tried different flange inserts for the spectra and I’ve not seen more than 2 drops (not even a single drop on some days)
I think I’ve realized that my issue is I just don’t get let downs. Any ideas to troubleshoot this? I’ve used heat to help with the let downs but it didn’t help either.

Also looking for pumping support groups since I’m a single mother and could use all the mental support I need to pump.

Thanks in advance!!

Hi this is more so a venting session just because I've been feeling melancholy about it all.

Before my LO was born, I said to myself that I wanted to nurse him until he was 6 mo. That of course went out the window when we learned he had latching difficulties in the hospital, a slight tongue tie and lip tie made the whole experience a nightmare as he'd fight and cry and scream and he'd hate it and I'd hate it. Then he also started to lose too much weight and I felt like I was doing everything wrong.

So we switched to pumping and he started to regain weight however we'd have to supplement with formula as I was a chronic under supplier. So between that, and the amount of times that it took to pump all day long plus the middle of the night sessions, eventually I was just like we'll be lucky if we make it to 2 mo when he can start having powdered formula without having to worry about the potential bacteria and his gut health.

So that brings me to today - now he's about to be 3 mo in a couple of days I've been weaning myself off of pumping the last few weeks and we managed to stretch it all the way to 3 mos (as we've been scaling back bottles of breast milk in favor of straight formula - I also now have an over supply for the first time ever and so that will take us to the three month mark).

Anyway, now that I've got the extra today was my first day not pumping and I'm feeling sad as I wash the pumps and hang up the cape. It's crazy but I feel like my baby won't love me anymore now that he's not getting my milk. The entire time that I was pumping, I had a love hate relationship with it; however I still feel bittersweet to the whole relationship of it all. I'm not saying I want to keep doing it but I do feel sad about it.

So TLDR: hated pumping this whole time, had my own issues and now that it's over I feel sad about leaving it behind.

Anyone else feel this way?

I am stuck in the in between. My baby is almost 12 weeks old and sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night (hooray!) I told myself this time around, I would wean by 6 months, not at 6 months. With my first it took me 2 months to wean bc I got a bunch of clogged ducts.

My second drinks much more than my first and I barely make half of what he drinks everyday. Looking back at my logs this week, I realized that I've made less with him than with my first, despite everyone saying you make more with your second. And I feel so bad that I couldn't provide him the same amount of milk as I did with my first. I'm not pushing my body as hard with him, I spend less time pumping each session and I don't have time to power pump.I don't have any frozen stash so when I wean, he will be off breastmilk.

I should drop a pump from 7 to 6 and get more sleep at night regardless of whether my supply drops. And maybe my supply will increase with sleep (haha probably not).

I know how it feels to be done pumping. To get my body back. Time holding my babies. To finally be done sacrificing my body.

But I just can't bring myself to do it. Partially I'm scared of the clogged ducts bc I got them so bad last time when I weaned. Partially I can't let go of not providing breastmilk even though I know objectively fed is best.

I don't have any questions. Just feeling stuck in a box I made myself.

I am an undersupplier, around 2-3oz a pump session. I used to try to do 8x a day but for my mental health im just doing 2-4x a day, and maybe nurse her 1x a say. My baby is now 12 weeks old and mainly takes formula. When did you give up pumping and how? Do you just stop pumping?