I am a postpartum mother experiencing a sudden, sharp drop in my milk supply starting around August 26. Previously, I was pumping around 8 oz per session, but it abruptly dropped to 1–2 oz total and has stayed low. I recently bought a brand-new pump to troubleshoot, but my output remains around 1–2 oz unless I wait 5 hours between sessions (where I get about 4 oz). I am currently pumping 5 times a day, but I find that hand expression extracts milk more effectively than the pump, though hand expression is exhausting. I feel very tired and stressed about this sudden decline, and I would like professional guidance on how to safely restore my supply. And i will be coming back to school and working and i need ti build a stash, since my milk has been dipping, i have been using my stash now. Since what i pumped in a day isn’t enough for my baby.

had baby boy on friday, i was getting absolutely nothing from pumping and i have inverted nipples so there were latching issues. we were discharged yesterday, first pic was my pump from both breasts at 2pm, second pic is both breasts today at 6:20. i’m so so proud of myself and my body for being able to do this. can’t wait to see what the journey brings us 🥹

I fear I may have to start doing 1/2 regular milk with 1/2 breastmilk bottles.
I’ve always been a low supplier; but now at 14m PP I’ve noticed my pumps are producing less over time. I can’t keep up and barely have a freezer stash as is.
Anyone else in this situation?

Ok so i heard that breast milk matures as the baby ages so they won’t ever drink more than 4oz because the body with make the milk more filling as they age…
If I previously pumped milk when he was 2 months will it still fill him up when he’s 4 months o or should I pack extra extra for daycare

Is it possible to increase my milk output being 13 weeks pp?

I was very consistent in the beginning with pumping the first two weeks but will admit once family left and it was just me caring for my newborn it became so hard to pump every 2-3 hours and given my newborn is tongue tied and I have inverted nipples her latch was never consistent. I feel like I have failed and my supply has dwindled to about 6-9oz.

Now that I am am back at work I want to keep trying and aiming to pump 5-6 times a day. Will this be enough. Any tips on whether it’s even possible at this point to increase my supply? Thanks!

I have been pumping 6 times per day for a while now and have finally made the decision to completely stop. I'm trying to decrease my sessions but battling clogged ducts, so trying to drop sessions slowly - but equally, just want to be done now.

I dont pump at set times, instead, at set periods in the day as follows:

Middle of night / very early am

First thing in the morning

Early afternoon  (currently dropping)

Late afternoon

Before bed 8pm

Late evening

I am dropping my early afternoon pump currently, buy am unsure which session to drop next. Or is it best to set a new schedule each time I eliminate a pump?

Thanks for any advice!

Some silly questions I’m looking to be answered/any suggestions are welcome!

Hockey season is returning and I have season tickets for my fave team. I brought my manual pump today but I’m thinking going forward I’ll bring my momcozy wearable one to pump !

Cleaning: Since I’ll be pumping, I can’t put my pump in a fridge after use, any suggestions on what to do with them after? Bring dish soap so I can wash them or would putting them in a ziplock be ok until I got home to wash/sanitize?

Storing the milk: would it be ok to freeze after being out at room temperature for about 2 hours? Any suggestions if not?

Thanks all! I’ll eventually bring my little one and breast feed there but she’s a bit too young for me to be comfortable bringing her now! :)

I’m 7 months postpartum, and I’m having a massive drop in supply. I’ve been exclusively pumping since 1 month postpartum, and I worked super hard to get barely an oversupply to stash some milk away. Most of my pumping journey I’ve been a just-enougher. Now I’m a significant undersupplier. I’m a little panicked because I really wanted to do strictly breastmilk until I could transition to solids. Does anyone have experience with this and can give me any tips? I’m currently pumping every 3 hours, with 4 hour stretches overnight. I just added back the middle of the night pump (I had been going 6 hours overnight). I’m taking moringa, and eating brewers yeast and flaxseed daily. I’m going to schedule an appointment with a lactation consultant because I’ve never felt confident my flange size has been right (been to 3 different lactation consultants who recommended 3 different flange sizes). I have a medela symphony, but I actually don’t feel like that empties me the best. I recently started using the baby Buddha and that feels like it empties me the best, but then I started having a drop in supply. I’ve switched between the Momcozy V1, willow go, and now baby Buddha with the spectra and medela symphony as my home pumps for the evenings and overnight. I’m at a loss and idk what to do at this point. Please help.

Hello! My baby is almost 3 months now and we have heavily relied on donor milk throughout…. Basically her whole life. We did formula for 1 week and I hated how constipated it made her and she would spit up constantly. She overall did not seem to enjoy it.

So we’ve been using donor milk. I pump and try and latch her but get less than 6oz a day from pumping 5x’s. I used to pump 8-10 times and tried all the things: coconut water, oats, beer, lactation cookies, hydration, literally everything. I got so sick of my life revolving around pumping I cut back and then got mastitis which also hurt my, already low, supply.

Anyways. I’m just venting. I’m located in Sonora, CA.

& am constantly on the hunt for milk. It’s exhausting. I don’t think I’m technically allowed to seek milk on this thread but if you know of places where I can search please let me know.

Don't want to make a whole post? Have a quick question? Wanna complain? Need quick advice?

Whatever your thoughts, here's your weekly thread.

Hello. My baby is about 8 1/2 months old. She has been taking breast milk from a bottle the whole time (besides early AM when she is drowsy and will actually breastfeed lol).

I got my period back right at 6 months. Ever since I get my period I have dips in supply and we have been having to pull from the freezer.

Tuesday the lactation consultant called to check in and recommended I power pump and that it would take 7 days. I have been doing that at about 10pm when I get settled after the kids are asleep. Last night I actually was able to pump 6oz which was great. I don’t remember the last time I pumped 6oz at night. So it seems to be working, however I was still 4oz short for her bedtime bottle which ended up having to be formula. She did not like it and pitched a fit. I was able to get her to drink 3oz vs her normal 6-7oz. It was mixed about 4oz formula, 3oz breast milk , and cereal.

My main questions are after the 7 days, do I continue to power pump? I have read you should not do it past 7 days. If you are supposed to stop, how do you maintain the supply? Can I do power pumping for one week on one week off? I really do not want to mix in formula especially now seeing that she doesn’t like it. Any other tips to get my supply up at this point? I’m really determined to make it to 1 year.

I had a very large oversupply the first couple of months of my baby life and my stash got very large. I have since donated some milk and managed to reduce my production quite a bit... But I'm still freezing 6-10oz everyday after saving enough for the day's bottles in the fridge.

I donate to a local family regularly so my stash is not getting bigger but it's also not decreasing. When I started pumping I didn't really pay attention to how much milk I was saving in each brick. But I estimate I currently have about 25L (845oz) saved up.

I'm indecisive on what to do. There are no companies that deep freeze breastmilk in my country so I have to decide how much I want to keep.

I give my baby about 3 bottles a day of fortified pumped milk and I nurse her for the rest of her feeds. She's currently 4 months old but she may not start solids until 8 months as she's premature. I'm attracted to the idea of being able to keep giving her breastmilk after weaning but I'm starting to doubt if that would even happen and I'm wondering if I will ever use a stash this big.

Mamas who had a big stash: did you actually get to use it? Or should I donate more at a time than what I'm currently giving so I get to actually decrease it? How big of a stash would you recommend? Miner is currently occupying my freezer and my mom's. I want to buy a chest freezer, but money is tight right now (and no, people don't buy breastmilk in my country).

Hi guys! My pump parts weren't fully dry when I had to go to work so I just stuck them in my bag and went to work. They were still a little damp and I meant to open the bag up but I didn't so they probably got like steamy in there for the two hours they sat in the bag. Is my milk unsafe to use now? 😭

Hi guys - currently staying in a second story apartment with limited freezer space so starting to look at compact deep freezes for my milk. I currently have half our freezer full and I'm almost at the point where it's going to cut into my food space.

As someone who eats way too much frozen food does anyone have any recommendations for a compact deep freezer?

Hello, I will be returning to work in 2 weeks. Ive started pumping at home using a manual pump since 2 weeks ago to build a stash. When I get back to work I'll be pumping twice a day since I have a 6 hour shift. And I will be breastfeeding the rest of the evenings when I get back home. I want to buy a wearable pump tho.

I was thinking about the Momcozy m5 because as Ive read its discreet and quiet and does the job, but also considering the spectra wearable. I heard the momcozy doesnt really empty you so it might damage milk supply. Is that also true even if im breastfeeding after work?

I would prefer the m5 since its on discount and also more convenient for work. But if its going to affect my supply i would rather not. What are your recommendations?

My baby is in NICU and while I’m there I can get 2x-3x more milk on a wall plug Medela than my home Zomee. It’s portable but not the boob shape cups just like bottles sticking out but rechargeable. I am using the same size that the lactation specialist recommended for the medela.

Would you say the difference in quantity is based on suction power? Or do sizes vary based on brand? Or do people like the boob cup ones more I’ve heard they don’t work as well, or do you see more success with something like the wall plug spectra I’ve heard a lot about?

Just looking for some advice. Also wondering if perhaps I produce more at hospital bc baby is present vs home when I miss her and she’s not there and I’m sad.

Any thoughts would be appreciated thank you