hi there

have a problem at hand now. Have been breastfeeding for 2months now since my bb is born. She has been on a 3hourly interval. Recently, she has sometimes stretched to 4hours interval during certain feeds in the day. And in the night, she has nicely settled into sleeping longer stretches at night. She slept from 9pm to around 4-5am! My breasts will feel so engorged by then i need to pump it out. She will usually feeds on one side and i pump out the other. Usually i will get about 150-170ml per side. But i fear that my supply is dropping due to longer interval, prob the brain is telling my breast not to make so much milk as there's no demand during this stretch cos jus now when i woke up to pump, my supply dropped to 125ml! I am so worried that if this goes on, my supply will drop tremendously and i will not be able to BF my bb any longer if it "dries up". I tried using the alarm clock to wake up earlier, but useless mommy probably didnt hear the alarm as it goes off as i put it at its softest, not wanting to wake my bb up as well (she sleeps in the same room as me). Ironically, it only take my bb to whimper softly and i would wake up!

The other problem is, i hesitate in pumping during the day when she sometimes take a longer afternoon nap and stretch her feeding interval to 4hours becos as i mentioned in my other thread, she is currently rejecting bottles(have tried all sorts of teats, latex and silicone, diff people giving the bottle). For certain mommies, pumping out is not a problem becos if bb wakes up, they merely jus feed the bb with the freshly EBM. For me, if i emptied my breasts with pump to regulate my supply and bb wakes up, i wont have enough in my breasts to feed her and she wont take the bottle!

pls help! i'm so worried....

im still tryint to figuere this whole thing out myself.

just wanted to say that even if you pump there is still milk in there and as she drinks more will come.

have you tried the dr.brown bottles with the level one nips? my daughter likes them best, and still takes the breast.

i hope some one with more experiance and offer some help!

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Michelle (25) and Brad (28)

HOST OF TTC 2+ YEARS
HOST OF Alternative/Herbal/Non-Traditional

if your supply really is adjusting to not have an excess, that is completely normal, your body will still make what the baby needs, it just won't make an excess. you won't just dry up as long as you are still feeding when the baby needs to nurse.

also quite normal. your mama hormones have kicked in and they wake you up at a slight whimper as a way to protect your baby from all kinds of things- even sids.

even if you pump as much milk as you can out of your breasts while the baby is sleeping, your littlew one will still be able ot ge tmilk out. they are lots more efficient than even a really good pump, and a lactating breast is never tru;y empty. even when baby feeds, your body is producing more right then.

do you like to read? if so, a couple books that might help you are "so that's what they're for" by janet tamaro and any books by dr william sears, and his wife martha. he is a pediatrican, she is a nurse and breastfeeding counselor, and they have 8 children together, so they really know their stuff about bf and normal baby stuff. either get "the baby book" or "the breastfeeding book" from them. the baby book has tons of the info form the bf book, plus a lot more.

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thanks for the advice. I know a lactating breast is never truly empty, but the thing that worries me is after pumping, altho there's milk, the flow will be slow, rite? So, my baby (who is unfortunately an impatient feeder) will get very fussy when she suckle and milk flow is slow (due to me "emptying" it by pumping earlier)

Another question is, is it really true that after a while, i'm not supposed to feel engorged anymore, and that no matter how long the interval is, my breasts will feel soft? Becos now, i stop waking up in the night at 3am to pump while bb sleeps. But by 6-7am, when she wakes up for a feed, i am leaking so bad, my shirt is all soaked and my breasts are rock hard.

pls help. thanks.

Supposedly this is true, however I have been nursing my twins now for 5 months and I still get engorged in the morning and just this morning had to change my bra and pads cause I woke up in a pool. And I had just feed one of them at 4:30. You have the most milk in the morning, so I guess for me I will always be engorged in the morning. I stopped doing ANY pumping around 2 months ago so I know I am not over stimulating my breasts I just produce more then I need and that will probably always be the case...I am sooooo not looking forward to weaning.

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Patty 37
DW Julie 40
"domestically partnered" since 1994

Unless you need to pump for work or something you may want to stop pumping so that your breasts will adjust to the babies needs. What you can do for the engorgement in the morning is nurse her on one side until you feel relieved(just enough for relief though) then switch her to the other side and let her drain that one. If you are so engorged that she cannot latch on then pump just enough to relieve your breast but do NOT drain it. Just like an ounce or less (also the pump will draw out the nipple so she can latch on) then put her on the breast. Mine could latch on to my thigh if they thought they would get milk from it so i just stick them on...and they drink like drunken sailers...

the loss of the engourged feeling probably wont ease up until baby is much older. I stopped using breast pads when maya was about 8 months old.

I was you - am you - in so many ways! I am always worrying about supply. Right now I feel I am right to worry as I am getting 30ml between 2 pumping sessions.

I think what you are describing is normal, and your body is just accomodating what your baby's needs are. Maya started her own schedule, and was sleeping at least 8 hours by 2 months old. In the beginning I was very full at every feeding session, and only fed on one side at a time normally. Sometimes she would let go in the middle of feeding and I would shoot across the room! Aw, those were the days.
So in the morning, I fed from one side and pumped the other side and built up quite a supply! I would continue doing that if I were you, and you will be just fine! You are doing great!

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yes, the flow wil be slower, until you have another letdwon, if you have *just* pumped before she feeds

yes, it is true that your bdoy will not feel as engorged once your body is only mkaing the mmilk that the baby needs instead of an excess. for MOST women it is gone between 6 weeks and 3 months. a few of us freaks of nature have a oversupply for longer though, lol. i didn't stop leaking lots until 9--10 months with ds, though it was sooner (around 5 months) with dd. you will still feel "fuller" when it has been a lot longer than usual, but you will want to try to avoid getting actually engorged, as you could get mastitis or a plugged duct. you may want to slow down on the amount that you are pumping out, just to help your supply reduce a little bit, to prevent problems later. if you notice too drastic a drop in supply, you can always add a pumping session back in.

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i only get 4-5oz at each pumping time should this start to increase?

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Michelle (25) and Brad (28)

HOST OF TTC 2+ YEARS
HOST OF Alternative/Herbal/Non-Traditional

how often are you pumpiung?

4-5 oz, is probbaly more than she is using for a feed still at only 2 months old, right?

how often is she nursing, and how often is she being supplemented?

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how often are you pumpiung? im pumping about 3 times a day i only get a combined 4-5oz 2 from my left and 3 from my right

4-5 oz, is probbaly more than she is using for a feed still at only 2 months old, right? she will take a 5oz bottle at night before bed and then again at her 3am feeding...we stop between 3-4oz but she demands the rest everytime...sometimes i have to put her on the boob too

how often is she nursing, and how often is she being supplemented? no supplements for us....she eats about every 3 hrs but has a 6hr streach at night

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Michelle (25) and Brad (28)

HOST OF TTC 2+ YEARS
HOST OF Alternative/Herbal/Non-Traditional

are you tryign to build up a freezer stash for a return to work or something? if so i'd highly advise to stop giving the supplemental bottles -especially at the 3 am session. you could try to pump one side while nursing on the other to see if that helps encourage your letdown better to help get more into the freezer as well.

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Tai
my baby is exactly like yours...feeding 3hour interval but hv a 6hour stretch at night. Why ru still pumping if u can do direct latch on?

she is an exstreamly slow eater and it wares me out to sit up with her that long at night. that and she will fall asleep constantly and then after awhile i cant wake her anymore so i think "ok maybe your done" so i lay her down and 5 min later shes ready to eat again...and the the cy repeats

also im a sahm mom so no returning to work stash BUT i will be returning to school. i will be taking night classes so i need a stash for dh.

after i posted this i started to notice that im getting closer to 3 from my left and my right is trying for 4! i talked to my lc and i just have more tissue in my right boob. my left is smaller and shes amazed im bf'ing at all from my left becuase it dosnt have many gladns/tissue....her words i dont get it lol


good news is my daughter has rolls on her rolls i have her 2 month appt on april 21

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Michelle (25) and Brad (28)

HOST OF TTC 2+ YEARS
HOST OF Alternative/Herbal/Non-Traditional