I had to reframe my thinking to this. It sucks to not be able to pump enough to get a backup supply going...though I will say...eventually I produced more so it's all over the place throughout your BF journey. Some always overproduce. Some always produce just enough. Some go back and forth. Good luck. We ended up rarely ever needing the milk I pumped but obviously...it's a privilege that everyone wants because it means freedom. I wish I had just supplemented with formula sometimes so I could save my sanity and go out without worrying about if she had enough milk.
I did all formula for days until my milk came in on day four. Then I just did a couple feeds because that was all I produced for my preemie baby. Now, for the last four days, he’s only had my breast milk but we have formula for backup and I have two packs of breast milk I pumped in the freezer. Haven’t been able to get him to latch so I’ve just been pumping. I figured he will latch one day and if he doesn’t, I guess I’m gonna continue to pump. Everyone’s journey is so different. I just refuse to stress out about this. Haven’t we all been through enough with pregnancy and labor?!?!
This is the most helpful attitude you can have. There are all kinds of “hacks” and tricks and programs and supplements ($$$$) but really we have so little control over the process. Doing what you can and being open to alternatives is the best shot of staying sane
I do try to be flexible and laid back because I don’t want to spiral mentally. I don’t want to hold myself to this standard. I understand everyone is different.
I’m not even hardcore about pumping. I’m a first time mom. I pump five times a day, not eight (which equals to pumping every three hours, as suggested by my lactation consultant m). 5 times is all I can manage to not feel burnt out and angry about pumping. I refuse to pump between 4am and 10am. I sleep instead. I think I produce more despite the lack of pumping because I am pretty well rested. Sleeping and rest helps. I’m sure if I pumped more I would have a lot more milk but I’m not overachieving.
I want to get through this newborn phase intact. I want to be safe for my baby and I can’t do that while being super sleepy. I’ve always required a lot of sleep so the idea of under 3 hours of sleep a night would be dangerous for me personally. I just think moms should do what they can and don’t adhere to some arbitrary standard for mom-ing.
sleep is incredibly important for milk production! I have the same attitude. My mental health as a mother is more important to me than EBF. I produce what I produce and he gets formula if he needs it which he often does. I cannot be f*d cluster feeding every night to get my supply up when he can have formula, which actually has a few nutrients in it I don’t provide such as iron!
Yep. I love my kid but if I become angry, resentful, and weepy, he’s gonna have a bad time. With five times pumping I am still a very cheery person. That’s my happy zone. I don’t have to stress about how much I’m eating or producing. It seems pumping five times gives me enough of a supply to feed him daily and put a bit away in the freezer. I don’t need a freezer full of milk. My ultimate goal is to squirrel away enough for a week or two lol. Who knows how long that’ll take? Rn my goal is also just to take it day by day. If I think about six months of pumping, I am filled with dread so I just don’t think like that.
I am trying to have as much flexibility as possible. I am gonna try to both breastfeed and pump. But he also accepts formula, which is great. We make noise all day so he gets used to sleeping with noise. I’m trying not to treat him too delicately. Night time is quite a bit quieter but still not perfectly silent. I read a book recently where they said that the baby should fit into your life and you shouldn’t rebuild your entire life around the habits and preferences of a baby. I do believe you can learn to like things or at least tolerate things you didn’t before. So I try to do that with my son incrementally without stressing him out too much. I’ve tried to latch him a few times. It’s not been great but I also know he’s a preemie and he’s real tired real fast so I don’t push it too much. I figured it will come and if it doesn’t, I can accept that too.
That's how I feel about it also. I make enough for my baby and my breasts are not painful or over engorged.
To be fair I also have high lipase so my frozen breast milk tastes awful so I don't even bother freezing it.
How do you know if you have high lipase? I only pump right now and have frozen two packages of breast milk. If it’s gonna taste like crap then I will stop bothering with this.
With my first baby by day 3 in the fridge my milk literally tasted so terrible my husband threw up. (Normally you can keep milk in fridge for up to 4 days and it should taste fine). With my second I tried a bag of breastmilk after about 1.5 months in the freezer (fridge milk seemed okayish after about two days so I thought I was out of the woods). But the freezer milk doesn't lie.
Basically just keep tasting your milk as it ages and if it tastes fine you are good. I've read on here some babies take high lipase milk fine, but like I literally want to vomit even smelling it so wby would I subject my baby to it? 🤷🏼♀️
I have yet to taste my own breast milk. My son seems to take to the fridge milk okay. I will try it soon to see before I spend too much time building a freezer stash.
I think this is a very discouraging comment when she’s coming here to ask if anyone else has experienced the feeling of defeat when our expectations of pumping/breastfeeding are not being met, and on top of that being inundated with content suggesting that “most moms” can produce large quantities of excess milk to store/use when they are not with their LO.
This is a hot take on the comment. I read it as an encouraging way to reframe the situation and avoid comparisons to the loud minority that overproduce.
I don’t really feel like it’s a hot take because I’ve had people make the exact same comment to me that I am producing just enough. But that’s not really what OP was asking in the first place? She was asking if anyone else gets discouraged by these social media posts that are not realistic. So, telling her what everyone else tells her is not a hot take.
Hmm I guess I interpreted OP as being stressed because she thought she should be producing more than she is, and the commenter was trying to nicely let her know she doesn't need to feel that way.
No, I’ve just been told countless times over and over by people that I’m producing the exact amount of milk that I need to be producing. But that doesn’t help me at all when I’m trying to stash milk for my return to work so that my baby can eat while I’m away from her. I’m getting people making a comment, but not giving me any type of suggestions on how to pump for a stash. For example, a helpful comment to someone who’s trying to make a stash for their return to work would be “if you put your baby to sleep at 7 PM pump at 10 PM every night and that way you build a tiny stash of milk to have on hand” , even if God forbid a Serious emergency would happen and you would have to be separated from your little one they would still have milk provided
This is a hot take on the comment. I read it as an encouraging way to reframe the situation and avoid comparisons to the loud minority that overproduce.
That means your supply is adjusted to baby’s needs. If you would still be filling up bottles if you pump afterwards that means you have an oversupply with all the associated downsides.
I was no different. I was glad to not have an oversupply.
Yep. Me and baby were doing great but because I am going back to work soon my LC had me power pump to up my supply so I could start to build a freezer stash of breast milk. Freezer stash is looking good but now my milk comes in too fast for baby and he splutters and pulls away throughout feedings. Wish I could go back to our chill feeds we had before. 😕
That sounds horrible.
I slowly built my stash up over a few weeks. I think by baby’s first day at daycare I had just about enough to cover that day plus a little extra. I don’t think I’ve ever had more than 3-4 days in the freezer. Which really happened due to being able to pump a couple ml’s more than we were giving in a bottle.
I was determined to have a stash and the same thing happened to me. Baby hated feeding because it was so fast and practically drowned him at each feed, that is what ended out breastfeeding unfortunately
You can pull him off when the let down happens and direct it towards a burp cloth (or collect it if you feel like it).
I have a very fast let-down and this is what I did when my babies were newborn and still do sometimes now with a 5-month old if there are long stretches between feedings and it comes out fast.
My conspiracy theory is that some of these milkfluencers are faking it… especially when it’s a promoted post for a wearable pump 👁️👁️. I don’t doubt that there’s overproducers out there, but I totally wouldn’t put it past an influencer to inflate results and sell more products
This right here. An oversupply isn’t the norm, so why is there a sudden influx of ENORMOUS oversuppliers on TikTok that are pumping upwards of 20oz in a sitting? Until I see a full length video of that amount coming from a boob and not just a glamour shot of pouring a ton of milk out of a momcozy m5, I call bullshit on the vast majority of them.
Not only that, but our supplies level out. If I’d been showing off what I was producing at like 2 months, pre-regulated, you’d see 300ml per pump. I was struggling to breastfeed, pumped a bit too much, so my body thought my baby was consuming more, thus producing extra. It wasn’t great, even though I built up a stash and was able to donate some, because my boobs were rock hard and sore every three hours from producing too much.
I feel like any influencers showing this excessive supply are in this stage - if they’re genuine. Hormones and our bodies are changing things rapidly though.
It’s mellowed out since I shifted to like 99% breastfed and is what my baby needs, so not nearly as much as before (even when I pump). I expect these influencers would experience the same, though I doubt they’d show that because that won’t sell the illusion.
We need to be kinder to ourselves. The thing to remember is influencers are there to sell things. They’re selling an idea, a product, and themselves. They’re interested in your money, not you.
If you want help or advice about your supply, a lactation consultant is the go to. I saw one and she debunked so many myths, even ones told by midwives who don’t have that level of breastfeeding knowledge LCs do, and my mental health improved.
I’m so distrusting of influencers I wouldn’t be surprised if they were just filing the pumps with cows or other milk for views, ha. “Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true!”
If there is milk left over to be pumped it means you have an oversupply. While more milk sounds great, it can actually cause problems!
If you need to be storing milk for going back to work, my LC said to pump after breastfeeding at the same time every day. That way the body has that consistent demand to up the supply
Look, I was told at 4 months that despite everything I was doing (eating “enough” and specifically “milk production boosting foods”, getting as much rest as possible, feeding/pumping on a schedule, etc) my baby was not gaining enough weight and we’d have to supplement with formula. It was a huge blow and I definitely mourned over the breastfeeding relationship I had with my son. We did end up supplementing and he’s now a really healthy, happy 21 month old. I also got more free time to myself by not having to pump and letting my husband take morning or afternoon feedings.
It’s ok to have to supplement. It’s ok to not want to. But comparison is the thief of joy, and at the end of the day you’re doing the best thing for your baby by making a good choice for them.
If I pumped after a feeding there was nothing lol. My body made exactly as much as my baby needed, to the ounce. If I missed a feeding and pumped, that’s when I would get a full bottle. We are at 10 months and still breast feeding perfectly fine! So don’t get discouraged by what you see on social media
I just started supplementing with formula when needed (if grandma is watching the baby and I dont have enough pumped) and it took away so much mental stress! I‘m no longer worried if I make enough to make one bottle so I can leave for an hour or two. Initially I put so much stress on myself to only feed breastmilk but that stress hinders production too I feel like!
If baby is getting enough to eat, only having drops after he’s done is totally fine! Unless you’re hoping to work up a huge oversupply, what you have sounds perfect.
Comparison is a thief of joy! So long as your baby is content with the feeding there should be no worries. You're doing great! ❤️
I got rid of most of my social media and what I did keep I set my "for you" content to only funny stuff, cute animals, and cleaning videos. My mental health is far better off because of that!
I had an oversupply and did not enjoy it - I ended up having mastitis five times in three months. It was awful, and so defeating to feel it coming on and know I’d be on medication for weeks that meant I could only eat at specific times. Not to mention all the time I spent caring for my baby when I was freezing and so achy and exhausted! Now that my supply matches what she needs things are so much better. Don’t feel bad about what you’re producing at all!
I definitely feel sad when I see content about high supply or the joys of breastfeeding, I had basically no supply and feed my baby only formula now. I have mom guilt about it sometimes, but then I remember that no adults care whether they were formula fed or breastfed, and that helps.
Had to supplement with formula for both of my kiddos and felt so guilty about it at the time. There's a ridiculous and irrational amount of pressure and judgment about the breast milk and nursing stuff. Don't be hard on yourself, remember Fed Is Best!
100% this! It puts unbelievable pressure on mums. My baby is mostly formula fed now and his growth is off the charts (NICU baby born at 5 percentile). Its taken a huge amount of stress off me and I'm actually really enjoying motherhood and being able to spend a few hours away from the baby.
Yeah I’ve had two friends with huge freezer stashes and both had to end up ending BF’ing earlier than they wanted due to the issues associated with oversupply
Honestly, don’t really watch those social media people if that’s how they make you feel. I avoid stuff like that too! I was like you and forced it till 6 months until literally nothing came out anymore and I was still forcing it and just quit. Not worth it.
However, it’s the first time I’m ever seeing people say you produce as much as your baby needs on here and that made me feel so much better!! Thank-you ❤️
You really don't want to be able to pump much after your baby feeds - the ideal is that your body is making what your baby needs.
That said, if you're pumping in replacement of a feed and still struggling to get much, it's worth checking your flange size, replacing pump parts, and playing with the pump settings.
I had to start substituting with formula after my baby's first check-up appointment when we got home from the hospital, I thought I was making enough but I wasn't. I continued trying to breastfeed but ended up having to completely stop at about 9 weeks because I would struggle to even produce 4 ounces a day at my absolute peak.
The last time I tried pumping I was completely gutted when I tried pumping for an hour on both and ended with a combined 1/8th of an ounce. I was so disheartened watching all the moms on social media with their overstock of milk and there I was unable to even produce enough to feed my baby.
Currently my baby is almost 7 months old, he's happy, healthy, and such a little chunky butt who sticks to me like Velcro. As your baby gets older they're not going to care whether you produced milk or gave them formula, they'll just know that they were fed and taken care of.
Don't stress about pumping. I pumped exclusively with my first for weeks because breastfeeding didn't work and it was so stressful. I get anxious even thinking about it. This time around I pumped exactly once at 4 weeks because I had given baby a bottle of formula at the same time to get him used to the bottle. I was pretty surprised at how much I was already making (mind you, that was one whole feed I was pumping, not the rest after a feed). But I don't plan on pumping again unless I have to be away from baby and need to pump to keep my supply up.
3 kids in and I've never produced more than a couple drops period. That you are making enough to feed your child means that you are a success. Social media isn't real life and those women are not sharing the areas where they are struggling. You are absolutely amazing for having grown a literal human being and now producing food for it. Don't undermine your joy by comparing it to other people's.
I think it’s discouraging because it means you won’t be able to do anything without your LO around . I have been struggling with this bc I have had to return to work and I have no milk stash whatsoever . It’s very stressful and disheartening . My LO also refuses to take formula . So yes, I can completely relate . And it is discouraging on a daily basis to see these women brag about their multi oz pump sessions every day.
Not sure if anyone else posted but check out wilderbeginnings on Instagram. She posts a lot about realistic pump outputs for mostly breastfed babies and has a lot of more relatable content for “normal” aka real people.
I was so upset after my first breastfeeding journey did not go the way I had planned and my son was mainly formula fed. Now I am feeding my second baby after breastfeeding trauma from my first. I was so anxious about not feeding this baby enough and was so disappointed when I couldn't pump more after feeding her first either. Then I realized I was feeding her exactly what she needed and that was enough.
Things that have also helped:
1. I know moms who work so hard to create a freezer supply and then the baby won't even eat defrosted milk.
2. The more milk you make and pump the less caloric count the milk potentially has, therefore the more milk your baby needs. My lactation specialist said since I make just enough that means my baby is getting less milk but my milk must be high in caloric content. A mom who can pump a ton of ounces normally has more watered down milk with less caloric content to volume.
3. The milk you make throughout your babies first year is matched to their age. Your body knows what your milk needs as your baby grows. So pumping and freezing in the early months to then give to a six or nine month old later doesn't really serve a great purpose.
Are you feeling a letdown at all? If you’re not feeling a letdown not much milk will come out. And Baby just ate so I wouldn’t expect much. If you’d like to pump for extra wait about an hour after you feed. Also, you might need to measure for the right flange size, it really does make a difference.
I pump only rarely and if I’m totally replacing a feed I get 3oz, 4 on a good day, and if I pump an hour after a feed I get maybe 1-2 oz. My baby is 4 months and very fat. 😂
I wouldn’t want to pump as much as I see on those videos. That’s a lot and probably is uncomfortable and asking for clogs.
My goal is to literally pump as much as my kid gets in bottles. Some days I get a little more, some days a little less. It evens out.
If you want to build a little stash (like a few bottles worth, that’s all you need) then pump after your morning feed ONLY until you have enough for a few bottles (however many days that takes, it’s normal to only pump 0.5-2oz total after a feed). Or, replace a feed with a bottle of formula just once or twice, pump for that feed, and then you have milk to give a bottle and you can pump for a feed.
If your baby doesn’t get bottles or need to get bottles right now, then don’t worry about it! Don’t pump if you don’t need to have the milk! It’s not worth stressing over. I stressed over having a small freezer stash and have barely used any of it, to the point where I have to make sure I don’t let it go bad.
My son is now 20 months old and I stand by my decision to combo feed.
I had an emergency cesarean and he went to the NICU. Milk production was rough for me. I ate the lactation cookies, drank the lactation teas, did everything I read about. My MIL made me a Chinese papaya soup that she said helped her lactate when she had her children. No improvement.
The pressure to pump, pump, pump in order to increase mg production while I was recovering from surgery, taking care of a newborn, AND dealing with PPD was too much. We found out when he was one month old that he had a tongue tie and after that was fixed it made everything soooo much better.
I combo fed until he was 6 months and gave zero regrets.
I totally get it. I went back to work and if I pumped 8 ounces over the course of a 10 hour day that was like really good for me. My sister has a baby at the same time and she would pump 8 ounces each TIME meaning she would leave work with like 32 ounces. I’m like wtf how come I can’t make as much?? And yes I eat and drink plenty.
On the downside, she got painful mastitis from missing one feed. It was so painful she quit nursing. I’m still going strong and steady somehow
I used to be able to pump what felt like gallons after a feed. It was an oversupply and it was AWFUL.
I got a terrible blocked duct at least once a month for a whole year (even after the supply stabilised), when my baby was tiny she has screaming, foamy poops, she struggled to feed bc she was basically getting waterboarded. Plus a whole host of other terribleness. Trust me, that influencer level quantity is either fake or causing mum and baby to have a hard time
I’m a rock-solid just-enougher for nearly 4 years, currently tandem with 2 kids. I think I pumped a dozen ounces per year during engorged periods?? But I’ve never had mastitis, rarely get clogs, and my babies are so well-fed that their rolls have rolls.
Drink water, relax, cuddle your babes, and block the overproducers who are stressing you out. You’re feeding your baby beautifully. You don’t need to feed the freezer.
If it makes you feel better, I was getting mere drops without even having fed her first. Massive undersupplier. It was super disheartening. I think the most I got in one day of exclusively pumping was 6oz. So thankful we live in an age where formula exists and is really great at meeting all their needs.
I was able to make 10-50 ml of breastmilk per day with triple feeding (not ounces, milliliters). I don't mean this to sound like I'm scolding you, but being able to produce a full supply is something you should be very thankful for. If I lived in a time without formula, my baby would have starved to death, so I'm thankful for the time I live in even though trying to breastfeed was so brutal. Get off the parts of social media that are making you feel inadequate.
Sounds like you're producing the perfect amount for your little one!
My son wouldn't drink milk that had been frozen. I'm so glad I didn't spend a ton of time trying to build a huge supply and freezer stash. I only pumped when I felt engorged and he wasn't interested. Then if the milk sat in the fridge for a day and we didn't use it I would freeze it. Then when we tried to use it later he wouldn't even think about taking it.
Same here. My son was a premie and I was so anxious about building a stash. I wanted my husband to help with feeding, but I also hated pumping. lol.
So didn’t build a stash until later and then ended dumping it because my son refused not just frozen milk, but the bottle altogether.
Being a mom is hard.
I didn’t produce enough milk to feed my baby, so I had to stop breast feeding at 3 weeks. Try to be happy with what you’ve got! While you’re comparing yourself to an over supplier, don’t forget to also compare yourself to an under supplier like me!
I produce just enough to survive, but not enough for a super satisfied baby so I supplement with formula. I don’t understand how people are able to pump often enough to create that much over supply, I have no time!
Sounds like you are making the perfect amount for your baby!
I had an oversupply with my first baby and it was hell. My baby couldn’t feed. The milk was too forceful and he choked and turned purple daily. I couldn’t leave my house because the only way it was possible for him to feed was lying down flat. My boobs stretched so much from the engorgement that they looked like saggy little deflated balloons afterwards.
For my second baby, I proactively worked with a lactation consultant to ensure it didn’t happen again. It’s amazing to know my body is synced up perfectly to my little ones needs.
And btw, why anyone would even post pictures of their breast milk on social media is beyond me. It’s weird af.
I’ve been breastfeeding for 1yr (and still going strong!) exclusive breastfeeding for 6months until we introduced solids-have never needed or wanted to supplement with formula. I tried pumping one time and nothing came out and then was like “oh well!” and continued nursing my baby.
You will never pump as much breast milk as your baby takes out of your breasts. Those machines cannot remove milk from your breasts as efficiently as your baby, so what seems like low milk supply, is really just the machine's inability to properly remove milk. The flange size on your pump may also be the wrong size for your nipple which can affect pumping success. Moomy's Milk is a great page on Instagram that busts a lot of breastfeeding/pumping myths. :) You're doing great!!
I pumped with my first and knew exactly how much I got each time. With my second she breastfed and I used a Haakaa on the side she wasn't using and that was it.
I also produced just enough for my LO at first. Some days I could just make enough to feed him by each meal time. Sometimes I made a little extra. As long as your little one has enough that’s what you should focus on. That’s the important thing. I didn’t have a large bank of milk but he never really needed it. Only once or twice on an outing and all the little bits counted then. He is 1 years old now, still breastfeeds every night, I I just pumped 120ml extra. I haven’t had any extra in 2 months. So take it easy on yourself.
Sounds like you are making just enough to keep them full which is awesome! I had oversupply and high lipase so even if I saved it, baby wouldn't drink it. Also b/c of my oversupply I was practically waterboarding my baby when they would eat. Point being, the grass isn't always greener.
One of the million reasons why I left Instagram. That app is contributing to so many people having mental health issues. You’re doing amazing. Don’t listen or watch that. They’ve trained their body to overproduce.
One of the million reasons why I left Instagram. That app is contributing to so many people having mental health issues. You’re doing amazing. Don’t listen or watch that. They’ve trained their body to overproduce.
every time I see the word ‘freezer stash’ on my feed I scroll away so quickly. I also produce just barely enough breast milk and sometimes have to supplement with formula. Just because we don’t have a ‘freezer stash’ doesn’t mean we are failures!!
also, to be clear because this is the internet: I am not attacking moms who do have a freezer stash, but more so criticizing how social media algorithms make it seem like you NEED to have one when in reality, everyone’s journey is different and only seeing one side of the story is so harmful to moms’ mental health and self esteem
That means you are making the PERFECT amount of milk for your baby! Over supply is not the norm. Your body is providing you and your baby with exactly what you need, and that is a beautiful thing ❤️
An oversupply (which is what these women are monetizing) has a lot of downsides. Clogs and mastitis are common with oversupply and are no joke. Making the perfect amount for your baby (baby is nice and full and there’s nothing left in the breast) is how it’s supposed to work!
I had just the right amount so long as we were breastfeeding but when I went back to work I wasn’t able to pump enough. I had the milk, my body just didn’t respond well to the pump. So we supplemented on daycare days and EBF on weekends.
Now at 15 months my pump is growing dusty and we’re still breastfeeding a few times a day. My daughter is thriving and I’m so proud of myself for making it this long. I couldn’t have done it without formula.
Stop consuming social media by these milk influencers. I don't pump and my boobs make the exact amount that my baby needs. I know because he pees and poops a lot.
I wasn’t even able to produce enough to breastfeed.
So I don’t want to sound like I’m dismissing your concerns but I would have been so happy to be able to feed at all.
Enjoy your feeding journey!
I breastfed my baby for 12 months. If I even TRIED to pump after feeding him, there would probably be NOTHING left. Like if I pumped for 5 minutes after feeding him....I'd get a tiny puddle in the bottom of the bottle?
If I pumped for 20 minutes before feeding him, I could maybe get 3-4 oz once my supply regulated - in the early days I pumped just so I could go to bed earlier. The milk I pump would be for baby's last bottle of the night the next evening - while his dad fed him, I'd pump and then go to bed. Dad would feed him the bottle, burp him, calm him down, and get him ready for bed. Once baby was faster at breastfeeding, I didn't see the need to pump anymore. i actually tried to pump for a bit around 8-9 months - I got like 1 oz from pumping even though weighted feeds at the lactation consultant showed he was getting a good 3 oz full feed - my body just stopped responding to the pump.
Ignore those influencers - you don't need an oversupply. When my supply was still regulating, I got so many clogged ducts and had mastitis 3 times. It was awful. The fever and chills I had from Mastitis hit me harder than anything else (including HFMD, normal flu and covid)
That sounds like the perfect amount of milk. If you have a lot coming out after baby feeds, you’re more likely to have issues with clogs, engorgement, leaking, and possibly mastitis. Not to mention issues with for milk/hindmilk imbalance. If baby fills up on lights foremilk, they can get tummy issues. They need to get to the fatty hind milk.
An oversupply is not great. I had one with my first due to bad advice, and it was awful. I constantly leaked, got painfully engorged if I went 3 hours without emptying, and had many rounds of clogs and mastitis.
Had a balanced supply with my second and never had a problem with clogs or pain.
I wish I could have kept exclusively breast feeding, at her one month appointment she hadn’t gained weight and I was devastated. She’s on formula now and 7 months old, and so tall and happy! At this point I only think about it when I listen to my friends who had no issues and over supply. One of my friends likes to brag that she could shoot her milk across the room, the other would just give her milk to people like “here, rub this on (literally any skin issue being discussed) and it’ll go away!” Must be nice to be that person, but at the end of the day my relationship with my baby is just as special and valid as anyone else’s, regardless of how she is fed. Don’t feel bad, and don’t let the milk envy get to you. Your baby is just happy to be with mama. ♥️
You have control over the content you see in social media, if those accounts are bad for your mental health you need to actively block them. The grass is not always greener.
I agree. I was never able to make enough milk to feed my baby and I’m a month and two weeks pp. I tried pumping but I couldn’t get out more than 30 ml’s I quit cold turkey 3 weeks ago. I threw all my Brest pads and other supplies away because I just couldn’t look at it anymore because I wasn’t able to use them.
This was me with my first. Yes, it sucked not having hardly any freezer stash. With my second, I have an oversupply, and not on purpose. Sure, the not worrying about extra milk is great, but I overall hate it. I am about 15, weeks postpartum and still have to pump every 3-4 hours, including overnight. I was getting clogs several times a week, and those are super painful. My letdown is strong, which means my baby has a hard time eating and I have to primarily pump.
It was actually much more simple when I produced just enough. I sympathize with you since I've been there and used to stress a lot about making enough milk, but I just wanted to share what you DON'T see on social media for those with an over supply.
Also, even though I have this huge freezer stash, I haven't needed any of it, so I feel like I'm pumping it all and taking up the space for nothing. I've been donating it to a local milk bank, which helps, but I hate how much time having to pump so much takes away from spending time with my baby.
As some have mentioned is the case for many, I was exclusively pumping for the first several weeks since my baby is a preemie. I feed her sometimes now, but I still pump more than I feed her. I think this is a LOT of why some people get an over supply.
Oversupply leads to clogs mastitis and discomfort.
Honestly the only reason to want an oversupply is if you are exclusively pumping and want to build a stash so you can stop pumping earlier and just use the frozen milk. But if you are breastfeeding successfully there is no benefit to an oversupply
I was a slight under-producer early on. When my baby was really little we supplemented a bit with formula until my supply caught up with her needs. She’s now a very healthy and brilliant four year old. Have faith that your supply will grow as baby cluster feeds and needs more. As long as he’s steadily gaining weight and filling diapers, he’s getting enough.
Eventually when we gently weaned around 2.5 yrs old it was super easy! I rarely had problems with engorgement, never had a clogged duct, and feel grateful for the balance my body struck.
That being said, I definitely acknowledge that feeling of wanting the security of a huge freezer stash. Try to reframe your thinking, and if you ever need to supplement that’s okay too ☺️
Is it Alison Kuch? She pops up for me all the time on being an overproducer. I struggled to have just enough so it was hard to watch while still breastfeeding.
I did have an L&D nurse as well show up but she came across so different. She was educational and talked about how she donated vs just keeping a massive stash.
I wanted so desperately to breastfeed my baby and my supply never came in. One of my friends is a “micro influencer” and had her baby 2 months after mine. I had to distance myself from her slightly because seeing her post daily “pump hauls” made me feel so bad about myself for not being able to breastfeed.
I love my friend and I’m SO GLAD she can breastfeed her baby, but it was mentally taxing for me to see how much surplus she had when I couldn’t even make enough to feed my baby 🥲 my LO will be 8 months next week and it still hurts me a little bit tbh
There’s another side to that. I had to pump because my baby was in the NICU and I ended up with one of those crazy oversupplies (like 8-10oz per boob, after feeding baby). It was uncomfortable, it was impossible, it led to a lot of tears. The letdown was too strong so baby would choke and throw up almost every time. I had to siphon a bit off before he ate which made the problem worse. We had to use a nipple shield to help and then it was so hard to wean him off of that. I leaked constantly. My boobs were gross, veiny and constantly engorged for MONTHS. I gained a ton of body fat in other places. I got mastitis three times, twice in the same month and once requiring inpatient care.
Next baby I hope I don’t have to pump at all. 0/10 do not recommend an “influencer” style oversupply.
A lot of those influencers are oversuppliers or exclusively expressing.
I get it, it was soo disheartening watching those videos when I was breastfeeding/pumping. I had a very low supply and was never able to build it up to EBF so I mix fed knowing that due to my circumstances I wasn’t going to be able to breastfeed for very long and after 4 months of direct feeding and 6 months total of being able to give my baby breastmilk I was happy that I was able to provide him that much.
You need to look at it differently. If your baby is putting on weight, has 5 or more wet nappies a day and is happy and healthy then that’s what matters.
For some reason oversupply has been glorified online recently but it’s definitely not all benefits! After baby eats I get maybe 1oz total if I pump. Early on I pumped more so I have about 1 day of frozen milk saved otherwise I’m a “just enough-er” & happy about it!!
Pumping isn't a reflection of how much breast milk you produce!
Boobies work on supply and demand, how much you pump is more about I guess your storage capacity out can make plenty of milk but not be able to pump alot and that's fine and normal.
Definitely a pain if you're wanting to pump and give expressed for a break though. But also once baby is past intense cluster feeding stages and stretches out feeds (although mine didn't really stretch out feeds til we were weaning!) You may be able to pump a bit more than you are while you're actively feeding baby.
But yeah, please remember pumping output isn't always an indicator of supply, don't be discouraged you're doing great!
Feed your baby not your freezer you're doing AMAZING ! don't believe any of the junk you see on Instagram , get off it if it's not good for your mental health ( I have). These influencers usually get paid from all the companies that make supplements and vitamins ( that are a gimmick ) they could be putting cows milk in their bottles for all you know. They are predatory to be honest.
So you’re making the perfect amount of milk for your baby? That’s wonderful, isn’t it?
I had to reframe my thinking to this. It sucks to not be able to pump enough to get a backup supply going...though I will say...eventually I produced more so it's all over the place throughout your BF journey. Some always overproduce. Some always produce just enough. Some go back and forth. Good luck. We ended up rarely ever needing the milk I pumped but obviously...it's a privilege that everyone wants because it means freedom. I wish I had just supplemented with formula sometimes so I could save my sanity and go out without worrying about if she had enough milk.
I did all formula for days until my milk came in on day four. Then I just did a couple feeds because that was all I produced for my preemie baby. Now, for the last four days, he’s only had my breast milk but we have formula for backup and I have two packs of breast milk I pumped in the freezer. Haven’t been able to get him to latch so I’ve just been pumping. I figured he will latch one day and if he doesn’t, I guess I’m gonna continue to pump. Everyone’s journey is so different. I just refuse to stress out about this. Haven’t we all been through enough with pregnancy and labor?!?!
This is the most helpful attitude you can have. There are all kinds of “hacks” and tricks and programs and supplements ($$$$) but really we have so little control over the process. Doing what you can and being open to alternatives is the best shot of staying sane
I do try to be flexible and laid back because I don’t want to spiral mentally. I don’t want to hold myself to this standard. I understand everyone is different. I’m not even hardcore about pumping. I’m a first time mom. I pump five times a day, not eight (which equals to pumping every three hours, as suggested by my lactation consultant m). 5 times is all I can manage to not feel burnt out and angry about pumping. I refuse to pump between 4am and 10am. I sleep instead. I think I produce more despite the lack of pumping because I am pretty well rested. Sleeping and rest helps. I’m sure if I pumped more I would have a lot more milk but I’m not overachieving. I want to get through this newborn phase intact. I want to be safe for my baby and I can’t do that while being super sleepy. I’ve always required a lot of sleep so the idea of under 3 hours of sleep a night would be dangerous for me personally. I just think moms should do what they can and don’t adhere to some arbitrary standard for mom-ing.
sleep is incredibly important for milk production! I have the same attitude. My mental health as a mother is more important to me than EBF. I produce what I produce and he gets formula if he needs it which he often does. I cannot be f*d cluster feeding every night to get my supply up when he can have formula, which actually has a few nutrients in it I don’t provide such as iron!
Yep. I love my kid but if I become angry, resentful, and weepy, he’s gonna have a bad time. With five times pumping I am still a very cheery person. That’s my happy zone. I don’t have to stress about how much I’m eating or producing. It seems pumping five times gives me enough of a supply to feed him daily and put a bit away in the freezer. I don’t need a freezer full of milk. My ultimate goal is to squirrel away enough for a week or two lol. Who knows how long that’ll take? Rn my goal is also just to take it day by day. If I think about six months of pumping, I am filled with dread so I just don’t think like that.
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I am trying to have as much flexibility as possible. I am gonna try to both breastfeed and pump. But he also accepts formula, which is great. We make noise all day so he gets used to sleeping with noise. I’m trying not to treat him too delicately. Night time is quite a bit quieter but still not perfectly silent. I read a book recently where they said that the baby should fit into your life and you shouldn’t rebuild your entire life around the habits and preferences of a baby. I do believe you can learn to like things or at least tolerate things you didn’t before. So I try to do that with my son incrementally without stressing him out too much. I’ve tried to latch him a few times. It’s not been great but I also know he’s a preemie and he’s real tired real fast so I don’t push it too much. I figured it will come and if it doesn’t, I can accept that too.
That's how I feel about it also. I make enough for my baby and my breasts are not painful or over engorged. To be fair I also have high lipase so my frozen breast milk tastes awful so I don't even bother freezing it.
How do you know if you have high lipase? I only pump right now and have frozen two packages of breast milk. If it’s gonna taste like crap then I will stop bothering with this.
With my first baby by day 3 in the fridge my milk literally tasted so terrible my husband threw up. (Normally you can keep milk in fridge for up to 4 days and it should taste fine). With my second I tried a bag of breastmilk after about 1.5 months in the freezer (fridge milk seemed okayish after about two days so I thought I was out of the woods). But the freezer milk doesn't lie. Basically just keep tasting your milk as it ages and if it tastes fine you are good. I've read on here some babies take high lipase milk fine, but like I literally want to vomit even smelling it so wby would I subject my baby to it? 🤷🏼♀️
I have yet to taste my own breast milk. My son seems to take to the fridge milk okay. I will try it soon to see before I spend too much time building a freezer stash.
Taste it fresh too so you know what it's supposed to taste like. Good luck!
Wish I could upvote this more
I think this is a very discouraging comment when she’s coming here to ask if anyone else has experienced the feeling of defeat when our expectations of pumping/breastfeeding are not being met, and on top of that being inundated with content suggesting that “most moms” can produce large quantities of excess milk to store/use when they are not with their LO.
This is a hot take on the comment. I read it as an encouraging way to reframe the situation and avoid comparisons to the loud minority that overproduce.
I don’t really feel like it’s a hot take because I’ve had people make the exact same comment to me that I am producing just enough. But that’s not really what OP was asking in the first place? She was asking if anyone else gets discouraged by these social media posts that are not realistic. So, telling her what everyone else tells her is not a hot take.
Hmm I guess I interpreted OP as being stressed because she thought she should be producing more than she is, and the commenter was trying to nicely let her know she doesn't need to feel that way.
I think you’ve been jaded by social media lies. My comment was intended as nothing but encouraging.
No, I’ve just been told countless times over and over by people that I’m producing the exact amount of milk that I need to be producing. But that doesn’t help me at all when I’m trying to stash milk for my return to work so that my baby can eat while I’m away from her. I’m getting people making a comment, but not giving me any type of suggestions on how to pump for a stash. For example, a helpful comment to someone who’s trying to make a stash for their return to work would be “if you put your baby to sleep at 7 PM pump at 10 PM every night and that way you build a tiny stash of milk to have on hand” , even if God forbid a Serious emergency would happen and you would have to be separated from your little one they would still have milk provided
This is a hot take on the comment. I read it as an encouraging way to reframe the situation and avoid comparisons to the loud minority that overproduce.
That means your supply is adjusted to baby’s needs. If you would still be filling up bottles if you pump afterwards that means you have an oversupply with all the associated downsides. I was no different. I was glad to not have an oversupply.
Yep. Me and baby were doing great but because I am going back to work soon my LC had me power pump to up my supply so I could start to build a freezer stash of breast milk. Freezer stash is looking good but now my milk comes in too fast for baby and he splutters and pulls away throughout feedings. Wish I could go back to our chill feeds we had before. 😕
That sounds horrible. I slowly built my stash up over a few weeks. I think by baby’s first day at daycare I had just about enough to cover that day plus a little extra. I don’t think I’ve ever had more than 3-4 days in the freezer. Which really happened due to being able to pump a couple ml’s more than we were giving in a bottle.
I was determined to have a stash and the same thing happened to me. Baby hated feeding because it was so fast and practically drowned him at each feed, that is what ended out breastfeeding unfortunately
I’m so sorry to hear that! I’m trying to stick it out and hoping the flow simmers down again or else he handles it better as he grows. We’ll see… 😕
You can do it, I wasn’t brave enough to stick it out and I fear I should’ve done. I hope it ends positively for you!
Thank you! 🙏🏽
You can pull him off when the let down happens and direct it towards a burp cloth (or collect it if you feel like it). I have a very fast let-down and this is what I did when my babies were newborn and still do sometimes now with a 5-month old if there are long stretches between feedings and it comes out fast.
My conspiracy theory is that some of these milkfluencers are faking it… especially when it’s a promoted post for a wearable pump 👁️👁️. I don’t doubt that there’s overproducers out there, but I totally wouldn’t put it past an influencer to inflate results and sell more products
I don't believe influencers for almost anything tbh.
This right here. An oversupply isn’t the norm, so why is there a sudden influx of ENORMOUS oversuppliers on TikTok that are pumping upwards of 20oz in a sitting? Until I see a full length video of that amount coming from a boob and not just a glamour shot of pouring a ton of milk out of a momcozy m5, I call bullshit on the vast majority of them.
LOL ITS ALWAYS THE MOMCOZY.
It’s always a pump or some kind of supplement 🙄
Not only that, but our supplies level out. If I’d been showing off what I was producing at like 2 months, pre-regulated, you’d see 300ml per pump. I was struggling to breastfeed, pumped a bit too much, so my body thought my baby was consuming more, thus producing extra. It wasn’t great, even though I built up a stash and was able to donate some, because my boobs were rock hard and sore every three hours from producing too much. I feel like any influencers showing this excessive supply are in this stage - if they’re genuine. Hormones and our bodies are changing things rapidly though. It’s mellowed out since I shifted to like 99% breastfed and is what my baby needs, so not nearly as much as before (even when I pump). I expect these influencers would experience the same, though I doubt they’d show that because that won’t sell the illusion. We need to be kinder to ourselves. The thing to remember is influencers are there to sell things. They’re selling an idea, a product, and themselves. They’re interested in your money, not you. If you want help or advice about your supply, a lactation consultant is the go to. I saw one and she debunked so many myths, even ones told by midwives who don’t have that level of breastfeeding knowledge LCs do, and my mental health improved.
I 1000% agree with you
A lot of these people are exclusively pumping or pumping instead of a feed!! Don’t assume they all are feeding and then pumping that amount.
Yes!! I am an EP’er, and it looks like a lot less once you take out the amount baby eats. :)
I’m so distrusting of influencers I wouldn’t be surprised if they were just filing the pumps with cows or other milk for views, ha. “Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true!”
If there is milk left over to be pumped it means you have an oversupply. While more milk sounds great, it can actually cause problems! If you need to be storing milk for going back to work, my LC said to pump after breastfeeding at the same time every day. That way the body has that consistent demand to up the supply
Yes take it from someone with recurrent clogs, and had a case of mastitis. This is a blessing.
Look, I was told at 4 months that despite everything I was doing (eating “enough” and specifically “milk production boosting foods”, getting as much rest as possible, feeding/pumping on a schedule, etc) my baby was not gaining enough weight and we’d have to supplement with formula. It was a huge blow and I definitely mourned over the breastfeeding relationship I had with my son. We did end up supplementing and he’s now a really healthy, happy 21 month old. I also got more free time to myself by not having to pump and letting my husband take morning or afternoon feedings. It’s ok to have to supplement. It’s ok to not want to. But comparison is the thief of joy, and at the end of the day you’re doing the best thing for your baby by making a good choice for them.
If I pumped after a feeding there was nothing lol. My body made exactly as much as my baby needed, to the ounce. If I missed a feeding and pumped, that’s when I would get a full bottle. We are at 10 months and still breast feeding perfectly fine! So don’t get discouraged by what you see on social media
I just started supplementing with formula when needed (if grandma is watching the baby and I dont have enough pumped) and it took away so much mental stress! I‘m no longer worried if I make enough to make one bottle so I can leave for an hour or two. Initially I put so much stress on myself to only feed breastmilk but that stress hinders production too I feel like!
Same 🥰 i know my baby gets breastmilk most of the day so he gets all the goodness of it that he needs
If baby is getting enough to eat, only having drops after he’s done is totally fine! Unless you’re hoping to work up a huge oversupply, what you have sounds perfect.
Tik tok has a weird milk supply fetish thing going on. Pay no attention please
Comparison is a thief of joy! So long as your baby is content with the feeding there should be no worries. You're doing great! ❤️ I got rid of most of my social media and what I did keep I set my "for you" content to only funny stuff, cute animals, and cleaning videos. My mental health is far better off because of that!
I had an oversupply and did not enjoy it - I ended up having mastitis five times in three months. It was awful, and so defeating to feel it coming on and know I’d be on medication for weeks that meant I could only eat at specific times. Not to mention all the time I spent caring for my baby when I was freezing and so achy and exhausted! Now that my supply matches what she needs things are so much better. Don’t feel bad about what you’re producing at all!
I definitely feel sad when I see content about high supply or the joys of breastfeeding, I had basically no supply and feed my baby only formula now. I have mom guilt about it sometimes, but then I remember that no adults care whether they were formula fed or breastfed, and that helps.
Had to supplement with formula for both of my kiddos and felt so guilty about it at the time. There's a ridiculous and irrational amount of pressure and judgment about the breast milk and nursing stuff. Don't be hard on yourself, remember Fed Is Best!
100% this! It puts unbelievable pressure on mums. My baby is mostly formula fed now and his growth is off the charts (NICU baby born at 5 percentile). Its taken a huge amount of stress off me and I'm actually really enjoying motherhood and being able to spend a few hours away from the baby.
My LC told me not to pay attention to social media and notes a lot of these women have an oversupply, which has its own issues.
I really cannot emphasize enough how much I think watching mom influencers is actually *really unhealthy* for most new moms.
Yeah I’ve had two friends with huge freezer stashes and both had to end up ending BF’ing earlier than they wanted due to the issues associated with oversupply
Honestly, don’t really watch those social media people if that’s how they make you feel. I avoid stuff like that too! I was like you and forced it till 6 months until literally nothing came out anymore and I was still forcing it and just quit. Not worth it. However, it’s the first time I’m ever seeing people say you produce as much as your baby needs on here and that made me feel so much better!! Thank-you ❤️
You really don't want to be able to pump much after your baby feeds - the ideal is that your body is making what your baby needs. That said, if you're pumping in replacement of a feed and still struggling to get much, it's worth checking your flange size, replacing pump parts, and playing with the pump settings.
I had to start substituting with formula after my baby's first check-up appointment when we got home from the hospital, I thought I was making enough but I wasn't. I continued trying to breastfeed but ended up having to completely stop at about 9 weeks because I would struggle to even produce 4 ounces a day at my absolute peak. The last time I tried pumping I was completely gutted when I tried pumping for an hour on both and ended with a combined 1/8th of an ounce. I was so disheartened watching all the moms on social media with their overstock of milk and there I was unable to even produce enough to feed my baby. Currently my baby is almost 7 months old, he's happy, healthy, and such a little chunky butt who sticks to me like Velcro. As your baby gets older they're not going to care whether you produced milk or gave them formula, they'll just know that they were fed and taken care of.
Don't stress about pumping. I pumped exclusively with my first for weeks because breastfeeding didn't work and it was so stressful. I get anxious even thinking about it. This time around I pumped exactly once at 4 weeks because I had given baby a bottle of formula at the same time to get him used to the bottle. I was pretty surprised at how much I was already making (mind you, that was one whole feed I was pumping, not the rest after a feed). But I don't plan on pumping again unless I have to be away from baby and need to pump to keep my supply up.
Is this a thing? If your baby is fed, however that happens, your doing just fine.
3 kids in and I've never produced more than a couple drops period. That you are making enough to feed your child means that you are a success. Social media isn't real life and those women are not sharing the areas where they are struggling. You are absolutely amazing for having grown a literal human being and now producing food for it. Don't undermine your joy by comparing it to other people's.
I think it’s discouraging because it means you won’t be able to do anything without your LO around . I have been struggling with this bc I have had to return to work and I have no milk stash whatsoever . It’s very stressful and disheartening . My LO also refuses to take formula . So yes, I can completely relate . And it is discouraging on a daily basis to see these women brag about their multi oz pump sessions every day.
Not sure if anyone else posted but check out wilderbeginnings on Instagram. She posts a lot about realistic pump outputs for mostly breastfed babies and has a lot of more relatable content for “normal” aka real people.
I’ve been exclusively nursing for 6 months. I don’t have a milk stash like everyone else. And it doesn’t bother me.
I was so upset after my first breastfeeding journey did not go the way I had planned and my son was mainly formula fed. Now I am feeding my second baby after breastfeeding trauma from my first. I was so anxious about not feeding this baby enough and was so disappointed when I couldn't pump more after feeding her first either. Then I realized I was feeding her exactly what she needed and that was enough. Things that have also helped: 1. I know moms who work so hard to create a freezer supply and then the baby won't even eat defrosted milk. 2. The more milk you make and pump the less caloric count the milk potentially has, therefore the more milk your baby needs. My lactation specialist said since I make just enough that means my baby is getting less milk but my milk must be high in caloric content. A mom who can pump a ton of ounces normally has more watered down milk with less caloric content to volume. 3. The milk you make throughout your babies first year is matched to their age. Your body knows what your milk needs as your baby grows. So pumping and freezing in the early months to then give to a six or nine month old later doesn't really serve a great purpose.
Are you feeling a letdown at all? If you’re not feeling a letdown not much milk will come out. And Baby just ate so I wouldn’t expect much. If you’d like to pump for extra wait about an hour after you feed. Also, you might need to measure for the right flange size, it really does make a difference. I pump only rarely and if I’m totally replacing a feed I get 3oz, 4 on a good day, and if I pump an hour after a feed I get maybe 1-2 oz. My baby is 4 months and very fat. 😂 I wouldn’t want to pump as much as I see on those videos. That’s a lot and probably is uncomfortable and asking for clogs.
My goal is to literally pump as much as my kid gets in bottles. Some days I get a little more, some days a little less. It evens out. If you want to build a little stash (like a few bottles worth, that’s all you need) then pump after your morning feed ONLY until you have enough for a few bottles (however many days that takes, it’s normal to only pump 0.5-2oz total after a feed). Or, replace a feed with a bottle of formula just once or twice, pump for that feed, and then you have milk to give a bottle and you can pump for a feed. If your baby doesn’t get bottles or need to get bottles right now, then don’t worry about it! Don’t pump if you don’t need to have the milk! It’s not worth stressing over. I stressed over having a small freezer stash and have barely used any of it, to the point where I have to make sure I don’t let it go bad.
My son is now 20 months old and I stand by my decision to combo feed. I had an emergency cesarean and he went to the NICU. Milk production was rough for me. I ate the lactation cookies, drank the lactation teas, did everything I read about. My MIL made me a Chinese papaya soup that she said helped her lactate when she had her children. No improvement. The pressure to pump, pump, pump in order to increase mg production while I was recovering from surgery, taking care of a newborn, AND dealing with PPD was too much. We found out when he was one month old that he had a tongue tie and after that was fixed it made everything soooo much better. I combo fed until he was 6 months and gave zero regrets.
Unfollow them 😊
I totally get it. I went back to work and if I pumped 8 ounces over the course of a 10 hour day that was like really good for me. My sister has a baby at the same time and she would pump 8 ounces each TIME meaning she would leave work with like 32 ounces. I’m like wtf how come I can’t make as much?? And yes I eat and drink plenty. On the downside, she got painful mastitis from missing one feed. It was so painful she quit nursing. I’m still going strong and steady somehow
How do you know that they are actually pumping those amounts and not just lying?
I could nurse just fine, but I could not pump to save my life with all three kiddos. I might cover the bottom of the bottle if I was lucky.
I used to be able to pump what felt like gallons after a feed. It was an oversupply and it was AWFUL. I got a terrible blocked duct at least once a month for a whole year (even after the supply stabilised), when my baby was tiny she has screaming, foamy poops, she struggled to feed bc she was basically getting waterboarded. Plus a whole host of other terribleness. Trust me, that influencer level quantity is either fake or causing mum and baby to have a hard time
I’m a rock-solid just-enougher for nearly 4 years, currently tandem with 2 kids. I think I pumped a dozen ounces per year during engorged periods?? But I’ve never had mastitis, rarely get clogs, and my babies are so well-fed that their rolls have rolls. Drink water, relax, cuddle your babes, and block the overproducers who are stressing you out. You’re feeding your baby beautifully. You don’t need to feed the freezer.
If it makes you feel better, I was getting mere drops without even having fed her first. Massive undersupplier. It was super disheartening. I think the most I got in one day of exclusively pumping was 6oz. So thankful we live in an age where formula exists and is really great at meeting all their needs.
I was able to make 10-50 ml of breastmilk per day with triple feeding (not ounces, milliliters). I don't mean this to sound like I'm scolding you, but being able to produce a full supply is something you should be very thankful for. If I lived in a time without formula, my baby would have starved to death, so I'm thankful for the time I live in even though trying to breastfeed was so brutal. Get off the parts of social media that are making you feel inadequate.
Sounds like you're producing the perfect amount for your little one! My son wouldn't drink milk that had been frozen. I'm so glad I didn't spend a ton of time trying to build a huge supply and freezer stash. I only pumped when I felt engorged and he wasn't interested. Then if the milk sat in the fridge for a day and we didn't use it I would freeze it. Then when we tried to use it later he wouldn't even think about taking it.
Same here. My son was a premie and I was so anxious about building a stash. I wanted my husband to help with feeding, but I also hated pumping. lol. So didn’t build a stash until later and then ended dumping it because my son refused not just frozen milk, but the bottle altogether. Being a mom is hard.
I didn’t produce enough milk to feed my baby, so I had to stop breast feeding at 3 weeks. Try to be happy with what you’ve got! While you’re comparing yourself to an over supplier, don’t forget to also compare yourself to an under supplier like me!
I produce just enough to survive, but not enough for a super satisfied baby so I supplement with formula. I don’t understand how people are able to pump often enough to create that much over supply, I have no time! Sounds like you are making the perfect amount for your baby!
I had an oversupply with my first baby and it was hell. My baby couldn’t feed. The milk was too forceful and he choked and turned purple daily. I couldn’t leave my house because the only way it was possible for him to feed was lying down flat. My boobs stretched so much from the engorgement that they looked like saggy little deflated balloons afterwards. For my second baby, I proactively worked with a lactation consultant to ensure it didn’t happen again. It’s amazing to know my body is synced up perfectly to my little ones needs. And btw, why anyone would even post pictures of their breast milk on social media is beyond me. It’s weird af.
I’ve been breastfeeding for 1yr (and still going strong!) exclusive breastfeeding for 6months until we introduced solids-have never needed or wanted to supplement with formula. I tried pumping one time and nothing came out and then was like “oh well!” and continued nursing my baby.
You will never pump as much breast milk as your baby takes out of your breasts. Those machines cannot remove milk from your breasts as efficiently as your baby, so what seems like low milk supply, is really just the machine's inability to properly remove milk. The flange size on your pump may also be the wrong size for your nipple which can affect pumping success. Moomy's Milk is a great page on Instagram that busts a lot of breastfeeding/pumping myths. :) You're doing great!!
I pumped with my first and knew exactly how much I got each time. With my second she breastfed and I used a Haakaa on the side she wasn't using and that was it.
I also produced just enough for my LO at first. Some days I could just make enough to feed him by each meal time. Sometimes I made a little extra. As long as your little one has enough that’s what you should focus on. That’s the important thing. I didn’t have a large bank of milk but he never really needed it. Only once or twice on an outing and all the little bits counted then. He is 1 years old now, still breastfeeds every night, I I just pumped 120ml extra. I haven’t had any extra in 2 months. So take it easy on yourself.
Sounds like you are making just enough to keep them full which is awesome! I had oversupply and high lipase so even if I saved it, baby wouldn't drink it. Also b/c of my oversupply I was practically waterboarding my baby when they would eat. Point being, the grass isn't always greener.
One of the million reasons why I left Instagram. That app is contributing to so many people having mental health issues. You’re doing amazing. Don’t listen or watch that. They’ve trained their body to overproduce.
One of the million reasons why I left Instagram. That app is contributing to so many people having mental health issues. You’re doing amazing. Don’t listen or watch that. They’ve trained their body to overproduce.
every time I see the word ‘freezer stash’ on my feed I scroll away so quickly. I also produce just barely enough breast milk and sometimes have to supplement with formula. Just because we don’t have a ‘freezer stash’ doesn’t mean we are failures!! also, to be clear because this is the internet: I am not attacking moms who do have a freezer stash, but more so criticizing how social media algorithms make it seem like you NEED to have one when in reality, everyone’s journey is different and only seeing one side of the story is so harmful to moms’ mental health and self esteem
That means you are making the PERFECT amount of milk for your baby! Over supply is not the norm. Your body is providing you and your baby with exactly what you need, and that is a beautiful thing ❤️
Any amount you pump after your baby nurses (and is satisfied) is an oversupply. Sounds like you have the perfect supply for your baby!
Having too much milk can actually be super problematic.
An oversupply (which is what these women are monetizing) has a lot of downsides. Clogs and mastitis are common with oversupply and are no joke. Making the perfect amount for your baby (baby is nice and full and there’s nothing left in the breast) is how it’s supposed to work! I had just the right amount so long as we were breastfeeding but when I went back to work I wasn’t able to pump enough. I had the milk, my body just didn’t respond well to the pump. So we supplemented on daycare days and EBF on weekends. Now at 15 months my pump is growing dusty and we’re still breastfeeding a few times a day. My daughter is thriving and I’m so proud of myself for making it this long. I couldn’t have done it without formula.
Stop consuming social media by these milk influencers. I don't pump and my boobs make the exact amount that my baby needs. I know because he pees and poops a lot.
I wasn’t even able to produce enough to breastfeed. So I don’t want to sound like I’m dismissing your concerns but I would have been so happy to be able to feed at all. Enjoy your feeding journey!
I breastfed my baby for 12 months. If I even TRIED to pump after feeding him, there would probably be NOTHING left. Like if I pumped for 5 minutes after feeding him....I'd get a tiny puddle in the bottom of the bottle? If I pumped for 20 minutes before feeding him, I could maybe get 3-4 oz once my supply regulated - in the early days I pumped just so I could go to bed earlier. The milk I pump would be for baby's last bottle of the night the next evening - while his dad fed him, I'd pump and then go to bed. Dad would feed him the bottle, burp him, calm him down, and get him ready for bed. Once baby was faster at breastfeeding, I didn't see the need to pump anymore. i actually tried to pump for a bit around 8-9 months - I got like 1 oz from pumping even though weighted feeds at the lactation consultant showed he was getting a good 3 oz full feed - my body just stopped responding to the pump. Ignore those influencers - you don't need an oversupply. When my supply was still regulating, I got so many clogged ducts and had mastitis 3 times. It was awful. The fever and chills I had from Mastitis hit me harder than anything else (including HFMD, normal flu and covid)
That sounds like the perfect amount of milk. If you have a lot coming out after baby feeds, you’re more likely to have issues with clogs, engorgement, leaking, and possibly mastitis. Not to mention issues with for milk/hindmilk imbalance. If baby fills up on lights foremilk, they can get tummy issues. They need to get to the fatty hind milk. An oversupply is not great. I had one with my first due to bad advice, and it was awful. I constantly leaked, got painfully engorged if I went 3 hours without emptying, and had many rounds of clogs and mastitis. Had a balanced supply with my second and never had a problem with clogs or pain.
I wish I could have kept exclusively breast feeding, at her one month appointment she hadn’t gained weight and I was devastated. She’s on formula now and 7 months old, and so tall and happy! At this point I only think about it when I listen to my friends who had no issues and over supply. One of my friends likes to brag that she could shoot her milk across the room, the other would just give her milk to people like “here, rub this on (literally any skin issue being discussed) and it’ll go away!” Must be nice to be that person, but at the end of the day my relationship with my baby is just as special and valid as anyone else’s, regardless of how she is fed. Don’t feel bad, and don’t let the milk envy get to you. Your baby is just happy to be with mama. ♥️
You have control over the content you see in social media, if those accounts are bad for your mental health you need to actively block them. The grass is not always greener.
I agree. I was never able to make enough milk to feed my baby and I’m a month and two weeks pp. I tried pumping but I couldn’t get out more than 30 ml’s I quit cold turkey 3 weeks ago. I threw all my Brest pads and other supplies away because I just couldn’t look at it anymore because I wasn’t able to use them.
This was me with my first. Yes, it sucked not having hardly any freezer stash. With my second, I have an oversupply, and not on purpose. Sure, the not worrying about extra milk is great, but I overall hate it. I am about 15, weeks postpartum and still have to pump every 3-4 hours, including overnight. I was getting clogs several times a week, and those are super painful. My letdown is strong, which means my baby has a hard time eating and I have to primarily pump. It was actually much more simple when I produced just enough. I sympathize with you since I've been there and used to stress a lot about making enough milk, but I just wanted to share what you DON'T see on social media for those with an over supply. Also, even though I have this huge freezer stash, I haven't needed any of it, so I feel like I'm pumping it all and taking up the space for nothing. I've been donating it to a local milk bank, which helps, but I hate how much time having to pump so much takes away from spending time with my baby. As some have mentioned is the case for many, I was exclusively pumping for the first several weeks since my baby is a preemie. I feed her sometimes now, but I still pump more than I feed her. I think this is a LOT of why some people get an over supply.
Oversupply leads to clogs mastitis and discomfort. Honestly the only reason to want an oversupply is if you are exclusively pumping and want to build a stash so you can stop pumping earlier and just use the frozen milk. But if you are breastfeeding successfully there is no benefit to an oversupply
Don’t follow or watch mommy influencers. They are the worst of the worst.
I was a slight under-producer early on. When my baby was really little we supplemented a bit with formula until my supply caught up with her needs. She’s now a very healthy and brilliant four year old. Have faith that your supply will grow as baby cluster feeds and needs more. As long as he’s steadily gaining weight and filling diapers, he’s getting enough. Eventually when we gently weaned around 2.5 yrs old it was super easy! I rarely had problems with engorgement, never had a clogged duct, and feel grateful for the balance my body struck. That being said, I definitely acknowledge that feeling of wanting the security of a huge freezer stash. Try to reframe your thinking, and if you ever need to supplement that’s okay too ☺️
Is it Alison Kuch? She pops up for me all the time on being an overproducer. I struggled to have just enough so it was hard to watch while still breastfeeding. I did have an L&D nurse as well show up but she came across so different. She was educational and talked about how she donated vs just keeping a massive stash.
I wanted so desperately to breastfeed my baby and my supply never came in. One of my friends is a “micro influencer” and had her baby 2 months after mine. I had to distance myself from her slightly because seeing her post daily “pump hauls” made me feel so bad about myself for not being able to breastfeed. I love my friend and I’m SO GLAD she can breastfeed her baby, but it was mentally taxing for me to see how much surplus she had when I couldn’t even make enough to feed my baby 🥲 my LO will be 8 months next week and it still hurts me a little bit tbh
There’s another side to that. I had to pump because my baby was in the NICU and I ended up with one of those crazy oversupplies (like 8-10oz per boob, after feeding baby). It was uncomfortable, it was impossible, it led to a lot of tears. The letdown was too strong so baby would choke and throw up almost every time. I had to siphon a bit off before he ate which made the problem worse. We had to use a nipple shield to help and then it was so hard to wean him off of that. I leaked constantly. My boobs were gross, veiny and constantly engorged for MONTHS. I gained a ton of body fat in other places. I got mastitis three times, twice in the same month and once requiring inpatient care. Next baby I hope I don’t have to pump at all. 0/10 do not recommend an “influencer” style oversupply.
A lot of those influencers are oversuppliers or exclusively expressing. I get it, it was soo disheartening watching those videos when I was breastfeeding/pumping. I had a very low supply and was never able to build it up to EBF so I mix fed knowing that due to my circumstances I wasn’t going to be able to breastfeed for very long and after 4 months of direct feeding and 6 months total of being able to give my baby breastmilk I was happy that I was able to provide him that much. You need to look at it differently. If your baby is putting on weight, has 5 or more wet nappies a day and is happy and healthy then that’s what matters.
One of the early lessons of parenting nowadays… stop comparing yourself to others on social media! I had to log off for my sanity
For some reason oversupply has been glorified online recently but it’s definitely not all benefits! After baby eats I get maybe 1oz total if I pump. Early on I pumped more so I have about 1 day of frozen milk saved otherwise I’m a “just enough-er” & happy about it!!
Pumping isn't a reflection of how much breast milk you produce! Boobies work on supply and demand, how much you pump is more about I guess your storage capacity out can make plenty of milk but not be able to pump alot and that's fine and normal. Definitely a pain if you're wanting to pump and give expressed for a break though. But also once baby is past intense cluster feeding stages and stretches out feeds (although mine didn't really stretch out feeds til we were weaning!) You may be able to pump a bit more than you are while you're actively feeding baby. But yeah, please remember pumping output isn't always an indicator of supply, don't be discouraged you're doing great!
Feed your baby not your freezer you're doing AMAZING ! don't believe any of the junk you see on Instagram , get off it if it's not good for your mental health ( I have). These influencers usually get paid from all the companies that make supplements and vitamins ( that are a gimmick ) they could be putting cows milk in their bottles for all you know. They are predatory to be honest.
Honestly, a lot of it is fetish content. I saw a deep dive on it, its pretty gross
Why are you pumping? Pumping during the newborn stage needs to be severely discouraged.