Supply Envy
Sept07b2b
member
I just have to say that I am SO jealous of the women who can pump like 5-6+ oz at a time!! Why do you think it is that some women can pump so much while others (like me) struggle to get 3 oz when both types of moms can nurse their LOs perfectly fine when not working?
My LO eats 14 oz while away from me. That is broken up into 4 bottles. I pump 4 x per day and am ALWAYS at least 2-4 oz short. I have to pump on weekends and pump at night, etc. in order to keep up, and I'm SO tired of it!! I keep thinking that if I could just cut down on pumping a bit, I would be perfectly happy keeping this up for another 4+ months, but pumping so much and so often just has me totally deflated and 4+ months feels like forever from now!
Then there are other women who can pump like 2 x per day and get more than enough for the next day plus they are adding to their freezer stash. After over 4 months of this with my DS and after 6+ months of it with my DS, I'm just going to admit it, I'm totally jealous!! I so wish I had a freezer stash of hundreds of ounces, so I could stop pumping at 11 months and still feed my LO BM.
There is absolutely no point to this post other than to just get that off my chest!! Who would have ever thought I would type the words "supply envy" and be referring to breastmilk?!! 
and just to clarify, I'm not mad or annoyed by those women, just totally green with envy!
Re: Supply Envy
I think if some moms can nurse only one side per feeding, they have a better time with pumping b/c one pumping session equals two nursing sessions. Like you, I had to pump more often (every 2 hours at work for 30 minutes each, plus a fifth session at home, plus I pumped on weekends). I feed both sides to empty every time I nurse. I bet you nurse both sides too?
However, I don't know how some moms come to be one-boobers and how others are two-boobers. I also don't know if I am destined to always be a two-boober. Both my sisters were one-boobers and never pumped (or at least not regularly like I did) so it's not like early pumping led to an oversupply that just never went away, you know?
But yeah, I hear you.
I hear you. I have trouble letting down with the pump - especially one boob just doesn't want to let down!
I go back to work in a week and I am already dreading the constant pumping. I obviously make enough milk because my baby loves to nurse and is a serious chunky monkey. I wish I could get that 5/6 ounces that some people get though when I pump.
To make matters worse, my baby started refusing a bottle at 2 months and I wasted a ton of expressed milk trying to get her back on (took me 2 months). So I have no stash as I am heading back to work. I really hope my supply stays when I go back. My DD literally turns up her nose at formula and won't drink a drop of it.
This is all very interesting to me. I have PCOS, but I never thought that PCOS could have anything to do with BM production! Very interesting!!! I am also a both boobs at a time nurser, so that also makes sense that those who nurse from just one side get more at pumps. But I agree with your question - what makes some women one boob nursers and some women two boob nursers!?
I feel like my DD was constantly nursing as an infant, so I think I did what I could then, and I started pumping right away to try to get a freezer stash in place, since I had experienced low supply with my son.
All very interesting, and it's very good to hear that I'm not alone.
I don't think I can add anymore pumping sessions unless I were to get up in the middle of the night to pump at which point I think my DH would divorce me!