XP from bf board: moms still pumping, please help!

aboynamedbarry

I have been successful at bf'ing my lo thus far, but the last few days she is REJECTING the boob! (she is 10.5 months) I don't understand She'll take a bottle just fine. However, I can only pump about half of what she actually wants in a day, though when she nurses she seems to be completely satisfied. So I believe that I am just not getting as much with the pump as she would get. I have a stash of frozen, but not much.

Basically the only time she will let me nurse her is first thing in the morning... So my question is for those of you who are still pumping do you have any tricks to get more milk while pumping??? I pumped this mid morning feeding and got an ounce and a half So i supplemented with frozen. If I can't up my supply we're gonna have to be switching to WCM a little early... which is ok, I just hate to give it up if there's something I haven't tried! TIA

namara5532

I don't have experience with pumping, but have you tried the usual suggestions to up supply? (fenugreek, oatmeal, etc.)  As to why it's happening, maybe she's getting close to weaning.  Or maybe she's getting a nipple preference for the bottle.  It's totally up to you if you want to continue BM, but like you said it's probably NBD to go to WCM at this point.  My DS is about the same age as your LO and breastfeeds, and he gets WCM as a drink with solids.  No adverse reactions that we've seen so far

raefre

I was under the impression that babys under a year do not self-wean (not that I think you are suggesting that, per se).

I don't know if this is helpful, but kellymom says: 

"When a mother says that her baby self-weaned before a year, there is a chance that she interpreted a normal developmental stage (perhaps combined with her own wishes) as baby?s wish to wean. Low milk supply can also play a part."

 https://kellymom.com/bf/normal/babyselfwean/

It may have more to do with developmental changes and that this is just a part of it, not baby weaning or low milk supply. 

As for pumping, namara suggested what I did when I needed to produce more: fenugreek, oatmeal.  Also, by increasing the number of times you stimulate your nipple (i.e. nursing/pumping more frequently) you can increase your milk production.

I wish you luck.

aboynamedbarry

Thanks girls. I agree I do not think she is self weaning nor do I want her to... so I'm gonna try to increase my supply so I can actually pump what she wants while she's on strike. I just keep praying tomorrow she will be back to normal, but until then I gotta make the milk somehow!!!

Mama2TwoBoys

Do you do compressions when you pump? I stopped pumping like 5 months ago, so I guess I'm not familiar with what kind of supply is needed for a 10 month old.

But I do remember that if I was too busy on my laptop & hands-free bra, I wouldn't get nearly as much out compared to when I was constantly doing compressions while pumping. 

Good luck, hope you can keep at it. I miss it so much!

sarenu1

Compression worked for me.  I used a hands-free pumping bra and did compression while I pumped.  Up your fluids as well. I found that if I didn't drink enough water, my pumping suffered. 

The other thing I did was relax.  Seriously, relaxing helped a lot.  I just closed my eyes, relaxed my muscles.  I tried to ignore the pump as much as possible. 

mrs.larry

sarenu1:

Compression worked for me.  I used a hands-free pumping bra and did compression while I pumped.  Up your fluids as well. I found that if I didn't drink enough water, my pumping suffered. 

The other thing I did was relax.  Seriously, relaxing helped a lot.  I just closed my eyes, relaxed my muscles.  I tried to ignore the pump as much as possible. 

all of this.

I hope you've solved the issue but I wanted to add my few bits of insight for anyone else looking at the thread...

I usually try to watch something funny on netflix on my phone while I pump, it actually helps my supply a lot! It also helps distract me so I go for longer. If I watch an episode of a 1/2 hour tv show (22 minutes) I usually get a small second letdown even. Without the distraction I usually get antsy by about 10 minutes.

also in addition to compression try lifting from underneath your breast, I usually get more that way.

finally I've read that doing more sessions for shorter periods of time helps build supply better than fewer longer sessions. this isn't an option for me, since I'm working and just can't get in there to pump every hour or two, but if you have the opportunity it might help.

GL!