Breastfeeding

Can I run out?

This might be an incredibly stupid question but if I pump and then LO wants to eat afterward will there be milk left for him?

Sometimes when I pump my milk really slows down towards the end and also if I nurse my son sometimes I worry that if he drinks too long that my milk will run out- then if he wants to drink 30 minutes later (he likes to snack) that maybe he'll have used up my supply?

I know the more you nurse the more you have but it just seems like sometimes he's not satisfied and I nursed him already 10 different times today for a total of at least 2 hours (or is that not that much??) and I'd like to pump while he's sleeping but I'm worried that if he wakes up he'll be hungry and I won't have milk left...I am so confused! 

Help PLEASE :)

 

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Loss #1 2008, Loss #2 2010, Loss #3 2011, Loss #4 2012, Loss #5 2012
Loss #6 2014 Loss #7 (chemical) 2014

~DS Born! 2009~
~DD Born! 2013~
~DD due! 2015~





Re: Can I run out?

  • Here is what I do and have had success with. I feed him on demand (usually every 2-3 hours during the day, he eats anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes). I offer 1 breast per feed session. If he is hungry again say in 30 minutes then I will offer him that breast again. If it is an hour later then I offer the other breast.

    I pump twice a day (8AM and 10PM). I feed B and then pump the other breast at these times.

    I have never "run out of milk". Even tonight I fed him on the left breast and gave him to Joe to put him down while I pumped the right breast. He fussed a lot and was obviously still hungry. I put him onto the right breast (the left was empty) and he ate for another 10 minutes. He is much more efficient then I am at emptying the breast.

     

  • i used to wonder about this too, but it just wasn't an issue for us.

    while i was home on leave, i nursed DD on demand, pretty much every 2 hours. she always took both breasts each time. after her first nursing of the 'day', i'd pump after she nursed. this was usually between 6-8AM. after i put her down, i'd pump one more time before i went to bed. this was usually at least an hour or more after she'd nursed. i used those 2 pumpings to build my stash. (if she took an unexpectedly long nap some afternoon, i sometimes squeezed in a 3 pumping then.)

    sometimes she'd wake up and want to nurse just after i'd literally just finished pumping. it sometimes took her a little longer than normal, but she'd always get enough or at least get enough to be comforted.

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  • You can never run out, stimulation tells the breast to make more milk.  The let down is slower at those times when you have just pumped the milk out so the baby can get frustrated because it is not coming out as fast.   

  • Nursing 10-12 times a day is normal at 1 month old.  There is a growth spurt around 6 weeks, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later.  This could account for the frustration you are seeing, since he is in fact hungrier.  Keep putting him to the breast to build your supply.

    Your breast never runs out of milk, it practically make milk as the baby eats.  Let down will be slower, but you won't be out of milk.  I always pumped 30-45 min after feeding so that I would have plenty to pump and plenty to feed the baby after pumping.

    Good luck!

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