SO.MUCH.PAIN!!!

elviebird · June 2012

It is now 6:30am. We just woke up; I last pumped about 10:30. My boobs feel like they are going to explode. Seriously, they are so engorged that I could barely stand put the nursing bra on. I have never been so relieved to be attached to machinery. Tongue Tied

elviebird · June 2012

... And I just pumped 14.5oz.

MelissaMiso · June 2012

14.5? Zoinks! just be careful not to pump more often then you need because you will increase your supply and potentially the engorgement.

elviebird · June 2012

Actually it was more like 15. And it's too late... I pump ~40oz a day. Great to build my freezer stash but definitely an oversupply. I'm going to drop a pump soon and go down to 5x/day, we'll see what that does to my supply.

gervaisj6 · June 2012

Omg. Do you take anything it do anything to get that supply? Man, I wish I could pump that much!

FyreFlyeRush · June 2012

gervaisj6:
Omg. Do you take anything it do anything to get that supply? Man, I wish I could pump that much!

The more you use the more you make. It takes a couple of days, but your body will increase output. I found it easier to pump by hand than with a mechanical one. Try that.

At OP, are you exclusively pumping? I need to work in a few a day, but I can only get 2-4oz at a time. I'm afraid to do more than that.

elviebird · June 2012

I jumped the gun early on and started fenugreek. I stopped taking it after 2 weeks because my supply starting going up and I didn't think I needed it anymore. I also pumped 7-8x a day in the beginning, am at 6x a day now, and will go down to 5x when I start working in a couple of weeks. So I'm not sure if I just have naturally over-enthusiastic boobs, my pumping schedule just really got me going, or if the fenugreek worked really well.

And yes, I EP. Could never get DD to latch correctly, nor does she like to.

FyreFlyeRush · June 2012

Ahhh. DS is tongue tied, so the first few days were a challenge. At one point, I was so frustrated, I just wanted to ask for a bottle. I got lucky, once my milk came in, it wasn't as much of a chore for him to get something. Then, he learned to latch. DD is tongue tied, too, but she never had an issue with latching.

elviebird · June 2012

After my c/s I didn't get to hold her for almost 4 hours, and they had already given her a paci (against my wishes). She wouldn't latch in the hospital without a nipple shield and even then she was chewing and twisting and crying, despite a stream of LCs and nurses trying to help me. My milk hadn't come in yet so we had to give her formula (tried the SNS and it sort of worked) and it just sort of spiralled away from us. It took me weeks to mourn the loss of nursing, but I'm ok with EPing now. In some ways it's more convenient, so I'm just trying to focus on those aspects.

ELF4321 · June 2012

Honestly, I would LOVE to have your problem. I never got a supply at all thanks to insufficient mammary tissue. After a month of pumping and taking tons of herbal tinctures, eating a lactation-friendly diet, etc., I could never get my supply up to more than an ounce over the course of an entire day (usually 10-15 ml from the morning pump, and no more than 3-5 ml from each additional pumping session until I was tapped out at about 30 ml for the day and couldn't get any more from additional pumping sessions). I've had to give LO formula from day 4 forward because I couldn't provide BM for her.

Have you considered donating some of your excess supply to a milk bank? There are a lot of women who can't BF but would love to be able to give their babies breast milk to get them the health benefits they can't get from formula.

tjkdlhb · June 2012

elviebird:
... And I just pumped 14.5oz.

wow! best I've ever gotten is 5! If you build a big enough stash, you could potentially stop pumping early!

I'm just starting my stash now... I was lucky enough to be able to get LO to latch with a shield...I can't help but think about how I'd manage if I lived in either a time or a place where pumps and shields do not exist!

elviebird · June 2012

ELF4321:
Honestly, I would LOVE to have your problem. I never got a supply at all thanks to insufficient mammary tissue. After a month of pumping and taking tons of herbal tinctures, eating a lactation-friendly diet, etc., I could never get my supply up to more than an ounce over the course of an entire day (usually 10-15 ml from the morning pump, and no more than 3-5 ml from each additional pumping session until I was tapped out at about 30 ml for the day and couldn't get any more from additional pumping sessions). I've had to give LO formula from day 4 forward because I couldn't provide BM for her.

Have you considered donating some of your excess supply to a milk bank? There are a lot of women who can't BF but would love to be able to give their babies breast milk to get them the health benefits they can't get from formula.

Oh trust me, I am very thankful. I wasn't able to have my natural birth, I wasn't able to nurse... so I'm very thankful I can at least give her as much pumped BM as she wants. And yes, I will probably donate at some point. I want to get my own stash going with the idea that I can stop pumping around 8-9 months and have enough to feed her for a full year, but I would love to donate if I have more than that. In fact I've already promised my BFF she can have some of mine for her new baby due next week if she has problems producing like she did with her first.

stemms8810 · June 2012

Holy crap! That's an amazing amount of milk! Sounds like you are getting long stretches of sleep too. At night, once the 3 hr mark hits I am very engorged and leaking everywhere. I am almost thankful he doesn't STTN yet to relieve me...Haha. Keep up the great work with pumping!!

JennyJensing · June 2012

I am jealous of you on soooo many levels lol.

kgauntt · June 2012

That's awesome!

lindy27 · June 2012

My LO slept 8 hours the other night and it was so painful when I woke up! I am sure I didn't have 14.5 oz in them though. I have gotten 5 ounces out of one once but I don't currently pump all that often.

bellelamb · June 2012

Can I just say I haven't had that long of a stretch without a kid needing me in almost 20 months!

meeko1985 · June 2012

Holy cow! *no pun intended! I pump each time my lo eats, so I just started going 5 hours between at night... It does get super uncomfy, but I can only dream of pumping more than 5 oz! I'm jealous!

mrsshawnavanb · June 2012

wow! You really have an amazing supply. I've never gotten more than 3 ounces from one side, usually pump around 5 ounces total in one sitting....I ordered fenugreek and should be getting it this week. I really need to start building up a stash since I currently only pump enough to send to daycare the next day.

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