Not enough breast milk

sarajoyanderson · August 2012

Hi. I just gave birth 3weeks ago and I am not producing enough milk for my baby boy. I pump every 2 to 2.5hrs for 15 to 20min at a time and I am only getting maybe 2ounces. What can I do to produce more? Am I pumping enough? Also I feel like my nipples are going to fall off they hurt so bad from pumping so much. what can I use to make them feel better? Nipple cream really doesnt work. Thanks

drbethc · August 2012

I would think that sounds normal...A baby that is 3 weeks usually eats about 2 ounces...My LO is 12 weeks and I get about 3-4 ounces at each session...Also, eating oatmeal really helps with my milk.

greeneyed_bride · August 2012

Are you nursing and then pumping or exclusively pumping? Is there a reason that you're pumping instead of/in addition to nursing? While your milk supply is being established, it might be a good idea to breastfeed exclusively rather than pumping and bottle feeding. A baby is more efficient at removing milk from your breast than any pump is, so pumping is not always a good indication of how much milk your body can actually make.

Soothies Gel Pads (made by lansinoh) really helped soothe my nipples when I started breastfeeding.

sarajoyanderson · August 2012

He eats 5 to 6ounces everytime he eats so I felt like breast feeding him would not give him enough food so I was mixing breast milk and formula. If I start breastfeeding how long do u recomend feeding him for at one time?

bpv101283 · August 2012

Seems normal to me too. I think I wasn't pumping more than 1-1.5 oz from each breast till he was a month old. Still was eating every 2 hours.

sokmonkee3517 · August 2012

Drink water! Drink water! Drink water!! Lot's and lot's of water! You are pumping plenty and doing fine for 3 weeks. Are you EPing or BFing and pumping to store? Alternate pump settings. It can get uncomfortable at times but it shouldn't hurt.

shotzie · August 2012

theresat858:
5-6 ounce is WAY Too much for one feeding at that age. DD only eats 3oz of breastmilk every 2-3 hours, and at 3w it was 2oz per feeding. BF babies on average should only have 25 ounces of BM per day, so unless you are only feeding 5x/day (most babies need to eat way more often than this, 8-12 times a day is the normal range), he should be eating less. Are you using the tips and tricks on kellymom for bottle feeding? (It should take at least 15-20 min for 3oz).

This. Ditch the pump and formula and just let baby nurse as often and as long as he wants. If he has trouble latching to the breast, see a lactation consultant for help. It sounds like your supply is fine. It's very easy to overfeed when giving bottles. Babies love to suck for comfort and they can't stop the flow of milk/formula from a bottle, so that means they empty it. Then their stomach gets stretched out and they end up needing more to feel full. It might take a little time and patience to get LO back to the breast, but it's doable.

Here are a few helpful links from kellymom.com:

https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/

https://kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing/

https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/