Problems Pumping breastmilk... Low supply??? how many times??? Formula Supplementing??? HELP PLEASE?

Question

Our child never wanted to latch on, and just hated the whole idea of breasts in his face, so my wife chose to pump for him as much as she could, then supplement the rest with enfamil lipil (is this an ok thing to do?). For the first 2 weeks it worked great she would pump 3 times a day and get about 3oz each time (which was giving him about half breastmilk, the the other half of the time formula). Now all of a sudden for the past 3 days or so it has the pumped amount has been very LOW (like 1/2 oz each time), Why is this?, and how can we fix this problem? (we really dont want to lose the nutritional value of the breastmilk). Also how many times should she be pumping, if we are trying to really pump exclusively and supplement when needed? I tell her she should pump more than 3 times a day, but she says they feel so empty and soft..... ? PLEASE HELP US... THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE!

Answer 1

it's too bad your baby doesn't want the nipple. but I think it's great you both still want the breastmilk! Nursing is more efficient and stimulates milk alot faster, but you can still keep up with pumping.

I just started to wean my daughter and only pumping her milk. I have the same problem that my supply has gone down after 2 weeks just like your wife. In order to compensate, I have to pump more often. I pump every 2 to 3 hours. 3 times a day isn't enough. Also, my breasts feels empty and soft too, but I still manage to pump 4 to 6 ozs even though when I think they are empty. There's still milk in there. I keep pumping until not one drop comes out. One breast takes 30 min to empty while the other 15 min.

You'll also get varying amounts of milk during the day. Well, at least fo rme. I get 8 to 10 ozs the first pump in the morning. The last pump at night is 4 to 6 ozs

One thing to stimulate I found is taking a hot shower and massage my breasts before I pump

Also, don't get too discourage if you supplement with formula. Breastmilk is best, but you are doing your best to ensure she gets as much as possible.

Answer 2

I had the problem of my baby not latching on and I exclusevly pumped for 6 months and did not supplement with formula. Everyone told me that it could not be done but I did it...and have a freezer full of stored milk and now give half breastmilk half formula. I will tell you what I did- hope this helps. By the way- you sound like a very supportive husband. Mine was too- this is such a frusterating problem and it helps when your spouce is there for you- keep it up!
1) . Be sure to use a hospital rental piston pump. You will not see results with the store bought ones. They are not powerful enough. (Although if I am out of the house I have used the Isis battery operated one and it is ok for ocassional use)
2)Pump around the clock to establish a milk supply. I established a supply by pumping 8 times in a 24 hour period for 20 minutes at a time. It is the number of times you pump that is the most important- not the number of minutes but I do think you should do 20 minutes if you can. 15 minutes I think is not enough. Also...if you are using a piston pump that you can adjust the suction- don't go crazy and put it on "high" thinking you are going to stimulate milk production. You will just end up with sore boobs. Trust me on this one!
More suction does NOT equal more milk. I actually produced more milk with less suction because I was more comfortable.
You will have to pump around the clock for about 8-10 weeks to establish a good flow. I have a pumping station set up in my bedroom which I recommend.
3)Massage your breasts before pumping. A hot shower is also known to help stimulate milk flow.
4)As a last resort you can take some herbal supplements. I did this for a few days when my son was 2 months old and I thought my supply was dropping. It worked for me. I took fenugreek and blessed thistle for 2 days until my supply was back to normal. However I would not recommend doing this right away. Exhaust every other option first.
5)This little tidbit I wish I would have known:
I thought I was not going to make enough milk because my body was not increasing the output and I thought my son would be increasing his intake. This is not true! Here are the facts: Formula will always have the same number of calories per ounce so as the baby grows and needs more calories he will need more ounces of formula. Breasmilk is different. The longer you breastfeed the more caloric it becomes so you really don't need to increase the amount your baby eats by much.
6)At first you may pump for 20 minutes and get a total of 1-2 oz. This is OK and totally normal. I think pumping mom's freak out when they see how little milk we actually produce in the begining. I know I did.
7)Don't expect milk to "spray" out. I have a very slow flow. This is also normal. You can also expect multiple let downs. (Milk may flow for a minute or two, than stop for a few minutes and start back up again. I usually get 2 to 3 letdowns while pumping.)

All that being said- it IS possible to start and maintain a milk supply without having a baby latch on. It is time consuming and you have to stick with it (no skipping pumping sessions) but it can be done. I have even been able to pump and freeze milk. Once my supply was established I would only pump 4 times a day, with no night pumps. (once in the am, around 3pm, 6pm and before bed)
Feel free to email me if you have any questions!
About her breasts feeling empy and soft- they will feel that way- you only feel that engorgment feeling at the very begining when your milk first comes in and when you miss a pumping session.

Answer 3

She's not telling her breasts to make milk. If she wants to make more milk, she has to pump more often. That's how she increases supply.

Feeling full really has nothing to do with it. A feeling of fullness (engorgement) means the mother either 1. has an oversupply or 2. isn't nursing/pumping often enough. Engorgement is NOT the normal state of a lactating breast.

EMPTY breasts make milk quicker than full breasts. The more often a mother nurses or pumps, the more milk she will make. It's all about supply and demand. And more frequent nursing/pumping is better at increasing supply than longer sessions.

Every single drop of breastmilk she can give him is a benefit. Obviously, the more breastmilk he gets, the greater the benefits.

How old is the baby? For a newborn, if she hopes to provide breastmilk exclusively, she should be pumping about every 2 hours. Pumping 3x per day is NOT going to get enough milk to exclusively feed her pumped milk.

Have she talked with a Lactation Consultant from the hospital or a La Leche League Leader? (A LLL Leader will help for FREE! And if she wants to try latching again, the Leader may be willing to visit her at home to work on that.)

Also, what kind of pump is she using?

ETA:
In this case, adding drugs or herbal supplements is NOT appropriate. YES, these things can help to increase supply. BUT ONLY IF THE MILK IS GETTING REMOVED FROM THE BREASTS OFTEN ENOUGH. Supply and demand is the NUMBER ONE RULE of breastfeeding. If she is only pumping 3x per day for a newborn THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!

Answer 4

Wow, what a time you are having.

It sound like your wife's milk supply is drying up. If you can, try the nursing thing again. I know that the latching thing is hard, but sometimes you just have to persevere. If your baby is hungry enough (try missing a feeding) it might help. Has your wife seen a lactation consultant or breast feeding specialist? Sometimes using a nipple shield (available at the drug store) can help babies learn to latch and cut down on some of the discomfort for mom.
To increase the milk supply, your wife really needs to be pumping as often as the baby is feeding. When babies nurse, they are essentially pre-ordering there food for the next day. So, if you are skipping nursing or pumping or going long periods in between, the milk supply is going to diminish. Even the best pump is not as good at stimulating milk production and let-down as a baby so...again, seek the help of a breast feeding professional and try latching again. Newborns usually nurse every 90 to 180 minutes for up to 45 minutes at a time. This slowly decreases over a period of months to every 4 - 6 hours for 20 to 30 minutes. If you are using the pump exclusively, it is important to follow this schedule as well. It may take a few days of this schedule before your wife's milk supply increases. Even if her breasts feel soft and empty, nurse, pump whichever as this will stimulate milk production at that time for the next day.
There are also medications such as domperidone (motilium) that your doctor can prescribe to help increase milk production. Some herbs have also been reported to help.
As for formula, all formula contents are regulated by the FDA so it is absolutely safe to give your baby formula if you choose.

Answer 5

The EXACT thing is happening to me. Breastmilk is on a supply/demand type schedule. The more she pumps, the more she will make. I totally understand when she says she feels empty, but trust me, she will get something! I now pump every 3 hours, and am keeping up with my son. I have not had to supplement with formula for days now:) Tell her to eat lots and drink TONS of water, milk and juices. Also tell her this is totally normal, and she didn't do anything wrong! If she does step it up on the pumping, her body will make more milk automatically. Good luck, I know it's frusterating!!

Answer 6

That is the very same that happened to me.My daughter was born 3 months preemie,so we had to tube feed her.I was pumping about 6 times or more a day just to keep up with the flow.and when I wasnt at the hospital the nurse would supplement with formula.After a week of pumping I completely dried up.With my second child I didnt even produce milk.
Your wife should pump whenever she feels like she is full but you say she feels empty.It might be to late to try pumping more often.She should have atleast pumped 6-8 ounces each time she pumped.3oz sounds like to little.
I feel that formula is just as nutritional as breast milk,my kids havent had any health problems from being fed formula.
I doubt that this is useful to you but I though I would share my experiences with you.

Answer 7

I had a horrible time breastfeeding too. Not with latching and whatnot, but one breast stopped producing. I had a lactation specialist consult and she recommended some herbal supplements. One is called "mother's milk" tea (tastes horrible) and also Fenugreek capsules. I had to take 4 capsules 3 times a day. The tea is also 3 times a day. Then I was to see the lactation specialist again after about 4 days. It did seem to help a little, but I was so stressed that I stopped and just formula fed. The lactation specialist said as a last resort you can take a prescription medicine called Reglan which is usually used for nausea to help stomach empty faster in Diabetes pts. It can also help increase milk supply. I would really recommend talking to a lactation specialist. There is probably one at the hospital where your wife delivered. If not, then the nursery nurses should be able to help you or at least help you find a lactation specialist. Hope this helps!

Answer 8

Pumping is not the same as feeding, she's losing her let down reflex. Try nursing again.

Answer 9

Eating healthy and plenty of fluids with healthy nursing tea by secrets of tea helped me improving my low milk supply.

Answer 10

If you don't pump as much as the baby would normally feed then she could be drying up.