Milk Production: Restoring hope and Milk

This post is in hopes of uplifting the moms who have had trouble producing enough milk. Here's my short story, my thoughts, process, and outcome.....

STORY: last week I began to notice a decrease in my milk production. i went from pumping a total of 6oz every 3-4hrs when baby girl was 1-2weeks old to producing 2-3oz every 3-4 hrs.  And she was only consuming 2oz every 3-4hrs at 1-2weekd. so i was freezing a lot of milk, now i only have 2/20+ storage bags of milk left. 😩

 MY THOUGHTS: I was confused and most of the time feeling extremely saddened. I thought to myself "do i need to change my diet? what can I do? because Im content w. breastfeeding AND saving money not having to formula feed. " i also wondered if i would have to use lactation supplements.

MY PROCESS: research research research.. unfortunately most of What i found suggested fenugreek, lactation cookies etc... i made a deal w. myself that if my production didnt increase by the end of last week then I'd look into such supplements. 1st thing i did was pump longer (30-45mins instead of 15-20) and increase my water intake during sessions ✅ 2nd thing was pump every 4 hrs not skipping any sessions(lasted about 3.5 days, became exhausted) ✔ 3rd ate more( i use to snack B,L,& D instead of eating meals.) ✅4th by the 3rd day I decided to try and get more sleep and pump every 6 hrs instead of 4.✅ 5th massage boobs while pumping or lay baby girl on my chest while pumping ✅ 6th find something to do while pumping to take my mind off of how much milk was coming out(basically reduce stress).✅ Lastly yesterday I tried pumping 1 boob at a time while letting the other drip into the storage bottle. since i didnt feel like going back to my room to get my other adapter. This allowed me to pump an extra 1-2oz per breast🤔

MY OUTCOME: Mo milk, Mo Milk, Mo milk!!  I found what works FOR ME that still allows me to get enough worry free sleep and nutrition for myself. I'm now producing 7-9oz per session and she consumes 3oz every 5hrs. I'm happier and more confident in my ability to produce w.o supplements! Now I can start storing again...