Breastfeeding.. barely any milk?

Question

Okay, so I've seen multiple times people saying that not being able to get much through pumping does not mean you have an under supply. But... SERIOUSLY. I used to be able to get 3-4 ounces at a time after a few hours. It's been 4 hours, I pumped as I'm having company by the time he wakes up and will want to eat.. I got 1 ounce. There's no way my baby is getting enough every feed! I've noticed he's been a lot fussier or falls asleep at the boob lately as well. Is my supply drying up?

Answer

I have never gotten more than 2-3oz pumping! In my right boob never more than 1.5oz. It’s crazy, I also thought I had low supply or something. But my girl just turned 4 months on Saturday (March 13th bday) and is OVER 20 pounds 😭 I exclusively breastfeed. So she definitely has to be getting more than enough milk lol. I heard pumping is not always a good indicator of supply

Answer

It DEFINITELY CAN MEAN UNDERSUPPLY! Go with your gut!!! I let the internet convince me of the same thing and as soon as I told my LC, she brought me in. My baby had lost weight, was fussy for two weeks, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. People in breastfeeding groups kept trying to tell me it probably wasn’t a supply issue and it was. I went from an oversupplier to an undersupplier almost overnight it seemed.

Answer

Hey, so I had the exact same issue. I knew something was wrong and everyone was just telling me my supply was regulating etc. 
I went to the Jack Newman International Breastfeeding clinic (he’s like the leading doctor on breastfeeding) and it turns out my supply was dropping. My son was still gaining slowly, and also had wet dirty diapers. 
However he was angry at the breast. And his feeds were every 45 minutes. So he was getting milk but I was doing twice or three times the amount of work. In order for him to have those dirty diapers. 
I was out on Domperidone.  Follow your instincts and make people listen. My son wouldn’t take a bottle. Turns out he had a bad tongue tie that should have been caught at birth and he wasn’t effectively draining the breast, contributing to the problem. They clipped it and it’s night and day different.

Answer

I’m having the same issue! My baby is not gaining like he is supposed to, not as many wet diapers as when he was bottle fed and I feel it’s due to my supply. Supplementing formula now and seeing if my supply will come back. Not happy, feeding time is stressful as heck for us. I have no advice just in a similar boat.

Answer

If baby is directly fed from the breast and gaining weight along with having enough wet and poop diapers then no need to worry about your supply. If you're exclusively pumping then you may want to check your pump parts for any wear or check to see if you're using the correct flange size. I pump occasionally when I'm away from baby. I wasn't using the right flange size and my breast would still feel full after a 20 minute session. I went down a flange size and was able to double my usual pump output in just 10 minutes of pumping, and my breasts felt more emty.

Answer

Try hand expressing after pumping. I have noticed if the pump does a good job pumping I can barely get anything out if I were to try and get anything out by hand expressing. 
 If the pump didn't do a very good job i am still able to get milk out through hand expressing... not a ton, but I still see milk coming out  
If your still able to get milk after pumping through hand expressing I bet the pump isnt actually emptying you. 
Idk If everybody is the same with this though, it just helps me get a better idea with my body if I am actually having a supply drop or If my body is not draining milk well.

Answer

I started having this happen around my period. I take extra calcium and eat a ton of oats to combat my lower milk supply post ovulation till the end of my cycle.

Answer

Is baby having enough wet diapers?  Is he gaining?  If so, he is very likely getting enough. He is likely fussy because he’s going through a growth spurt.

Answer

Do you just pump or nurse as well. Some people just don’t respond well to the pump. If you nurse baby might be doing a better job.
I exclusively pump and have found I can get more out with a hand pump sometimes.   Have you changed the membranes lately. Or make sure there’s not a hole in your tubing. My cats chewed on mine and put a small hole one day and I didn’t notice right away and wasn’t getting very good suction

Breastfeeding.. barely any milk?

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