preventing oversupply

**Maruschke** · July 17th, 2012, 03:55 PM

Quick help please.

I need to be ultra careful not to generate too much supply. Right now I am pumping 3 hourly both breasts, until I get relief, and until most milk is out (because I don't want milk stasis) but not ever getting to the point where I am pumping dry.

I just pumped at 3 pm and got 80 mls in total (45 and 35) so I'm curious... seems like I am powering along and need to pull back?

I just don't know what to do

. When do I switch to pumping only one breast at a time (so 6-8 hours between emptying each breast)?

What to do? DD2 is feeding 3 hourly but currently I have heaps of milk for what she needs.

**Heaven** · July 17th, 2012, 04:06 PM

I don't think you can help it really. Milk supply at the start is driven by hormones, not supply and demand yet. I would just keep pumping 3hrly both sides because a newborn would feed at least that much.

HTH

**Taurean** · July 17th, 2012, 04:15 PM

I don't think you can help it really. Milk supply at the start is driven by hormones, not supply and demand yet. I would just keep pumping 3hrly both sides because a newborn would feed at least that much.

HTH

Totally agree and freeze the excess milk. Don't attempt to dictate your supply by pumping and especially as she is so young and a prem.

I had to exclusively pump for 5 weeks when DD2 was 2 weeks old and was pumping around 80ml total initially too. It increased but not significantly and I was pumping 3 hourly around the clock at first then I cut back to 4 hourly overnight. We reintroduced the breast gradually from 7 weeks and then DD worked out my supply for me. The excess was a bonus as I've had a constant supply of EBM in my freezer since

I had to pump with DD1 too and my supply also just worked itself out once DD was back on the breast full time.

**TaRhLi.** · July 17th, 2012, 05:03 PM

I would just keep pumping, at the moment you have heaps for her needs but as she gets bigger and hungrier you will be wanting to have a good production of BM and then when she can finally starting BFing she will then stablise your supply to her needs

Better to have too much and have a good supply than trying to restict your supply now and then trying to get it back up when you need too.

**Barb Glare** · July 17th, 2012, 06:07 PM

Hi,
You are getting just what you need to get. Why do you think you should get less milk? I hope this isn't bad news, but there won't be a time when you don't need to pump three hourly (until your baby is breastfeeding and then you will be feeding her every three hours or so.

Right now your milk supply is driven by hormones. Later on it will be driven by the amount of milk the baby takes. You need to work with your hormones to set your milk supply on *high* and keep it there. Your body needs to know it needs to feed the bouncing 5kg baby she will soon be. At no point do you want your body to know it only needs to supply the 45mls she is probably taking every 3 hours. It is easy to down-regulate your milk supply, and it is very, very hard to build it up again later. So, you need to express both breasts every 3 hours day and night. fill your freezer, but don't spin it out longer, you won't believe how quickly she will be taking 80mls or more per feed.

**Kmn** · July 17th, 2012, 10:25 PM

Did you have serious oversupply problems with DD1? I think that as Barb says you are better generating a typical month-old-baby supply now if you can (i.e. working towards 1 litre ish a day). If you end up with a huge excess then you can try pumping less often (I mostly expressed for my DS when he was a little baby and got over a litre in 4 pumps a day - but I had a monster of a supply). Oversupply per se doesn't make problems as long as you are not getting engorged - it's just messy. Undersupply on the other hand is much more of an issue.

**Maruschke** · July 18th, 2012, 07:38 AM

Yep, had a huge over supply with DD1. But things are stalling here, last 4 pumps (both sides, 3 hours apart) were only 70 mls each. Is that right? So confusing.

**PumpkinZulu** · July 20th, 2012, 12:43 PM

1040 litres a day is great! That's about what I pumped on top of feeding DD (huge supply). One of my breasts was always more of a producer than the other, and I've not had surgery on either of my breasts.

**Maruschke** · July 20th, 2012, 12:49 PM

1040 litres a day is great! That's about what I pumped on top of feeding DD (huge supply). One of my breasts was always more of a producer than the other, and I've not had surgery on either of my breasts.

OK phew! Thanks PZ.

**PumpkinZulu** · July 20th, 2012, 12:50 PM

Lol!!!! 1040 litres is actually a tad too much....

**Maruschke** · July 20th, 2012, 12:51 PM

Lol!!!! 1040 litres is actually a tad too much....

Images of Dolly Parton come to mind

.

**Heaven** · July 20th, 2012, 12:54 PM

1040ml a day is massive. You have nothing to worry about. Just keep doing what you're doing

With both of my girls one side has produced more than the other, it's normal. Interestingly it was a different side with each one though, weird.

**Heaven** · July 20th, 2012, 12:57 PM

FYI

The research tells us that exclusively breastfed babies take in an average of 25 oz (750 mL) per day between the ages of 1 month and 6 months. Different babies take in different amounts of milk; a typical range of milk intakes is 19-30 oz per day (570-900 mL per day).

So for a baby less than 1 month they need even less than that. Keep pumping regularly though so that your body keeps up the supply you're getting.

HTH

**leckert** · July 20th, 2012, 12:57 PM

I was thinking you were doing an extremely impressive amount there for a moment

In mls it's still doing well - I was typically around 600ml for ds1 a day when expressing during school hours; still to see how we go for ds2 this time round. Mine would alternate as to which would get more out depending on which side theoretically I fed from last ITMS.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so may not make sense

**Maruschke** · July 20th, 2012, 01:00 PM

I have a new respect for exclusive expressers, you guys deserve a medal!

There is some interesting research out there about the force of led down being different for each boob and I wonder if that has something to do with it? Typically I've always expressed starting on the right, and the left will let down at the same time and start dripping. I'll see what happens if I change the order and get the stronger let down on the left...

I feel like a science experiment

. But while I am healthy and can continue, I think I'd keep pumping 3 hourly even if I create double this much, and consider donating the excess. I have forms to get my blood tests done now.