Increasing supply when expressing

Hi all,

I am 8 months into expressing full-time and needing to increase supply. Breastfeeding hasn't worked out - have tried everything - please don't suggest it as an option :)

I am really struggling to get my 600mL minimum each day. AF has not yet returned. I have tried everything that I've found online to help increase supply, short of taking motillium. Even when I express more times I don't seem to get much more overall.

Does anyone have any ideas to help me? Is motillium still an option at this late stage?

Also, can someone tell me at what point it is normal to drop down to 2 feeds? If I know roughly when that is it really helps me hang in there - 400mL is much easier than 600!

TIA

Surprised xo

What sort of pump are you using? Have you checked out the exclusive expressers chat thread?

My bub still has more than 8 feeds a day so can't help you there. I read on here somewhere that around 10 months bubs can reduce their milk cos they are taking in more food but there is always variance between bubs

It's not too late for motilium. In my opinion the most important thing for your bub is that they continue to receive some breastmilk while they meet a wide variety of food over the next few months. If one of those foods is a bottle a day then that is a better option than stopping altogether!
Hang in there - you are doing a great job.

Wow, 8 months of exclusive expressing is a fantastic effort. Well done hun. That really is great work.

Unfortunately, as you know, maintaining supply while exclusively expressing is tough. It might be that the only way to maintain enough supply is to try the meds. However you could try expressing more often first if you can fit it in. Sometimes mums find that expressing for a shorter time more often is more productive than expressing for as long as they can but less often. Some other tricks to get more milk out while expressing are to put a warm compress on your breasts first, switch sides frequently while expressing (if you are not double pumping) and gentle breast compression while pumping. I guess you are already using a good electric pump.

To answer your other question, that is an individual thing from baby to baby and depends on how well they take to solids. Usually though, babies wouldn't drop to 2 feeds a day until after the 12 month mark. However, solids do replace milk, so as your little one starts to eat more solid food, the amount of milk needed will reduce. You might find that you can reduce the amount you give at each feed even if you can't drop one totally just yet.

As has been mentioned, there is a thread here on BB for exclusive expressers that you might find helpful. The ABA forum also has a very informative and supportive thread for exclusive expressers.

Thanks so much ladies. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Have fitted in extra 2 pumps today so that might help over the next couple of days. I use a medela freestyle and yes am great friends on the ee thread so will pop over and ask there too.

I was going to say much the same as KMN, whatever your little one is getting is a benefit :)

I found that continuing to pump after the flow had stopped would eventually give me a second let down. That might be worth trying? You really are doing great :hug: