I don't have enough supply to express, HELP!

Hi everyone,

In hospital I was told to express in between feeds by the MW but then I was told by I think the LC to express after DD has fin her feeds so it doesn't cause me to over produce. Yesterday & today I have tried to express after a feed and I'd be lucky to get 5 ml from each breast. I want to build up a supply in the freezer for when we go out etc but what's going on? I think a friend mentioned your body producing just what bub is demanding, is this right? How do I express then? How do ppl build up a stock of EBM for other times?

I have always had heaps of milk for my baby but could never express very much! He'd never drink it out of a bottle anyway so it was ok in the end!

As stoked said, expressing is never as successful as when your bubba feeds. They just know how to do it perfect, the little sweethearts. I was the same, could never express enough and then they hated the botte so didn't matter anyway. I always expressed after the morning feed when my supply was greatest as it is overnight that it builds up, even when night feeding. Just make sure you are drinking heaps as well, that helps.

Usually your body only makes enough for baby. If you want to expressed you'd just have to keep pumping to gradually build up to an extra feed, for example. I have this same issue. It takes me over a week to express enough to leave DS overnight.

I barely get 10ml these days - DD gets it all! I agree with the others, it takes me ages to get even a bottles worth. Sorry I can't be of more help babe xxx

I used to express right after feeds, and after awhile accumulate enough. It certainly isn't related to how much milk you have for bub though, even people with a generous supply of milk can have trouble expressing. I guess there might be some expressing tips around that might help, like being relaxed and....that's the only tip I can remember.

Is your little one about 3 weeks now hun? Your ticker is a little out of date ;) As the others have said, the amount you get when expressing really doesn't tell you anything about your supply. A baby will always cause a let down (milk ejection) but not necessary a pump. In the early weeks - say the first 6 - 12 weeks, adding expressing into the mix as well as breastfeeding can be tricky. If you don't need the milk immediately, it might be less stressful for you to wait a few weeks before trying to build up a stock of expressed milk (EBM). When you do try (whether it's now or later) there are a few tips that can help:

- Try expressing during the early hours of the morning or after your DD's first morning feed if you are up to it and have time
- Otherwise express about 30 minutes after a feed from the second side (if your DD has two sides during the feed, otherwise the one she didn't feed from)
- If you are not getting much out, a warm compress on your breast for 5 - 10 minutes before expressing can help
- The let down is a conditioned reflex, so expressing in the same place as you usually breastfeed can help it happen
- It is important to be relaxed - if you are uptight, see if your partner can massage your shoulders for you. Otherwise trying to relax your chest and shoulders can help
- Gently compressing your breast while pumping might help
- So might looking at your baby or smelling her clothes

Expressing is a learnt skill - it takes a while to get there, and some mums never really get it working. Try not to put pressure on yourself, things always work out one way or another.

When I was building up a supply of EBM I would express just once a day, during the morning feed. By this I mean I would have a baby on one breast, and a pump on the other, to harness my baby's ability to stimulate let down. It is handy to have some EBM in the freezer, but you probably will not need it until bub is a bit older so if I were you I would concentrate on bub just now, and worry about expressing in a few weeks once you have breastfeeding mastered.

Thanks ladies,
Yes she's 3 weeks old today, first week out of hospy and even last week I seemed to be able to express & get a good 30-40mls each boob & now this week my boobs seem softer and I can get about 5mls each max 10 if I'm lucky, I think my supply has settled. Thanks for the tips I'll try expressing after the morning feed tomorrow :)
I wouldn't be able to manage expressing & feeding at the same time she is a fussy feeder.
Thankyou again ladies, good to know this is normal :)
I need to update my ticker, I'm on my iPhone :)

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a friend mentioned your body producing just what bub is demanding, is this right?

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sounds like your friend is right to me ;-)

Babyluv - have a look at my last post in our babybuddies thread....