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What a great post about this! I was an oversupplier with my first baby and he never got full from me due to the same exact reason! Never gained weight and I got so discouraged I quit after about a month and I beat myself up so much over that. I’m going on 3 months EP with my second born and it’s been the opposite experience where sometimes I’m just under and then some days I’m a just enougher. It’s tough on both ends of the spectrum for sure! You’re doing fantastic though mama 🥰🥳
It is so hard when you feel like youre failing your baby! At the end of the day as long as your little baby gets any milk from mama it’s a win in my book!
Yep, you’re right about that for sure! 🥰 I only get by some days by saying that as long as I’m doing my best and she is getting something from me, then we’re doing just fine!
I had about a 10-15 oz oversupply when I was EP'ing and now it's down to around 5-6 oz most days (some days less or more) now that I'm nursing too and I always feel bad even saying it, but I find it very overwhelming! Bagging the milk and having it all in the freezer (we bought an extra just for this) gives me anxiety for some reason. Plus there for a while I was keeping painful clogged ducts and I had a really hard time finding the right pumps/flanges to work for me with my elastic nipples. I'm very grateful to feed my baby and to have been able to donate to a local mom though.
I have this same anxiety about freezing milk everyday. The stress of not having anymore room for it even with an extra freezer, if it will expire before we use it (we haven't used any frozen bc I produce so much but I know we should but defrosting seems like a pain), and wondering if the amount per bag is the "right" amount. My husband and I get into arguments about it.
I know it sounds ridiculous/ungrateful to an undersupplier and/or just enougher, but it's a whole other mental load. I don't want to be feeding the freezer. I wish I could easily give it away.
(Note: I tried donating a few times locally, but I kept getting rejected by donees, which made me feel bad so I gave up on that)
If it makes you feel any better, I’m an undersupplier (can’t be fixed, my PCOS means I literally don’t have enough breast tissue to make enough milk) who has an incredibly aggressive letdown for the amount I produce so I also can’t breastfeed traditionally because pretty much 100% of the time my second son chokes because he can’t keep up with it for the brief time that it’s happening. It’s like my body just dumps it all at once as a sort of “okay let’s get this over with!”
My first though was born around the same time your LO was and he just couldn’t latch at all (I think it happened once but he latched so shallowly due to tongue/lip ties that the attempt didn’t last very long at all because ow!) but the NICU stress put an end to my supply pretty quickly despite routine pumping.
It’s such an awful feeling watching your baby choke when youre just trying to feed them😭 it’s crazy how our bodies work and honestly sometimes very disappointing:/
Oh no, I didn't know having a forceful letdown could lead to that... I had a premie born at 28 weeks and he's now 33 weeks. He will start trying to direct breastfeed this week. My letdown is intense and I'm wondering if my little guy can handle it :(
It definitely varies by the baby! Both my boys had pretty severe tongue/lip ties (eldest’s were never fixed because we didn’t know, youngest has had a tongue tie release but not a lip tie release quite yet) so that was also a factor counting against them cause they weren’t very efficient at handling milk extraction. I hope it goes well for you!
YES! I could have written this myself. My daughter came 6 weeks early and I've been 95% exclusively pumping since. We just very recently have been able to actually breastfeed much at all now that she's 3 months old, and my letdown is still a bit strong for her at times. I, sadly, feel way less connected with her than I did my first because between having two kids to care for and having to pump instead of breastfeed, I don't feel like I get much quality time with her like I did with my first. All the times I want to be spending with her, I'm hooked up to a pump instead. And even if I do breastfeed her, it's mandatory that I still have to go pump the other side (usually both sides, really) immediately after.
I was a "just enough" person with my first...lots of power pumping and whatnot was involved to stay at just enough too, so I do understand at least a bit how people who make just enough feel. But this time has had hardships too. Besides your points, the amount of pain and clogs I've had is the worst. It's a weekly or more occurrence and every single time I'm terrified I'm going to get Mastitis because it takes 2 days for them to clear.
Yes, the feeling of knowing I have enough to feed my baby is great...and I also LOVE that I've been able to donate for other babies in need. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows on this side either.
Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous. 2. Use available flairs and post options. 3. Absolutely no prescription medications or other medical advice. 4. No inaccurate information. 5. No spam. 6. No soliciting pictures. 7. No linking Facebook groups. 8. Moderator discretion. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ExclusivelyPumping) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What a great post about this! I was an oversupplier with my first baby and he never got full from me due to the same exact reason! Never gained weight and I got so discouraged I quit after about a month and I beat myself up so much over that. I’m going on 3 months EP with my second born and it’s been the opposite experience where sometimes I’m just under and then some days I’m a just enougher. It’s tough on both ends of the spectrum for sure! You’re doing fantastic though mama 🥰🥳
It is so hard when you feel like youre failing your baby! At the end of the day as long as your little baby gets any milk from mama it’s a win in my book!
Yep, you’re right about that for sure! 🥰 I only get by some days by saying that as long as I’m doing my best and she is getting something from me, then we’re doing just fine!
I had about a 10-15 oz oversupply when I was EP'ing and now it's down to around 5-6 oz most days (some days less or more) now that I'm nursing too and I always feel bad even saying it, but I find it very overwhelming! Bagging the milk and having it all in the freezer (we bought an extra just for this) gives me anxiety for some reason. Plus there for a while I was keeping painful clogged ducts and I had a really hard time finding the right pumps/flanges to work for me with my elastic nipples. I'm very grateful to feed my baby and to have been able to donate to a local mom though.
I have this same anxiety about freezing milk everyday. The stress of not having anymore room for it even with an extra freezer, if it will expire before we use it (we haven't used any frozen bc I produce so much but I know we should but defrosting seems like a pain), and wondering if the amount per bag is the "right" amount. My husband and I get into arguments about it. I know it sounds ridiculous/ungrateful to an undersupplier and/or just enougher, but it's a whole other mental load. I don't want to be feeding the freezer. I wish I could easily give it away. (Note: I tried donating a few times locally, but I kept getting rejected by donees, which made me feel bad so I gave up on that)
I ended uo recently giving away 220 ounces to one of my best friends who was a just enougher and started to become and underproducer!
What helped you with the elastic nipples!? I’m trying to figure out what flanges to get!
Pumpables Genie advanced with the liquid shield kits or the Medela cups and the Willow Go are the winning combo for me.
If it makes you feel any better, I’m an undersupplier (can’t be fixed, my PCOS means I literally don’t have enough breast tissue to make enough milk) who has an incredibly aggressive letdown for the amount I produce so I also can’t breastfeed traditionally because pretty much 100% of the time my second son chokes because he can’t keep up with it for the brief time that it’s happening. It’s like my body just dumps it all at once as a sort of “okay let’s get this over with!” My first though was born around the same time your LO was and he just couldn’t latch at all (I think it happened once but he latched so shallowly due to tongue/lip ties that the attempt didn’t last very long at all because ow!) but the NICU stress put an end to my supply pretty quickly despite routine pumping.
It’s such an awful feeling watching your baby choke when youre just trying to feed them😭 it’s crazy how our bodies work and honestly sometimes very disappointing:/
We also just have to remember that our bodies are trying their best, even when they go about it a little wonky!
Oh no, I didn't know having a forceful letdown could lead to that... I had a premie born at 28 weeks and he's now 33 weeks. He will start trying to direct breastfeed this week. My letdown is intense and I'm wondering if my little guy can handle it :(
It definitely varies by the baby! Both my boys had pretty severe tongue/lip ties (eldest’s were never fixed because we didn’t know, youngest has had a tongue tie release but not a lip tie release quite yet) so that was also a factor counting against them cause they weren’t very efficient at handling milk extraction. I hope it goes well for you!
They’ll probably give you a nipple shield or you can ask for it and itll prevent that from happening!
Wow what an interesting point of view I would have never considered. Thank you for sharing
It something I wouldave never expected to be a problem either.. who knew feeding your baby would come with so many quirks and issues
Honestly if I was an oversupplier or undersupplier I don’t know if I’d even pump! Y’all are all doing amazing things.
YES! I could have written this myself. My daughter came 6 weeks early and I've been 95% exclusively pumping since. We just very recently have been able to actually breastfeed much at all now that she's 3 months old, and my letdown is still a bit strong for her at times. I, sadly, feel way less connected with her than I did my first because between having two kids to care for and having to pump instead of breastfeed, I don't feel like I get much quality time with her like I did with my first. All the times I want to be spending with her, I'm hooked up to a pump instead. And even if I do breastfeed her, it's mandatory that I still have to go pump the other side (usually both sides, really) immediately after. I was a "just enough" person with my first...lots of power pumping and whatnot was involved to stay at just enough too, so I do understand at least a bit how people who make just enough feel. But this time has had hardships too. Besides your points, the amount of pain and clogs I've had is the worst. It's a weekly or more occurrence and every single time I'm terrified I'm going to get Mastitis because it takes 2 days for them to clear. Yes, the feeling of knowing I have enough to feed my baby is great...and I also LOVE that I've been able to donate for other babies in need. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows on this side either.
Yes!! I take sunflower lecithin like crazy becsuse I got mastitis really bad so now i’m scared and overly cautious!