What to do when you aren’t pumping enough milk

This is for all the mamas out there that are struggling:

  1. To exclusively pump enough breastmilk for their baby
  2. To pump more breastmilk to save money so they can use less formula
  3. To pump breastmilk when you are away from baby or plan to be away from baby
  4. Another reason specific to you where you need help pumping breastmilk

Maybe you can relate… (my personal story, scroll down if you are triggered easily or just want the tips!):

Before I get into what to do if you aren’t pumping enough milk, I would like to share a little of my baby feeding story. Maybe this will help someone and know they are not alone.

My son was born two weeks premature. That doesn’t sound that premature, but the placenta wasn’t providing really much food (my doctor said my placenta looked “old”) and baby was not thriving in my womb. I had planned to have a vaginal birth and breastfeed.

The plan was to induce me early Saturday morning. I was actually given the drugs to make my body ready to go. Then, the nurse said she couldn’t regularly hear that baby’s heartrate so I was forced to have an “emergency c-section”. I had not planned for a c-section (ignorant me…I thought that was something rare if not usually planned). I was completely wiped out after the c-section. I could barely hold the baby.

The nurse tried to help me breastfeed right after the c-section, but I was so out of it. I tried again myself after a few hours of recovery, I couldn’t figure it out. The nurse commented my nipples were “too big” for the “little babies mouth”. I had another nurse try and help me breastfeed (maybe it worked, I don’t really know).

We ended up giving him baby formula. He didn’t really seem to want it. He drank a bit and then would just cry. I asked the nurses for the “sensitive” version of formula because his father and half-brother had issues with dairy. They did not listen. They pricked his finger and tested his blood twice and it was “too low” and omitted them to the NICU for 48 hours.

I was beside myself. I was literally going crazy because my worst nightmare had come true: I had been separated from my brand new baby in the hospital. My doctor came in to check on me the next day and console me. She said the best way to get that baby out of the NICU was to try and give him breastmilk. So I started pumping with the hospital’s breastpump. I literally had no idea what the heck I was doing but I somehow managed to fill up a syringe. I labeled it and at that point, forced myself to be strong enough to walk it to the NICU floor. I didn’t anyone else touching my milk.

Long story short, I pumped multiple syringes full of milk and my baby had all of them! Sucked them down! He kept getting better and better and they finally let him out. Because he was in the NICU, a lactation specialist never saw me — even though I asked multiple times.

I went home and tried to breastfeed. My mom put a lot of pressure on me too (Because she nursed ALL of her babies for multiple years and it was “so easy” according to her). Well, my situation was different and it wasn’t so easy. It was heartbreaking I couldn’t breastfeed my child. I tried every day for a month. I ended up paying $90 for a lactation specialist appointment at another hospital. She was able to help me feed with both sides. I felt like a rockstar. She gave me a few things to help me but in the end, the baby didn’t want to feed off me.

I ended up exclusively pumping for 6 months. it was stressful and I felt like I could never go anywhere really. At the 6 month mark, I wasn’t able to produce enough for him to be satisfied. So I supplemented with a sensitive baby formula for 6 months… until he turned 1 and then I stopped. It was such a relief, emotionally. I hated pumping milk. I loved that it was helping my baby grow but it was so emotionally draining, I would not wish that on anyone. So this is why I decided to write this post, because I know people had to have struggled like I did when I was pumping.

Pumping Tip #1

1.) Make sure you are relaxed and in an environment that is relaxing (As possible, I know we can’t always choose where we pump)

  • Stress can cause the body to not pump enough milk

(i.e. one time I had to pump in my car during my lunchbreak for a new job — I couldn’t find a good place to park, all I had was my cover, nothing else to keep people from looking “in” – needless to say I barely pumped any milk. I ended up going into my new job, essentially quitting and went home and was able to pump milk again)

  • Make sure you are prepared with everything you need
    • Have a bag ready with all of your essentials when you are on the go
    • Have a pump area at home so you can go and “relax” while you pump baby’s milk
  • If you are AT HOME, here are some essentials to have:
    • A comfortable area to pump i.e. your bed, a comfy chair (maybe in the nursery), or a couch
    • The ability for privacy if necessary: you may be comfortable pumping in from of your significant other or even your mom or sister, but when the in-laws come to “visit” baby, you need to have a place you can “escape to”
    • A TV, tablet, or phone (or all the of the above: use this time to catch up on your favorite TV shows, look at cute pictures of your baby, or check out the latest TikToks — make sure it is FUN and not work or something that may stress you out (like looking at your finances, work emails, paying bills, texting someone who is drama-filled, etc.)
    • Blackout curtains or lights that dim – a dark, relaxing environment can help with relaxation
    • Relaxing music and/or aromatherapy essential oil diffuser — if you don’t want to watch TV, turn on some peaceful music. You can also put on the oil diffuser for added relaxation. I use this essential oil diffuser on Amazon.
    • Water bottle and snacks — because pumping actually burns calories and you need TONS of water too!
  • If you are NOT AT HOME, here are some essentials to have to make your pumping experience more pleasant:
    • A cover of some kind for privacy. This can be a “feeding cover” or just a baby muslin blanket.
    • If you are having to pump in your car, you can use your car shade as extra privacy, you can get magnetic side window sunshades (fairly cheap) like these for full privacy all the way around.
    • An inverter to plug in your breast pump if you are worried about the battery running low in your car. This is the one I used. They are great for other things to- — really anything that you have to plug in, and if you like camping or need to do your hair in the car, it’s great for that as well.
    • Ice packs and container to hold pumped milk. Usually your breast pump will come with one, but this is the one I used with Medela Breast Pump.
    • Pump cleaning wipes – if you are ever in a situation where you don’t have a sink that you can clean your pump gear, you can use pump cleaning wipes to get you through to your next pumping session. These are specific for pump equipment — please do not use regular cleaning wipes or even baby wipes. They come in a small pack that you can just throw into your pump bag.
    • Nursing pads to eliminate leaking through your shirt. This is definitely a way to have less stress by making sure you aren’t leaking through your clothes. There are both disposable and re-usable options, depending on your preference. Here are some cute organic bamboo ones.

You might not think that bringing all of these extra things along with you will reduce stress but trust me, they will. The MORE prepared you are, the LESS stressed out you will be.

Tip #2

Do not over-pump so that you are nipples are raw, bleeding, and/or sore.

Ever heard of power pumping? I don’t suggest it but it is designed to imitate “cluster feeding”. For example, you would pump for 20 minutes, rest for 10 minutes, pump for 10 minutes, rest for 10 minutes, pump for 15 minutes.

This is what some suggest instead of pumping every 2 to 4 hours. I have tried it, and let me tell you, it was so frustrating and stressed me out — and it made my nipples hurt.

Instead of power pumping, be consistent in your pump schedule. If your baby is under 3 months, I would suggest pumping every 2 to 3 hours to get your body used to needing milk that often. If your baby is older, ever 4 to 5 hours (consistently), should be okay. Gradual changes are best. (Think of changing the in between pumping time to extend for 15 minutes to 30 minutes every week or two if you feel pumping is overwhelming.)

Skipping pumping sessions is not advised for multiple reasons: causes your boobs to become engorged, sends signals to your body that your baby no longer needs as much milk, and also, your period may start up immediately after you skip your session.

Tip #3

Eat more of certain foods, and COMPLETELY avoid others.

Before we talk about what foods to eat and not eat, let’s talk about calories:

If you are pumping milk (for one baby): You should be eating at least 2,200 calories a day. (Add an additional 500 calories to this if you have twins).

Foods to eat while pumping milk:

  1. Prenatal vitamin – Yes, you have had your baby, so the name of the vitamin does not make sense, but it still has vital nutrients that both you and your baby need. Although it is not a “food”, your prenatal vitamin will help you heal, produce more nutritious milk, and let your baby grow, grow, grow into a super healthy, beautiful baby.
  2. Oats – If you don’t like oatmeal, you can make your own oatmeal cookies. Oats are super healthy and may increase your supply. (Don’t feel pressured into buying expensive lactation cookies — the ingredients are basic and you can make them yourself!) I did find these amazing Oat Bars at the store by accident when I was pumping and they are DELISH. They are called Bobo’s Oat Bars. They are gluten free and vegan too. If you can’t find them, click here for them on Amazon.
  3. Pumpkin – Although there are a TON of pumpkin products available in the fall, canned pumpkin is available year-round at most grocery stores. Can’t find it? Click here.
  4. Fennel -Try it in salads,or have fennel tea. Click here for the tea
  5. Fenugreek – Can be used as more of a spice or you can enjoy it as a tea. (If you can’t find Fenugreek tea at your store, you can get Organic Mother’s Milk Tea for fairly cheap – per unit – on Amazon. It’s $27 bucks for 96 tea bags) Click Here to get it.
  6. Water – 100% the most important on this list. You need to be drinking a lot more water than you normally would. I know you and your bladder are still having to go a lot, even after baby, so the last thing you want is to add more liquid, but water really does help with milk production. Try and aim for a gallon a day. If you can’t get close to that yet, try a half gallon and work up to a gallon. You will see the difference in more than just your supply. Get a cute water bottle that will motivate you to drink more. Here’s one that is perfect for new mamas.

Foods/Herbs to avoid if possible while pumping:

  1. Anything with mint or mint extract: Yes, this includes Peppermint Patties (yum but you are going to have to wait a bit to enjoy). They have peppermint extract in them and this may reduce your supply.
  2. Parsley: Common in many foods, especially at restaurants. Chefs love to garnish their dishes with parsley.
  3. Sage: Common, especially in the Fall/Autumn in dishes. Your butternut squash ravioli probably has sage on top or is covered in a sage butter sauce.
  4. Foods high in citric acid: Citrus juice, fresh tomatoes, or anything that has citric acid in it.
  5. Soda/Coffee/Black Tea/Green Tea: All of these can elevate the levels of stress hormones. So if you are stressed out, this will affect your supply, and if you have one of these drinks, it will make it worse.

And here are a few more to avoid:

  1. Chasteberry
  2. Jasmine
  3. Cilantro
  4. Rosemary
  5. Thyme
  6. Lemon Balm

Tip #4

Change your pump parts!

The last tip is an easy one to remember, change your pump parts according to the manufacturer’s recommendations (or when you feel like maybe the pump isn’t pumping as strong as it used to).

Here are some things that might need to be replaced (and possible others, depending on the type of pump you have):

  • Valves
  • Membranes
  • Tubing
  • Shields
  • Connectors

If you don’t have your box still that you received your pump in, check the manufacturer’s website (i.e. Medela) and see what they recommend. Amazon is great for breast pump parts. It’s also a good idea to have them BEFORE you need them, so you might want to order some now so you aren’t in a bind later.

Hopefully these tips helped. I know it’s hard to eat perfectly in normal circumstances, and now you are sleep deprived and learning to care for a new life. Just do your best, ask for help when needed, and don’t be too hard on yourself. You are doing great mama! <3 <3 <3

You are learning to be a new mama, but do you need to remember how to relax again? Click here for relaxation tips!

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