Exclusively Pumping: Milk Supply Constant

Hi All, I've been pumping for 3 weeks now, with the milk supply averaging 90-120ml per 30mins pump session currently. I pump every 3 hours now. However, I am keen to increase milk supply per pump. Is it encouraged to decrease the frequency of pump session as I am not getting sufficient rest (confinement nanny told me to stretch it to 4 hours). My baby is 3 weeks, 5kg and already drinking 110ml breast milk per feed during the day. He drinks formula at night as it makes him fuller and sleep longer (as recommended by confinement nanny). Please help 🥺

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It is not recommended to reduce number of pumping sessions as it is signalling your body that you do not need to produce so much milk so frequently. My baby was about 5kg at 3 weeks too and drinking about 100-120ml per feed. I produced about the same amount as you during that time but my yield increased eventually. You can try replacing one of your pump sessions with a power pump session to try and increase your milk supply. Drinking lots of fluid helps to increase milk supply as well. Don't be too stressed about increasing supply as well. It is true that we should aim for 3 hourly pump sessions but I feel everyone is different. I couldnt wake up or keep to the 3 hourly pump sessions, hence my pump sessions can range from 3 to 6 hours interval which is not very healthy if I want to increase supply or maybe maintain but I just cannot keep up with pumping every 3 hours. It is true that if you drag longer hours in between pump sessions you may pump more during that session but overall milk supply does not really increase. So now I pump about 5-6 times a day, about 3-6 hours interval, each pump session getting about 120-200ml depending on how long the intervals between pump sessions are. I get about 800+ml a day, which is enough for my baby or rather slightly lower than what he takes as he can drink up to 1 litre a day but it's okay as I also supplement with formula sometimes and I am satisfied with just enough supply.

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I dragged the time of pumping session and my supply dropped 30%. I worked so hard to bring my supply up to 150ml per 3 hours and now even though I went back to 3 hourly it is only 100ml. don't believe your nanny. it WILL drop. how to bring it up: 1. power pump at least once a day 2. pump every 2 hours 3. drink A LOT of water 4. fenugreek supplement 5. eat a lot of protein 6. don't skip any sessions. 7. let your baby comfort feed whenever he likes

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Definitely not. Although you might feel like you pump more because of the stretched sessions, but you’re actually signaling your body that it doesn’t need that much milk in the long run. It is very hard to get sufficient rest in the initial pumping stage and trying to keep up with baby’s feeding schedule. Drink more water (PLAIN WATER) and try switching to handsfree pump (it works better for me), both sides. Each session takes about 20mins.

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Yes just as others mention, decreasing the frequency will not help if you want to increase milk supply in the long run. Other than drinking sufficient fluids, do try to have more skin-to-skin contact time with baby to help increase output/letdown

I’m no pro but pumping more doesn’t help me in increasing the bm quantity. Hope you’re able to achieve your goal.