Worried about milk supply going down. Help :-(

Ok so i feel as though my milk supply/ breastfeeding is getting quite established now - my baby girl is 6 weeks old today. I have managed to cut out the single formula feed she'd been having once per 24 hours. I have found 'peace' with pumping and dont mind doing it at all...... i tell myself it is worth keeping a good supply, so i happily set my alarm for 3 am to pump too (as well as daytime and evening of course). The problem is i had a difficult night with her last night - up til 2 am + trying to settle her, and then knowing i would be up at 6 am to get ready for school run etc. I was even crying by the time i settled her knowing i would have around 2 hrs sleep (if i pumped at 3 am too). So in my desperation i went to bed and refused to do it so i could get some sleep. So i woke about 6:30 with engorgement and expressed 9 ounces. But now i am worried my supply will be damaged by tomorrow :-(
How often should i pump today, tomorrow etc, to stop supply going down? can i stop it going down at all? I really want to exclusively give breastmilk, have i ruined it now?
All advice appreciated, thanks.

[KATE535]

oh, thought i should mention i exclusively pump as latching on didn't work out for me. i can't put her directly on the breast so i have a pumping routine.

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

you haven't ruined anything.  YOu absolutely did the right thing by getting some sleep instead of pumping.  You will probably find in a few weeks you can skip the 3 am pump - more important to have enough rest (which also affects supply).

Just keep doing what you're doing and stick with your normal schedule.  YOu will probably find you pump more in the morning after a good night's sleep than you do waking up at 3 am.

This will also match what a baby will do, as many babies can sleep through the night for about 6 - 7 hours by the time they are 3 - 4 months old.

[KATE535]

Thanks for your reply, I did feel pleased to pump 9 ounces. At 3 am I usually pump 4 ounces and about 6 ounces in the morning. So pumping 9 was great. So do you think that because I drained the breast, it should not affect the fact I skipped a session at 3 am? I still showed my body the milk was needed...?

[Super_sally888]

Yes, I do think that.  It is ok to skip a session now and then once supply is well established.... :)  You're going great.  The 9 oz made up for the regular 4 + 6 and you had a good sleep.

[tiredbuthappy]

i also think you'll be ok. I have found that my boobs have a "maximum capacity." they hold a certain amount, and as long as i completely empty them before they hit that max capacity, it doesn't really affect total ounces. Sally is right- you may find even better results by skipping a pump. and if you find a slight decline, you can always reintroduce it.
by the way, last time i pumped, i found the max capacity for righty to be 9 ounces, and lefty to be about 7 1/2. So when i cut out all night pumps, i would wake up and pump at least 16 ounces in a sitting. took forever to drain, but i got it out.

What i started to do a while back was pump whenever the baby woke to feed. the time varied, but at least i wasn't waking an extra time in the night. what i am doing now is just using my manual pump after feeding her. I pump 5 minutes and have enough for the next feed or 2. I do not drain at this pump anymore- i do that when i wake up in the morning. It has not affected my supply and i've been doing it about 3 weeks. I like this because I am not waking separately to pump, but am still removing some milk and having the next feed ready. Also, it takes much less time to do my morning pump.

[PamelaBee]

TBH:  When you say "drain"...how long does that usually take you?  I maybe pump for 15mins max...I usually get 2 letdowns. (It's so hard for me to get time to pump for longer, cause I have a very demanding toddler that craves my every move!)  So, if I find time to increase my sessions to say 30mins or more, would I maybe get a couple more letdowns...hence more milk? : )

[KATE535]

Thanks for all the advice :-)

[tiredbuthappy]

depends on how often I pump, and which pump I use.
Honestly, my manual drains me twice as fast as my Pump in Style Advance. Not sure if that's a good thing and whether or not I should be getting the extra stimulation to build supply. So far, so good, but I'm watching ounces to make sure.

if i were to use the PISA and pumped every 6-8 hours, i would need to pump about 40 minutes or so. Seems long, but if i pumped every 3-4 hours, i would probably need at least 20 min each session, so total pump time is about the same. When i pump i get 1 very big let down of a few ounces, and another a few minutes later that's pretty decent as well. if i were to continue pumping, i would continue to get several smaller let-downs. I suggest just once or twice, you pump much longer than you normally would just to see what you may be missing out on. you then have to decide whether or not that extra ounce or 2 is worth the extra time and effort.

when i am alone with my toddler and infant, i use my harmony because it's easier to move around, start and stop as they need stuff. I'll give dd her dinner and pump at the table while she eats, while singing to the baby in the highchair. If someone needs something, i just put down the pump, take care of it, and easily get back to pumping. Since I have 2 Harmonies, i do both sides at the same time. I can fully drain both sides in 20 minutes as opposed to 40 using them if i go 6-8 hrs btw pumps. But, like I said, i don't know if it would work for everyone. Also, the Harmony is a bit harsher on the nips.