New mothers feel overwhelmed balancing pumping schedules and weight gain checks

“😂 So my first i breastfed but i exclusively pumped - everything was super routine, he didn’t really cluster feed at all bc all of his milk came in a bottle and that was that. So i knew how to navigate my pumping schedule and since we bottle fed- I knew to just bring bottled milk all the time! I just had my second baby and he’s being fed at the breast- he cluster feeds often and for a long time. He brought my milk in so quickly- we left the hospital 3 hours after he turned 24 hours and then when”

“Hello, I'm on a burner account for privacy... My wife is currently breastfeeding and doing amazing. She's a trooper and continuing to pump and feed. She is currently pumping to feed through a bottle when our baby starts to cry or show signs of being hungry. (Because nursing was painful. Had a LC in the hospital for tips) This is causing her immense stress and feeling like a complete failure because it takes about 20-30 min to get 2+ oz for our baby. This is like panicked stress (can'”

“I had to start pumping exclusively a week after birth due to a horrible latch and nipple trauma. My LCs promised that I would be able to nurse again so I went with it, but nothing has worked consistently. After a lip tie release, my baby nursed perfectly on the bare nipple while side lying twice and never again. Then again perfectly on a nipple shield for a couple of days. Then she refused for two weeks. Then again on the nipple shield for morning feeds for a week. And now she's been refusin”

“Hi everyone, I’m writing this because I’m honestly exhausted, frustrated, and starting to lose hope about breastfeeding. My baby is 6 weeks old, and we still haven’t been able to establish effective breastfeeding. Right after birth, we missed out on skin-to-skin contact. For the first two weeks, she was unable to latch at all. We started bottle-feeding to help her recover from jaundice, and we consulted a lactation consultant, who suggested facial exercises and finger-feeding to improve her latc”

“Hi Moms! Any recommendation for good lactation consultant who does Home visit in Brisbane’s southside? I went to one today and it was the worst experience I have ever had. She started to consult asking why I chose to do c- section, if it is due to anxiety. And I said, no, I just opted for an elective c- section as I want planned birth and a less painful one. I also mentioned that I visited to the mater lactation support which the lady was somewhat helpful. She badmouthed her. I think the child n”

“I’m almost 4 months postpartum with my third and seem to be teetering on an undersuppy constantly. I’ve managed to keep up by pumping extra but it’s not that sustainable. Basically, all morning I have decent feeds/pumps likely 3-5 ounces and she is quite satisfied. But afternoons/evenings baby is very unsatisfied and I also pump very little. Outside of pumping constantly to keep up with her in the afternoons, any tips?? If it continues to be so high maintenance (triple feeding or having to pump”

“Hello all! I’m currently 3 weeks postpartum with my second child and for the first time I’ve been able to breastfeed exclusively. I’m nervous because with my first I had such little supply and no matter what I did, my body did not keep up with my baby’s needs. This time around, I’m somehow able to breastfeed, but I don’t know if I’m doing this right or if my baby is getting enough. He seems satisfied after feeds, has enough nappy outputs and I think is gaining weight (we’ll know at the one month”

“Hello! I have a 9 week old and have been mostly pumping and bottle feeding, as we had early issues with latching. She finally got the hang of my around 6 weeks, and was able to transfer enough for a full feed, from about 6-8 weeks of age. (We were still doing bottles during that time when I was gone from her.) But now in the last 4 days to a week, it's like she's totally lost interest in latching or has forgotten how to latch. She won't really even try when we attempt. I'm wonder”

“Has anyone had success with going from exclusively pulling to mostly exclusively breastfeeding? Baby is 10 weeks old. She had trouble latching due to a tongue tie and I have been exclusively pumping and giving bottles because I wanted to make sure she was getting enough and it eased my mind knowing exactly how much she was getting. Now that my supply is more established and baby is gaining weight normally, I’d like to give breastfeeding a go again. Ideally have her dad give her a morning bottle”

“I am a new mom to a 4 week old, and for the entirety I’ve exclusively breast fed, however I am thinking of switching to pumping instead. I have a few reasons for contemplating this decision. Firstly, my baby’s latch is horrendously inconsistent, it started off ok, however it feels as though with more time it gets worse, and obviously there is pain accompanying these poor latches. I tried a nipple shield and it worked, for about a day or two before I started feeling sore. I also alternate sides w”

“Hey everyone—just looking for others’ experiences to help me understand and figure out what to do. I read a lot of different advice regarding when one should start pumping. 6 weeks seems to be the golden time, when everything is established and you’re not going to oversupply. We have been EBF with great success so far, a week with my little precious one 😊, but at night when my husband takes a night shift, he gets frustrated when she’s fussy and he cannot feed her. I told him it’s fine to wake m”

“After 3 weeks of combo feeding pumping and formula, my baby just latched successfully! At the hospital we tried breast feeding but stopped because my nipples were flat/inverted and he was such a hungry little guy, we supplemented with formula and he just lit up once he wasn’t hungry and frustrated anymore. After 3 weeks of pumping, my nipples are… a lot easier for him to get ahold of. So just now I gave it a shot and he’s been on there sucking every so often for about 15 mins now. I don’t really”

“Hiya all! My LO is a week old and I've decided to pump and bottle feed for some feeds. I seem to have a large supply (one 30 minute pumping session resulted in 250mls) I've been advised to decrease each pumping time down by two minutes so I don't create an oversupply. My question is, if I'm pumping for say 15 minutes total moving forward, do I then nurse for 15 minutes each side? Also, I've noticed my breasts are lumpy in between feeds. They don't really hurt but they&#39”

“Hey, all. Partially seeking wisdom, partially seeking solidarity. I spent the first month of baby’s life on the struggle bus trying to get baby to latch well. Many tears (hers), toe curls (mine) and tears (mine) later, we got it down. Now, six months in, we’ve had two weeks where she has refused to latch well. She’ll start a latch, but then throw back her head and either break off and wail like I’m trying to eat her soul or just chew on my nipple (which is what she did as a newborn). Both nipple”

“my 2nd baby is 6 weeks old and a champ at breastfeeding. I hate my pump and don’t want to pump again. I pumped with my first and at the end of a lovely 14 month breastfeeding journey, I aaaalmost threw my pump out the 2nd story window. for moms who chose not to pump or bottle feed at all, how did that go? submitted by /u/Brain-freeze-faces [link] [comments]”

“hi all! I’m a second time mom first time nursing mom. my first had major latch issues and we wound up pumping and bottle feeding exclusively. I’m determined to nurse this one my 6 week old did so well the first few weeks - latched great, great drinking, then my milk came in and the engorgement subsided and everything changed sometimes she does latch and eat well and then seem super happy and sleepy. it’s very rare though. more often she’ll latch and eat and then just kind of be awake and alert,”

“Im 3 days PP after a CS. I noticed my milk is becoming more "mature?". Like its milky white now instead of yellow like colostrum. Im starting to feel my breast become more full and slight let down reflex when baby feeds, but not heavy and engorged yet. My question is when did you start pumping to store supply? Is it too soon for me? submitted by /u/Impossible_Mousse727 [link] [comments]”

“Hi guys! I’m currently 24w and just got my script for my breast pump and am so excited! I just have NO idea what I’m looking at. Any advice? submitted by /u/TillNo9697 [link] [comments]”

“Has anyone abruptly stopped breastfeeding and switched to pumping? My original plan was to gradually transition my baby from EBF to bottles since I have to return to work in a month and a half. I had started off giving a bottle a day and got to two a day and I would pump whichever breast was due when I gave the bottle. I ended up depleting what supply I had saved up because I could never pump enough in one session on that breast to replace the bottle he took so I paused for a few days. He’s also”

“After having to exclusively pump for almost 2 months during a nasty bottle preference, I brought my baby back to breast and have exclusively breastfed with zero bottles for the last 5 weeks. I just reintroduced the bottle today so we can give one occasionally, and I pumped while my husband gave a bottle and I was surprised my yield seemed quite low, only 2.5 oz combined, while she took a 4.5 oz bottle of freezer stash. I feed her every 3ish hours, and it had been 3 hours since I last breastfed h”

“I was gonna post this on r/ExclusivelyPumping but since it involves latching/breastfeeding I don't think it belongs there (not considered exclusive pumping anymore) I have been exclusively pumping since my baby girl was around 4 days old. So far its been going great, I have a slight over supply and baby girl takes her bottle just fine. Last week I started latching her again. I don't have any intention of moving to exclusive breastfeeding but I decided if she could to latch for top ups af”

“So I'm struggling big time. My baby is 7 weeks tomorrow, and has a tongue and lip tie release schedule for the end of October. For the past 2 weeks, I have been pumping 7-8x a day. Before that I was attempting to nurse, doing around 2.5 hours throughout the day and formula feeding. I'm still only getting max an oz from my right breast, and a few drops from my left. When I switched to pumping, I did 4 pumps and got around 144ml. My highest was 195 after 6 days of power pumping for an hour”

“I exclusively pumped for my first and will absolutely NOT be doing that again lol Also, may be naively hoping to only use my Medela hand pump during the bottle feeds. submitted by /u/engineersahm [link] [comments]”

“Hi all, I am starting to think about pumping when returning to work. Baby will be 5 months. We have recently been doing one bottle a day since 3 months per the recommendation from an LC to be sure he is not refusing when I go back to work. My question is my baby has always been a one side per feed eater and I switch off right and left each time. So when we have been giving a bottle I pump the one side that’s due and give him the freshly pumped milk right away. I never attach both sides of the pu”

“Hi, Just wondering if anyone else is doing a mix of pumping and direct breastfeeding? I’m currently feeding my baby directly during the day and pumping four times between 9am-9pm every four hours. It’s nice because my husband can help feed overnight and I can be guaranteed a few hours of sleep instead of following the baby. My husband goes back to work soon so he can’t help so much with overnights and I’m wondering if I should switch to pumping during the day and direct feeding at night. If you’”

“I am at a loss. I don’t know how to move forward in my breastfeeding journey and the only lactation consultant near me (that’s covered by insurance) is not helpful or knowledgable. My daughter was born early. Her corrected age is 2 weeks. She was born 6 weeks ago though. Due to underdeveloped oral skill and excessive sleepiness we mostly bottlefed breastmilk for the first 4 weeks. She’d latch to the breast fine but she’d fall asleep within a couple minutes and nothing we did could keep her awake”

“Hey mamas! My son is 6 weeks old and for the most part he’s been nursing like a champ! I had to exclusively pump for 14 months with my first son, so I’ve been thrilled with how much easier nursing has been this time around. Little guy has a slight tongue tie, but latches well, has tons of full diapers throughout the day, and is growing perfectly. He usually has a few feeds in the morning, then sleeps for 3-4 hrs, some more clusters feeds in the afternoon then sleeps again, then cluster feeds in”

“For some context - I typically nurse baby around 7:30-8pm. I was previously then pumping before I went to sleep (around 10p) to build a stash before returning to work. I also pump for a short amount of time after both overnight feeds (usually 1-2 am and 4-5 am). I just realized today that it’s probably been a week since I have done the before bed pump at 10p. Currently 9 weeks pp. Is it too late to reintroduce this? I have noticed that my supply has taken a small dip already. submitted by”

“8w pp, I currently pump 5x/day: 2a, 8a, 12p, 4p, 8p. I nurse in between those sessions so I’m expressing milk about 8-9 times daily. The 2a pump is starting to kill me. Baby is really irregular with her one nightly wakeup/feed (ranges from 1a-4a) that my husband gives to her in a bottle. My 2a pump is by far my strongest output, around 7-9oz. I have an oversupply of about 6oz, since baby takes in just about 18oz daily from bottles and I tend to pump 24oz. I am so gd tired with having my sleep in”

“Short story: Baby was born Monday late (23h) at 37,2. Had been given bottle and tubefed at hospital. Goal is to get him back on breast 100% eventually. Been trying to use SNS to complement but it's very very hard. We are finger feeding also as a desperate solution for now to up his intake. Need ideas to move forward. So it's baby six. I have had 5 breastfed babies, up to four years old so I can't tell you how important this is for me. Took the breast well after delivery but was then”

“I’m 9 weeks PP baby girl is just a peach and I adore her. She’s hitting milestones and at 50% in weight, 99% in height. Her latch has been less than ideal, shallow and painful for me, and I started pumping at night at about 6 weeks. I felt a lot of peace knowing how much she was getting since she would nurse every hour before and it was making me loco. We also supplemented with formula at the beginning because my milk didn’t come in for almost a week and she just screamed and cried with just col”

“just had my baby girl via elective c-section a few days ago! i’ve been very blessed that i have been able to exclusively bf since she was born. i wanted to know, when did you start pumping/bottle feeding? one of the lactation consultants at the hospital said to wait about four weeks at least so im curious what everyone else’s timeline looks like submitted by /u/takingelles [link] [comments]”

“My baby is 20 weeks old and I have been exclusively nursing since the beginning. I’ve been trying to introduce a bottle recently but he just plays with the teat instead of sucking. However I’m looking to build a small freezer stash so that I have something just in case. I’m looking for advice on how to start as I’m a bit wary about increasing my supply too much as it only really regulated 2-3 weeks ago. Any advice would be welcome. submitted by /u/Lotsto-Learn [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! My baby has had some issues with weight gain and milk transfer. After a period of triple feeding (exhausting!), I’ve been working with my LC and the current plan is to breastfeed and always offer a top up of pumped milk based on hunger cues. My struggle is when to pump for those top ups. If I pump before a feed, I feel like there’s not enough milk left and baby ends up needing a full bottle. If I pump after, I get very little and pumping after every feed basically feels like triple”

“To be honest I keep going back and forth on a combo of latching/pumping to just exclusively pumping. I am VERY sensitive to touch and can get easily overstimulated and I’m worried that latching will overall be a horrible experience for me. I keep thinking maybe I’ll try to have her latch at the hospital but whenever I think about it, i get cringed out (please don’t judge). Whenever I mention exclusively pumping to anyone they always try to talk me out of it by saying how much more work it’s goin”

“I have been exclusively nursing, primarily because pumping is harder imo. FTM and suddenly my 6 week old is now sleeping 6-7 hours (I know I know I am lucky) but while I am loving the additional sleep I am worried I am going to lose my supply. Do I need to get up to pump? No supply issues so far. submitted by /u/Spiritual_Ad_4316 [link] [comments]”

“FTM here baby is coming sometime next week! I’m wondering how breast feeding and pumping works? I will have 3 months off work then have to go back full time. just wanting advice on when to start pumping and introducing bottles to baby? and overall advice on how to incorporate the two. of course I’ll aak the LC at the hospital but id like to hear others experiences as well submitted by /u/Personal-Anxiety4519 [link] [comments]”

“Hi all! I’m 2 weeks post partum and we did try breastfeeding in the hospital for a day or two and then went to formula/bottles as I was very overwhelmed and struggling after a traumatic delivery. I really want to breastfeed or mostly pump for him but not sure how I should go about it now that I’m two weeks out? He has been on formula since and is a really good eater so I would maybe be looking to combo feed and eventually switch to breastmilk only if I have enough supply? He is my first baby so”

“I have a 10 day old and at his first weight check post-discharge, we got a referral for a lactation consultant because I was never able to get his older sister to latch and we were struggling in the hospital to get him to latch either. The appointment was booked for this coming Tuesday. In the meantime, I was told to triple feed with 30 minutes of nursing, topping off with as much milk as he wants from a bottle, then pumping. At his second weight check my milk had come in, he was taking smaller”

“First time mom, please cut me some slack if I am severely misinformed and idealistic 😅 My partner and I would like to share feeding duties as soon as possible with our baby, but I have yet to find clear guidance on how we can do this. Our preference would be that she consumes breast milk for at least 6 months, from both the breast and bottle. Obviously this would require setting up a supply, but I have no clue on how often to let the baby feed and then how to pump and build up a supply. Is this”

“My BF journey has been wild 😬 We went from a good start → exclusively pumping → and now at 2 months he’s finally nursing more than taking bottles 🥹❤️ BUT we still completely depend on a nipple shield. He’s gaining weight, we’ve done a few weighted feeds where he transferred milk, I hear big swallows, and he seems happy/satisfied after nursing. But SO much milk leaks out of his mouth and onto him/the pillow 😩 I also sometimes have to fix his lips/latch, so I keep wondering how efficient he act”

“I currently exclusively bf and will be going back to work in 6 weeks and need to start pumping so I have a stash for when my husbands mini goes to daycare For those who were in similar situations, how did you work in pumping on top of that?!?! I’ll pump if he’s napping for over 2 hrs, but that is RARE. We are still in the newborn no sleep trenches 🙃 submitted by /u/Holmslice1 [link] [comments]”

“I am so worried I’ve screwed things up by following the LC directions at the hospital.. I got started pumping in the hospital while my baby had a couple donor milk bottles. We’ve kept up with breastfeeding throughout the day and giving pumped milk in a bottle when latching doesn’t work. Latching is getting easier so now I’m breastfeeding all day and pumping twice at night while my husband gives two bottles - 1 am and 4am. This has been working great for us because our baby gets full and sleeps b”

“Hello! I’m a first time mom, and I had a question regarding pumping. I recently discovered that I am VERY engorged, and baby is having a hard time latching due to that. So to help combat that I decided to pump before baby eats. However I am concerned that if I do the full pumping time for eufy pumps (typically 30 minutes) I will not be able to feed my baby. So it boils down to if I do a pump session will I still be able to breast feed baby after? submitted by /u/No-Fact6387 [link] &#”

“I’l EBF my 9 week old twins. We went from tripple feeding them in the beginning due to too much weightloss to only drinking from the breast in about 3 weeks after they were born. I’ve been pumping from the beginning because we’ve had to give them top ups after breastfeeding sessions for the first couple of weeks but since about 3-4 weeks got the green light that it was no longer needed. We continued to give them both a bottle of around 80-100ml after their last breastfeeding session of the day (”

“Hi, I’m 8 weeks postpartum and want to start pumping so that dad can have the chance to feed once in a while and I can have a break. I’ve been hesitant to start because truthfully I don’t know how to go about it and I’m scared of messing with my good feeding routine/ causing oversupply. My concerns are: 1. When do I pump and for how long? (for one bottle a day or to create a small freezer stash) 2. Is there a risk of causing oversupply if I nurse and pump too? 3. If dad feeds a bottle during the”

“I just started pumping at 4 weeks postpartum and it's great - love having a couple bottles available for when husband gets home so I can cook dinner. Thing is, I have a wearable and the instructions said to size up for flanges. I have tiny nipples that initially measured 13mm, and the instructions said to get 15mm flanges. I'm using those, and now my nipples no longer feel comfortable in my 13mm nipple shields, and they're just generally more swollen and sensitive all the time. Is it”

“Hi! I really, really need help. I'm a tired and overwhelmed mom. I recently gave birth 5 days ago and I'm struggling to find information on what other moms' experiences are with the postpartum supply and schedule. I was nursing for 3 days but by Day 4, baby only had 1 wet diaper because of a lack of milk from me. My nipples are so sore and cracked. Day 5, I started formula fed and pumping with less breastfeeding to heal my nipples but I only got 5 ml over the last 24 hours (”

“My baby was bottle feed for the first 4 days. After that he wouldn’t latch, so we started using Silicone Nipple Shields M/L size and it is working. Sometimes I wonder if the size of the shield is too big for him, but the smaller hurts my nipples. Also, how to train my baby to latch without the shields? I have tried near end of the feeding for him to latch, but it is not working. submitted by /u/Dry-Response-1862 [link] [comments]”

“This is so hard. I work in an office and have to pump 2 times throughout the day. Washing bottles and pump parts takes so much time when I get home from work. Then there’s dinner. Then there’s showering. Then cleaning. Packing a million things for work the next day. Please tell me this gets easier. I wake up at 5 AM for work and have to get up several times throughout the night to feed my baby. I am so exhausted. Can any breastfeeding moms that work give me some hope/tips. Also do any full time”

“I am in my fifth week postpartum and I am curious to see if other people have a similar situation, how you’re handling it? I will need to return to work in December. Currently, I’m dealing with a big oversupply issue while breast-feeding. My baby has been having some green poops and I think my letdown is rather fast. Sometimes I’m able to get him to eat for 20 minutes on one breast while the other breast stays engorged because he’s sleepy and full, other times he gets overwhelmed after about six”

“A little bit ago I posted about how baby would not latch and I wanted advice on breastfeeding. It’s going better!! Still need to do a weighted feed to confirm. But for those that went from exclusive pumping to EBF- how did you transition the pumping? She does not take in as much as I was putting out and I definitely had too much output. My breasts feel a bit hard still after with some relief. I just don’t want to get mastitis when I dec how much is coming out now. Tips/advice? submitted by”

“Hi all - I had my LO 6 days ago and I’m discouraged. She lost more than 10% of her birth weight at her first weight check so our lactation consultant put us on a schedule of pumping every feeding and breastfeeding every other feeding to increase my supply and help baby gain weight. Thankfully she’s gaining weight! Im discouraged because the lactation consultant suggested that my husband do the bottle feeding while I pump but I’m discouraged because he’s getting so much bonding time with her. Plu”

“35w pregnant, first time mom! I plan to breastfeed, but want to pump as well to have milk for when I need extra rest, and someone else can give him a bottle. Should I plan to start pumping right away, or a few weeks after baby is born? ETA: by “right away” I mean the day my baby is born, I’m not implying to start before labour! I have talked about colostrum collection (when/how to safely) with my midwife. submitted by /u/fashion4fun [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! I’ll be so thankful for advice 🫶🏻 FTM here of 6 weeks old perfect girl, and FINALLY she’s exclusively breastfed for almost 4 weeks! It has been a true battle but we both learned how to cooperate. For the first month we gained 1 kg! I’m feeding on demand and honesty i feel so discouraged bc lately she’s not eating as much. For those 4 weeks she spent 4 hours per day and she spends 2,5-3 hours breastfeeding. Plus, i feel like we are having active nursing strike (is that even possibl”

“I am exclusively pumping/bottle feeding right now (due to continued latch issues with my size/style nipples), and I am having serious confusion and fear with how much breastmilk I am giving my baby at bedtime. I should also add we had a full term stillbirth one year ago and that adds to my fear and anxiety of doing anything to cause harm. Nurses at peds office have told me not to give him more than 2-3oz per 2-3 hours and it’s really hard to stick to that especially at night. They told me their”

“I see a lot of posts and convos around the motn pump and how it helps increase/maintain supply. my question is do we count a motn nursing session the same as a pumping session? My understanding is that babies are generally better than pumps at emptying our boobs and stimulating milk supply so I would think that a motn nursing session would accomplish the same as a pumping session. Is this right? Thoughts? I have a 7 week old and right now my last pump is around 9/10pm. If my baby wakes up for a”

“FTM looking for some advice. I do plan on going to a breastfeeding support group but I just have to wait to get my schedule more aligned with the group so looking for help here first. My LO is two weeks old and has been a "lazy" feeder where he has always fallen asleep on the boob. I've navigated it by undressing him, changing him, rubbing his feet etc. I now get him to at least eat off the first boob for about 15+ minutes, the second boob though he usually fights and stays on anyw”

“Baby is 8 weeks today and I’m about to throw in the towel. We are still struggling with a bottle refusal though, which is equally putting immense pressure on me yet also extreme guilt. I am spent. Physically and mentally drained. My mental health is absolutely terrible and I’ve been crying nonstop for 2 days because I am so sleep deprived and overwhelmed not being able to do anything for myself and having baby attached to me 24/7. I have been able to spend NO time with my toddler and feel so neg”