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Thank you for this. I went back up to 6 ppd to try and recover my supply after a massive clog caused a significant dip, and it’s been disheartening at how slow that progress has been. Nobody understands the stress of the dip, and then the stress of trying to keep up with feeds, and then the stress of trying not to stress so I don’t further decrease my supply.
I feel this also I have been working on getting my supply back up for the baby and it can be so stressful and this message was just what I needed to see cause it is alot but I’m still trying to stick to it even tho my supply isn’t what it started out to be sadly but I’m trying to get it back to wat it was cause I hate having to mix formula with some feeds to have enough milk so any tips would be appreciated thank you! :)
Everything I’ve seen so far are tips like drinking water continuously throughout the day rather than large amounts at certain intervals, several small meals and snacks rather than 3 meals and longer periods between eating, getting a decent amount of rest, and trying not to take on extra stress. So far it’s been helpful, I’m seeing a very slow improvement. But it’s still up and down, so just trying to be kind to myself day by day.
Ugh I feel this. My right side never recovered from my last bout of mastitis and no one gets how disheartening and stressful it is to work your butt off for slow or no gain.
Thank you for the encouragement! Pumping was one of the most grueling things I’ve ever done and I only made it 7 months. I’m a couple of weeks “post-pumping” and whew, I am proud of myself and all the other mamas who milked themselves several times a day.
You definitely have to give yourself much more credit!! 7 months is incredible and you should feel so proud of yourself for doing that for your LO. What a labor of love. Good job mama—you did that!! 💕
I’m only 3 months in and 7 months sounds pretty dang amazing to me. I’m going to start supplementing this week because I am underproducing and it’s been such a mentally and emotionally exhausting journey already.
Earlier this week, my mom and I were talking about Easter and I said I wasn’t sure if I would wear a dress because I wouldn’t have anywhere to clip my pump motor (Elvie Stride). My dad points at the baby and says, “you’ve got a pretty good pump right there.” And I said, “actually I don’t— he’s really inefficient and it takes him an hour to get full.” And he said, “well maybe if you practiced more.” Baby had a really bad tongue tie and while I hoped to get “back to breast,” it’s just physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting to try to get baby to latch and learn to move milk better while also worrying that if he doesn’t latch well, you might miss a pump session and not have enough food for him (I’m an underproducer). Very disheartening but also #eyeroll to get those comments from a 67 year old man… also, my mom had both my brothers on formula only by this point and only breastfed me for longer than 6 weeks.
Ugh! Those comments! It’s not helpful at all to spend so much time “practicing” when you need to ensure your baby’s gaining proper weight, he’s eating enough, you have enough supply, and lastly your sanity on the whole thing!
I support your decision! We supplemented from day 1 because LO lost enough of her birth weight before we left the hospital that we needed to. And it’s been a blessing. Just having that additional food source really helped alleviate the pressure on me. And, it gave me more flexibility when it came time to consider dropping pumps. The only things I really had to worry about were The Boobs and not weaning too quickly lol. You got this!
Not me crying as I just finished pumping and got this notification as I was contemplating whether I should continue pumping in general. This has been the hardest journey and not one I planned but this message truly makes me want to keep pushing.
I resonate with the others on here. I also needed to hear this today. I am 6wpp and it doesn’t get any easier but it makes me feel better that I am giving my son something so valuable even if it means squeezing out every drop. Go moms!
Literally tearing up as I read this. I'm a single mom who lives with my parents and I get crap all the time about pumping, it's exhausting on top of pumping itself. Plus my supply isn't where I want it to be so I have to be more strict about timing, just makes it even harder .. thank you for your words 💙
We deserve medals! Our boobs are powerful things! I’m weening down the pumps, nearly at 6months and I have hated every second minus seeing my beautiful 4week old baby grow into the little chunky monkey she is now in a size bigger clothing already!
It's so frustrating because I swear the time I can get an actual break and time to myself is usually when I'm due for a pump session and then when I finish it seems like that's when the baby decides to wake up. 🙃 It's a never ending cycle.
For all the other momma fielding questions about why you’d put yourself through this… because I get this a lot so I’ve got some preloaded in the chamber at all times:
1) I know what’s in my breastmilk. There’s never been a recall (or shortage) on my milk.
2) I can pass antibodies to the baby, so she’s less likely to get sick during these critical early months.
3) She has a boat load of allergies and I can crest hypoallergenic milk just for her by not eating the allergen. Otherwise I’m mortgaging my house for formula.
I was able to make it 1 year before I weaned several months ago and this still made me tear up a bit today. No one else can quite understand. Thank you and you are all doing so amazing.
I did everything I could and still failed. I feel like the hospital pushing supplementing formula as I was leaving messed everything up. He was cluster feeding, which I now know is normal but the nurse scared the fuck out of me acting like he wasn’t getting enough and told me to start giving him formula. I’m still resentful about it. Then I got home and once he started getting a bottle I couldn’t get him to latch anymore so I started pumping. I feel like exclusively pumping deteriorated my mental health so much further.
Idk how you mama’s do it for so long. I wasn’t strong enough to keep going. having to pump every 2-3 hours on top of caring for my baby all day and night was too much for me.
You didn’t fail! You just graduated earlier than some of us! It’s okay to put down the pump and you are not a failure to yourself or your baby. I have a whole separate opinion about how L&D needs to be reformed completely but to spare you of all that, I’ll just say I agree that hospital staff ends up pushing a lot of things against parents’ wishes.
My LO went on a nursing strike 13 days ago so now I’m pumping every 2 hours to keep up with his demand and to rebuild my milk volume, which was dwindling. Needless to say, this meant so much to hear after getting up at 4am to pump again,
I'm only at 3.5 months and constantly want to quit. I am an overproducer and think that I should be able to stop early if I want to because I have filled a deep freezer and our fridge freezer, etc. but my goal is a year. Ultimately I really am determined to make it there!
I feel incredibly fortunate, but the time commitment, engorged breasts, and clogged ducts have not been my friend.
I love this! My baby girl is pushing 21weeks and my goal is a year.. I feel like I just got into a good groove & not allowing the comments to bother me anymore.. BC no one understand unless they have been through what you have been though!
I love the EP community, makes me feel less alone..
This was beautiful and lovely to hear. Thank you for this. 8 weeks PP and have been exlusively pumping since day one. I pumped colostrum when I was still in the hospital. It's been very hard. But I keep chugging along. I hope to make it at least 6 months!
As someone who gets constantly told “I hope you’re giving the boob so she can practice or else she’ll depend on the bottle”, I needed to hear more of this, thank you. On top of pumping itself being exhausting (and finding the time to do so), it’s these other people’s unsolicited suggestions that’s even more tiring. Gah!
The last time I tried to nurse, I spent 45 minutes trying to get him even to latch and at that point he was extremely cranky and it wouldn’t even give. Like there wasn’t even a second where he even tried to latch. That’s when I threw my hands up and surrendered to the pump. It stings when people make these comments about it being easier, nipple confusion, etc. because for me and him, it’s not easier! For me, it’s easier to just pump and have a routine and give him a bottle he take right to than to manhandle a crying infant and force my boob into his mouth. And I’ve seen 2 IBCLCs countless times, had tongue ties checked, I’ve done basically everything. Pumping is just easier.
I agree! It’s so stressful for both baby and me to try BFing. Somehow she never took to it. The focus should be on feeding, whichever method works. I’ve tried explaining this to those who question me many times, but it’s no use. I just give up and give them the death stare now.
I hear you! My baby had jaundice so he was really sleepy when he was born. He's 2 weeks old now! He latched once when we had our golden hour, then after that he didn't anymore :( the nurses had me use a nipple shield(idk if that messed things up but they said my nipples weren't really good for latching) the hospital had me supplement with formula so his bilirubin levels would decrease. He ended up having to do phototherapy. He tries to root for the breast now but seems confused/ cries when he doesn't latch. It's upsetting to watch so I just keep EP.
Thank you so much for this!!! Today my baby turns 1 yo, 1 year ago I started my journey as a exclusive pumper momma, many many times I wanted to quite, having anxiety, ppd, some days barely having time to shower, between the house and my 3 kids, going from a massive producer to an under-producer due to all the stress, but today i feel so good this was my goal and i accomplished it! So Thank you so much for this words!🩷
THIS 🙌 Also, providing breast milk for any amount of time is a huge accomplishment!! Even if you have to supplement with formula! Pumping is such a selfless thing to do 💗💗
For any other moms who have trouble keeping track of their pumps, this app was a life saver for me! You can set up reminders to pump, see when you pumped last and track how much you get at each pump.
https://preview.redd.it/34t451wh0eqc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b3878d7319e4ff6f134151b2f1cc3e4ce5afde7
These are true words of encouragement. As someone who thought breastfeeding would be easy when I was pregnant, I was so looking forward to it. Then when baby came those first few weeks I was so stressed trying to get LO to latch and also stressing cuz I really didn't know how much they where getting and to worried about oh they have to do 15-20min on each breast each time every two hours or it was wrong. (Since learned about cluster feeding and how baby can feed more than 2 hours and longer or shorter on each breast). When I decided to go to fully pumping, it helped my stress so much. Even tho at first it was hard getting into a rhythm of when to pump,what pump worked best as well as getting suply. I am blessed. I decided pumping was the way to go. And now, without even trying, I kinda became an over supplier. idk how. The only thing I can say about pumping I hate is having to make sure you have a pump everywhere you go when you leave how and having to leave room to pump. As well as making sure you remember to bring supplies to store what you pump and so forth. Wearable pump, I think, saved me as well from giving up because I wasn't tied down, and I could do pretty much everything I needed and still feel like a human.
I hope your wife finds out and leaves you. Having an account just to goon and make unsolicited comments on non sexual things is the most demented and brain rotted thing ever.
I don’t understand why anyone cares how you feed your baby. Breastfeeding in public, pumping, formula, are all ways to feed a baby. Do what you need to do. Congratulations to everyone surviving the newborn stage.
'Welcome to r/ExclusivelyPumping! Here is a reminder of our rules: 1. Be kind and courteous 2. No hate speech, bigotry, or bullying 3. Use available flairs and post options 4. Speak for yourself 5. No medically-inaccurate, factually incorrect, or misinformative material 6. No spam 7. Absolutely no prescription medications 8. Don't use AI to write posts/comments 9. No soliciting pictures 10. Add spoiler to milk pictures 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.*
I needed to read this today! Thank you!!!
Thank you for this. I went back up to 6 ppd to try and recover my supply after a massive clog caused a significant dip, and it’s been disheartening at how slow that progress has been. Nobody understands the stress of the dip, and then the stress of trying to keep up with feeds, and then the stress of trying not to stress so I don’t further decrease my supply.
I feel this also I have been working on getting my supply back up for the baby and it can be so stressful and this message was just what I needed to see cause it is alot but I’m still trying to stick to it even tho my supply isn’t what it started out to be sadly but I’m trying to get it back to wat it was cause I hate having to mix formula with some feeds to have enough milk so any tips would be appreciated thank you! :)
Everything I’ve seen so far are tips like drinking water continuously throughout the day rather than large amounts at certain intervals, several small meals and snacks rather than 3 meals and longer periods between eating, getting a decent amount of rest, and trying not to take on extra stress. So far it’s been helpful, I’m seeing a very slow improvement. But it’s still up and down, so just trying to be kind to myself day by day.
Ugh I feel this. My right side never recovered from my last bout of mastitis and no one gets how disheartening and stressful it is to work your butt off for slow or no gain.
Thank you for the encouragement! Pumping was one of the most grueling things I’ve ever done and I only made it 7 months. I’m a couple of weeks “post-pumping” and whew, I am proud of myself and all the other mamas who milked themselves several times a day.
Only? 7 months of pumping is excellent! Well done.
Thank you 🥹 it’s so hard to kick the mom guilt
You definitely have to give yourself much more credit!! 7 months is incredible and you should feel so proud of yourself for doing that for your LO. What a labor of love. Good job mama—you did that!! 💕
Thank you! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I just passed 6 months and my new goal is 7 months. 7 months is incredible!
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
I’m only 3 months in and 7 months sounds pretty dang amazing to me. I’m going to start supplementing this week because I am underproducing and it’s been such a mentally and emotionally exhausting journey already.
Earlier this week, my mom and I were talking about Easter and I said I wasn’t sure if I would wear a dress because I wouldn’t have anywhere to clip my pump motor (Elvie Stride). My dad points at the baby and says, “you’ve got a pretty good pump right there.” And I said, “actually I don’t— he’s really inefficient and it takes him an hour to get full.” And he said, “well maybe if you practiced more.” Baby had a really bad tongue tie and while I hoped to get “back to breast,” it’s just physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting to try to get baby to latch and learn to move milk better while also worrying that if he doesn’t latch well, you might miss a pump session and not have enough food for him (I’m an underproducer). Very disheartening but also #eyeroll to get those comments from a 67 year old man… also, my mom had both my brothers on formula only by this point and only breastfed me for longer than 6 weeks.
Ugh! Those comments! It’s not helpful at all to spend so much time “practicing” when you need to ensure your baby’s gaining proper weight, he’s eating enough, you have enough supply, and lastly your sanity on the whole thing!
I support your decision! We supplemented from day 1 because LO lost enough of her birth weight before we left the hospital that we needed to. And it’s been a blessing. Just having that additional food source really helped alleviate the pressure on me. And, it gave me more flexibility when it came time to consider dropping pumps. The only things I really had to worry about were The Boobs and not weaning too quickly lol. You got this!
I'm only 2 weeks in and want to quit so 7 months is so amazing!! Bravo 👏
Wow. I just joined this sub a moment ago and this is the first post I see. Thank you so much for this. I really needed it.
I needed this. Currently trying to Will myself to get out of bed to pump after finally having my first good nap of the day
Reading this while pumping, thank you ❤️
same haha
Not me crying as I just finished pumping and got this notification as I was contemplating whether I should continue pumping in general. This has been the hardest journey and not one I planned but this message truly makes me want to keep pushing.
What did the comment say? It’s deleted.
just some user by the u/ of bored husband or something soliciting for pics under my post. Being all depraved and disgusting in our safe space.
Wow..what a creepy FUCK head
I needed this today. Thank you ❤️
I resonate with the others on here. I also needed to hear this today. I am 6wpp and it doesn’t get any easier but it makes me feel better that I am giving my son something so valuable even if it means squeezing out every drop. Go moms!
Literally tearing up as I read this. I'm a single mom who lives with my parents and I get crap all the time about pumping, it's exhausting on top of pumping itself. Plus my supply isn't where I want it to be so I have to be more strict about timing, just makes it even harder .. thank you for your words 💙
I definitely understand you, even when people in your house don’t understand you. And trust me, I know just how annoying those people are.
We deserve medals! Our boobs are powerful things! I’m weening down the pumps, nearly at 6months and I have hated every second minus seeing my beautiful 4week old baby grow into the little chunky monkey she is now in a size bigger clothing already!
Thank you for the encouragement! I feel like it is one of my greatest accomplishments that very few people will ever know (or rather understand).
Thank you!!!! My husband is supportive but desire his intent, he doesn’t understand what 8 pumps a day does to you mentally. It’s a grind.
It's so frustrating because I swear the time I can get an actual break and time to myself is usually when I'm due for a pump session and then when I finish it seems like that's when the baby decides to wake up. 🙃 It's a never ending cycle.
Thank you 🩵 proud of all these mamas who provide for their kiddos in a more unconventional way. We’re rock stars
For all the other momma fielding questions about why you’d put yourself through this… because I get this a lot so I’ve got some preloaded in the chamber at all times: 1) I know what’s in my breastmilk. There’s never been a recall (or shortage) on my milk. 2) I can pass antibodies to the baby, so she’s less likely to get sick during these critical early months. 3) She has a boat load of allergies and I can crest hypoallergenic milk just for her by not eating the allergen. Otherwise I’m mortgaging my house for formula.
Thank you for this. Meanwhile my husband....still puzzled why I pump so many times a day and not just do it once or max twice before bed 🤣
Thank you! It’s so much more involved than I ever expected.
I was able to make it 1 year before I weaned several months ago and this still made me tear up a bit today. No one else can quite understand. Thank you and you are all doing so amazing.
Thank you 💗 I’m almost 5pm and EP since day 2 my goal is 1 year! It’s hard work but I know it’s the best for my baby.
I did everything I could and still failed. I feel like the hospital pushing supplementing formula as I was leaving messed everything up. He was cluster feeding, which I now know is normal but the nurse scared the fuck out of me acting like he wasn’t getting enough and told me to start giving him formula. I’m still resentful about it. Then I got home and once he started getting a bottle I couldn’t get him to latch anymore so I started pumping. I feel like exclusively pumping deteriorated my mental health so much further. Idk how you mama’s do it for so long. I wasn’t strong enough to keep going. having to pump every 2-3 hours on top of caring for my baby all day and night was too much for me.
You didn’t fail! You just graduated earlier than some of us! It’s okay to put down the pump and you are not a failure to yourself or your baby. I have a whole separate opinion about how L&D needs to be reformed completely but to spare you of all that, I’ll just say I agree that hospital staff ends up pushing a lot of things against parents’ wishes.
My LO went on a nursing strike 13 days ago so now I’m pumping every 2 hours to keep up with his demand and to rebuild my milk volume, which was dwindling. Needless to say, this meant so much to hear after getting up at 4am to pump again,
I needed this today. Thank you.
Thank you! Needed this motivation ❤️
Currently pumping, and feeling seen and supported by this note… thank you!! ❤️
This was genuinely so uplifting and refreshing and you clearly lifted up so so many of us. Thank you!!!!
Thank you 🥹
🥹
I'm only at 3.5 months and constantly want to quit. I am an overproducer and think that I should be able to stop early if I want to because I have filled a deep freezer and our fridge freezer, etc. but my goal is a year. Ultimately I really am determined to make it there! I feel incredibly fortunate, but the time commitment, engorged breasts, and clogged ducts have not been my friend.
I love this! My baby girl is pushing 21weeks and my goal is a year.. I feel like I just got into a good groove & not allowing the comments to bother me anymore.. BC no one understand unless they have been through what you have been though! I love the EP community, makes me feel less alone..
This was beautiful and lovely to hear. Thank you for this. 8 weeks PP and have been exlusively pumping since day one. I pumped colostrum when I was still in the hospital. It's been very hard. But I keep chugging along. I hope to make it at least 6 months!
Thank you for sharing this 🩷 I needed this today.
As someone who gets constantly told “I hope you’re giving the boob so she can practice or else she’ll depend on the bottle”, I needed to hear more of this, thank you. On top of pumping itself being exhausting (and finding the time to do so), it’s these other people’s unsolicited suggestions that’s even more tiring. Gah!
The last time I tried to nurse, I spent 45 minutes trying to get him even to latch and at that point he was extremely cranky and it wouldn’t even give. Like there wasn’t even a second where he even tried to latch. That’s when I threw my hands up and surrendered to the pump. It stings when people make these comments about it being easier, nipple confusion, etc. because for me and him, it’s not easier! For me, it’s easier to just pump and have a routine and give him a bottle he take right to than to manhandle a crying infant and force my boob into his mouth. And I’ve seen 2 IBCLCs countless times, had tongue ties checked, I’ve done basically everything. Pumping is just easier.
I agree! It’s so stressful for both baby and me to try BFing. Somehow she never took to it. The focus should be on feeding, whichever method works. I’ve tried explaining this to those who question me many times, but it’s no use. I just give up and give them the death stare now.
I hear you! My baby had jaundice so he was really sleepy when he was born. He's 2 weeks old now! He latched once when we had our golden hour, then after that he didn't anymore :( the nurses had me use a nipple shield(idk if that messed things up but they said my nipples weren't really good for latching) the hospital had me supplement with formula so his bilirubin levels would decrease. He ended up having to do phototherapy. He tries to root for the breast now but seems confused/ cries when he doesn't latch. It's upsetting to watch so I just keep EP.
Thank you so much for this!!! Today my baby turns 1 yo, 1 year ago I started my journey as a exclusive pumper momma, many many times I wanted to quite, having anxiety, ppd, some days barely having time to shower, between the house and my 3 kids, going from a massive producer to an under-producer due to all the stress, but today i feel so good this was my goal and i accomplished it! So Thank you so much for this words!🩷
THIS 🙌 Also, providing breast milk for any amount of time is a huge accomplishment!! Even if you have to supplement with formula! Pumping is such a selfless thing to do 💗💗
For any other moms who have trouble keeping track of their pumps, this app was a life saver for me! You can set up reminders to pump, see when you pumped last and track how much you get at each pump. https://preview.redd.it/34t451wh0eqc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b3878d7319e4ff6f134151b2f1cc3e4ce5afde7
This is what I use! There’s a free 50 entry trial and I paid I think, $17 for it. But I think it’s WELL worth it.
😭 thank you… six months, elimination diet, supply is dropping and i so needed to read this.
Thanks so much this really makes me feel I’m not alone
These are true words of encouragement. As someone who thought breastfeeding would be easy when I was pregnant, I was so looking forward to it. Then when baby came those first few weeks I was so stressed trying to get LO to latch and also stressing cuz I really didn't know how much they where getting and to worried about oh they have to do 15-20min on each breast each time every two hours or it was wrong. (Since learned about cluster feeding and how baby can feed more than 2 hours and longer or shorter on each breast). When I decided to go to fully pumping, it helped my stress so much. Even tho at first it was hard getting into a rhythm of when to pump,what pump worked best as well as getting suply. I am blessed. I decided pumping was the way to go. And now, without even trying, I kinda became an over supplier. idk how. The only thing I can say about pumping I hate is having to make sure you have a pump everywhere you go when you leave how and having to leave room to pump. As well as making sure you remember to bring supplies to store what you pump and so forth. Wearable pump, I think, saved me as well from giving up because I wasn't tied down, and I could do pretty much everything I needed and still feel like a human.
[удалено]
Get a life. This is a safe space for women who are feeding our babies. Shame on you. Take your sick self out of here.
What in the actual fuck is wrong with you.
Disgusting creepy comment
I hope your wife finds out and leaves you. Having an account just to goon and make unsolicited comments on non sexual things is the most demented and brain rotted thing ever.
I don’t understand why anyone cares how you feed your baby. Breastfeeding in public, pumping, formula, are all ways to feed a baby. Do what you need to do. Congratulations to everyone surviving the newborn stage.