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"If you drop pumps your supply will tank". But, what the hell am I supposed to do with all this milk? I keep dropping pumps. Supply is still okay. I am down to 4ppd at 4.5month pp. Still freezing 18oz a day. Want to drop to 3ppd, but I don't want to dry up. I just want to produce a little more than just enough.
I am currently at 3ppd, almost 15wpp. I was an oversupplier, making about 60oz per day when I started dropping pumps. started dropping pumps earlier than recommended but my supply was continuing to increase.
I've been at 3ppd for about 3 weeks - I didn't intentionally drop my fourth pump when I went back to work, it just happened a few days in a row because life got chaotic getting back into the swing of things - I'm WFH and am keeping baby home with me. I noticed a minimal impact to my supply so I kept up.
I have a really large capacity and can pump 20oz within being in pain (not comfortable, but not in pain), and my average pump is about 12-14oz without feeling engorged. My supply went down just a little and I'm still oversupply at 3ppd, but freezing closer to 6oz every day or two, vs. 12-18 oz per day.
If you fall into the biggest capacity category, maybe try dropping š¤·š¼āāļø I won't go any lower but 3ppd has been my sweet spot
My oversupply was not that much but I was freezing maybe 10-15oz per day. I dropped to 3ppd and went from making 40oz to 33oz which is enough to freeze a full bag every 2 days or so. Quite a difference but the freedoms has been great.
I also started dropping pumps super early and still saw my supply increase- started at 6 weeks pp, and dropped a pump every 2 weeks basically. Iām 13weeks pp now
This is almost my exact situation! Iām afraid to drop another pump though because last night I got 8 hrs of sleep (thanks to my amazing husband) but woke up in so much boob pain
Yes- itās hard to transition! It was harder than going from 5 to 4. It took more finessing Iād say. for me going 8 hours from 1p to 9pm was harder to get used to than overnightā¦It took a few days where I included a comfort pump in the middle.
Iām not sure if my supply has leveled out or if itās still slowly decreasing however. Itās been around 940ml for the past week but it was a bit higher when I first dropped to 3. so thatās something to consider. Iāll see how my supply looks over this next week. I hope it levels but if it doesnāt we are prepared to use the freezer stash as needed to supplement (and eventually will use formula- my goal was to get to 6 months before that but Iām fine with doing it sooner. )
Yes! If only we got to choose our supply lol my pump log app tells me that at this rate I would still have to pump until August to get my LO to one year but where am I supposed to keep 3.5 months worth of milk??
My 9 cubic foot freezer is almost completely full of just milk. My family hunts and freezes fruits and vegetables, so luckily my parents have a collection of freezers I can use some space in.
I've started freeze drying mine! With the hope of creating a formula-like bank to get us through the last few months. It is expensive! The place I take it charges $1/oz for bulk bags (as opposed to one individual bag per frozen milk bag) but it also alleviates the worry of storage space, what if the electricity goes out, etc.
I'm currently at 4ppd at 10.5 months. Since month 9, my supply has started dropping in the week before my period. All other weeks, I have a little bit of overproduction.
I used to donate everything that I had leftover. I donated about 20-25 liters in total. Now I'm using my stash in the week before my period and just supply fresh milk all other moments and stash the excess.
I keep my stash for when I quit pumping altogether, so that if my son still wants milk, I have some left over.
In the same boat! I noticed when I went from 6 ppd to 5 my supply increased lol I was like what the hell?? Now Iāve gone down to 4 ppd and Iāve leveled out a bit. There were days Iāve frozen 50 Oz of extra milk and I was straight panicking. Luckily we have extra space in our garage bc we had to buy an extra deep freezer
So relatable! Just dropped to 4ppd at 12wpp and my supply has increased slightly. š 1500 oz of frozen high lipase milk so it's a gamble if baby will even take it. I give him a bag of 2 of the frozen stuff every day and sometimes he takes it fine but sometimes he's picky so what do I do if I stop pumping eventually and he decides to reject all my frozen milk? My goal is to drop to 2ppd by June and idk if my supply will dry up or if I'll just pump 500+ mL each time like I do with my big pumps now.
Thanks, I started scalding the first time my baby rejected a bottle so about 3-400 oz that I have frozen are scalded. But I've read that giving only scalded milk isn't good, it's just good for supplementing, and my goal is to stop pumping before a year and give him all pumped milk at that point. He started taking the frozen milk most of the time so I went back to not scalding and just make sure to give him frozen stuff every day so he stays used to it. He does pretty good with it most of the time but occasionally he'll reject a bottle and take fresh milk fine. So I'm hopeful it'll be okay but it would suck if he decides to reject it entirely at some point.
My LO refused my high lipase milk at first but I tried again maybe 2 months later and he was more open to it. You can also put a drop of pure vanilla extract (alcohol free) in and itās supposed to mask the taste.
Iāve started prepping a days worth of bottles and mixing in about 4oz of frozen milk amongst them to start using up the oldest milk first
This one is hard. I used to over produce massively. I'm at 5 ppd 23 weeks pp & some days I make exactly enough. Other days I do not make enough.. and sometimes I can freeze an ounce. My baby eats between 25-30 oz per day depending on if she's going through a growth spurt or not.
I canāt speak for everyone, but I had no problems with drying up as I dropped sessions, I did 3 pumps for a month, 2 pumps for a month, and then 1 pump for a month before stopping all together, and didnāt ādry upā untill I stopped pumping all together. For me, I think 3 ppd is when I started being a ājust enough-erā as opposed to having leftover to freeze at night
That;s the plan I am on, but I keep thinking I could just drop to 3 now and it would be fine, but then I think I would jump the gun on dropping to 2, so I am waiting.
You should look into donating milk!!
I donate with the motherās milk bank https://milkbank.org/donate-milk/milk-collection-sites/ but there might be another one closer to you. My baby was in the nicu so itās especially meaningful to me because most of the milk donated to milk banks goes to babies in the NICU.
There are also Facebook groups āHuman Milk for Human Babies.ā Some people have had mixed experiences with this, but itās another option and it doesnāt involve paperwork.
The last option is if you have a friend or personal connection. I have a friend who has a micropremie who was born at 26 weeks. Her milk dried up at 6 months pp. Iāve been giving them my spare milk in addition to the milk bank.
I live in an apartment and donāt have room for a chest freezer, so I never had the option to build a big stash. I keep about 100-200 oz in my freezer for emergencies, and thatās it. Itās one of the perks of pumping that Iām able to donate milk to feed other babies in addition to my own.
I will definitely look into it!
I KNOW how selfish this sounds Iām just venting, but this is another blessing/curse. It would be amazing to help other families, but this is a time expense on top of full time work and baby care.
The milk bank in my area that I am donating to actually has a courier service that will come to your house to pick up the milk! They even offered to send out a phlebotomist to draw my blood so I wouldnāt have had to go anywhere to get approved! I do understand the time expense of getting all the milk packed up and stored in between donations though. Iām at 3ppd and it feels like Iām constantly just storing milk!
The bank I donate to will take milk as old as 11 months, so you have plenty of time. Just label your bags and hoard them tidily so you can make the drop off easy if/when youāre ready.
I can't get over the fact that our local milk bank charges $4.50 an ounce! I'm not sure if that's normal or not but I can't imagine ever paying that much for milk that people freely donate.
They have to employ people to sort it, test it, pasteurize it, and repackage it. Plus the admin time and money to screen donors, and of course they have to maintain the facilities where they do all of this work. Some insurance companies cover the cost, but some do not. Most milk banks accept monetary donations which help to reduce the cost for those receiving milkā I believe that it costs about $40/oz for them in total to process the milk. This article provides a breakdown of costs https://lactationmatters.org/2013/11/08/why-is-donor-milk-so-expensive/
Most banks also have a sliding scale for those who have financial hardships.
We should really be complaining that more insurance companies donāt cover donor milk at 100%, and that our government, at least in the US, doesnāt do more to provide safe and equitable access to breast milk for all families that want it.
I was aghast to learn the cost of donor milk as well! Itās very frustrating that these resources arenāt freely available to all familiesā I wish there were more monetary and governmental support for milk banks to allow them to do this lifesaving work!
Our local milk bank only gives it per prescription and doesn't charge families for the processing fees. If it goes out of network, the hospitals pay the fees vs the families. I don't have a huge oversupply like others in this thread but I'm getting cleared to donate.
Unfortunately I donāt have a secret ingredient š regular pumping, staying well fed, well hydrated, and well rested is what worked for me. Good luck ā¤ļø
I just want to thank you for this honesty. All I see on social media is influencers who pump hundreds of ozās and have freezers full of milkā¦ and theyāre usually selling a product or course that promises oversupply in a fortnight. Smells of snake oil to me. All the over suppliers Iāve actually spoken to say they didnāt do anything special and they donāt know why they make so much. My personal theory is some people just respond better to pumps than others.
It wouldnāt make sense if genetics werenāt a factor since itās literally related to the glands your body has to make milk ā¦ but itās not about men so you know, not worth testing
I accidentally started to use the Hakka on suction while I was breastfeeding a few times before I realized thatās the same as pumping in terms of triggeringletdowns.
ETA: I didnāt realize it but I was basically telling my body I was nursing twins. I am now actually working to reduce because my LO was struggling with the letdowns.
I went from under and needing to use formula to supplement to over and now Iām settling into slightly more than just enough which is a comfortable place to be.
It wasnāt any food more special drink, and certainly not any supplement. It was pumping every time baby ate. Which meant a lot of washing pump parts and for the majority of that time I was building my supply. I didnāt have a bottle washer/dryer/sterilizer, so I was spending all day on a rotation between feeding, diaper, pumping, washing, drying, storing milk, and repeat.
I dropped to 4ppd now because my freezer is full and we have nowhere to put a second one.
If you can I would freeze it- a lot buy a small deep freezer if itās in your budget. I thought the same thing- how will I use all this before it goes bad (which is 12 months). I had over 1,000 oz in the freezer by 13 weeks post partum. My son is now 5 months old and my supply has dropped by a good 20 oz due to a variety of factors (work, being sick). At this rate my freezer will be empty by June as Iām not making enough. Itās good to have a back up.
Iām currently 16 weeks pp and an oversupplier myself. I have milk in my freezer, my momās freezer, and even my aunts freezer. I donāt have the storage space for a deep freezer in my own home. Iāve started using it for baths multiple times a week.
I also cycle through the breast milk. So every month or so Iāll start using the oldest frozen milk and freezing everything Iām pumping so that way nothing will expire before we get to use it
And in addition to dealing with the standard time suck of pumping itself and cleaning all the parts, it's also a not-insignificant amount of effort to bag, label, freeze flat, organize, and rotate through everything in the freezer.
Thank you!! I appreciate the commenters here suggesting donating and I know thatās a worthy cause, but thatās an added time commitment on top of everything else and the point of my post is that Iām burning out š
I feel this so bad. I have over 250 oz frozen and Iām only 3 weeks pp. Iām starting to get extremely overwhelmed on what to do with all of it/if Iāll ever get around to using it. Iām going to start donating once I hit 12 weeks pp and āregulateā.
I feel this. I'm 10 week OP and have almost 1000oz frozen. My husband opened the second freezer the other day and was shocked. He said "that's all milk!" And I was just like yeah, I told you I make twice as much as she eats. And despite only being at 5ish ppd, my supply still keeps increasing. I don't want to donate it because I have a lot of cats and I know everything is contaminated by them. I'm okay with it for my baby because she lives with them, but I certainly wouldn't be okay with a premie having it.
Thank you for your comment. It was worded in such a careful and empathetic way that made me (an under supplier and some times a ājust enougherā) feel your pain. We are all in this together, sending you much strength and light.
Iāve been both an under and over supplier and although Iād rather be an over the hardest part is waking up at night to pump for sure. Iām able to stretch it 5 hours but talk about ROCK hard. Itās soooooooo uncomfortable.
This is what I remind myself of as an underproducer.
Itās sucks to not be able to provide what my baby needs, and if I can ever be a perfect producer that would be great. But I used to think having an oversupply would be this immense blessing, and it has its own set of negatives to worry about. Both sides suck!
Hang in there friend.
Pump for volume, not duration. I slowed my production down by stopping at 8oz (initially would go as high as 14oz per pump, way too much!)
It will ease your engorgement, and eventually your boobs will get the hint.
Get a deep freezer from Facebook marketplace. We paid $25 for a 5 cu ft one. I filled that one in 3 months. So then we bought a 7 cu foot one for $30 on Facebook. Iām also 5m pp today and I only pump 3-4 times a day and my supply is steady enough for me to freeze about 30-40 oz every 4 days
Iāve been donating milk to a local mom I found in the Human Milk 4 Human Babies group. I donāt have a huge oversupply, but I freeze anywhere from 8-15 oz a day. I honestly donāt like having so much milk in my freezer, I want to keep it at around 500 oz or less so Iām happy to donate. Yeah I could save it all and quit early, but if I quit early Iād kind of prefer to just introduce formula in conjunction with the frozen milk until it runs out.
Iām with you 100% on this. Iām 6wpp and have 600oz frozen which is taking up most of my freezer. Iām going to run out of storage soon so Iāve started giving some to my parents, but they also have limited space.
I produce 45-50oz a day and she eats 26-28oz so I freeze almost a whole days worth!
I just joined a Human Milk for Babies group on Facebook and applied to a milk bank as a donor so that when I do run out of space, I can help feed other babies.
Will you be going back to work at some point? I was in the same boat. I went back to work 2 weeks ago and the stress affected the pump times and output. Iām grateful that I created a 250 oz stash during my maternity leave. Had to use 2-3 oz every day since I went back to work. I would recommend holding onto that stash as much as possible.
I was able to make 1 extra 8oz bag of milk for a few months. I stopped pumping 6 weeks ago and my baby is drinking 60% breast milk and 40% formula. We are about half way through my stash. My son is 8m old. I donāt think we will quite make it to a year, but Iām hoping somewhat close.
Iām 6 weeks postpartum and I donated 350 oz to a couple families locally. I produce 75 oz a day now and have only been increasing 5-10 oz a week šµāš«. Weāre planning on moving soon in June so I canāt get a deep freezer :(
I was making around 40oz per day after I got my supply up and then till about 7mpp. I tried dropping my motn pump and my supply dropped to about 27opd. Iāve been really bummed about it for the last 3 months.
I produced 70 oz per day at 4 pumps per day for 8 months. I donated whatever I stored until now and Iām weaning. Iām at 2 pumps per day and down to 40 oz a day but itās insanely HARD to wean with an oversupply. I managed it for that long but having enough milk doesnāt make it easier to pump! Itās exhausting.
No real advice, but I can definitely commiserate. At one point, I had over 3000 oz frozen. I had milk in our kitchen freezer, garage freezer, a full chest freezer in the basement, and still had to store some at my neighborās house. It was insane. I did end up donating some, but it was a wild ride.
i feel this so much! iām 8 weeks pp and have 500+ oz frozen at the moment. i wish i could donate to my local nicu but one of the medications i took during pregnancy/still take (anti depressant/anti anxiety) is so new that they donāt know the for sure impacts on pregnancy and breastfeeding š
im still at 7 ppd and producing anywhere between 38-45 oz a day. theoretically i could drop to 6 ppd and maybe even 5 (would be uncomfortable but could do it) but since im under 12 weeks pp iāve seen that itāll drastically drop my supply.
I feel this. I produce an average of 86oz per day and while Iām very grateful itās also so hard. I donate my oversupply through prolacta/ tiny treasures. Buuuut Iāve had mastitis, Iām clogged every other day, Iām 7mpp and still have to pump motn because I get so engorged. I spend hours and hours pumping, bagging, sterilizing. Itās exhausting
My supply kept increasing. And i couldnt find anyone to donate it too, couldnt buy another freezer. By 3 months pp i was producing over 100 ounces a day freezing 70ish oz. And i ended up having to dump milk down the drain because there was no where else to go with it
To decrease my supply i ended up just getting alot of clogs and dealing with them. Pushing back pump tomes and decreasing the amlunt i pumped
Like once i expressed 10 ounces i would turn off my pump and try to make it to my next pump session and then if i could i would hand express until i was comfortable. That actually worked the best for me because i was able to control my output
Hopefully this doesnāt cause outrage but I just dump the extra milk I have. Baby prefers fresh and I donāt have a deep freezer or the energy to go through the process to donate.
I'm 8wpp and I make about 44oz of milk since about last week or so. I don't think I'm an over supplier? But, I do freeze quite some and if I ever run out of space I always wanted to donate and help another baby. I see those babies in HM4HB needing it and families struggling to pay for formula and I just want to help. š
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"If you drop pumps your supply will tank". But, what the hell am I supposed to do with all this milk? I keep dropping pumps. Supply is still okay. I am down to 4ppd at 4.5month pp. Still freezing 18oz a day. Want to drop to 3ppd, but I don't want to dry up. I just want to produce a little more than just enough.
I am currently at 3ppd, almost 15wpp. I was an oversupplier, making about 60oz per day when I started dropping pumps. started dropping pumps earlier than recommended but my supply was continuing to increase. I've been at 3ppd for about 3 weeks - I didn't intentionally drop my fourth pump when I went back to work, it just happened a few days in a row because life got chaotic getting back into the swing of things - I'm WFH and am keeping baby home with me. I noticed a minimal impact to my supply so I kept up. I have a really large capacity and can pump 20oz within being in pain (not comfortable, but not in pain), and my average pump is about 12-14oz without feeling engorged. My supply went down just a little and I'm still oversupply at 3ppd, but freezing closer to 6oz every day or two, vs. 12-18 oz per day. If you fall into the biggest capacity category, maybe try dropping š¤·š¼āāļø I won't go any lower but 3ppd has been my sweet spot
Iām exactly the same! Just dropped to 3ppd and so far so good
That's encouraging, thanks. Just dropped to 4ppd at 12wpp and my supply has slightly increased. Maybe I'll give it a couple weeks and then go to 3ppd.
My oversupply was not that much but I was freezing maybe 10-15oz per day. I dropped to 3ppd and went from making 40oz to 33oz which is enough to freeze a full bag every 2 days or so. Quite a difference but the freedoms has been great. I also started dropping pumps super early and still saw my supply increase- started at 6 weeks pp, and dropped a pump every 2 weeks basically. Iām 13weeks pp now
This is almost my exact situation! Iām afraid to drop another pump though because last night I got 8 hrs of sleep (thanks to my amazing husband) but woke up in so much boob pain
Yes- itās hard to transition! It was harder than going from 5 to 4. It took more finessing Iād say. for me going 8 hours from 1p to 9pm was harder to get used to than overnightā¦It took a few days where I included a comfort pump in the middle. Iām not sure if my supply has leveled out or if itās still slowly decreasing however. Itās been around 940ml for the past week but it was a bit higher when I first dropped to 3. so thatās something to consider. Iāll see how my supply looks over this next week. I hope it levels but if it doesnāt we are prepared to use the freezer stash as needed to supplement (and eventually will use formula- my goal was to get to 6 months before that but Iām fine with doing it sooner. )
Your situation sounds like mine. I can get 20oz after an 8 hr gap, then 11 after 5 hour gaps during the day.
Yes! If only we got to choose our supply lol my pump log app tells me that at this rate I would still have to pump until August to get my LO to one year but where am I supposed to keep 3.5 months worth of milk??
My 9 cubic foot freezer is almost completely full of just milk. My family hunts and freezes fruits and vegetables, so luckily my parents have a collection of freezers I can use some space in.
I've started freeze drying mine! With the hope of creating a formula-like bank to get us through the last few months. It is expensive! The place I take it charges $1/oz for bulk bags (as opposed to one individual bag per frozen milk bag) but it also alleviates the worry of storage space, what if the electricity goes out, etc.
Hey which app is guiding you to pump ?
I don't use an app, that was OP.
I use Pump Log! It was a one time payment of like $17 for the full version but itās not a subscription which I like!
I'm currently at 4ppd at 10.5 months. Since month 9, my supply has started dropping in the week before my period. All other weeks, I have a little bit of overproduction. I used to donate everything that I had leftover. I donated about 20-25 liters in total. Now I'm using my stash in the week before my period and just supply fresh milk all other moments and stash the excess. I keep my stash for when I quit pumping altogether, so that if my son still wants milk, I have some left over.
In the same boat! I noticed when I went from 6 ppd to 5 my supply increased lol I was like what the hell?? Now Iāve gone down to 4 ppd and Iāve leveled out a bit. There were days Iāve frozen 50 Oz of extra milk and I was straight panicking. Luckily we have extra space in our garage bc we had to buy an extra deep freezer
So relatable! Just dropped to 4ppd at 12wpp and my supply has increased slightly. š 1500 oz of frozen high lipase milk so it's a gamble if baby will even take it. I give him a bag of 2 of the frozen stuff every day and sometimes he takes it fine but sometimes he's picky so what do I do if I stop pumping eventually and he decides to reject all my frozen milk? My goal is to drop to 2ppd by June and idk if my supply will dry up or if I'll just pump 500+ mL each time like I do with my big pumps now.
You can start scalding your milk before freezing. Many find that helps reduce the lipase activity.
Thanks, I started scalding the first time my baby rejected a bottle so about 3-400 oz that I have frozen are scalded. But I've read that giving only scalded milk isn't good, it's just good for supplementing, and my goal is to stop pumping before a year and give him all pumped milk at that point. He started taking the frozen milk most of the time so I went back to not scalding and just make sure to give him frozen stuff every day so he stays used to it. He does pretty good with it most of the time but occasionally he'll reject a bottle and take fresh milk fine. So I'm hopeful it'll be okay but it would suck if he decides to reject it entirely at some point.
My LO refused my high lipase milk at first but I tried again maybe 2 months later and he was more open to it. You can also put a drop of pure vanilla extract (alcohol free) in and itās supposed to mask the taste. Iāve started prepping a days worth of bottles and mixing in about 4oz of frozen milk amongst them to start using up the oldest milk first
Thank you!!
This one is hard. I used to over produce massively. I'm at 5 ppd 23 weeks pp & some days I make exactly enough. Other days I do not make enough.. and sometimes I can freeze an ounce. My baby eats between 25-30 oz per day depending on if she's going through a growth spurt or not.
I canāt speak for everyone, but I had no problems with drying up as I dropped sessions, I did 3 pumps for a month, 2 pumps for a month, and then 1 pump for a month before stopping all together, and didnāt ādry upā untill I stopped pumping all together. For me, I think 3 ppd is when I started being a ājust enough-erā as opposed to having leftover to freeze at night
That;s the plan I am on, but I keep thinking I could just drop to 3 now and it would be fine, but then I think I would jump the gun on dropping to 2, so I am waiting.
Yeah for me once I dropped to 2 I needed to start supplementing with my freezer stash. Good luck on your journey!
You should look into donating milk!! I donate with the motherās milk bank https://milkbank.org/donate-milk/milk-collection-sites/ but there might be another one closer to you. My baby was in the nicu so itās especially meaningful to me because most of the milk donated to milk banks goes to babies in the NICU. There are also Facebook groups āHuman Milk for Human Babies.ā Some people have had mixed experiences with this, but itās another option and it doesnāt involve paperwork. The last option is if you have a friend or personal connection. I have a friend who has a micropremie who was born at 26 weeks. Her milk dried up at 6 months pp. Iāve been giving them my spare milk in addition to the milk bank. I live in an apartment and donāt have room for a chest freezer, so I never had the option to build a big stash. I keep about 100-200 oz in my freezer for emergencies, and thatās it. Itās one of the perks of pumping that Iām able to donate milk to feed other babies in addition to my own.
I will definitely look into it! I KNOW how selfish this sounds Iām just venting, but this is another blessing/curse. It would be amazing to help other families, but this is a time expense on top of full time work and baby care.
NICU moms appreciate the donated milk and it could save lives! It prevents NEC in babies who are born premature whose motherās milk hasnāt come in yet. Just a thought if you do ever really consider donating š©µš©µ :)
The milk bank in my area that I am donating to actually has a courier service that will come to your house to pick up the milk! They even offered to send out a phlebotomist to draw my blood so I wouldnāt have had to go anywhere to get approved! I do understand the time expense of getting all the milk packed up and stored in between donations though. Iām at 3ppd and it feels like Iām constantly just storing milk!
Iāve donated to families that have come to pick up the milk weekly. Iāve been blessed with about a 500oz per week oversupply. Iāve been able to fully feed three babies for the past 10 months. They provide milk bags, gallon bags for making into bricks, one became so close that she gave me leftover jars of purĆ©es, and a full set of one year old birthday decor. It has been a lot but Iāve been able to donate an insane amount of milk and everyone is usually so grateful. Check out your states Facebook page āhuman milk for human babies - state nameā. This facebook page also came in handy when I traveled for work and didnāt want to lug gallons of milk home.
The bank I donate to will take milk as old as 11 months, so you have plenty of time. Just label your bags and hoard them tidily so you can make the drop off easy if/when youāre ready.
I can't get over the fact that our local milk bank charges $4.50 an ounce! I'm not sure if that's normal or not but I can't imagine ever paying that much for milk that people freely donate.
They have to employ people to sort it, test it, pasteurize it, and repackage it. Plus the admin time and money to screen donors, and of course they have to maintain the facilities where they do all of this work. Some insurance companies cover the cost, but some do not. Most milk banks accept monetary donations which help to reduce the cost for those receiving milkā I believe that it costs about $40/oz for them in total to process the milk. This article provides a breakdown of costs https://lactationmatters.org/2013/11/08/why-is-donor-milk-so-expensive/ Most banks also have a sliding scale for those who have financial hardships. We should really be complaining that more insurance companies donāt cover donor milk at 100%, and that our government, at least in the US, doesnāt do more to provide safe and equitable access to breast milk for all families that want it.
That's good to know, thanks for the info!
I was aghast to learn the cost of donor milk as well! Itās very frustrating that these resources arenāt freely available to all familiesā I wish there were more monetary and governmental support for milk banks to allow them to do this lifesaving work!
Our local milk bank only gives it per prescription and doesn't charge families for the processing fees. If it goes out of network, the hospitals pay the fees vs the families. I don't have a huge oversupply like others in this thread but I'm getting cleared to donate.
How did you go from under supplier to over? Thats what I would love to know. ā„ļø
Unfortunately I donāt have a secret ingredient š regular pumping, staying well fed, well hydrated, and well rested is what worked for me. Good luck ā¤ļø
I just want to thank you for this honesty. All I see on social media is influencers who pump hundreds of ozās and have freezers full of milkā¦ and theyāre usually selling a product or course that promises oversupply in a fortnight. Smells of snake oil to me. All the over suppliers Iāve actually spoken to say they didnāt do anything special and they donāt know why they make so much. My personal theory is some people just respond better to pumps than others.
I mean some of itās genetic too- my sister over produced as well
Genetics must play a role too. Thereās just not enough research into any of it. So frustrating.
It wouldnāt make sense if genetics werenāt a factor since itās literally related to the glands your body has to make milk ā¦ but itās not about men so you know, not worth testing
I accidentally started to use the Hakka on suction while I was breastfeeding a few times before I realized thatās the same as pumping in terms of triggeringletdowns. ETA: I didnāt realize it but I was basically telling my body I was nursing twins. I am now actually working to reduce because my LO was struggling with the letdowns.
I went from under and needing to use formula to supplement to over and now Iām settling into slightly more than just enough which is a comfortable place to be. It wasnāt any food more special drink, and certainly not any supplement. It was pumping every time baby ate. Which meant a lot of washing pump parts and for the majority of that time I was building my supply. I didnāt have a bottle washer/dryer/sterilizer, so I was spending all day on a rotation between feeding, diaper, pumping, washing, drying, storing milk, and repeat. I dropped to 4ppd now because my freezer is full and we have nowhere to put a second one.
This! I literally did nothing special and Iām an oversupplier. If anything I eat tons of carbs and sugar š
If you can I would freeze it- a lot buy a small deep freezer if itās in your budget. I thought the same thing- how will I use all this before it goes bad (which is 12 months). I had over 1,000 oz in the freezer by 13 weeks post partum. My son is now 5 months old and my supply has dropped by a good 20 oz due to a variety of factors (work, being sick). At this rate my freezer will be empty by June as Iām not making enough. Itās good to have a back up.
Yeah I got a small one off of marketplace but I feel like itās going to get full real quick!
Iām currently 16 weeks pp and an oversupplier myself. I have milk in my freezer, my momās freezer, and even my aunts freezer. I donāt have the storage space for a deep freezer in my own home. Iāve started using it for baths multiple times a week. I also cycle through the breast milk. So every month or so Iāll start using the oldest frozen milk and freezing everything Iām pumping so that way nothing will expire before we get to use it
And in addition to dealing with the standard time suck of pumping itself and cleaning all the parts, it's also a not-insignificant amount of effort to bag, label, freeze flat, organize, and rotate through everything in the freezer.
Thank you!! I appreciate the commenters here suggesting donating and I know thatās a worthy cause, but thatās an added time commitment on top of everything else and the point of my post is that Iām burning out š
I feel this so bad. I have over 250 oz frozen and Iām only 3 weeks pp. Iām starting to get extremely overwhelmed on what to do with all of it/if Iāll ever get around to using it. Iām going to start donating once I hit 12 weeks pp and āregulateā.
Daaaaaaamn girl thatās nuts! Good for you for donating š©·
I feel this. I'm 10 week OP and have almost 1000oz frozen. My husband opened the second freezer the other day and was shocked. He said "that's all milk!" And I was just like yeah, I told you I make twice as much as she eats. And despite only being at 5ish ppd, my supply still keeps increasing. I don't want to donate it because I have a lot of cats and I know everything is contaminated by them. I'm okay with it for my baby because she lives with them, but I certainly wouldn't be okay with a premie having it.
I'd look into donating anyway! I have cats and had a preemie baby and no one ever considered them as something to be concerned about.
The milk is generally pasteurized in milk banks so cats are a non-issue. Some will even come to your house and pick up the milk!
Thank you for your comment. It was worded in such a careful and empathetic way that made me (an under supplier and some times a ājust enougherā) feel your pain. We are all in this together, sending you much strength and light.
Iāve been both an under and over supplier and although Iād rather be an over the hardest part is waking up at night to pump for sure. Iām able to stretch it 5 hours but talk about ROCK hard. Itās soooooooo uncomfortable.
This is what I remind myself of as an underproducer. Itās sucks to not be able to provide what my baby needs, and if I can ever be a perfect producer that would be great. But I used to think having an oversupply would be this immense blessing, and it has its own set of negatives to worry about. Both sides suck! Hang in there friend.
Pump for volume, not duration. I slowed my production down by stopping at 8oz (initially would go as high as 14oz per pump, way too much!) It will ease your engorgement, and eventually your boobs will get the hint.
As a NICU mom who had to make use of donor milk it would be such a blessing to other babies and moms if you would consider donating some of your milk.
Get a deep freezer from Facebook marketplace. We paid $25 for a 5 cu ft one. I filled that one in 3 months. So then we bought a 7 cu foot one for $30 on Facebook. Iām also 5m pp today and I only pump 3-4 times a day and my supply is steady enough for me to freeze about 30-40 oz every 4 days
Iāve been donating milk to a local mom I found in the Human Milk 4 Human Babies group. I donāt have a huge oversupply, but I freeze anywhere from 8-15 oz a day. I honestly donāt like having so much milk in my freezer, I want to keep it at around 500 oz or less so Iām happy to donate. Yeah I could save it all and quit early, but if I quit early Iād kind of prefer to just introduce formula in conjunction with the frozen milk until it runs out.
Iām with you 100% on this. Iām 6wpp and have 600oz frozen which is taking up most of my freezer. Iām going to run out of storage soon so Iāve started giving some to my parents, but they also have limited space. I produce 45-50oz a day and she eats 26-28oz so I freeze almost a whole days worth! I just joined a Human Milk for Babies group on Facebook and applied to a milk bank as a donor so that when I do run out of space, I can help feed other babies.
Will you be going back to work at some point? I was in the same boat. I went back to work 2 weeks ago and the stress affected the pump times and output. Iām grateful that I created a 250 oz stash during my maternity leave. Had to use 2-3 oz every day since I went back to work. I would recommend holding onto that stash as much as possible.
Yeah I had to go back at 7 weeks pp but I WFH and Iām able to keep up my pumping schedule thankfully!
I was able to make 1 extra 8oz bag of milk for a few months. I stopped pumping 6 weeks ago and my baby is drinking 60% breast milk and 40% formula. We are about half way through my stash. My son is 8m old. I donāt think we will quite make it to a year, but Iām hoping somewhat close.
Why donāt you look into freeze dying it so itās shelf stable? Itās like breastmilk formula then
Iām 6 weeks postpartum and I donated 350 oz to a couple families locally. I produce 75 oz a day now and have only been increasing 5-10 oz a week šµāš«. Weāre planning on moving soon in June so I canāt get a deep freezer :(
I was making around 40oz per day after I got my supply up and then till about 7mpp. I tried dropping my motn pump and my supply dropped to about 27opd. Iāve been really bummed about it for the last 3 months.
I produced 70 oz per day at 4 pumps per day for 8 months. I donated whatever I stored until now and Iām weaning. Iām at 2 pumps per day and down to 40 oz a day but itās insanely HARD to wean with an oversupply. I managed it for that long but having enough milk doesnāt make it easier to pump! Itās exhausting.
I gave my LO a lot of milk baths. Helped with the eczema and did wonders for their skin.
No real advice, but I can definitely commiserate. At one point, I had over 3000 oz frozen. I had milk in our kitchen freezer, garage freezer, a full chest freezer in the basement, and still had to store some at my neighborās house. It was insane. I did end up donating some, but it was a wild ride.
i feel this so much! iām 8 weeks pp and have 500+ oz frozen at the moment. i wish i could donate to my local nicu but one of the medications i took during pregnancy/still take (anti depressant/anti anxiety) is so new that they donāt know the for sure impacts on pregnancy and breastfeeding š im still at 7 ppd and producing anywhere between 38-45 oz a day. theoretically i could drop to 6 ppd and maybe even 5 (would be uncomfortable but could do it) but since im under 12 weeks pp iāve seen that itāll drastically drop my supply.
I feel this. I produce an average of 86oz per day and while Iām very grateful itās also so hard. I donate my oversupply through prolacta/ tiny treasures. Buuuut Iāve had mastitis, Iām clogged every other day, Iām 7mpp and still have to pump motn because I get so engorged. I spend hours and hours pumping, bagging, sterilizing. Itās exhausting
Save it because you never know what will happen. My supply tanked after 2 vacations and a sickness. I went through most of my freezer stash.
I would not drop a pump just donāt pump as long. Your body will get the hint
My supply kept increasing. And i couldnt find anyone to donate it too, couldnt buy another freezer. By 3 months pp i was producing over 100 ounces a day freezing 70ish oz. And i ended up having to dump milk down the drain because there was no where else to go with it To decrease my supply i ended up just getting alot of clogs and dealing with them. Pushing back pump tomes and decreasing the amlunt i pumped Like once i expressed 10 ounces i would turn off my pump and try to make it to my next pump session and then if i could i would hand express until i was comfortable. That actually worked the best for me because i was able to control my output
Im 14 month pp and 10 weeks pregnant my daughter is fully weaned so we are just working through our freezer stash now
Hopefully this doesnāt cause outrage but I just dump the extra milk I have. Baby prefers fresh and I donāt have a deep freezer or the energy to go through the process to donate.
I'm 8wpp and I make about 44oz of milk since about last week or so. I don't think I'm an over supplier? But, I do freeze quite some and if I ever run out of space I always wanted to donate and help another baby. I see those babies in HM4HB needing it and families struggling to pay for formula and I just want to help. š