Grumpus – yes, I do agree that many people are obsessed with increasing their milk ss. I was one of them when I had my number 1, as my ss was really pathetic at the beginning and like some mummies here, I felt very stressed trying to increase my ss, so I understand how they feel. But the truth is that even when they latch on, some mummies do not have sufficient to meet their bb’s demand, hence need to supplement with FM. Some bbs tend to fall asleep while latching on and after that wake up cos not full so need to keep latching on very often which is very tiring. In this case it may be better to express and feed. My 2 gals are like this, hence no choice but to pump to increase my ss.
For me, I need to have excess to freeze as my in laws will be taking care of my gal in future and she will be staying with them during the week. As I cannot afford the time to go everyday to deliver milk, hence need to depend on frozen milk. Also, many people experience a reduction in the milk supply when they start work as they have no time to pump consistently, so also have to rely on frozen milk. Anyway, I don’t wait for my milk to expire, I’m starting to use the frozen milk already and freezing new ones so that they are ‘fresher’. So even tho I do have quite a lot of excess at the moment and have abt 20 bags in the freezer of 200ml each, when you come to think of it, it is actually less than 1 week’s supply.
It was not easy to build up my ss and I am definitely proud that I accomplished it. For my number 1, I made a lot of sacrifices to bfeed, e.g. as my boss is not very understanding, I had to use my lunchtime to express and eat at the same time. I also survived on less than 5 hrs of sleep for the first 2 mths after I went back to work. Lucky I had my frozen milk as backup, if not may not have sufficient to feed my gal. I know many people who give up breastfeeding even before they go back to work, and they are very amazed that I manage to breastfeed my older gal for more than 1 year without the need to supplement with FM. Now I am doing it all over again for my number 2.
I’m just sharing my experience on how it is possible to increase ss by pumping as I can tell that some mummies here are quite stressed over trying to increase their supply as they have to supplement with FM, even to the extent of eating seaweed, so am just trying to encourage them and offer alternatives. I am also not comparing the amt of milk expressed per day, just to share that it is possible to establish a good supply by expressing. In fact, I think there is nothing wrong with supplementing with FM if the bmilk is not enough, rather than be so stressed abt it. Also, I don’t think my ss is that fantastic, I know of some people who can express more than 1.5 litres per day. I believe this forum is to share our experiences, so your remarks abt feeding ‘twins’ are frankly speaking, quite hurtful.
