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that's how I was with my first too and I know how frustrating it is..... It may be that you have enought just to feed your baby which is OK. You have the pump running for an hour or do you take breaks?

Out of curiosity, why are you pumping instead of b___stfeeding? I could never get much out of a pump, but my daughter b___stfed exclusively to 5 months and did fine, and nursed another 7 months after she started food as well. Pumps are not nearly as effective as your baby's ability to get milk from you. If you put away the pump for awhile and just feed the baby your milk will probably come right back. Hope this helps.

to KH, no i dont take a break during each session. this morning i got out more after eating more and drinking more water last night, so that seemed to help (thanks again to monica for her advice). miranda - i want to bf from theb___st, she wont take it. the hospital told me BS that she wouldn't be able to, which i see now is a lie. they pushed some formula on us instead. i have been pumping to supplement the formula. i know what you mean about the pumps, many women have told me there is a difference between bf and pump volume. its terrible

Your baby needs only about 2 ounces per lb per day. It sounds like you are pumping about 8 times a day for a total of about 24 ounces. Is your baby more than 12lbs? It sounds like she is younger and smaller and your supply is sufficent for her age. As she grows your supply will increase. 3 ounces is not that bad for a newer baby. Also, I go to a support group led by a lactation consultant once a week. There is a mom in the group who exclusively pumped for 11 weeks!!! Her baby is not latching fine and exclusively on the b___st, so there is hope!!! It sounds like you could use the help pf a lactation consultant. Best of luck to you :)

my friend b___stfeeds on one side while pumping on the other side (at the same time) and I tried it and I got more milk....

thanks jenn! i pump on average 12 ounce a day. i started pumping out less in the last few days (had more this morning thank god!!). she is going through her 6 week growth spurt and is hungry every 45min -2 hours. i am dyin' over here lol. she can drink about 35 ounces of formula a day and is closing in on 12 lbs. i can barely find time for anything - i have to feed her which takes 35-40 min and then pump quickly while she screams for more food. cant wait for this growth spurt to be overrrrrr. i asked the hospital for someone to come by to help, no luck. they give me different advice every time i call. frustrating! how do i find a consultant in my area? thanks

I know this sounds gross but since actual mouth sucking is better at stimulating supply then the pump I have sucked them myself briefly when I take a shower. This helped me increase the milk supply. If you can reach you might try this. Again, I hope I don't gross anyone out but I was desperate to try anything. Also, I wouldn't spend an hour on your pump. 10 minutes a b___st at most.

don't worry, i understand your logic in doing it. sucking causes more milk flow, pumps simply don't compare. i don't blame you for trying anything. you'd think bf would be easier than this.

where do you live?

Nevermind, you don't have to tell me where you live. Try this site to search for a lactation consultant in your area. http://gotwww.net/ilca/

thank you! i went there and put in my zip code.. found one right near my house. i left a msg for her. her email is an army email address so i hope she is still around and not shipped off anywhere. thanks again jenn, i appreciate it!!!

I am glad I can help. I think the seeing a lactation consultant can really turn things around for you. I had a rough time starting out. Stressing does not help while b___stfeeding and can actually hinder the milk ejection relfex. I know it might be difficult but try and relax and be confident. You can feed your baby!!

Anne... hope you get a chance to read this between pumpings and feedings! My daughter was a little premature and would not latch on properly at first. My lactation consultant was a lifesaver. Then after 12 weeks I had to go back to work full time and pump as I might during the day... my milk supply started to dwindle. My consultant then suggested trying an herb supplement... sidenote... I'm not a granola or hippie or whatever... my lactation consultant was based out of then main children's hospital in a US major city. She suggested fenugreek. You can get it at most health food stores. I found it at a place called GNC (General Nutrition Center). There's great information about it on b___stfeeding.com - here's the link http://www.b___stfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_fenugreek.html ...also, don't miss the hilarious article on the side bar "I am woman, hear me moo!" It's a riot! Good Luck!

hi! thanks :) i am a hippie lol. do you know if there are any side effects with fenugreek? i have hypersensitivity problems, it's really lame. as long as there aren't any significant side effects, i can probably tolerate it after a few days. thanks again!

... worst side effect I had from taking the herb fenugreek was the smell! Myself... my milk... all smelled a bit like curry. Odd, but Abby didn't mind a bit - must not have had a bad effect on the taste. Anyway, read the article, the real side effects are in the last paragraph, I didn't have any of them... then you MUST read the side article t_tled "I am woman, hear me moo" - This woman talks about her experience taking fenugreek... and I have to say my experience was nearly a mirror of hers. Once the milk started coming in again I felt like I could have fed half of the babies in the U.S.

I have a one month old adn my milk is drying up. I had to feed her formula tonight which was very stressful for me. I have started to take Fenugreek - Sara, how long did it take for your milk supply to come back?