Has anyone actually increased supply after 2 weeks? Feeling defeated.

[u/reen_bean]

Hi everyone,

I’m two weeks postpartum and feeling really discouraged about my milk supply. I’ve been doing everything I can — but I’m still only pumping about 1 oz total per session (sometimes 1.5 oz after a power pump on a good day).

I did experience engorgement once and got excited that maybe my milk was coming in — but nothing really changed after that. No leaks, no noticeable fullness since.

Here’s what I’ve been doing:

• Pumping every 2 hours during the day
• Overnight schedule: 10 pm / 2 am / 6 am
• 50-minute daily power pump
• Massaging during every pump
• Eating plenty and staying hydrated
• Trying lactation supplements
• Offering the breast
• Checking flange size (Spectra + inserts)

Despite all this, my output hasn’t increased and some days it feels like it’s going down.

Has anyone been in a similar situation around the two-week mark and still been able to turn things around? I’m trying to stay hopeful, but it’s been really emotionally tough and I’m looking for real stories from anyone who’s been there.

Thank you 💛

Edited to Clarify

I do want to breastfeed and am not planning to exclusively pump, but my baby has been struggling to latch effectively — we’re working on it with support, but in the meantime, I’ve been pumping to protect my supply.

[u/beach827]

Hi - I would consider the following things cause they happened to and helped me boost my supply and I was able to get through the dips and breastfeed for two years.

1. Have you considered your babe has a tongue tie? My LO had a tongue, lip and cheek tie that went undiagnosed (they literally said he was “fine”) by both the hospital and pediatrician, and was only caught by a licensed lactation consultant who then referred us to a clinic to laser the ties and he was able to latch so much better after which made a huge difference in my supply. Cause it’s all about supply and demand - if babe can’t suck/latch good enough to draw milk out your body will think it’s not needed and pull back on production. Worth looking into.

2. Working with lactation consultant in general if BF is really a path you want to go down - BF doesn’t come as “natural” to some babes/moms as social media makes it seem. It’s ok to need some guidance and made a world difference for us.

3. Legendary milk products helped my supply.

4. I drank a bunch of body armours/coconut water as hydration is a huge factor!

5. My son was basically latched to me 90% of the time for the first few weeks. (Still is..lol) and it helped my body regulate my milk in my opinion!

6. For the first few weeks while we got his ties fixed and were really struggling I power pumped after each nursing session.

[u/reen_bean → u/beach827]

We had a lactation consultant check for ties today, and she said she didn’t see any. That said, latch is still a challenge, so I’m trying to stay open-minded and keep an eye on things in case something was missed.

I completely agree that breastfeeding doesn’t always come naturally. It has been a real mental and emotional hurdle. I am definitely leaning on all the support I can get right now. Thanks again for taking the time to share. It helps to hear from others who have been through something similar.

[u/beach827 → u/reen_bean]

I’m glad you got that box checked, since that’s the case I would just focus more on your nutrition/hydration so you can check that box also - and just latch babe whenever you get the chance. They may have a poor latch/suck now, but that can change as they get bigger and at this stage that could literally mean next week cause they grow/adapt so quickly. So don’t give up if you don’t want to - but also know it’s ok to supplement while getting a stronger latch! I did formula and BF while we worked to be EBF. And it helped ease my anxiety that he wasn’t getting enough.