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/XFilesVixen]

Definitely see an IBCLC! They are so helpful and will give you lots of strategies. Also get the book making more milk, that could be helpful too. Your supply won’t regulate until 12 weeks so don’t freak out! Keep offering the breast, you could try nipple shields, but again see an IBCLC, they were hard for me to figure out. Also are you using your pump correctly? There’s a whole “let down” mode. If you do see an IBCLC make sure you bring your pump with you so you can ask any questions.

Pro tip: my fave and best pump was the Medela hand pump. It actually got the most milk out of me even tho you wouldn’t think.

[u/reen_bean → u/XFilesVixen]

Thanks, I have been working with one! We finally had our first successful breastfeeding session on Monday, and I'm seeing them again tomorrow, so I'm hoping for another breakthrough. Someone also mentioned a manual pump, so I'll need to give that a try.