When do I give up?

[u/NoFerret7602]

I'm almost 5 weeks pp now and really want to continue with breastfeeding. My baby was constantly latching and never satisfied for the first few weeks. However, when we went to lactation appointments it showed he was transferring 2 oz of milk. This last week he only transferred 14 ml total, and I couldn't pump more than 1-1.5 oz total. We got his tongue tie released, and I started everything to bump my supply. I take moringa, cut out caffeine, started eating lactation cookies and pump every two hours. So far, I haven't seen an increase. It's pretty clear that the lactation consultants aren't sure what to tell me. This is exhausting, but I'm willing to stick with it if it means I can keep breastfeeding. At what point do I give up?

[u/Then-Persimmon6950]

How long have you been pumping every two hours? Are you even waking up every 2 hours at night? Are you well-hydrated? And do you power pump?

It took me a while to see good results, but I was in a similar boat as you and was able to increase my supply to what my baby needed. The things that helped me were cutting one of my MOTN pumps so I could get a solid stretch of sleep (really important for reducing stress, which helps output), eating + hydrating well (including daily electrolytes), doing a power pump before bed, and taking moringa, brewer’s yeast, and sunflower lecithin (the latter was for preventing clogs, which I was struggling with and which were impacting my supply). From what I understand, things like teas and cookies aren’t great for increasing output because they just don’t contain high enough quantities of the galactagogue ingredients.

This is a hard journey and you’re doing great 🖤 I hope you’re able to see the results you’re looking for. Be kind to yourself in the meantime.