Talking About Expressed Breast Milk

I managed to breastfeed Eirsa for 24 months; 21 months solely with breastmilk (plus solid food when she reached 7 months old) and we had to top up with formula since the supply was no longer sufficient. And the good side was, these 3 months of combination of breastmilk and formula somehow did ease the weaning off process.

Eirsa was a heavy consumer of breastmilk, being a baby girl. As early as 5 months old, I have to send 4 to 5 bottles of 5 oz expressed breast milk (EBM) to her daycare and usually she would finish them all. Even when she started her solid food, the amount didn't reduce. When she was about 8 months old, I had to send 5-6 bottles of 5 oz EBM.

When I started working back then (still talking about Eirsa's era), I only had around 40 oz of EBM stock, with the knowledge that it would be sufficient. Yes, it was, in fact I manage to top up another 20 oz of stock, but only until she reached 5 months old. For the record, I started making stock after confinement days, while still undergoing maternity leaves.

It was a sudden drop in my milk supply, with no warning, no significant cause as far as I could recall. Instead of being able to express 5 oz in the morning at home and 16 oz while at work, I only managed to express 18 oz in total. It wasn't alarming until noticed at one point I only had 10 oz of frozen EBM. Then I started to google for some quick milk supply boosters.

I tried many things as far as my appetite and tummy could take. Booster tea, fenugreek, dried longan, red date, soy, milk, ASI, Shaklee and some other that I already forgot. 3 years ago the options were still not as many as now, or may be I didn't know about them. Among those that I've tried, some did show temporary miracle, some did consistent yet gradual improvement. But still, to catch up with 20 - 30 oz per day of supply, sometimes I could just send whatever I had in stock and pray that they would enough for Eirsa for the day. 

Alhamdulillah, during those hard and stressful days, Eirsa still managed to enjoy my breastmilk with no significant incidents of starving and no formula milk involved. There were days when she slept a lot and I managed to keep 2-3 oz per day, to be used for the next day. Meanwhile I didn't give up trying to boost the supply, even though I cried once a while thinking that 'that was it' moment was about to come.

While some of the remedies worked, I could keep small amount of stocks. At the same time I added more pump sessions, usually at home. I would pump right after I arrived home and before going to bed. Every day. It was tiring and a little bit mentally torturing but my husband kept all the positive vibes around the house. He helped with taking care of Eirsa, washing and sterilizing bottles, giving me motivations while rubbing my back when I pumped. During the weekend, I did do tender pumping even though it was a struggle since Eirsa didn't like "competition" but finally she got used to it. During these hard times in breastfeeding, I would keep even 0.5 oz EBM. Too precious. I would prefer to tender pump or to pump right after each feeding, as compared to pump in between feeding session, so my body could produce sufficient amount of milk for my baby for her next feeding session.

After about 1-2 weeks of the routines, I could see significant amount of supply increase. In fact, in the next few months, I managed to make 60 oz of frozen stocks while maintain the day in day out supply for Eirsa. I still topped up the stocks during weekends and at one time I had around 100 oz of frozen stock. All praises to God!

So for Eivie, I started keeping stock as early the third week of confinement period. 4-5 oz each morning and sometimes another 3-4 oz when my breasts engorged (when Eivie slept at unusual longer hours), I managed to make some 200 oz of frozen EBM, before I got back to work. Alhamdulillah.. Alhamdulillah.. Alhamdulillah. And so far, Eivie consumed around 13-15 oz per day and I still managed to top up the EBM stock and I now have around 300 oz of frozen EBM. I hope this suffices during my low supply days, especially during the fasting month.

In short, for those struggling (with the target to fully breastfeed their baby but low milk supply) moms :

1) you could try one milk supply booster at time, give it 1-2 weeks to see the improvement before changing to other milk supply booster. I could not suggest any specific milk supply booster as it might work for me but not for you, but you could find them from many forums and mommy-baby online shop. Read the instructions carefully, especially the impact to moms and babies.

2) do increase your pumping session. No, you could not see the results in 1-2 day. It might take 1-2 weeks to really work, but it helps a lot. The more consistent it is (in terms of timing), the better, especially tender pumping or to pump right after each feeding session.

3) keep any amount of milk that you managed to express each time. 0.5 oz times 100 is a good 50 oz.

4) do drink a lot and eat adequately.

5) do keep positive thoughts about your supply. Not only during expressing but, all the time (if possible). Stress might affect the supply. And trust that God will take care of the rest as long as we try our best. There was a time when I only has 18 oz of EBM as compared to 25 oz of Eirsa's daily consumption, but it was still enough for her for that day as she had longer than usual afternoon and she ate more than usual thus didn't demand for milk a lot.

Good luck (and do share your experience, if it is not too much to ask. :) )

While breastfeeding Eivie at a restaurant

Till then. Muah.

Breast milk info (from Wikipedia) : Whole cow's milk does not contain sufficient vitamin E or essential fatty acids. Whole cow's milk also contains excessive amounts of protein, sodium, and potassium, which may put a strain on an infant's immature kidneys. In addition, the proteins and fats in whole cow's milk are more difficult for an infant to digest and absorb than the ones in breast milk. Evaporated milk may be easier to digest due to the processing of the protein but is still nutritionally inadequate.