Once I increase milk supply does it say up?

Hi
I'm new to this forum! I have 5 week old twins- one boy and one girl and I am currently using breast milk and some formula to feed these little ones. I use expressed breast milk during the day and formula for the night feedings. I usually pump every 3 hours but at times it can go past that to 4 or 5 hours depending on the needs of the little ones (i.e. wearing them, holding them, rocking them). I currently pump enough for one child- around 750 ml after 7 pumps. So I wanted to increase my supply so I started pumping every 2 to 2.5 hours and I was able to up my milk supply to 930 ml.

My question is- do I need to maintain 2 hour pumps to keep that supply or can i go back to 3 hour pumps and still maintain 900 or so ml? Just wondering.

 

I am not an exclusive pumper, but I would compare this to a breast feeding growth spurt where your babies nurse non stop for a few days then go back to the usual schedule. After growth spurts I definitely pump more per session. So maybe your body will think the increased pumping is a growth spurt and continue to produce more for what it thinks is the new demand. I guess only time will tell when you cut back to every three hours! Sorry I wasn't more helpful!

 

Milk expression stimulates production. If when you increase the time between pumping sessions you are able to increase the amount per session then supply will stay up. Emptying the breast is key.

The body recognizes a baby's signals... frequent nursing means s/he is still hungry, feedings between 1 and 4 am signal a newborn/young baby. Both will result in an increase in production.

Other things that will help production are:
eating oatmeal,
drink enough water,
there are also herbs that have been shown to have very good results

It is a lot of work to make milk for twins. you are doing a really great thing for them. Even a little breast milk is amazing and 50% is great! keep working at it. You can do it!

 

My twins aren't here yet but I had many problems nursing my singleton and low supply was one of our issues. A few key factors are frequent milk removal by either a baby or an efficient pump at least every 3 hrs. Every time you go longer than 3 hrs without nursing you are telling your body to make less milk. Milk supply is naturally highest around 2 a.m. I would always set my alarm clock for every 3 hrs during the night and that would be when I'd get a little extra to make sure my daughter had enough to drink by evening. Oatmeal as already mentioned, brown rice, barley and green leafy vegetables can all help. Also I took More Milk Plus which is an herbal blend you can easily find online. Once your milk supply is up you still need to maintain it and it's really not well established that early.