Ask Moms Submission: Freshly Postpartum and Making 50+ oz a day, Worried About Maintaining Supply, and Dealing with a Crazy MIL
March 13, 2025
Submission:
"I’m only 2.5 weeks postpartum, I’ve exclusively pumped from the beginning and immediately had more than enough to feed little dude. My MIL keeps telling me that “it’s not what real moms do” and sending me nipple shields and nursing covers and books and articles which is incredibly disheartening but I’ve already got 200oz in the freezer and hes gained a whole pound! I choose this for personal reasons and it has been good for my mental health to be able to have my husband help with feeding. I consistently get 10-12+ oz each pump session. I’m a low and slow pumper, I’m most comfortable and empty best pumping on a really low setting for 30-40 min. Everything I can find online says I should only pump for 20 minutes and I still need to be doing 8+ sessions a day or my supply will tank but I’m still getting a minimum of 50oz a day at 4ish hours between sessions, averaging 5 sessions a day. I don’t think my mental health can handle that many sessions on top of my usual amount of anxiety and depression plus newborn plus crazy MIL but I’ll do it if I’m going to jeopardize my ability to make it all the way to a year…"
Mama’s who dealt with oversupply early on – were you able to maintain your supply after the 6-12 week mark?
This mama and I ended up chatting on Instagram and here is what I shared with her:
“Phew, ok –
So – I would ignore your MIL lol there’s almost 3k “real” moms here who successfully breastfeed their babies this way.
As far as your supply – I’m not a CLC and I think what you are asking as far as how often/how long to pump be best answered by a CLC but as one pumping mom to another – everyone is SO different
If slow and low is working and you’re getting that much milk, I’d say leave it
Your body does start to change hormonally around 6-12 weeks and milk becomes more supply and demand so if you’re seeing a dip in supply, then removing more frequently would be the move.”
I then shared this Ask the Experts post with her from Weekend Confessional as our CLC friends covered what it means for your supply to “regulate”.
I also think having a conversation with your husband about how your MIL is behaving (if you haven’t already) is going to be huge – it’s up to him to help manage the boundary with *his* mother. The next time she brings it up in front of him, have him just nip it in the bud right as it’s happening. A simple “hey, we understand you don’t agree with this, but we could really just use support and not solutions around how we are feeding our baby.”
Everyone’s bodies and supplies and are so different, so I think working with CLCs who specialize in pumping is going to be a huge piece to this puzzle for this mom as well!
Definitely ignore the MIL! Something that helps me when people give unwanted advice is to just say, “Thanks, we will think about that.” Even if you won’t actually think about it.
I’m really sorry to hear you’re experiencing this unkind and unhelpful “advice” from your MIL. Could your husband put up a boundary with her saying that the way you two have decided to feed your baby is not up for discussion? My strategy has always been, we (my partner and I) deal with our own side of the family if they say something out of pocket.
2nd part – supply.
I was in the same boat as you with an over supply and needing low/slow settings + longer sessions. I am not a CLC, however I had a similar pump schedule and was able to maintain supply because I had a large capacity and it’s what I had gotten my body used to very early on. So its what my body expected from me for milk removal. If it’s working for you, keep going!
I hope things have gotten better since you submitted this question.