Breastfeeding mama of 5 here 😊 I would just add, don't panic and think you have a low supply if you pump and aren't getting a ton of milk pumping. Make sure your supply is actually low first before you go crazy trying to increase your output. The Average pumping session is only 1-2 ounces. Also, remember ounces arent equal to CALORIES. Every mama's breastmilk is perfect nutrition and calories for your baby. You may only ever make 2-4 ounces but the calories in your breastmilk increase over time. 💗
I really love this information, thank you for sharing it. However, I just want to tell anyone who is looking in the comments that there is nothing wrong with formula. If you can't get your supply up, we are so lucky to have an alternative either as a supplement or as a complete diet for your baby. Fed is best.
I can not thank you enough for sharing your journey of the feeding tube, my grandson was born with one kidney with no function and o ly 20% with the other he just got a feeding tube and my son and daughter in law were terrified i had them watch your old vlogs because Aiden was not eating enough to get chunky enough for his transplant surgery at 18 months he is the same age as Cassidy they watched and are still watching your feeding tube journey, my daughter in law is not as scared and that is all because of you!!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!!
So much good information. I’m 63 now, but I would have been a success way back then had I had this information available!! I’ll keep it in mind if anyone I know needs help.
Thank you for sharing your journey!! 21, and 19 years ago I wish I would’ve havd this technology!! Thankfully I had friends, and neighbors who helped. The hand expression with the manual pump, and the power pumping were both taught to me. They helped so much! Both of my kids were NICU babies. It was tough, but a rewarding journey. I’ve been blessed to help my daughter in law with nursing, and show her it’s normal to not be perfect at it. It takes a village to raise a child, and I am so happy y’all are in my village!
Alex, I so appreciated this! not a nursing mom anymore, but I am a peds nurse! educating and encouraging moms who are struggling in their breastfeeding journey is something I encounter often. any tips I can find are always so helpful! I often send my moms to you tube to certain creators for support too, so I'm saving this one for sure!!! thank you so much and congratulations on getting thru that extremely difficult time!! it was so exciting when Cassidy started to nurse again, I could feel your joy!!!
My daughter is 2 months old and has a tongue tie. She wasn't having any problems eating, but with my first baby he latched great but was a lazy eater. To make it easier for him we switched to just pumping and bottle feeding. I say we because I could not have done it without the support of my husband. We both worked out a great routine with me pumping and him helping with nighttime feedings. Because of this routine we decided to continue with exclusively pumping with our 2 month old and leave her tongue tie alone. I was really disappointed about not breastfeeding with my first baby, but my husband encouraged me that whether I breastfeed or pump our baby just needs to be happy and healthy. Mom's need to be encouraged no matter how you feed your baby. Thank you for a great video.
I 100% relate to this from the tongue tie to my husband’s support. With my third child, I got so discouraged because I felt like less of a mother because I still couldn’t breastfeed and society just makes you feel like a failure for not feeding from the breast, it’s pretty pitiful. But, with my husband’s support, close friends, and MALE pediatrician, I was assured that feeding my baby was the priority, not how. Breastmilk is breastmilk, do what makes you feel comfortable and sane, mamas ❤
Absolutely adore you guys Alex! I am so overjoyed to have been part of your journey for the last 4 years! I love everything you guys stand for and more! As a momma of 2 from Canada 🇨🇦 thank you for always being so positive, uplifting and compassionate about life and love! From our family to yours xoxoxo
Currently pregnant with my first baby, a little girl, due in October! Great info but I swear she knows when I'm watching you guys because she gets SO ACTIVE while I'm watching your videos. 🤣
I've been through this, it's so difficult to increase supply. This video would have been so helpful to me 7 years ago. :) Hope the right people find it!
I do hands on feeding! I have a massive supply to the point of clogged ducts as soon as my milk would come it. I also have to hands on feed then hands on pump. I was blessed with lots of milk but unfortunately it hurts me more then my baby can eat. I have been trying to donate milk to mamas that need a little extra help. It also helps for when my milk does drop I don’t have to worry about not having milk to feed my baby. I’m so happy you made this video it’s so helpful for pumping and tung tie info. I was told to pump at midnight because that’s when your body throughs out a bunch of milk and that pumping session can help increase your milk as well.
So glad you were able to be successful with breastfeeding through many trials. It is worth it, I think. I was a La Leche League leader for many years and it was so rewarding to help a struggling mom overcome difficulties and nurse her little one. I was blessed to be able to nurse all 7 of my babies, including my twins, ranging from 1 to 3 years. I love watching your family grow and wish you all the best in the future. Thank you for posting this for other moms. Your knowledge and experience is greatly needed and appreciated. Thank you!! 😊
I don’t have enough breast tissue to produce the quantity of milk needed. I was getting maybe 20mls a session but I did it for 6 months to try supplement our little one. It’s a hard job but worth it! I’m pregnant again and am going to try some of your tips this time around to try and get a little bit more even if I’ll never be exclusively feeding breastmilk!
I wish I could have found this video 12 years ago. My daughter was a CDH baby and spent the first 89 days of her life in the NICU. She was on ECMO for 17 days and had multiple repair surgeries. They gave her less than 50% survival chance. She’s a miracle and ruler over her 2 younger siblings. The NICU nurses wouldn’t let me nurse her so she didn’t have the ability to suck, swallow and breathe. So they gave her a G-tube and I tried to pump exclusively but I could never get my supply up. Stress was a big factor. You are amazing Alex and a wealth of knowledge.
I appreciate that you encouraged seeing a therapist before getting a tongue tie clipped. I took my daughter to a lactation consultant who also was an occupational therapist prior to doing any tongue tie release. The therapist was the most knowledgeable and did so many exercises with my daughter with several appointments to teach her how to suck properly. My daughter fed so much better after the therapy before even getting the tongue tie clipped.
Have you replaced your pump parts? They wear out over time and are less effective. I believe the recommendation is if you exclusively pump, replace them monthly. If you pump occasionally, replace them every 3 months. I hope this helps!
I am so proud of how amazing you have done. My first baby was tongue tied but thankfully it didn't affect his nursing. He was 3 years old before we had it corrected. Which I wanted to put back because he literally hasn't stopped talking nonstop since and he is 22 lol PS you have bounced back beautifully! I don't know about ya'll but I am ready for another IVF miracle... and hopefully a boy for your family.. I'm praying for ya. Oh please tell Callie & Kenz that they are wonderful little ladies and great big sisters! ❤
Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. I struggled so much in my breastfeeding journey due to supply with my first two children. I was desperate to breastfeed but sadly it didn’t last long. I don’t feel done having children so I will definitely come back to this video in the future 😊
So, are you still nursing or is she able to get enough calories with what she feeds herself? Everything you said sounds so familiar to my 2 journeys with breastfeeding with a singleton and 6 years later twins. Learned that everything worked better for us, just pumping. Was able to have everyone finish their last bottle of breastmilk on their first birthdays. Ended up needing a deep freezer with the twins as I was pumping 64 -80 oz. a day and they started eating baby food and stuff around 6 -8 months, so they weren't taking as much but I keep pumping to just maintain supply until I had enough stored that I could stop. It was my perfect journey as I did provide everything I could to do it our way. So much respect for every mom who is out there. Breastfeeding is definitely a full time job!!!!!!
I increased my milk supply by taking Brewer's Yeast Tablets (you can purchase them almost anywhere...Walmart, Etc. I also increased my milk by drinking a lot of fluid and eating well. (Breastfeeding an infant is not the time to worry about your "baby" weight. Actually nursing will help you lose weight (for most women)
Not me crying at her encouraging mamas to be kind to ourselves. I just want to provide enough milk to meet my baby’s need, and it’s stressing 👏🏼 me 👏🏼 out 👏🏼 horribly vicious cycle.
ALEX, YOU NEED TO SHARE MORE OF THIS...ON TIKTOK, EVERYWHERE, AND NOTHING TO DO WITH NURSING, BUT MANYYYYYY VIDEOS WITH TONGUETIE STABILITY, CREATE A NEW HASHTAG, BUT PLEASE, SHORT LITTLE VIDEOS AND SHARE THOSE. tHEY LL HELP LOADS OF PEOPLE.
Alex, do you think I could still increase my supply now that my baby is almost 7 month old? I'm so sad that she is almost done breastfeeding, because she doesnt want to work so much for it. So I give her formula after she breastfeeds a little and she is already eating two meals a day. She almost sleeps through the night an nurses just once or not at all. I have a very demanding toddler and would not have the time to pump as much as you did.
Alex you have done ever so well, with a cardiac baby, and keeping your milk supply going. You should be proper proud of yourself. And of cassy. She is a beautiful little girl. Been watching all of your RU-vid videos. So I have been watching your progress. When is the next baby going to happen ? You make an excellent mother. 👍♥️👍🇬🇧
@@TinyPigy282 how long have you been watching ? Five minutes. They want lots of children. So now she has a formula that works for IVF she will have more in the near future..WHAT IS WRONG WITH ASKING.
@@TheoriginalANGEK439 it's frowned upon to ask people when they're having another child. Personally it seems dismissive of the children they already have and the journey they've just been on with Cassidy. I think it was the wording of the question that got to me a little more than the subject though but each to their own ❤
Our children’s pediatrician would call me into the office to help moms. He would always say This is a mom just like you and she knows a lot of tips and tricks to help you and your baby. Our friends have called me the tip lady for 30 years. I always lived by the rule of work smarter not harder. From colic to cleaning your house. Nursing my children from mastitis to teeth was the best. Even if you bottle feed, hold your baby close. Let your baby hear your heartbeat.
Hmm I can relate to some of what you said and I was fortunate to not have a sick baby when my milk stopped coming thank god for my old doctor who contrary to many doctors of his time believed that mothers milk was best for babies as opposed to formula. He told me when my milked stopped coming the first time to give the breast to the child every fifteen minutes if needs be. My milk came back in a few days and I was able to not only feed my baby but to supply a premie with enough milk for the first six months of its life. Moms supply never came up. I had to quit when my supply wasn’t enough for both babies anymore. But, I still don’t understand people nursing babies til they two or three it really is not that beneficial at that age. I always felt fourteen to fifteen months was sufficient for the child as well for my general health
My one and only is almost 14 so I definitely don't need this lol but still watching to support. Probably also good info to be able to share for my nieces and friends that could be having babies. Thanks for the video.
Yay I’m so excited just because I can send you a message. Love watching you guys x x Lovely to see one of just you, without Phillip lol I love watching you and your family and what u are all up to. You are such a beautiful family. My Niece was born with MMIHS, which is extremely rare. She’s 7 now and never fed and will always be on parenteral nutrition, can’t urinate or use her bowels but is such a fighter. But I’m also a Nurse so your breastfeeding ideas are very helpful x x Keep up your amazing life x x
@Phil and Alex Hi, Alex, after your second increase of milk supply where you able to nurse Cassidy again? Is she still nursing? I'm from Germany, and becoming a lactation consultant. I'm following your journey for a long time (Callie was only a few months old when I started to follow you) and it's so wunderful to see how your little family has grown and how happy you seem to be!! :)
Can anyone help me I’ve been breastfeeding my little boy for 6.5 months - I have pumped a few times had to pump a lot the first 3 days postpartum as my baby was also a nicu baby - but I’m wanting to eventually exclusively pump to bottle feed him my milk - but am wondering on the cleaning and sterilising process - do I need to wash and sterilise all parts of the pump between each pumping session or what is the best thing to do as pumping washing sterilising seems like such ALOT of work and I also have a 2 year old soo don’t want to take anymore time away from them xxx
I so wish you were around when my daughter was a baby. I never produced enough milk to keep her satisfied. She is 28 now. No one told me how to increase my milk supply. She nursed all the time and cried a lot because she may of been hungry.
Did you get a fitting check for your pump? I did all of this and it didnt help my supply it always stayed low. I even went on Motilium tablets and that helped only a little. My baby was not interested in bfeeding, my supply was not fast enough or enough and would pull off and cry. I suspect it was my pump fit and or my settings i used. I was never taught how to use it properly. Im pregnant with my 2nd IVF baby and want to bfeed, i hope i have a better journey.
Both of my boys had tongue ties. Jack (my 3 year old) had a tongue tie and couldn't nurse. I fought with 3 different lactation consultants and his pediatrician, and no one believed me. Low and behold, at 10 months old, they found it.... I exclusively pumped because he couldn't nurse, and I could ONLY use the hospital grade Medela pump. Any other pump wasn't strong enough, and I got mastitis. I also had clogged ducts multiple times, AND thrush 😬😭 now with my 6 month old (henry) he also had a tongue tie. And I just said, forget it, I will just pump like I did the 1st time. I pumped and needed the hospital grade pump again, becausei AGAIN got mastitis (however, this time I got admitted into the hospital for iv antibiotics) I pumped for about 3 ish months for both boys, but I couldn't work full time and do it anymore. I was exhausted, and pumping is HARD!
When I had my first baby, I was so devastated that I seemed to stop producing or just didnt produce enough. She was always still hungry. I know I gave up too soon. She only nursed for about 5 mos. My 2nd only 3 months. After that I didnt even try. My last 3 didnt nurse at all. It was hard
Both my boys needed tongue and lip ties revised. I agree it can help to see a feeding therapist and regardless a baby will need to learn how to use their tongue properly after a tie because they never had the ability to properly practice suck and swallow in the womb or from birth. So don't go into a laser revision thinking it'll just instantly solve the issue. It takes all babies different amounts of time to learn to drink whether nursing or bottle.
With my first born, I had enough milk for triplets, barely enough for my second, I had to supplement with formula and with my third, he would have a growth spurt, I would just start making more milk to get him satisfied and he would back off on what he was eating and I would be miserable.
I wish I had you around when I had my three daughters because my oldest stopped at 3 months my doctor said she was lazy I don’t think that was the only problem. My middle & youngest have Cystic Fibrosis so they both needed extra calories because there condition. For my middle daughter I had to supplement with formula because they wanted her to gain more weight so that is what I did and by 9 months I stopped breastfeeding completely. My third daughter also has CF and I made them take her five days early she was born 9lbs 4oz and I nursed her for 16 months and I felt like I won the Lottery, I didn’t feel like a failure like I did with my other two. She was my third and last baby because you have a greater chance having more children with CF. My husband and I during the girls first year and half of their life was very trying they got sick and hospitalized and my third baby at 17 months had a stroke & seizure because of incompetent nurses and her CF doctor. I cried and screamed at the ER nurses WTF did you do to my baby??? She is doing well 17yrs old and doing wonderful. 💜🤗 Team Courtney & Catherine
My now 5 year old has a pretty bad tongue tie. We didn't get it cut because the doctor kept saying we should only do it if it caused feeding issues. It never did, but it is causing speaking issues now. I wish we had got it cut when he wouldn't realize what was happening.
Fenugreek hindered my supply. Only took it for a short time but totally dried me up and I was constantly pumping every 2-3 hrs and breast feeding, I always still had to supplement with formula too 😓
Good tips, but not a sure fire way. Making these sort of “promises” makes you feel like a failure when they don’t work. I was doing ALL of this and still had an under supply. I was even pumping 12 times every day and working with many experts. Important to note: this is what worked for you, not guaranteed to work for everyone.
I'm currently only able to pump 2-4oz and my son is 10m. I only pump so my husband can put him down at night. I'm so sad I wasn't allowed to continue pumping 30oz in a sitting because we needed freezer space...... I could honestly cry.
I had a NICU baby an exclusively breastfeeding. I was told to pump that first ounce on each breast so they will increase the supply. I did both the first ounce an after!
Alex, I think you may have a thyroid condition. The hoarse voice, thin hair, thin eyebrows, fertility issues, being excessively tired in the mornings.. these are all signs. I have recently been diagnosed myself so I say this out of concern.
Watch her video all the way through please and it's honestly very rude to ask someone when they're going to have another baby. She'll disclose that information when she's ready to or if she feels comfortable telling us. Sorry momma bear here and I have been through the whole are you going to have another baby ordeal more than once recently. Long time fan and subscriber.
My God, they have gone through so much with Cassidy and probably feel they missed so much. Why do people want others to have big families, you want to see babies then have more yourself.
So basically to increase my supply i need to set aside 6 and half hours a day to pump 8 times and power pump. On top of caring for my baby. Who here has this time? 🤷♀️
Stay at home moms, or moms on leave (and they freeze leftovers to be used when they stop nursing/pumping). She said it was a full-time job. If you are nursing, you'd probably be holding your baby anyways...so some of that time doesn't count.
Wow that's just so rude to say!!!! And you sound very creepy with saying you just want to see the children that does NOT BELONG TO YOU. So you can't lay a claim on seeing just the children....
I pump and breastfeed and i have always massaged my breast when pumping and breastfeeding and in the beginning I pumped after baby would feed so I can get all the milk out. I got that part covered 😊. It helped me a lot. Great info ❤️
I tried SO hard and did EVERYTHING I possibly could to try breastfeeding and felt SO discouraged. It put me into a very dark place with severe postpartum depression that I couldn't succeed.
Breastfeeding needs to become a non moral subject. You wanted to Breastfeed and you gave it your All, but you had difficulty and needed to stop. End of subject, no guilt, no comments. You are an amazing mother. The decision must become judgment free!
@@theresawilson7386 Thank you :) I mean no ill thoughts toward Alex of course. I am so glad it worked out for her. It was hard for me to not breastfeed but I had to eventually allow myself grace.
@@sheilahill851 I completely got that you meant no ill will. My thoughts are that sometimes women feel the pressure where there should be No pressure. That there is nothing wrong with you because it didn't work out the way you had hoped.
Your body knows better. If it was not for you or if your body would not produce milk, then that's that. Plenty of children live and prosper on formula. No need to guilt trip yourself into depression. Higher class women in Europe used to have other women breast feed their children, because breast feeding was not fashionable. The most important thing is for you and your baby to be happy.
You should not feel shame whatsoever. A fed baby is a happy baby, formula or breast milk. I couldn't produce enough for my babies either. I actually had to take medication to bring in what little I had. I decided, with my doctor to formula feed. My babies all thrived and were doing well, and I was happy they were doing well. You are a good mother....don't let anyone tell you differently!!
I did extended nursing, but my daughter never ate "much" but -- she fed ALL THE TIME, so she effectively breast fed ALL the time during her first year, I am so against formula, but out of frustration I started using formula in my breast milk that I had pumped, she never had a good latch, and where I live, at MOST you get 24 hours in the hospital, no lactation nurces, yes, they "showed you once" but that was hard since I had no milk yet. I had hare late on a Friday night, and my milk came in the following Tuesday... During that time she had no interest what so ever to nurse. I rented a hospital grade pump. of I wasn't nursing, I was pumping..... I now think my baby did have tongue tie.. Honetly, I'd never heard of it...
Whenever I see that you guys have uploaded a new video, I get so happy! I think your family is AMAZING! Your girl's are so ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE and SO STINKING ADORABLE, inside and out! LOVE and PRAYERS ALWAYS from Gainesville Florida❤🙏😊🙏❤
2hrs once your pumping then how many times you will wash your pump and sterlize plzz reply from 1st month i have only low breastmilk for my baby now 4th month atleast i have to increase now by pumping
