My baby is 11 weeks old and I have been exclusively pumping for 8 weeks, due to a forced formula trial and her refusal to latch now because of hypotonia.
I have been pumping 8-10 times a day for approximately 20 mins each time and currently pump between 1100-1200 ML per day. My baby is only eating about 750 ML per day and only takes a bottle 7 times a day.
I am beyond exhausted at this point and ready to get more sleep. I am only getting a few hours a night total between feeding her for 30-45 min (it takes that long for her to drink a bottle), getting her back to sleep, pumping, putting everything away, etc.
The past couple of days I have been so tired that I have went up to 5 hours without pumping at night. I am terrified of losing my supply, especially, because My baby has to have breast milk because she cannot tolerate any formula. She cannot have even hypoallergenic kinds. I have still been able to produce the same amount having pumped only 7 times a day in the past few days, but is that sustainable or will it drop? I am also hoping to go back to breastfeeding at some point when she gains better muscle control. So, I want to be able to constantly produce and not have my body too scheduled, if that makes sense. I have read that some women can go down to only 4 pumping sessions per day, but is that realistic? This is my 3rd child, but my first time having to pump and bottle feed. So, this is all new to me.