How to Triple Feed Like a Low Milk Supply Boss

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Triple feeding is a really exhausting and daunting process if done the correct way, and it’s even harder if it’s done in a way that takes more time and takes more energy from you.

Triple feeding is when you do a three-step process and it is breastfeeding, supplementing, and then pumping. This is done to try and stimulate the breasts to increase their production and to try and signal the body to make more milk.

This is a process that not everybody in the low milk supply space is a fan of but I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s hard, don’t get me wrong, but it is a tool that does work in the right circumstances.

When can I expect results?

Triple feeding isn’t supposed to be the game plan forever. This is supposed to be something that we use to see if we can up your production, and each time you are doing it, you need to evaluate periodically whether this is something you should continue to do.

When triple feeding, it is expected that it will show results in about three to five days, but it can take up to a week for some people. If you are doing this and it’s been a week and it hasn’t had any difference in your milk output, then there’s actually something else causing your supply to not increase. There’s something else inhibiting your lactation production.

It’s important to note that if at any point you add something into your regimen that’s supposed to help boost your supply, such as a new supplement or a new medication, you would want to try triple feeding again to see if this new addition will work for you and your body.

How long to triple feed for

When I was a triple feeding, I did it for four months. First of all, four months is way too long for anyone. My first tip is you want to make sure that you’re really doing this within the first 12 weeks postpartum. Beyond that is pointless.

If you did it in the first 12 weeks and you didn’t see results, you’re not likely to see it after that 12-week mark because your supply will have regulated. Regulation occurs between six to 12 weeks postpartum and after that point it becomes much harder to increase your supply.

It’s not impossible, but I say triple feeding becomes pointless because you’re putting undue stress on yourself with a likelihood of little to no return. It’s obviously proven not to work so far, so to keep up that regimen is not necessary and exhausting.

Cap the time it takes

My next tip is make sure that it’s only taking you 40 minutes total. This was a life-saver when I learned this from my fourth lactation consultant. It was taking me about two hours to do originally because I was moving way too slow.

A two hour process plus add in the time to put your baby down for a nap, wash the pump parts, try to grab a bite of food. By the time that’s all done, you’re ready to feed again. You’ll fatigue from doing this if it takes you two hours for every feed every day. You also can achieve the same results even when you cut it down to 40 minutes.

So here’s how you make that 40 minutes: feed your baby on one breast for 10 minutes, feed your baby on the other breast 10 minutes, supplement for 10 minutes, and then do a 10 minute pumping session.

The kicker for me was I was spending more than 10 minutes pumping and you don’t need to do that. I was wanting to make sure my breasts were really “emptied.” But if you add it up, you already had 20 minutes of stimulation from breastfeeding and then you already thoroughly removed milk for another 10 minutes. Thirty minutes total is plenty and you’re going to repeat this whole process again in an hour or two.

In other words, it’s not something that you need to drag out. If the milk is there, it will come out with the pump. It’s something you don’t need to be doing for an extra 25 minutes just to see if you can make more milk, because the amount of milk will be nominal (we’re talking maybe drops). Your breasts will be pretty emptied after what you’ve already gone through.

Set up your station but make it mobile

If you know you’re going to be in your living room for your feedings check where you can set up a spot with your pump and all the parts ready to go. This can save you a lot of time if you’re setting this up every feed, so have a station.

I also recommend if you have stairs to use a little caddy to put all of your supplies in. A laundry basket works perfect, too. This way you can transport all of the supplies and pieces, including the supplement that your providing, bottles, the pump parts, the pump itself, and if you have a hands-free pumping bra. Set it up and you’re good to go!

Kill two birds with one stone

The other thing I wanted to say that you could do for some is that you could try propping up your baby for their feeding so you can pump simultaneously. You can get a boppy pillow and have your little one propped up on a table right in front of you. The pump would be next to you and in your hands-free pumping bra (this one is my favorite), they’re in their pillow and propped up, and while your pump is running you can feed the bottle at the same time.

This cuts out 10 minutes if you’re doing the supplementing and the pumping at the same time. You can also use a bouncer or anything where they’re seated at an incline and make sure they’re supervised. Now you are able to manage the bottle of feeding while you are having the pump do the thing!

Shuffle the steps

The last tip is I wanted to share is while the whole process is about 40 minutes, nobody said it had to be in order. I will say pumping at the very end, it’s probably best practice. However, you could switch up the breastfeeding and supplementing. This is only the case if you already know how much you need to supplement.

That would work really well for me for the middle of the night feeds. I would provide the supplement first because it gave baby instant gratification since he would wake hungry. He got his bottle quickly since I was able to make it pretty fast. Which left a calmer and satiated baby ready to breastfeed with ease. I also did this because it would allow him to fall asleep at the breast full and content. This did two things: affirmed positive associations with the breast and made for an easy sleep transfer so I could go pump.

Otherwise you are having your baby breastfeed and then you’re juggling a bottle. That’s a lot more jostling and moving around. We want to make it easier for your baby to go back to bed so you can pump and then get some sleep yourself.

During the daytime, you have the ability to have more flexibility in how you go about the order because you’re awake.

Triple feeding is meant to be a tool

I really want to stress that this is a tool. This is not something that should be done forever and this is not sustainable by any means. I want to stress this because I got sucked into this need to triple feed in desperate hope that my supply would change. It felt like I couldn’t break from it; I couldn’t stop. Quitting triple feeding (in my head) meant that I was giving up on the months and months of effort I had put in. And giving up on the small bit of hope I was holding onto that it would still change.

I needed permission in order to stop triple feeding. If you need permission to stop too, then here it is: by all means, feel free to ditch the triple feed. You can stop when you are ready or when you think that you’ve been able to assess if this is really helping you or not. Because that is the point of it.

Keep in mind you can triple feed all day long and you won’t see results if you still have an underlying root cause inhibiting your production. If you haven’t figure out yours yet, check out my free PDF guide here for the top reasons why low milk supply happens. Once you’ve identified yours, you can then take the right steps in trying to increase your supply.

So if you are doing this right now, more power to you and you are so strong! There are some alternatives to triple meeting that are just as effective. They also may save you some time or make it an easier process. Stay tuned on those in a future video!