First off, congratulations on your new baby!! And ditto everything said above me by the previous poster.

The absolute best way to increase supply is to nurse nurse nurse. Remember that breastmilk works on supply/demand, so if you do need to supplement, be sure you are nursing first, and then pumping while baby is having either breastmilk or formula from a bottle. If you replace a feeding with a bottle, you aren't signaling your body to make milk at that time.

Do you feel stressed at all while nursing because you feel like he isn't getting enough? What signs does he give you? My son was extremely fussy at the breast, popping on and off constantly, and acting frustrated. It had absolutely nothing to do with the amount of milk I had - it had to do with his anatomy (tongue tie) and his inability to efficiently remove milk from the breast. This is something I needed a lactation consultant to help with. And you can't guage how much he's getting based off what you are pumping because looking at your sweet baby while nursing is polar opposite emotionally to a pump going whomp whomp whomppppp and sucking your nipples down plastic tubes.

Additionally, make sure you are eating enough calories and getting plenty of water. Others swear by oatmeal (old fashioned, not quick oats), lactation cookies with brewers yeast and flaxseed meal, gatorade, etc. My LC suggested I take Gaia Lactate Support (I got mine from amazon) because it contains fenugreek, marshamallow root, and a few other herbs to help increase breastmilk production.

Also, if you had clogged ducts, you would definitely know. It's very painful and hot and you can feel knots where it's clogged.

If you don't have a LC and have trouble finding one, PM me. Mine is wonderful and said she didn't mind answering questions on the phone from friends if they need help. It doesn't replace seeing someone in person, but it's better than nothing if you need some advice.

You are doing GREAT! It can be so overwhelming at first, but I can tell you looking back that it was 100% worth it. We're still nursing at almost 15 months and it's been tough at times, but it's SO worth it and you CAN and WILL make it past your obstacles!

I'll second (or third) most, if not all, of what's been said, but to reiterate about the pump...

It's absolutely true that a baby is more efficient at extracting milk than the pump is. But aside from that, sometimes the pump either isn't fitting right or set right, and/or your body might just be like, "Pump? Nope, sorry. Not gonna happen."

I had supply issues with my first and nursed, pumped, and supplemented for three months before giving up, so I got to know pumps pretty well. I used my sister's Medela Pump-in-Style, then I rented a Medela Symphony from the hospital LC (plus bought bigger breast shields), then I bought my own Avent pump, which I also used this time with baby #2.

The Pump-in-Style had barely been used before I used it, but it was terrible (for me) compared to the hospital-grade Medela, which was as good as the Avent personal use one. Pumps are such a personal thing that it's tough to go by what someone else says about them, short of mechanical difficulties with the pump itself.

Anyway, it took some trial and error to find a pump that my body liked, and I used the same one this time around, initially with success. I was never a big pumper to start with, so honestly my pump has had very little use, but out of the blue I could hardly get anything unless I was squeezing milk out while pumping. That's tough to do! I'd barely get anything until I squeezed, and my boobs were full. I probably could have done just as well by manually expressing. The pump felt the same and seemed to be working just fine, so I'm pretty sure it was just me.

Point being, for no good reason my body just decided it didn't like the pump. Pumping wasn't necessary for me, so it wasn't worth it to try a different pump (especially because those cost $$$), so I don't really know if a different pump would have done the trick. So for you it could be that you and your pump aren't a good match, or it could be that your body isn't a fan of pumping.

Personally I would try manually expressing to see if that works for you (less clean-up!). If you're really feeling that full, you'd be surprised at how much you get.

Otherwise I'm guessing you have more than enough milk for your baby. With my first I definitely didn't have that "full boobs" feeling after the first week, but this time I EBFed and definitely had that full feeling at 3 weeks.

Edited for clarity

Thank you ladies for your advice. I'm going to buy a nipple shield today to help get him back on the breast. He latches just fine, just ever since he got frustrated in the hospital of not getting enough bc it hadn't fully come in yet, he just doesnt care to go to it. I believe he can get enough now bc ifnInsqueeze, plenty comes out and when I see his mouth afterwards, there's plenty of milk (imo). Again, thank you!!

no no no dont get a shield!! you'll ust shoot yourself in the foot! just work with him. jiggle him, jostle him, express or pump a little bit before you put him on so the milk is already flowing, but a shield will just decrease the amount of stimulation the breast will recieve, and lower your milk supply and actually makes it harder to get him full on the breast later.

check this out:
http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8:breast-compression&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

Hi! First, "NOOOOOO NOOOO NOOOO nipple shield." Trust.

I don't mean to shout at you, but like a previous poster said, you will be shooting yourself in the foot.

Also, I wanted to let you know that I also had an emergency C-section and had to go back to the hospital afterwards because of complications from delivery. All-in-all, I spent over a week separated from my newborn son, and it seriously messed up his nursing.

By the time he was 6 weeks old, I was convinced I was either going to have to pump or use formula. Then I talked to a friend of mine who had a great breastfeeding relationship with her daughter. She told me she consulted 3 lactation consultants and that it was the third one who finally helped her.

Well, I called the third one. The day she came to my house, within maybe 10 minutes, she had fixed everything!!

I cannot stress to you enough that if you want to breastfeed, a lactation consultant can be your very best friend. If none of your friends have a recommendation, call the hospital where you gave birth or your pediatrician. They should have someone to recommend. Another way to go is to see if there is a La Leche League meet-up near you.

Finally, if you don't find the help you need with the first person you consult. Don't give up! Give it at least a couple of tries.

I know I was so frustrated when my son was just a few weeks old. I cried about it all the time, and so often wanted to say, "I GIVE UP!" But I am really so glad that I did not.

It does get better. And it will get better for you.

One more thing: I would super-recommend not pumping right now. And avoid doing scheduled feedings, which is something my son's baby-nurse told me to do, but I think contributed to messing him up when it came to nursing. The Lactation Consultant who helped me basically said to nurse constantly when you are trying to get breastfeeding to work in the beginning. I mean, crack that boob out ALL. THE. TIME. LC came to my house on a Friday, and I basically remember just nursing straight through that weekend, basically taking breaks to go to the bathroom and eat. The key is that your son should not get used to the bottle, but expect all comfort/nourishment to come from you. You can definitely scale back soon (like no more than a week of the constant nursing), but I really do believe this helped me. Just crack out your iPad, smartphone, or Kindle, and prepare to do a lot of reading/catching up on social media while your little one nurses. Or you could even watch TV. At that age, your baby shouldn't be distracted by it. (I had a friend who went to the movies with her daughter and just watched movies all day while nursing her there. Lol. I was too scared to try it when my son was so small, but now I sort of wish I had!)

Oh, and one more "one more thing": if you do give your son a bottle, make sure you are using the slowest flow nipple possible. If they get used to getting it really easy from the bottle, then they don't want to work as hard to get it from you.