Pumping ~ It's Supply and Demand

So I was at Georgia's swim lessons talking to a mom who said she wasn't able to breastfeed her daughter because her daughter was "tongue tied," and I asked her if she pumped and gave her the milk in a bottle. She said NO and that pumping makes your milk supply dry up. I thought that was really interesting and wanted to mention it because that is actually incorrect and am wondering how many people out there think that way. Now with that being said, a pump does not replace the latch that you will get from your baby on the breast, nor does it get all the milk out like your baby can, BUT is a great tool to use if your baby "won't" latch or is tongue tied (which by the way there is a small procedure that can fix this offered by some doctors), OR if you have to be away from your baby for an extended period of time. I know of one mother, who has twins, who pumped until her twins were a year old and never had a problem with supply. Every woman is different and low supply can become an issue, but there are signs to look for that will warn you that your supply is dwindling. You always want to make sure that your baby's nutritional needs are being met either through breastfeeding or "supplementing" no matter what. When I say "supplementing" you probably assume I mean formula, but there are actually donors that pump and will give you their breast milk for your baby....so don't assume that if you are a mom with a low supply, that you HAVE to use formula, because you don't. There are even little kits that can be purchased to put the "supplement" in that allows the baby to latch on to your breast and get the donor milk (or formula) while still getting that one on one mommy time that is so special. The fact is, pumping does not decrease your supply and is a great tool for the working mom BUT if you start supplementing a lot with others milk or formula, this may cause a drop in your supply. Basically, it's a matter of supply and demand......