My boy Is almost five months and he Has been B feeding since birth, perfect latch and everything, The problem is, there is enough milk for him to eat from me, But when i pump to go to work i never get a full feeding for while i am at work. I used to get more then enough and enough to freeze too, but now I resorting to have feed him, then pump the rest to work for a few hours pump at work Bring the bottle home on my 15 min break and then return to work, then when i get off work, i rush home to feed him. Good thing i have a flexible work and i live so close to work, But its very stressful and i know stress will lower your milk, I even took three days off just to feed him from me, and pump when he was napping to help boost milk, but no anvil. I have Mothers milk tea, and I eat really health. I dk what to do to help, I love B feeding and will be upset to have to switch..
Because he's 5 months old anyway, I'd probably just start introducing solid food/rice cereal into his diet to make up for what you're not able to get pumping. I think if I had to pick between that and formula or getting up at 2 am to pump, I'd probably do that.
Good luck!
I would contact a lactaction consultant immediately. I used the Mother's Milk tea and love it, but there are better and stronger galactalogues out there to help you.
I don't know how much you are pumping....I pump after morning feeding, during work when they would normally nurse and at night when everyone is in bed. So I am pumping twice after feedings and not just when they would feed, does that make sense.
There are some great consultants out there. Check www.kellymom.com for some awesome and free insight!
good luck!
The tea will not help much unless you drink gallons of it. Fenugreek is an herbal supplement that will help, but you had the right idea to take some time off and feed him directly. What would be better is if you napped with him and let him nurse anytime he seems interested while he is napping. The skin on skin contact and just him being close to you will help stimulate production too. I think most Moms have trouble about this age, I know I did off and on when I was working full time, but with some extra rest, extra nursing/pumping, lots of water and fenugreek, we got past it. I just had to use up some of my freezer supply while my supply was low.
Here is info on fenugreek. You really have to take alot of it....to the point where your sweat is smelling of maple syrup....before it starts being effective.
http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html
Don't worry too much, you can get past this and it doesn't mean you have to stop. In the worst case scenario you will have to supplement what you pump with some formula but that doesn't mean you can't continue to nurse when you are with him or that you should stop pumping. I was able to pump up until 14 months even though I had several time frames where my milk supply got low. You just have to be determined and do everything you can to get your supply up!
Just because you are not pumping out a lot, doesn't mean you are not PRODUCING enough. Pumping is just not the same as a baby's sucking action. Nurse as much as you can when you are home and I would contact a lactation consultant to help you. They will be able to evaluate your individual situation and develop the best plan for you and your baby. Just having that plan will greatly reduce your stress. It will be so worth it financially in what you save in buying supplements that aren't nearly as good as your own milk.
I'm not sure what your night time feeding schedule is like, but you might try pumping in the middle of the night just to get a couple ounces in a bottle for the next day. I know that sounds really hard to do, especially if you are lucky enough to have him sleeping through the night already!! Or you could add an extra pumping while you are at work. Even if you only get a couple ounces, it will stimulate your body to produce more milk. If your supply comes back up, you can't drop the extra pumping or it will go back down again. Good luck!!
Well it's no doubt that pumping is causing some problems. Even though pumping can help to keep your supply it just doesn't stimulate your breast the same way as when your baby is feeding, nor does it get as much milk out as your baby does too. It sounds to me like you are doing all you can to keep your supply up. I think you are great for making such an effort to BF your baby. I BF mine but I'm a SAHM so it was totally easy. My advise would be to make sure your diet includes lot and lots of protein. That helps your supply stay strong and if your baby is gaining weight, had plenty of wet and pooping diapers and is content. Then he is fine and you are still making enough. Even if you don't seem to pump out as much. When he nurses he is getting more out than you do when you pump. But if he is having problems and you know he is not getting enough then that still doesn't mean you have to give up nursing....you just might need to also give him some bottles of formula along with nursing.
Don't forget the water! Make sure you are constantly keeping yourself hydrated. Even if you feel like you are drowning drink the water & no caffiene! I'm sure you know this just a bit of a reminder.
I was drying up due to stress. My daughters ped gave me a list of things to try that were all natural (certain foods, certain amounts of water, fenugreek etc.) Eventually I told my OBGYN about it, and he prescribed me a pill to help milk production. I am soo sorry I can't remember the name, but maybe consult your DR. about your concern. Good luck! =)
You don't have to switch completely. I ended up supplementing with formula and my babies would just get whatever breastmilk from pumping and then BF at home and all day on weekends. With 2 kids, it was too tiring for me to try and pump every 2 hrs between feedings & middle of the night. If you have another, you might try starting to pump a couple of weeks after giving birth to build up a supply of frozen milk. I was able to last 9 months before having to supplement with formula. Now my baby is a year and he is just nursing at morning & bedtime and I am starting milk for the daytime. If you are really wanting to BF only, you might also consider renting a hospital grade pump.
