Breast Pumping Question

Hi,
You may want to try to pump in the middle of the night 0r early morning. That is when I get most of my milk.
Eat lots of oatmeal.

I encountered the same issue last summer when I was nursing my son and working full time. We tried to supplement with one feeding of formula a day but he would not take it. I noticed that I had to drink alot of water (12 glasses a day) in order to increase the amount of milk I was able to pump in each session. I also had to increase my pumping to three days at work (temporarily). The more demand the more you will produce.

I also worked outside the home, pumped, and successfully breastfed my son (beginning to wean him now at 13 months). My suggestions are: keep pumping! Pumping will increase your supply. After you nurse him at night, pump again before you go to bed. Also, try re-starting your pump cycle to get a second let-down and get more milk when pumping at work (the pump is fast at first to get milk flow started then switches to slower pumping at let-down, when your flow stops, press the button to do the fast pumping again to start the cycle again and you will get a second let-down).

Also, nurse right before leaving at daycare and immediately upon pick up. Then your baby won't need as much milk while at daycare, and it is a great way to reconnect after being apart.

At 9 months, your baby is probably eating solids as well. Maybe increase the amount of solids while at daycare to decrease tbe amount of bottle needed?

Just thoughts. Keep it up and hang in there!

I ran into the same problem when I returned to school. I felt like a total failure and a very selfish Mom. I found that I could still pump @ work and mix it with her formula during the day and still breastfeed @ night and on the weekends. I did this cause I wanted her to have the best of both world but I also realized that my Daughter will never starve and My need for that closeness does need to be limited.
I did this until my supply of milk diminished and she was able to use a sippy cup. Around 10 months.
So be confident and know that you have given her the most personalized gift one can give a child. She will still grow and learn on her own and you will always be there for her.
I say this cause after months of guilt I did realize it.

I was the same way, but just couldn't keep up. I ended up mixing formula and breastmilk. Don't know if that is suggested by the professionals, but you might want to start that way so that she will even take the formula. I don't think she will quit nursing if she is taking the bottles at daycare she still wants that mommy time with you later. Good luck!

If you are also breastfeeding her while you are at home and she is getting that 6 or so ounces at daycare she is getting plenty of breastmilk. You could also offer water at snack time and meals.

I highly doubt she would drink formula at this stage of the game. It stinks, tastes gross, and is NOTHING like your milk.

Your doing great! Keep up on the pumping and she is doing fine!

J.,

Contact La Leche League www.llli.org for the group in your area. Call the leaders and talk to them. They may suggest pumping an extra session at work.

L. M

Hi J.,
I am in pretty much the exact same situation. I also have a nine month old who is in daycare two days a week. When I pump at work I get about 3 ounces, which is not enough. She takes about 4.5 ounces in her bottles at daycare. What I have been doing for the past few months is putting 3 ounces of breastmilk mixed with 1.5 ounces of formula (We use the Similac Alimentum ready made kind) in each bottle to bring to the daycare. Her pediatrician suggested this and she does fine with it. When she is home, I still nurse and she has had no problem. I don't think you are going to find that she prefers the formula over nursing! I was stressed out about it at first and tried to pump as much as I could on the weekends and at night, but it was making me more stressed out. And I tried all sorts of things to increase my production, but I didn't see any huge changes. This solution is working well for us and she definitely has not lost interest in nursing. I also hope to continue until one year. Good luck!

I don't think I can say much more than what the others have mentioned, but I'll add my story. I was in the same boat with my daughter when my milk supply had started to plateau at 9 months (and, eventually, decreased altogether at 12 months). Whenever I felt that I was behind in milk production, I would add in an extra pumping session during the day (either in the morning, or an extra one during work). Eventually, right around a year, she completely outpaced me so we transitioned her directly to whole milk. My daughter never took to formula (it made her gag), but did prefer the ease of drinking from a bottle rather than breastfeeding. If your daughter enjoys breastfeeding still, I wouldn't worry so much about her preference of formula over breastmilk; the milk is so much sweeter/better tasting for them than any formula.

I worked full-time, too, and nursed our son for a year. Keep it up! : )

If it were me, I would add another pumping time or two. I pumped at morning break, lunchtime, afternoon break, and sometimes before I went to bed. And I nursed in the morning, after work, once or twice in the evening, and overnight whenever our son woke up. It seemed to keep my milk flowing well. Also, make sure you're drinking enough fluids, getting enough sleep (easier said than done, right? : P), and finding a relaxing setting for pumping and/or nursing.

The suckling of your child is the strongest way to keep up your milk, so any time you are physically with her, go for the nursing. (You're probably already doing that.)

When pumping, are you able to relax? I knew I was in a room where I wouldn't be interrupted. That certainly helps. I also wrote a small manual during my pumping times and it actually helped keep my mind off the pumping. I also had a favorite picture of our son on the inside cover of my pump bag. Whatever works!

People have given a bunch of good suggestions below. Best of luck!

Hi-I breast fed my second child up to 1 year old and I worked full time also. It was a lot of work but worth it. In order to get enough milk I had to sacrifice getting enough sleep myself...it was the only way I was able to get enough. I also had to drink tons of water...more than I thought I needed to keep the milk supply up. I would pump shortly before I went to bed. I would get up during the night to pump again...maybe around 1 am. I would then get back up at 5 am to pump. He would get up at around 6:30...I would have enough milk back in to feed him then. I would pump 2 times during my work day. If I felt like my milk supply was going down I would have to squeeze in an extra pumping time to get it going more. Good Luck!

Hi J.,

Congrats on keeping up the breastfeeding while working. I know it is tough to pump during the work day. Try not to stress too much about the possibility of supplementing with formula. My experience is the more I worried about my supply, the less I produced. Just try to do the best you can. Here are a few things I tried to keep up supply until my daughter hit the 1 year mark.

1) Pump after feeding if at all possible. For me, I was able to feed my daughter in the a.m. and then pump right after. Although you might only get 1/2 ounce at first, you should be stimulating your body to produce more milk.

2) On the days your daughter is with you, pump in addition to feeding her. This way your body would be producing more than your daughter needs on a daily basis.

3) And as others have mentioned below, drink plenty of water!

Good luck!

I was in a similar situation with my son (he'll be 7 months on Sunday). I also work full time and was pumping at work and leaving stored breast milk for him with my sitter. Trouble is as he got bigger he wanted more than I was able to pump and the more I stressed about it the less I was able to get out. Like you I plan on breastfeeding until my baby is at least 1 but I worried so much about the sitter not having enough milk. I ended up introducing formula in addition to my breastmilk and it has been wonderful! I no longer have to worry about how much milk is in the freezer. I get to relax on my lunch breaks instead of locking myself away to pump. And the best part is he still loves to nurse so I get my cuddle nursing time with him everyday. I know how hard this decision will be for you and I know you will do what you feel is in the best interest of your family, but for me, losing the pump did NOT mean giving up breastfeeding.

Good luck!

I had that same problem when I was working full time and pumping. The pumps just can't get as much as the baby would if they were nursing! The only thing that worked for me was pumping more often. I was able to increase my pumping sessions at work to 3x/day and I would pump right before I went to bed and even wake in the middle of the night (my daughter was sleeping through the night so didn't wake up to nurse) and pump again to increase my production. I found the middle of the night pumpings were very effective, and after a while, found I was making more milk during the week that what she needed at daycare. However, if you do need to supplement a little with formula, try mixing it with the breastmilk so it won't be as obvious to her. I had to supplement for a while too but I never had a problem getting her to nurse when I could nurse her. Good Luck!

I'm a full time working mom too and I found pumping 3 times at work worked for me (I pumped the same time my son got his bottles at day care - 9, 12 and 3) until he was 13 months. I found lots of water, oatmeal and tons of protein helped my body make enough milk. Adding a pumping session whenever you feel like you produce the most milk (most moms say early morning or middle of the night I think) should help increase your supply due to "demand". Don't worry about her not wanting to breastfeed, she associates that with you now. It's part of her mommy time. Good luck!

Hi J. - Good for you!! It's not easy, I know... I breast fed both of mine (still am with my 15 mos old) while working full time. I agree with everyone else that you should probably add another pumping session, my suggestion would be do it first thing in the morning, or within the first hour or so of getting to work. Breast feeding is, as you probably know, supply & demand, so while this isn't as good as the real thing, it will help trick your body into producing more. Next, I would start taking Fenugreek, I think it's like 2 capsules, 2-3x/day. Also, do increase your water/fluid intake, and include in there Mother's Milk tea (sip one at least 1-2 cups a day). The oatmeal is another great suggestion to help boost milk production. I would not recommend interrupting your sleep to pump if possible. Sleep is way too important, especially with a little one, and you need that rest to help enable the milk production.

Honestly, my feeling is if you stick with it, you can do it. Neither of my kids ever had/needed formula, in spite of lulls in my production at times (especially around the 8-9 mos mark like you). Also, you may already do this, but giving your baby unrstricted breast access when not working is very helpful too.

Good luck! J.

Hi J.,
I have a 4.5 month old little girl, and when I went back to work a month and a half ago, I spoke with a lactation consultant who advised me to pump every two hours (both sides) at work. It is certainly a nuisance, but it helped get my supply up. When I do the last pump at work, I only pump one side so that I have plenty of milk for the last 2 feedings of the day. I pump the side I feed her on right before bed. Hope that helps.
Best,
- L.