Maintaining Supply While at Work

I just started back to work FT with my 6 mo old and my pumping supply has been a little low as well. I only pump 2 x/day and try to get 12 oz. So I increased my water and food intake and took Fenegreek for a few days. My supply is back up. I think maybe I wasn't drinking enough water. Good Luck.

Fenugreek helped me when I was in the same position. It's an herb you can get at a health food store. Or there is a tea, Mothers Milk, that combines Fenugreek and other herbs that help increase supply.

I found that I had to pump one more time each day then my son ate. Often times I would pump after he nursed in the morning before going to work.

Being stressed out about milk supply will hurt your supply. Have faith in yourself and relax.

www.kellymom.com is a great source for pumping and nursing.

I also had a similar experience when returning to work. Are you sure you are drinking enough water? I find if I don't I can really tell a difference in my supply and it is easy to forget to drink as much at work. Hope this helps!
K.

I had a similar experience when I first went back to work while nursing. I found that consciously relaxing myself helped a great deal, when you are stressed it really affects how the pumping works-out for some reason. Closing my eyes and recalling the sound of my daughter's first sounds in the delivery room would work for me, you've got to figure out the "trigger" for you personally though. Also I found that I was not drinking enough fluids in the course of my work day- if possible always have a bottled water handy. I remember how incredibly insane I got with worry when there were only the next day's bags of milk available-just know you will get a day off and will have time to replenish the "supply" in the freezer...I hope all goes well and maybe I helped a little- I know the drink lots of fluids & RELAX advice sounds redundant, but it really is what helps most.....

J., congrats on your decision to keep breastfeeding. I went back to work when my second daughter was only six weeks old and continued to breastfeed her only till she was 9 mos old. You can do it. One thing that I found that helped, was I would get up about an hour before her in the mornings and pump. There was always a load of milk in the AM..I could easily get about 8-12oz just from that pumping and usually there was still enough milk then when she got up an hour later she coud feed with no problems. While at work make sure you drink plenty of fuids, mostly water....stay away from the soda. I also continued taking my pre-natal vitamins until I stopped breastfeeding. I would always notice a difference in my milk supply if I missed a day...they actually do help you. Keep taking them. Make sure you have a pump that works well for you. I purchased a double pump and kept a picture of my daughter handy so when I was pumping I could think about her sweet little face and not stress about how much milk was coming out. The let down came much easier that way. One more thing, make sure you have a good bra. If your bra has poor support it can actually affect your milk supply. I used nursing bras from motherhood maternity and they were very comfortable, I actually didn't want to give them up when I was done breastfeeding. Hope all of this helps. Don't stress and if you have any other questions feel free to e-mail me directly. I know what you are going through...I actually miss it...it was one of the greatest joys in my life to know I was able to do it for as long as I did and my daughter(she is now 2 1/2) and I share a very special bond now because of it.

There is an herb that may help you. I honestly can't remember the name but if you go to the health foods store, they will surely know. It also comes in the form of a tea which with enough honey is actually pretty good and nice and warm on a day like today. Drink as much water as you can stand. Above all, try not to stress. I had a similar problem when I first started pumping at work, but we were able to get through it. Your body will adjust to the change. And I'll bet you that the baby isn't taking as much milk during the day as he was when you were home so he'll make it up when you are. If you need more suggestions, try Babycenter.com. I found that the information they have is mostly good and backed up by medical fact. They also have a good mix of home remedies and medicinal remedies.

You're doing fine. It's just that your body is used to making milk for only him now, not a pump too. If you pump at the same time every day, your body will learn to make milk for those times. Sometimes it just takes a little time. You can drink Mother's Milk tea to help build up that supply more quickly.

J.
Thanks so much for bringing this up!! I am having the same problem and its great to get this feedback from everyone. I have a 7wk old and am returning to work next week. He is eating much more than he ever has and I pump every 3-4 hrs and even throughout the night!! Thanks ladies for the great advice!

Hi J.,

My son was eating 4 1/2 oz per feeding and I couldn't keep up with that so I asked his sitter to try and feed him 4 oz a little slower and it worked. I can keep up with 3 4 ounce feedings and he's fed slower so he feels full and only needs 4 oz per feeding.

Granted everyone is different but that worked for me. I pump in the morning and then three times at work. I have just enough for his day. I also get myself a little ahead during the weekend.

I hope this helps. Best of luck.

Hello - May be helpful if you review the request and responses posted on 01/02/07! Good luck and kudos for sticking to it! It's a big sacrifice to keep at nursing however so rewarding!

Increased frequency usually helps more than anything else. You might find it helpful to join a group for working breastfeeding moms, like this one http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bfworkingmoms/

J.--
First of all, good for you! Itis definitely harder pumping when returning to work.
What seemed to work for me was taking Fenugreek caplets (helth food stores) and drinking Mother's Milk tea (also health food stores). I think if I recall, curry is also supposed to help supply, but it's been 4 years now so mymemory is rusty!

With my first daughter, I did have them keep a sleeve of formula (powder) on hand for that last bottle of the day if need be. The rarely used it, and were super great about trying to get my daughter to hold off until I arrived and then I would bf her before driving home. You might want to try pumping late at night too to get just a few ounces extra that you've missed gathering during the day.
I pumped 3 times a day at work, and usually got 2-3 ounces at a time...though there were days I'd get four each sitting!

good luck!

J.