Working While Breastfeeding

You have had lots of great advice, let me see if I can put it all in one for you. This is the advice I give many of my moms when they have this problem.
Remember to drink plenty of fluids, especially during and after nursing or pumping.
Empty your breasts by nursing on one side and pumping the other (many moms report a great increase in pumped milk just by doing it during nursing because the let down is better for some, but you really need a hands free bra or device to make it doable) before you head out to work, then pump every 3 hours on both sides while at work.
Try taping your baby crying when hungry and play that before pumping.
Take a baby holiday on weekends and feed as long and as often as baby would like without supplements.
Make sure your diet is including enough protein (65 grams daily) or supplement with a protein shake at bedtime to help you make milk.
last of all you can take Fenugreek, Mothers lactation tonic or Reglan (with a prescription) to increase your milk supply.
I hope this is helpful.
K. Willis RN, IBCLC (lactation consultant) @ the Nestingplace

I suggest taking Lactate Support to help you produce more milk. It is expense but well worth it if you want to continue to give breast milk. It is sold at Whole Foods and cost around $20 something dollars. You will take three capsule a day.

Good Luck.

M.

lots and lots (and lots) of water....watch pics of him while you are at your desk, and of course while pumping. There are also some herbal teas(caffeine free) called "Mothers Milk" that help with lactation.

Hope this helps.
V.

Hi M., go to the health foood store & ask for Marshmellow. They should be in capsule form but this will help you produce more milk. Good luck & don't give uup just yet try it for several weeks.

M.,

Night nurse him. I know this may not sound appealing, but if you sleep close to baby and do not encourage him to sleep through the night, he can get lots of nutrition at night, and help keep up your milk supply. I used a cosleeper (sidecar type crib) until my daughter was pulling up, then I put her in bed with me, with a safety guard that clamped down ON TOP OF THE BED so she could not get caughter in between the mattress and the guard. She hated her own room anyway, and this arrangement actually gave me MORE sleep. It's so east - you quickly nurse, don't get out of bed, don't turn the lights on, and go back to sleep. Much less disruptive than modern methods of nighttime parenting. I did not believe in "Ferberizing" or using cry-it-out. It was more important to me to stay bonded, keep nursing, and get more sleep in the process. You might also ask his caretaker to give him one less feeding during the day, stretching the feedings out more, to encourage him to get more nutrition in evening and nighttime hours. Make sure he is really really hungry when you pick him up and when he is with you. Some caretakers may be reluctant to do this since they may care more about keeping baby quiet with food than about your milk supply. Make sure you have cooperation on that end.

There is a lot of misinformation about the safety of cosleeping. It is an age-old practice. Go to www.motheringmagazine.com for a more balanced view of the issue, including pros and cons. It's a great way to keep strong bonds with baby when you return to work.

When I went back to work, I found pumping did not stimulate milk production like my daughter did. She, of course, preferred me and naturally started shifting us to a night nursing schedule. When I stopped judging, criticizing and becoming frustrated with this, I began to see the method to her madness and understood why she was doing that. We both grew to enjoy the nighttime closeness. My husband enjoyed having her close as well. We were closer as a family unit.

You have received many other great comments about hydration, stess reduction, sleep, fenugreek, supplements, good nutrition, etc.

Good luck!

I had the same problem when I went back to work. (I was only off for 6 weeks) The Breastfeeding Support Center at the hospital where I delivered suggested fenugreek and more milk plus. I found the more milk plus at Central Market for less than $20 and I used it for about 4 weeks. It seemed to help increase my supply faster as my son's needs increased. This is their website, http://www.motherlove.com/. In addition, I started giving him bottles for the sitter that were 1/4 formula and 3/4 breastmilk. While he was at home he got 100% breastmilk. I used a Medela Pump in Style. I did gradually stop the amount I was pumping because it left me completely exhausted though. If you still have trouble just remember that any amount your son gets is good for him.

Are you pumping at work? If you're going to keep up your supply (since it's a supply and demand system), you'll have to pump at work at least a couple of times a day, in order to keep your production up. If you're already doing this, are not producing enough milk, and want to consider an alternative, here's what I did. I gave all 3 of my kids (now grown, all healthy, all in GT programs) a mixture of breast milk (whatever I was able to produce daily from pumping at work), and supplemented with soy-based formula and Meyenberg goat milk (available at gro. stores in concentrated form) in equal amounts up to the amount of milk your baby needs. It worked for me, and I'm so glad I followed the nutritionist's advice who gave it to me!
L.

When my milk started to slow down, my Gyn perscribed me Reglan (i think thats how you spell it) it worked as long as I was taking it. A friend also took something herbal which made her urine smell like maple syrup. The easiest and first thing I would recommend is double your water intake and pump when you cant breast feed. You also might want to talk with a lactation consultant.

M.,
I just quit nursing my twins a few months back when they were 11 months old. I was only able to nurse my 1st daughter until she was 8 months, but I wasn't taking anything to increase my milk supply. For me, Fenugreek seed worked like a charm! You can get it over the counter at any grocery/drug store and it's not really expensive. You want to take enough of them so that your urine smells like maple syrup (sounds funny, but it's true). It may not work for everyone, but it made all the difference to me in being able to nurse my twins for a full year.

Best of luck!
K.

The more you pump or breastfeed the more you will produce. You may have to pump every two hours while at work. I know that is sometimes impossible but if you want to be able to produce you almost have to. If that does not work don't be too discouraged because you body may just stop producing. It really happens. I went through this with my daughter about 6 years ago. It was so important to me to breastfeed and I did it as long as I could. I would pump as often as possible at work and go see her at lunch to actually breastfeed. It was wonderful until I started to dry up. I think it just sometimes happens. It was very hard emotionaly for me to quit but I had no choice. GOOD LUCK!

There is an herb that you can purchase at Whole Foods, found in the women's health section. I can't remember the name of it, but it helped me. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of water. If you just returned to work you will experience this because of the added stress to your body, but as your body gets used to be back to work, it will adapt. At least mine did. I pumped for about 10 months after I went back to work. It just takes a lot of discipline.
Good luck :)
Jen D.-Frisco

Hi M.! I went back to work at 5 weeks post-partum and am currently weaning my one year old from breastfeeding so HANG IN THERE! My only advice is pump more at work (I was told when the baby should be eating then you should be pumping). I was able to go to the daycare over my lunch hour and nurse and I still pumped 3-4 times through the work day to keep up my production. I had the Medela double breast pump so it cut down on time. It did begin to be a pain (time wise) pumping but I was like you and wanted my son to get all the nutrition from breast milk. I did have a friend who would just substitute formula for one feeding b/c she didn't have time to pump 4 times a day so that's also an option. Good luck!

You've gotten some great responses, but one other thing that seemed to help keep my supply up with my kids demands was for the early morning feeding, only nurse on one side and pump the other while you're nursing. Two things--as the baby started sleeping longer at night my breasts were fuller, and one side would fill them up....and I'd get a full 8 oz on the other side b/c my breasts were being naturally stimulated by the nursing on the other side. I'd swich which side was nursing every morning, but this kept us up with the babies increased demand for milk while I was working! I went back to work at 8 weeks with both kids and both were exclusively on breastmilk until 8 or 9 months!

C.

get him to nurse as much as possible from the breast when you are at home. and pump more often.

Great job, M.! It's HARD work being a new mom and trying to return to work. How wonderful that you're also trying to produce enough milk for your son.

Here are some things that may help: (1) plenty of rest (yes, I know, how do you add more hours to the day?!, but take advantage of any help you can get and use the time to rest!); (2) plenty of fluids and calories...I recommend keeping a stash of nuts, dried fruits and sesame sticks along with water and fruit/fruit juices to snack on while you are pumping/nursing; (3) the herbal supplements Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle can help increase your supply, and there are two herbal teas that can help: one is called Mothers' Milk and I unfortunately cannot remember the name of the other at the moment; (4) pumping! If you can't pump more frequently, pump longer (e.g. when you run dry, keep going until you have a second let-down). Of course you'll want to have a serious double-pump for efficiency and effectiveness (the Medela Pump-in-Style is quite effective, or you can rent one from your hospital/lactation consultant for around $50/month). Most importantly be good to yourself! It is incredibly hard work at first, but as you already know, it is also an amazing and wonderful experience.

All the best!

Some ob-gyn will presribe medication to assist with milk production. But some things to try first is taking a milk production supplement called Fenugreek. There are also teas that you can buy that have these suppliments in them as well. You can find it at health and nutrition stores like GNC. I am sure that they sell it at health food store.

Hi M.,
I also work full time and am breastfeeding. It's so hard to pump every day at work!! Anyway, the things that increase your supply are to eat oatmeal (I just get the instant Quaker oatmeal), drink water, pump as often as you can, and if you want to increase it even more you can try Fenugreek (sold at vitamin stores/health food stores) - the Fenugreek makes you smell like maple syrup, but it really works for a lot of people!
Hope that helps,
J.

I have treated numerous women with acupuncture ,chinese herbs and some diet modifications to help them produce more milk. If youa re interested please contact me.

I have been there before and the only thing that worked is pumping more often. I know it is tough but try to pump at least three times while you are at work and that worked for me.

Wish you all the best

U..

You should try to get in touch with the La Leche League group that meets in your area, they are there to support mothers in their goal of breastfeeding, free suggestions and help http://www.llli.org/Web/Texas.html . Here are some practical suggestions: breastmilk is supply=demand so pump more frequently (i.e.- pump every 3 hrs. if he's goign 4, pump every 2 or so if he is going 3 hr btwn. feeds) and your milk supply will begin to increase, make sure they aren't feeding him a full 6 oz if he is good with 4 oz (tends to happen with bottles as you can force them in the mouth to get baby to finish up the amount defrosted, unlike the breast), make sure that when you are with him you nurse as frequently as he wants (some call this reverse cycling where baby will nurse the majority of their calories in the evening, night, and early morning), get in touch with a lactation consultant that will give you dosing on herbs such as fenugreek and blessed thistle that will naturally increase your breastmilk supply (you can prob. find the dosing online too), and make sure that you are eating and drinking well. Most babies will nurse from the breast more effectively than a pump will drain the breast, so don't worry that you are drying up. Just a few happy breastmilk supply suggestions~

Hi! I struggled with supply issues, too. Here's what my son's pediatrician recommended. Breastfeed him (not pump then bottle) whenever you can .. it will rev up your hormones more than pumping. Then, when you are done breastfeeding him and seem dry, go ahead and pump for 5-10 minutes. That should signal your body to increase output. My doctor also told me to get fenugreek, an herbal medicine. You can find it at Whole Foods. The fenugreek had only a marginal effect on me, but it worked wonders for a friend of mine. There are also prescription medicines available (one is Reglan) ... my doctor wanted to put me on that when the fenugreek didn't work well enough, but I decided not to. Good luck!

Be sure that you are eating enough calories and drinking enough fluids (this is hard to do or remember sometimes when you are back at work). Also fenugreek worked for me to help keep up my milk supply. (you can find it at Whole Foods in the vitamin/herbal supplements).

Hey there! Fenugreek is supposed to be helpful. Have you talked with a La Leche League person or a lactation consultant? Most of all try not to stress out.... that can really be counterproductive when trying to produce milk!!

M., congratulations on your son! What a fun blessing. Also, congratulations on your success with breastfeeding this far. I would go to Whole Foods - they are very knowledgable and will give great advice on some supplements you can take.
Also, I want to give you some advice that a friend gave me - if you can breastfeed for one hour, then you are a success. If, for some reason, you are not able to breastfeed as long as you planned on doing it, then please, do not beat yourself up about it.
With both of mine I had medical reasons that made my milk dry up quickly - and with the first I was devastated. With the second, I thanked God for formula every time I fed her. I was just so grateful I had an option - and that she wasn't starving.
Congratulations again!

M.,

I was a working mom and breastfed all three of my children. I was also a member of the LaLeche League and they helped me a lot to understand how my body worked and how to increase my milk supply. The more you hand express or pump, the more you will produce but this is a daily thing. Lets say you pump bilateral breasts every 4 hours on Monday. On Tuesday your breastmilk will increase, so on Tuesday pump or hand express every 3 hours and your breastmilk will increase on Wednesday. So on and so on. What you express the day before will help increase the next day's supply. This is how I built up my milk supply. On the weekends when I wasn't working (I used to hand express because it was easier for me to "feel" where the milk was, but most folks today use breast pumps and there are great ones out there!) I double wammied...I'd speed up the pumping. Just remember, you're going to have lots more milk doing this. Take bottles to work and freeze the milk so it's not wasted and remember to date and time the bottles. (that stuff is liquid gold as far as I'm concerned and you don't want to waste a drop!). As long as your baby is nursing and as long as you're pumping, your supply is not going to dry up. Also, if there is a LaLeche League around, I would definitely get in touch with them. They used to be listed in the local phone book. They are an incredible resource and were a great help to me when I was a nursing mom. It will take a while to re-build your milk supply, but this does work...K.

It is so hard to go back to work and have to pump! Keep it up. I have two resources for you. One is this awesome website, www.kellymom.com. There is a ton of breastfeeding (and parenting) advice on there. The second is to tell you about the breastfeeding support group that I am a member of. It is free and led by a professional lactation consultant. It is called For Babies Sake. There is a yahoo group by that name, for online support. We also meet in person every Tues. night at 7pm at South Arlington Church of Christ, 830 Eden Rd. Arlington 76001. It is all very informal and free!

I had the same problem, and the only solution that I found that worked was to up the pumping to every two hours. It is a pain in the rear end (I did it for four months), but in the end it is so worth it. I have an 8 month old that has never been sick, and I believe that part of the reason why is that he breastfed for six months. I hope this helps.

Hi M.:

Try Mother's Milk Tea. You can purchase it at any health food store. You normally feel the results within a day. I think the brand is called Traditional Medicinals. Also, drink LOTS of water.

I am a working mom of 4. The youngest is 7 months old. I supplement with formula during the day. With my 1st I was a die-hard breast only mom and breast fed until she was 2. But as I added more kids (and responsibilities) my children had their own preferences. Consequently I stopped breastfeeding my 2nd and 3rd at 6 months. My 7 month old prefers to continue to breastfeed at night. On the weekend ends I do both all day to keep my milk supply up.

Wow, 6 oz at 11 weeks! Whew!

I hope this helps.
A. C.

HI M.,
You seem to have allot of responses with allot of information but maybe just drinking plenty of liquids will help you as well. Good luck..

Hi, M.. I've been in exactly the same boat as you... with a lower milk supply from the get go.. so here's what I learned. Take the natural herbal supliments Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. There are certain foods that help with lactation...sweet potatos, oatmeal, ....drink lots of water. I'm sure you've heard that one. Tons of water...If you can, try to pump more often, but at work that might be hard. Make sure you are pumping for atleast 20 minutes at a time...you will probably have multiple let downs of milk...so the longer you pump the more you get to a certain point... at least that's been my experience. I ususally pump for 20 minutes about every 3 to 4 hours. Dring Mother's Milk tea for help. AT a last resort, I was prescribed Reglan by my OBGYN...it is medication for digestive system but the side effect is that it can increase milk production. The better drug is Don Perdone... but that is not widely prescribed in the US because it hasn't been officially approved by the FDA. I hope this helps. Congrats on your new little bundle of blessings and joy! Our son is 6 months old... and we are smitten!

Marly

There are several "natural" supplements that are suppose to help. I always found that when I went back to work I drank less water. Increase you liquids and see if that helps. I can't remember the herb that is suppose to help but it is pretty widely available. I also had several people tell me while breastfeeding that beer helped increase supply. Also pump after you feed to help increase demand.

The bottom line is that you never get as much with a pump as you do when you are feeding. I could never get anything out of a pump. If you don't have a hospital grade pump, you might look into renting one.

Try Fennugreek tea. I used to buy some at Whole Foods called Mother's Milk and it seemed to help.

Also, you need to be sure that you are still drinking lots of water while you are working. It's much harder to do than when you were at home, but if you don't have enough fluid in your body, you can't make milk.

The other thing is to be sure that you are nursing for every feeding during the weekend. This will boost your production at least at the beginning of the week.

Are you using a double-pump? Instead of pumping both sides at once, you might try only pumping one side at a time. This will increase the suction mimicking better your child's suckling.

Good luck.

Try taking Fenugreek - it's am herb that will help with your lactation or contact the lactation nurse at the hospital where you gave birth.

Hi M.! I have a friend who managed to breastfeed while working. She would actually pump at work :)

I've never been able to produce a lot of milk via the pump, but I would suggest Fenugreek, which helps stimulate the milk glands.

check out http://www.kellymom.com/ It is really a great website for breastfeeding moms! Good luck and keep it up!

One thing a that was suggested to my friend that my mom's doc even had her do back in the early 70's was to have one beer a day. Also, talk to La Leche League and they should have good advice.

Have you contacted La Leche League? I'm sure they might have some great suggestions. Are you pumping and freezing the milk for when you are not home?

It is not uncommon for you to get less milk when you pump vs breastfeed. First make sure you are getting lots of rest and drinking LOTS of water. You can also take an herbal supplement called Fenugreek that naturally increases your milk production - I believe it naturally stimulates some uterine contractions or something like that which is part of the natural process for breast milk production. You can find it a whole foods, new mother stores like in maternity area of hopsitals, and probably on-line.
As you probably know stress can decrease your production.
Good Luck!

Pump Pump Pump...Breastfeeding is all about supply and demand...The more your baby eats or the more you pump, the more you make....Just take a pump to work with you and pump during breaks and lunch....Let him nurse before you go to work, then pump at work, then nurse as often as he wants when you get home....Many jobs are use to woman pumping at work and storing the milk in the freezer until they leave. Good luck, and happy nursing!

First of all, congrats on your progress so far. Being a working breasfeeding mom is very hard work. I have also struggled with supply issues since return to work. All of the advice so far is right on. I did try reglan and it made me very anxious, it is known for some undesirable side effects (although many women report none). I also had a significant decrease in supply when I quit taking the reglan (you can only take it for 2 weeks). The only other advice not mentioned is trying breast massage prior to pumping and doing compression after about 5-6 minutes of pumping. I have found this to be very helpful and has increased my output.
There is also another medication that is supposed to be better than reglan, however it was taken off the market in the U.S. called domperidone. I have heard great things about it. I can also say from experience it has helped me.

Hi M.! You've gotten a lot of great advice, and I, too, commend you on your commitment to continue breastfeeding. I went back to work when my DD was 4 months, and continued breastfeeding until she was 10 1/2 mos. That said, she did get formula as supplements on days I worked. By all means, do all you can, and follow the suggestions you've gotten, but also understand that some women respond better to pumping than others. I never got enough to keep my DD exclusively on breastmilk, even when I spent a total of 2 hours a day at work hooked up to a pump (I'm lucky--I have a private office, and had a double electric pump with a pumping bra to hold it in place, so could just hook myself up, and work on my computer while the pump did its thing). But some breastmilk is better than none, and it was important to me to be able to breastfeed her when I was with her. So keep it up, and have faith, but also be gentle with yourself. You are a great mom regardless of how much milk you make (or don't make).

It takes time for your body to adjust to mainly pumping versus feeding on demand. Start eating oatmeal in the mornings to help up your production and look into using fenugreek if need be. I was able to nurse with no supplements/formula for 14+ months while working f/t.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

HTH

I had problems with production in the beginning and my OB prescribed reglan. It really worked well to boost my milk. It is something that I only had to take for 2 weeks and my supply stayed up thereafter. I don't know how well it works in your situation, but certainly worth a call to your doctor.

Hey M.,
I found my milk steadily decreased after I went back to work to. There is something you can take called Fenugreek its a supplement. Also call the hospital where you had your baby and ask for a lactation consultant or nurse they can give you more tips.

Try looking at a picture of your baby while your pumping. It will help stimulate your hormones so that you can produce more milk.

My experience was that my milk supply decreased during the week even with pumping because I wasn't nursing on demand, which is really what keeps the milk supply going. So, we made it for it by making sure that I nursed extra in the early morning, during lunchtime (daycare was near work), evenings and on the weekends. As well, I made sure to nurse when I arrived to pick him up from daycare and also as soon as we got home. Same routine in the morning - nursing before I left home and then as soon as we got to daycare. With those extra feedings and my visiting my sons at lunchtime, I was able to exclusively breastfeed. You might consider that once you reach the 6 month point, as I found that by giving my sons solids only at daycare and nursing exclusively at home until almost 9 months that we didn't need to supplement with formula. Also, nursing at nighttime is imperative for building a good milk supply (even at this age, particularly when you're away from the baby all day).

Hi M., You need to eat whole grain bread, eat plenty of greens such as lettuce, corn on the cob ( fresh or frozen ) or whole kernel corn in tin, and eat plenty of oats as these are good for producing milk and to enrich your milk eat lucerene sprouts as this helps produce milk as well and drink lots of water as this will help with milk production as well. If you make sandwiches for work make sure you have lettuce and lucerene sprouts on them as this will help get these good things into you body to keep producing milk. I'm not sure if you are a coffee drinker if so try and cut down on coffee and maybe even go to decaffe coffee as this takes water from your system that you need for milk production. Ed

Hey, M.. I know you said you're back at work, so I assume you are pumping and storing the milk until you get home. The best advice I can give you is to keep pumping... even double-pump if you can. Your body will only use what it perceives you "need", so if you pump more often and for a little longer, it will gradually begin to produce more milk. Try to pump every 2 1/2 to 3 hours and double-pump. Just wait and see - your body will quickly adjust to the higher demand and start to produce more. By the way, good for you for breastfeeding! It is a lot of work, but it definitely is the best for your little one as long as you can handle it. :)

I tried that mothers milk from central market and it seemed to really work great with me. Also, I know it is hard working, but pump every time he would be eating throughout the day and drink lots and lots of water. Also, they say making sure to eat a balanced diet is supposed to help too, and making sure you are getting enough rest. You need to take care of you too! I hope this helps!

Check the pump you are using. You should be producing the milk if you are pumping regularly. I breastfed for one year and always noticed that my daughter would drink a lot, but my pump was not a very good hospital grade one, so it was hard to get a lot of milk out. I know I had the milk though because I could feel it. I think they rent the good pumps at the hospitals because to buy one could be about 500 or 800 dollars. I am so happy to hear that you want to keep breastfeeding. I never gave my daughter any formula and then at one year she went to cows milk and she was never sick and at 2 1/2 has yet to have an ear infection. Oh, my daughter also ate a lot from an early age. It sounds like he is doing really well.

my Dr. told me to take Brewers Yeast. I took 1 pill 3 times a day instead of the 3-6 the bottle says. The only problem with brewers yeast is little ones gas, which is why I took 1. I would also suggest pumping every 2-3 hours if you can instead of 4.

I'm in the same boat you are in. I recently went back to work and my supply really went down. I started to take fenugreek to increase my supply. One day, I forgot to take it and I got NO breastmilk at my first pumping of the day. Now, I always take it. However, I am still struggling to get a good supply of milk. I have found that if I start pumping on one breast and not much comes out, I can switch to the other one, pump for a while and then go back to the first one and get some milk out of it. I switch back and forth until I have at least 4 or 5 ounces. Somehow the switching seems to stimulate them. But, I'm definitely struggling to get milk. My baby is 5 months old and I am just trying to eek it out until she is 6 months old. The good news is that my supply at night still seems to be fine (since she is always breastfeeding at night).

I took Milk Thistle when my milk started to dry up and it really helped me. Always check with your Doctor, but my Doctor and Pediatrician were perfectly fine with me taking it. Good luck! Oh, just make sure you are getting in all of your calories as well. You have to have them in order for your body to produce milk. Also, I have read the more formula you feed, the less your breastmilk will come in. Best wishes.

It has nothing to do with what you eat. The more you latch your baby on, your milk supply will increase. You should latch the baby every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You can also contact a lactation consultant or contact the WIC office. They have lots of information that is very helpful.

Eating quite a bit (not dieting) and pumping a lot kept my milk supply up. I felt like Elsie the cow and we bought a freezer to try and keep up with my milk. And that's all I did. Eat regularly and pump regularly. Even if not much is coming out, you can train your body and it will increase.

Breastfeeding is simply SUPPLY and DEMAND. I pumped at work to keep my supply up during the day, and then nursed, nursed, nursed while at home. It is demanding, but it worked. I had a very understanding and supportive employer, and I hope that you do too! It is a small price to pay as moms for all of the good it does for the babies. Good for you for being concerned and getting advice!! Be sure to drink plenty of fluids for sure! Keep a glass with you constantly.

I tried several of the other reconmendations here, but the only thing that helped me was increasing my water intake, at my Dr.'s suggestion, to a near-ridiculous amount.
Good luck!

Pump more often, I pumped every 21/2-3 hours and had more stored that needed. The more you pump the more you will produce. Good luck!

Just keep on working at it-when you switch to mainly pumping, your milk supply will go down some, but if you persevere, it will come back up. Drink lots of water and eat well and keep on pumping every three to four hours to remind your body of its job-it takes a few weeks but it will work out.
In the meantime, make sure his caregiver always gives him the breastmilk first so that his initial hunger is satiated with the taste-he will not learn to prefer the formula.
Try to make sure you have time in the evenings and mornings for him to have a good long time to nurse-this will remind your body to produce. You should notice more production soon. If not, try pumping every two hours for a few days.

Fenugreek is an herb you can get that can help build the supply, but I also recommend to continue to pump as often as you can as well as feeding him directly from the breast as often as possible.
Good luck!

Drink lots of water and eat light microwave popcorn. It worked for me and I have passed the advice on to everyone I know.

Hi! I am also a working breastfeeding mom. It is a real commitment when it comes to pumping milk for your child. You should be proud of yourself for doing it! It sounds like you are already pumping as often as he is eating. How long are you pumping? Are you using an electric pump or manual? If you are using a manual, you may consider getting an electric one (some insurance companies will pay for one, you just have to ask). Breastmilk is all about supply and demand. So, you may have to pump a little more frequently for a little while to get your supply back up. Also, if he is sleeping through the night, you may consider pumping at least once at night. Just until your supply is back. The only thing I can think of to take is Fenugreek. It comes in a tea and maybe even a pill and it is available at most whole foods, I think (google it and see what you get). I work in a NNICU and that is one thing we recommend to our breastfeeding moms to increase milk supply. Good luck to you. Hope this helps!

I returned to work at 12 weeks with my son, and he took 8 oz. every 2 hours. You just have to have a picture or something of theirs so that you can think about them and "feel" like they are there when you pump. They always have a time where they need a lot to increase your milk production, then the taper off some. If you are dedicated to nursing, you should be okay. My daughter 2 1/2 years later was a little easier. The first one is usually hardest. If your production slows- pump more often during the day, and nurse in the evening. Both of my children were exclusively bf til 6 mths- then cereal.

What I did was this: when preparing his bottle, put half formula and half breastmilk. That way my son gets breastmilk at every feeding. Another reason, why you think you may be drying up is that your body responds better to your baby. The pump and your baby have different sucks. So I think if you pump at least 2 times at work, your body will get used to it. I usually relax and close my eyes and think about my baby, which does help the let down. Others have recorded their babies' cries and listen to it before pumping which helped with their let downs. Good luck!!

I am a soon to be new mom but I have been doing a lot of reading on breastfeeding while working (since this will be me). One of the books I have been reading suggests eating 1.5 - 2 pounds of spinach a day to help with the milk supply because your body needs calcium to make breastmilk. It also suggests to pump your breastmilk, even after the baby is done. This will help to stimulate the hormones to start producing more. If you are not around your baby when he needs to nurse, then you still need to pump your breastmilk and store it for him to try and wean him off of the formula. The book says it should take a couple of weeks of trying this before your breastmilk will start to produce adequate amounts again. Congratulations and Good Luck!