Breastfeeding Question - Havertown,PA

Well first I will ask if you have made sure that her caretaker is not feeding her too much. 1-1.5oz per hour of seperation is all that is necessary. Babies do have a natural sucking 'need', and will drink more out of the bottle because it flows faster then actually nursing. Their brains do not get the 'full' signal as quickly because they are not sucking as long, so sometimes it helps to have them use a paci for a few min after 2-3 oz to see if they are truly still hungry (when they go thru growth spurts they do sometimes eat more).
As for increasing supply: Fenugreek or mother's milk tea suppliments work great. Oatmeal also helps increase supply. I would generally have a bowl every morning. Nursing on demand when home will be the biggest help though. Even if it seems that you are nursing all the time (wearing your baby in a sling works great to be able to get stuff done and still give her full access to nursing), this is the #1 best way to increase supply. When you are at home she ONLY gets milk from you. Yes, your body WILL adjust to whatever schedule you ask of it.
At about 5 1/2 months is also when I started having the daycare give my son some solids. I would have them give the solids first, and milk afterwards (backwards of what you would want to do at home, where you would want to nurse for as long as baby wants and then offer solids). Doing this will decrease the amount of milk the caregiver needs to give, or feels like they need to give. I will stress though - ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS nurse before solids when you are home. It will help keep your supply up. Let the daycare give solids the majority of the time till solids are a bigger part of your daughter's diet (my son was about 10 months or so before he was 'consistantly' eatingsolids). The first year really is mostly for practice anyways.
I successfully worked 40-45 hrs a week from the time my son was 10 weeks old, and did not end up needing to suppliment at all. I even ended up having extra milk frozen after he moved into the toddler room that I donated to another family. It is completely possible to not need to supliment at all.

Feel free to PM me if I can answer any questions from my experiences.

Nurse lots on your days off. Your baby's sucking and all those happy hormones/chemistry will naturally increase your supply. Baby's demand is what drives production, not the pump. Good luck!

I looked quickly and didn't see a link yet to http://www.kellymom.com/. This website saved my sanity when trying to work and pump. I HATED pumping with every fiber of my being! I had hectic days and didn't pump enough at work so would stay up late at night to get in another pumping session and still just be scraping by. There is a technique outlined on this website where you pump for 10 min. rest for 10 min and then pump again. You get another full letdown and can pump more. This helped a lot. I also worked 3 days a week and have no idea how full time working moms do it. I made it though! But, believe me there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about supplementing and there is nothing wrong with it at all. It would have been a lot less stressful for sure. Good luck!

My guess is that if you supplement during the work day, you will need to supplement similarly on days you are home, but it doesn't mean that you need to quit breastfeeding. I nursed my daughter 2X/day for a long time after I went back to work. I work in a public high school, so the idea of pumping was less than appealing.

Nutrition-wise its much healthier for her to make up for the "missed" breastfeeding times with formula than with solids. It's the equivalent of passing up a plate of chicken, spinach, whole grains, and a glass of low-fat milk in favor of a bowl of oatmeal.

Don't beat yourself up over formula. It might take her belly a couple of days to get used to it, but you're not hurting her. My pedi recommended goodstart because it was a little thinner than other formulas (and it was the least-foul smelling, I found) although the maker has changed, so I'm not positive it's the same as when I used it.

Good luck with continuing your nursing relationship, and kudos for making it this long!

You have already been given lots of great advice. I also wanted to share with you this video that my breastfeeding listserve just passed along -- it's all about how to maximize your output when pumping by massaging your breasts (which I think I did a little of when I was pumping a lot for my now 3-year-old). Research shows that if you massage while pumping you can double your milk output, because the machine can only do so much on its own when emptying the breasts.

http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastf...roduction.html

Good luck!

To increase milk supply you have to increase frequency of feedings or pumpings. It takes a couple days to get milk supply up but you have to continue to do the increased pumping even when your working or it will drop your milk supply. At least that is how it has been working for me. I do suppliment with formula myself when I'm out in public and my son drinks it and comes back to the breast just fine though I think he prefers breast milk over formula

i could have written your post! i even bought the medela car charger and pumped to and from work and twice at work and was only getting about 6 oz total! I finally decided to start supplementing at 10 months. i didn't want to give formula either, but felt i had no choice.
the food is a double edged sword...
it's great because they will drink less when you are at work, however it hurts your milk supply when you are home because they are nursing less.

i would drink the mothers milk tea, drink tons of water, and nurse like crazy when you are home. try to keep pumping, but don't beat yourself up if you have to give a little formula. The color and smell of similac made me sick, so we used enfamil. good luck and pm me if you want more info.

First of all, the stress you are putting on yourself isn't helping your milk supply. You need to change your mindset - any milk that you're giving your daughter at this point is fabulous, so be proud of yourself for all your hard work :)

Secondly, two small things to try... take a photo and something of your daughter's (clothing, blankie, etc.) to work with you. When you are pumping, relax, look at her photo, smell the clothing item and picture her in your arms. The sence of scent is a powerful one - some women have a let-down for a baby that's not even theirs!

I agree with others who suggest Mothers' Milk Tea and pumping more often. Your daughter may be going through a growth spurt too which is why she's consuming more than you pump.
Also try pumping in the mornings when you usually have more milk and then nurse her.
I work part-time too and am having a tough time pumping on my days off so Very Good for you that you're able to do it!

My advice would be to just feed her as often as possible when you are home, and make sure she gets a good feeding in right before work, and as soon as you get home. If you have to choose between her getting solids or formula while you are at work, I would go with solids at this point if she'll take them. Maybe some mashed banana? Or rice cereal mixed with water (no need to waste the precious breastmilk here!). And most importantly of all, if you DO end up having to give her a little formula, don't beat yourself up too much over it. She is a lucky baby already, given that you have breastfed her for this long, and are continuing to keep up that commitment while work. A lot of moms would have given up in the name of convenience by now. Bravo to you!

fenugreek tablets, oatmeal, mother's milk tea

shortly after i started working i stopped pumping and switched to formula, i know it's a tough decision, just do what feels right and what is best for your baby.

Awesome that you've made it so far. My tip is if you're not pumping in the morning before you go to work, try that. That's the best time of day to pump. Even if you nurse before you leave, also pump. Even on the days you are off. It will most likely increase your milk supply. You start doing that, it might help and when I went back to work, I pumped three times a day for a while. But I worked a pretty long day, so I had to. Depends on your schedule, but I pumped usually around 9-9:30, 12:30 and 3:30-4. Good luck!

This might help a bit:

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/breastfeeding?utm_ca...

Hi, I just wanted to say that I breast feed my son who will be 1 next week. I pump twice a day at work (5 days/ week) and nurse at home. I started to supplement with formula at daycare when my son was 4 or 5 months old. He usually gets a couple bottles of formula a week. Some days he needs it and some he doesn't. I used to pump about 12 ounces a day when he was younger and now I pump 8 ounces a day, since he drinks less now that he's older.

Anyway, I've never had to supplement at home. That's never been an issue. I just nurse more often if he is still hungry and it works out just fine.

I have an older daughter who is 3 now and I drove myself crazy trying not to give her any formula that I really stressed myself out and I finally had to supplement with her when I was at work at 6 months. At that point I finally realized that a couple bottles of formula a week are just fine,especially when I saw the improvement to my own sanity. All that extra pumping took away from my precious time with her and I just realized that if she needs a little formula, what is the big deal.

I still managed to nurse my daughter until she was 18 months and I have no plans to stop nursing my 11 month old son for a while.

I hope this helps! Good luck to you! You are doing a great job!!

Make sure you breastfeed as much as possible on your days off. Your daughter's nursing is way more efficient than the best pump. If her demand stays high, your supply should stay high. You still may need to pump 3x/day at work, if that is at all possible. Otherwise, go ahead and supplement - she's getting all the good stuff she needs from you, and most of us were raised on formula and came out "nun too stoopid or diseased".

I pumped and supplemented when I went back to work (using Good Start with the breast milk proteins, but I'm sure the regular one would be fine), I think she got one formula bottle a day, but I don't remember. I also travel for work. My first trip away after returning to work was at an event held for several days in a different hotel than the one I was staying at, we were there 14-16 hrs/day and I pumped in the car under a jacket with a security guard pacing the parking lot - the sacrifices we make for our babes!

The other recommendations are all the old standards, stay well hydrated and eat enough, look at a picture of your daughter or listen to a recording of her voice, and try the Mothers' milk or fenugreek. Good luck

Start off by nursing as much as possible to keep your supply at full, having the pump do all the suckling is sabotaging your supply because the suction from the pump is less than half of what your baby's mouth can do. You are pumping a great schedule, and I'd add pumping to the other breast while daughter is nursing on the other side - your letdown will be much greater and chances are you can pump more at that time.

Fenugreek with Blessed Thistle, keeping hydrated and eating oatmeal tends to really help with supply. Also babies will drink more faster from a bottle and end up eating way more than they would at the breast. Give less in her bottles with some time between, before offering more, good odds are that she will be full much sooner, because the bottles drips in faster than the body can acknowledge it's full.

She is due for a growth spurt which means she needs to cluster feed from the breast, to tell your body to start producing more... which is 100% normal!!

You can do it Momma!!

I would try Fenugreek or Mother's milk tea. Another thing to try is to pump right after she nurses. You may no get a lot at first, but this should help produce more milk, so stick with it. Is there any way to add a 3rd pumping session at work? If so I would also try that. WIth my first, I worked f/t until he turned 1. I did start supplementing 1 bottle a day with formula. I gave up on pumping, since he was at the daycare I worked at and I decided to go BF him instead of pumping on my breaks. That left 1 bottle a day that he needed. I wish I had tried harder to increase my supply instead of letting it drop. I don't have anything against FF, but I do wish I had tried harder than I did before going to formula.

Hi J.! Just like you, I found that with the onset of "real food" at six months, my baby wanted less breastmilk. I think you being at home would be the best thing possible for increasing your supply, since you'll be able to nurse your daughter more often and then pump a bit after to signal to your body that baby needs more. I always found that the actual baby helped increase the supply more than the pump alone! I also found that the more sleep I got, the more milk I produced. Maybe staying up late to pump isn't the answer. Would you be able to set and alarm and wake to pump during the night? (That advice probably stinks! Personally, I think I might have kept hitting snooze! Or wake up and be too wired to go back to sleep!) In the meantime, hopefully you have some freebie formula samples you can use up! Good luck!

You've gotten some great suggestions, I just wanted to offer some support. I went through the same thing with my son. I was only working 2 days/week, but I had a hard time keeping up with him. As some moms have suggested I drank lots of water and did extra pumping while I was at home. Someone I work with is pumping from one breast while the baby eats from the other, which is a great time saver and it will bring your supply up. Your body should be able to make that much milk, because twins aren't that uncommon and it's basically like tandem nursing. You'll never get as much from the pump as your baby can get out, but if you increase your supply when she is nursing then you should be able to get more when you are pumping at work too. The morning is when your supply is highest, so pumping/nursing at the same time will give you the most extra milk then, even if you can't or don't want to do it the rest of the day.

Didn't have a chance to read all of teh others but the ones I did sound like they are putting you on the right course!

First I wanted to say congrats on getting this far - HUGE accomplishment that you shouldn't take lightly!!! Stress reduces your milk supply so try to think baby thoughts when you are pumping and don't let work distract you - easier said than done, I know but the results will be reward enough to keep you focused. DRINK MORE WATER!!! On days when I get busy and forget to drink enough water my supply suffers. I average 8-10 ounces an hour which equals more bathroom time but much more MILK!!!

You did not mention what kind of pump you are using so I am going to give a quick shout out for the Avent Isis Manual Pump ($40 on amazon) - - - it may sound nuts but I really find it to be easier/more comfortable and equally fast as the Medela Dual Electric that I used with my first born. We use the Avent bottles so I pump directly to the bottle, pop a nipple on it and my son is good to go.

Last thought is...be sure none of your milk is being "wasted" by your daughter's care giver. My husband is with our boys and I used to tell him my milk is like GOLD don't wash ANY down the drain!!!

Good luck!
- J. :)

You can take a vitamin called Fenugreek. I used it for the whole year I nursed my daughter. You can find it Wegmans or health food stores. Make sure you drink lots of water throughout the day as well. Keep up with the vitamin, it will definitly increase your supply. Good Luck.