Pumping and Milk Supply

So far what everyone is saying is great. Some other things you might want to try...

1. Eat and drink before you pump.

2. Have a picture or if you're at your computer a video of your baby to watch while you pump.

3. Take the phone off the hook and try to avoid anything that is going to stress you out.

4. Continue with the pump for 5-10 min after you stop getting milk. It might sound strange, but it's giving your breast the needed stimulation to maybe make more.

5. Try some meditation techniques before you start, and focus on the happy times you are with your daughter.

No matter if any of this works or not, you are still doing the best you can for your daughter. You should be proud of yourself and your efforts to give her as much of the very best as you can. It's no small thing to work and pump and do all the other things moms are expected to do. You should congratulate yourself for getting this far!

You need herbal remedy; Healthy Nursing Tea by secrets of tea....!!!!

Hi J.,I know this must be very frustrating to you.I pumped for my son for about 9 mo. I had to return to work also.I found that I got alot more milk out and it was much faster than those electic or hand held mumps to just express the milk by hand.I am a mother of 5 and I breast fed each of them them for over a year. I hope this will help you.If you've never done this before you might want to ask your lactation nurse how to hold your brest.It gets easier as you get comfortable with it. I found it easier to use a steril measuring cup (glass)to express the milk into then poor it into your freezer bags. Make sure you are eating well and drinking plenty of fluids each time you nurse or express, this will also increase you milk supply and improve the quality of your milk.

I did the same thing with my first child. I went back to work full time when she was 3 mos. old and I pumped three times a day at work until she was a little over a year old when I decided to stay home with her. It's great that you're doing this. Don't give up just because you aren't getting enough where you don't have to supplement. Some breast milk is better than none. I know you have already been told this but, make sure you drink LOTS of water especially around pumping time. Good luck!

Hi J.. The same thing happened to me with my son's. I wanted to exclusively breastfeed them so badly!! I ended up having to supplement due to decreased milk production. I continued to do nurse them until they were 14 months old. Now when my daughter was born, I was able to nurse her the entire 14 months without difficulty! I spoke with my Dr and woth the lactation consultant about this and the only thing that we could come up with is Hormones. For some reason, after I went back to work, they thin kthat my hormones kicked in after having the boys and caused a decreased in milk produticon. Any breastmilk that you can provide is a help to you baby. And remember- a happy and halthy mom helps to make for a happy and healthy baby. Good luck!!

I'm on my third breastfed baby. Drink more water. Sometimes it helps to visualize whatever cues your baby gives you when she's hungry. I don't know why. The breastpump likely isn't getting all of your milk out. I have found that the suction from the pump doesn't compare to the suction of a hungry baby. You could try pumping more often, but the problem with that could be the baby may not get as much of the hindmilk that comes from nursing after the initial let down, which gives milk that is typically thinner. Good luck! I know it's tough, but hang in there! You'll get through it!

I know it helped me to pump at work if I took a blanket or toy that had my baby's sent. I also made sure I had a picture nearby, and one thing that really helped me was drinking plenty of water. Good Luck!!!
B.

THis may sound weird, but massage your breast yourself which will stimulate more milk flow. Or put hot compresses on them before you pump if you can do that for a couple of minutes at work before you pump. Otherwise...dont feel bad for supplementing...the most important time for breastfeeding is that first week and the first month! Good luck

J., coming from a mother of triplets who pumped enough breastmilk to feed a starving 3rd world nation, I only did it for 3 months and I have very healthy well adjusted 7 year olds now. Your daughter is not requiring breastmilk for nourishment anymore and her immune resistence is not going to fail from formula. If you feel the need for closeness with your daughter, then continue at home, but I wouldn't get yourself into an emothional uproar to pump during the day. Save yourself the time, money and anguish. I know that it's a great emotional bond, but you're only going to make yourself nuts and your daughter will sense that.

Can you pump one side and nurse from the other during your first nursing session of the day?

Make a short recording of your baby crying when they are hungry. Then just loop that recording and play it while pumping. This should help your body respond naturally.

well my first son i couldn't breastfeed him at all. now my second son alex'ander oh i breastfeed him until he was 11 months he bite me so bad i had wholes and still had to nurse him. he would not take a bottle. i tried pumping and couldn't not only because i couldn't get enough out but he would not tale a bottle. all i can really tell you is hang in there becaue in the out come she will be ok and everything will work out. you could try either to pump in the bath room with the shower running on hot the staem helps the milk flow better, i also found that if i pumped right after i got out the shower my milk was there. so if you need anymore advise or have any questions just ask.

I just wanted to mention that 2-3 oz per pumping session is actually normal. The normal is 1-3 oz. You might not even need to be supplementing. The average breastfed baby takes in an average of 25 oz per 24 hour period, so that is about 1 oz per hour. If your baby is sleeping through the night, then the bottles would be bigger. how much are you feeding in a bottle? my ds sleeps through the night and he gets 4 oz max in a bottle. One misconception people have about breast feeding is that as babies get older, they need more bm in their bottles. that is not true. as the baby gets older your breastmilk changes to accomodate the baby. the breastmilk is fattier.
Just wanted to also mention that if you pump more frequently, the baby will actually get more of the hindmilk, not les. the more frequently you empty your breasts, the fattier your milk is (hindmilk)
Its like a water faucet. when you first tutn it on the water is cold (foremilk, watery less fatty milk) but as you run the water it gets warmer/hot (hindmilk) well once you are done with the water, if you turn it on shortly after the water is already warm/hot, but if you dont turn it on for a while, then the water is cold again. This is kind of like the production of milk.
also, one more thing. Domperidome is much better than reglan. i took reglan and had to stop because of the side effects. domperidome is much more effective (in my opinion) without any of the side effects.