Questions about combo pumping/BFing

[kcmb0886]

I pump at work and BF when I’m home with DS who is two months old. I’ve been pumping three times a day - in the morning when I drive to work around 8am, at lunch around 12:30pm, and in the afternoon on the drive home from work around 4:30pm, all for 30 minutes each. It’s impossible to find any other time to set up and pump with the electric pump during the day. But once I’m home, I BF DS almost immediately and I’m finding that he seems to struggle to get enough from me, always seems to still be hungry no matter how long or how often he nurses. I wonder if I should just go another 40 minutes and forego pumping on the drive home so DS will be able to fill up, and then maybe pumping after he nurses. Or is it recommended that I purchase a manual pump so I can sneak into the restroom every once in awhile and pump for a few minutes just to keep up the stimulation even if I can’t express much milk? Does anyone have any advice? Does anyone have recommendations for a decent manual pump? I’m not sure how best to proceed here. Thank you in advance!

 

[noon_child]

I wouldn't leave it another 40minutes, and here's why. While it might make it easier for your little one to get milk - as it will be already there engorging your breasts - in the long term it could decrease your supply. The longer milk stays in your breast undrunk (or un pumped) the longer a hormone (called feedback inhibitor of lactation, or FIL) will work on your breasts telling them to slow production. It may be that pumping three times per day isn't enough and your supply is lower than he'd like leaving him hungry OR it could just be that he's feeding constantly on and off because he missed you, or he's cluster feeding. Remember breastfeeding is about more than the milk, so even if he's getting his fill of milk he may still want more of his fill of mummy snuggles! If your supply is a little low, his constant fussing and feeding is actually EXACTLY what needs to happen to boost it back up. As frustrating and time consuming as it is try to think of his frequent feeding as a positive way to increase your supply rather than a sign of a distressed baby going without. I assume he is still feeding on demand through the night and first thing in the morning? Keep an eye on his nappies and weight to get an idea of your supply. Maybe the exclusive pumping sticky at the top of the forum would give you more help on how often you might need to pump at this age to keep up supply?

 

[kcmb0886]

Thank you. At this point I manage to pump anywhere from 7 to 9oz in a session, so during the day my supply is great. But the last pump of the day is always the lowest. And then it just feels like the supply doesn’t build back up until the middle of the night. I ended up investing in the Medela Harmony and I had a chance to try it today. It actually worked a lot better and faster than the PISA, so I feel confident in sneaking away to the bathroom at work to pump a little in between the other pumpings. I’m crossing my fingers it’ll help boost my evening supply.

 

[noon_child]

Great news. I think it's very common for people to feel like their supply dips in the late afternoon early evening. The evidence for this is mixed but contributing factors suggested have been stress or fatigue in Mum after a long day impacting on the ease and number of letdowns. It may also be that milk is changing its consistency at this point in the day, being less fluid and thicker/stickier, which impacts how easily pumps can extract it. This could be a biological thing that has evolved to give babies what they need, or it has been suggested it could be that dehydration is a factor. As I say there is very little real research but a huge number of Mums report their baby acting like there is less milk and an inability to pump as much - so you are not alone.