Supply has changed while back at work

[loved2830]

Hi Ladies,

I am fortunate enough that I pumped like crazy since my DD was born and have 300+ ounces in the freezer however I am not pumping what she is drinking at daycare everyday.

I am now only pumping between 3-4oz at at time and sometimes at my mid day session I am only getting 2oz.

I am pumping a total of 3 times since I miss three feedings at work and then once before I go to bed.

How can I pump more like I was before? I was able to pump between 4-8oz at at time but now that is just not happening.

 

[1nceUponATime]

I don't have experience but the advice I've seen before is to add more feedings with baby or pump more to boost your supply.... is your baby sleeping through the night ? Not ideal but you could try to pump in the middle of the night.... or I pump after the first feeding.

 

[loved2830]

She isnt totally sleeping through the night...still wakes up twice to feed at night.

I pump 3x at work and once before I go to sleep. I think my supply is changing also because I am not eating the way I should. I will be power pumping for the next few days to see if that helps.

 

[1nceUponATime]

I forgot to mention there is a lactation tea which I drink... "mothers milk" or there are some vitamins you can take to boost supply too you might want to look into if other methods don't work. I don't have a supply issue I just drink the tea to make sure I don't get one!

 

[swimmyj1]

fenugreek has helped me a ton keep my supply up while i went back to work. (the tea was too yucky for me to drink haha). Then on days off i power pump.

(going back to work totally sucks for pumping that is for sure!) hang in there

 

[loved2830]

swimmyj1 and 1nceUponATime...I was drinking mothers milk tea in the beginning. I am a tea drinker so it taste good to me lol.. I will start drinking that again. Right now I am power pumping before I go to bed so hopefully in a week I will see a difference. I will let you know how that goes.

I read some tips and saw some success stories here: https://livingwithlowmilksupply.com/power-pumping-to-increase-milk-supply

 

[swimmyj1]

totally random but today for the first time i bled during pumping have you ever had this? Idk if its because i'm pumping more often to keep my supply up or what. It didn't hurt i just happened to look down and notice that the milk was pink tinged and there was blood draining.

 

[loved2830]

totally random but today for the first time i bled during pumping have you ever had this? Idk if its because i'm pumping more often to keep my supply up or what. It didn't hurt i just happened to look down and notice that the milk was pink tinged and there was blood draining.

Hey Swimmyj1...no I have not had that happen! Are you sure it came from you nipples and that is was in fact blood? I am taking out milk I stored when I had mastitis and on antibiotics and it clearly has a yellowish color than the milk I have been storing. So it could be your milk reacting to something else. I have read that our milk changes when we are sick or your baby starts getting a cold so maybe it could be something like that.

 

[loved2830]

Hey Ladies,

So after doing some research and using the link I posted in my earlier thread here...

I power pumped once before bed for a week. I am now back up to pumping 5oz at a time. Was hoping to get back to my 8oz but not quite there yet.

I will try power pumping for another week and see how that goes.

 

[swimmyj1]

it was blood, i ended up talking to one of the lactation specalists at work (perk of being a nurse lol) and she said it looks like i popped a blood vessel in my breast and caused bleeding. It resolved within a day. kind of freaked me out lol.

5 oz is great!!! i think the most I have ever gotten was 7oz and that was when i went like 7 hours without pumping. hahaha. I should do some power pumping on my next group off but i honestly hate pumping lol

 

[1nceUponATime]

I usually get the most first thing in the morning. Keeping up with pumping is horrible. I just started back at work and so I pump first thing in the morning (after she eats), three times at work, and once when I get home. I breast feed before and after daycare. She's getting like at least 4 bottles while I'm gone.... they try to mimick breast feeding at daycare by they only offer her like 2-3 ounces and if still hungry they add 1/2 or 1 ounce at a time.... my baby drinks most of her calories during her middle of the night wake up or first thing in the morning and then usually during the day she eats many times but just a little bit. I'm only working three days a week and honestly I don't think I could keep up pumping five days a week! Breast feeding is so much easier... lol I'm carrying around this massive bag with my pump and all it's parts. As time goes on I'll try to eliminate one of the pumping sessions. But I think as long as all those sessions combined make up for what she's drinking at daycare I'll be good and on my days off I freeze the stuff I pump in the morning.

 

[loved2830]

I usually get the most first thing in the morning. Keeping up with pumping is horrible. I just started back at work and so I pump first thing in the morning (after she eats), three times at work, and once when I get home. I breast feed before and after daycare. She's getting like at least 4 bottles while I'm gone.... they try to mimick breast feeding at daycare by they only offer her like 2-3 ounces and if still hungry they add 1/2 or 1 ounce at a time.... my baby drinks most of her calories during her middle of the night wake up or first thing in the morning and then usually during the day she eats many times but just a little bit. I'm only working three days a week and honestly I don't think I could keep up pumping five days a week! Breast feeding is so much easier... lol I'm carrying around this massive bag with my pump and all it's parts. As time goes on I'll try to eliminate one of the pumping sessions. But I think as long as all those sessions combined make up for what she's drinking at daycare I'll be good and on my days off I freeze the stuff I pump in the morning.

I so hear ya!! I pump 4x a day (3x at work 1x before bed). Its a lot of work! You are lucky working three day a week. I work 5 days. I had stopped pumping on the weekend but then saw my supply change more so I am back to pumping on the weekends. Honestly if you want to keep your supply up, you will have to pump or breastfeed more often.

My supply is still increasing from my power pumping too. I am now getting 6oz at a time.

 

[swimmyj1]

I pump about 5 -6 times a day ugh I'm just hoping to make it till shes 6 months before I throw in the towel and kick my pump across the floor. Seriously the other day I was pumping and my daughter got fussy while my husband was holding her and he said hold on you can get it fresh from the cow and winked at me ... I know he said it as a joke but seriously dude not cool! lol I wish I could substitute one pumping session for a breast feed but she just won't do it.

 

[loved2830]

it was blood, i ended up talking to one of the lactation specalists at work (perk of being a nurse lol) and she said it looks like i popped a blood vessel in my breast and caused bleeding. It resolved within a day. kind of freaked me out lol.

5 oz is great!!! i think the most I have ever gotten was 7oz and that was when i went like 7 hours without pumping. hahaha. I should do some power pumping on my next group off but i honestly hate pumping lol

oh wow!!! that is so crazy! I didn't know that could happen. Glad it had a quick turn around for healing. Let me know how power pumping is going and what your outcome is.

 

[loved2830]

I pump about 5 -6 times a day ugh I'm just hoping to make it till shes 6 months before I throw in the towel and kick my pump across the floor. Seriously the other day I was pumping and my daughter got fussy while my husband was holding her and he said hold on you can get it fresh from the cow and winked at me ... I know he said it as a joke but seriously dude not cool! lol I wish I could substitute one pumping session for a breast feed but she just won't do it.

I totally understand how you feel! I feel like a cow myself but hey its an amazing thing that we can produce such a wonderful nutrient for our babies! I am now pumping 5x a day too. I am feeding my daughter earlier in the morning to sneak an extra pumping session before I leave for work in hopes it will boost my supply more. This is what my lactation specialist recommended last week when I went for a "tune up". In the beginning my daughter was the same, she wanted to eat while I was pumping but it did get better. Again I also always pumped after she drank from the boob to increase my supply.

 

[swimmyj1]

I increased by a few oz with power pumping but I went back to having some blood in my milk so I don't really think its worth it not any fun. It still doesn't hurt but I can tell she doesn't like drinking it lol (can't say i blame her lol) i figure being up to 25-32 oz a day isn't bad for pumping. Max i'm doing is 6x a day. I think I'm going to still try and make it until shes 6 months old then maybe stop pumping. max i think i will do is 9 months. what about you?

 

[loved2830]

I increased by a few oz with power pumping but I went back to having some blood in my milk so I don't really think its worth it not any fun. It still doesn't hurt but I can tell she doesn't like drinking it lol (can't say i blame her lol) i figure being up to 25-32 oz a day isn't bad for pumping. Max i'm doing is 6x a day. I think I'm going to still try and make it until shes 6 months old then maybe stop pumping. max i think i will do is 9 months. what about you?

are you exclusively pumping now? I am still pumping about 4x getting about 20oz or so. I may have to do another power pumping week again. I pan to breastfeed for at least a year...but plans often change. I hope not I am loving breastfeeding now that is is easier. When will you start your baby on solids?

 

[swimmyj1]

yeah i'm exclusively pumping, she just wouldn't latch right anymore. I kept getting blocked ducts and it was horrible. But strictly pumping hasn't been bad.

I already started her on solids, I know they recommend waiting until 6 months. But she doesn't have a tongue thrust when I put a spoon in her mouth and she has been 100% happier sense we have started them. She only gets like 1/2 a jar of baby food or rice cereal a day. (sometimes we skip a few days). Our doc was all for it as long as it wasn't causing her to be fussy or constipated.

When do you plan on trying?

 

[loved2830]

yeah i'm exclusively pumping, she just wouldn't latch right anymore. I kept getting blocked ducts and it was horrible. But strictly pumping hasn't been bad.

I already started her on solids, I know they recommend waiting until 6 months. But she doesn't have a tongue thrust when I put a spoon in her mouth and she has been 100% happier sense we have started them. She only gets like 1/2 a jar of baby food or rice cereal a day. (sometimes we skip a few days). Our doc was all for it as long as it wasn't causing her to be fussy or constipated.

When do you plan on trying?

Thats great you are exclusively pumping. I think I'd miss BF too much to do that. My DD has been at rice cereal and oatmeal for a month now. I want to start on solids but my significant other wants to wait til she is at least 6 months. So in January we will start her on solids.

 

[swimmyj1]

I miss BF a lot. I actually tried today to get her to do it today but it was a no go she has an attached upper lip so they say that can be harder for them to latch but she should grow out of it and I didn't want to do surgery to fix it if we didn't have to. the funny faces they make when trying new foods cracks me up! my gal loves green beans but if i sneak in a scoop of pears with it her face looks all puckered and shocked. hahaha