Another pumping at work question...

TheAnalyticalMommy

Hi everyone! I've got yet another question... sorry!

Since i've started pumping to replace daycare bottles, the amount I can pump during the three sessions has been decreasing. I've done i 6 times now over the last 2 weeks (he was transitioning into daycare... or maybe i was transitioning ). At first I would get about 18 ounces and now it's about 14-15. He takes 12 at daycare. 

In the morning I get the most. Usually about 6-7 ounces and then the rest of the day between 3-5. 

Since i'm currently getting more than the 12 ounces he drinks, I'm wondering if I should switch to only 2 sessions. Would I be okay? I'm thinking that I might still get enough because I'd have more time to store milk before I pump but i'm concerned that my supply would drop even more (especially since I have a cold right now and LO sometimes sleeps 7 hours). 

Also, I currently pump for 15 minutes each time.

Any thoughts? advice?

I can pump 3 times without any issues at work (they are very supportive) and just don't want to hurt my supply. Right now I make a little more than he needs but what if he starts needing larger bottles?

Thanks!

vvvvvfee

how old is your LO?  if he is less than 6 months, i would try to stick with 3 pumps a day for now. you're supposed to be pumping to replace each feed that you're missing with your LO. 2-3 ounces a day extra is not a huge amount. and you're right that he might start taking 3 4-1/2 or 5 oz bottles instead of 3 4 oz bottles once he is a little older (this is what my DS did). plus, it's great to freeze that excess to have a bit of safety net- if you're sick and your supply drops a little, if you spill a bottle, if you miss a pump one day, to have extra for the freezer at daycare, etc. 

TheAnalyticalMommy

Thanks! Yeah my LO is only 11 weeks old (tomorrow). 

Pumping is actually a nice forced break from work right now so 3 it is! 

When your LO increased the amount he needs in his bottles, did your supply also increase? I'm curious if that happens after LO goes to daycare since the baby isn't able to cluster feed all day anymore to increase supply. Or do they cluster feed at night instead to increase supply?

vvvvvfee

i went back when my DS was 12 weeks. i pumped 3x a day until he was about 7/8 months and had started on solids, then i cut back to 2. i know it's a drag to have to haul out all the pumping stuff 3x a day, but if your work is supportive, i would do it in order to keep your supply up, since your LO is still so young.

my situation was like yours- i was getting a couple of ounces extra each day and freezing it. when my DS needed another 1/2 ounce or so in his bottles, my supply was the same, i just had less extra to freeze. some days i didn't have any extra, some days i had maybe 2 ounces. my DS always nursed a lot in the evenings, but he also reverse-cycled to some degree and nursed overnight. he also tended to nurse a lot on the weekends. i think with working f/t you really have to let your LO nurse on demand when you're home as much as possible in order to keep your supply up.

GL!

TheAnalyticalMommy

Thanks! That's helpful because my ped (who is VERY supportive of BF'ing) had told me to try and get him to wait 3 hours in between nursing sessions. Now that he's in daycare though, I thought he might need extra sessions and that I should probably nurse on demand when he's not in daycare. 

It's become tougher to know when he's hungry though because he doesn't seem to root anymore. Either he's fine or he's screaming for food! lol

vvvvvfee

OurBundleOfJoy said:

Now that he's in daycare though, I thought he might need extra sessions and that I should probably nurse on demand when he's not in daycare. 

yes, this exactly. you are away from your LO all day, and i would always have preferred to nurse a few extra times to keep my supply up than have to add in extra pumping sessions. also, it is a way to bond after a day apart. my 20-month old is still desperate to nurse as soon as i get in the door in the evening!

TheAnalyticalMommy

Thank you!!

TheAnalyticalMommy

Thanks! 

i'm actually beginning to worry now because I was getting 4-4oz bottles worth after the 3 sessions and today I only got 3.5 bottles worth I'm crossing my fingers that it's because I've got a cold or i'm just getting used to pumping so much. I'd prefer to decide to only pump 3 bottles worth than have my supply drop and be forced into it! (Probably sounds silly but I can be a control freak sometimes!)

jess9802

I feel like with pumping at work it's all about making hay while the sun shines: it may be easy (for some) to pump extra milk in the beginning, so three 20 minute sessions might seem like overkill, but at some point your supply will regulate (it may be regulating now; I hear 12 weeks is a common time for that to happen, IIRC), or you may not respond as well to the pump, or you get your period back, or you just generally hit a 6/9 month pump slump, and you won't have as much extra milk.

After I returned to work with DS I was pumping about 17/18 oz a day whereas he ate 12-14. I had a great freezer stash and I didn't worry if I missed my third (less productive) pumping session. Then at six months my supply regulated, then I got my period back, and I spent the next six months drinking Mother's Milk Tea every time I pumped and often pumping in the evening after DS went to bed just to match his daytime bottles (which stabilized at 14 oz/day).

So a long way of saying: stick with three pumping sessions, nurse on demand nights and weekend, and try not to fret about it too much. Good luck.

evelyntaylor

Keep pumping 3 times. I didn't drop the 3rd pump session until after DD had started solids around 7 months. My supply did the same thing, which usually means that is what your LO needs/gets when you're home nursing. Stash any extra. You never know when you might get sick or need to go overnight.

TheAnalyticalMommy

Thanks everyone!! 

Right now I'm so happy that I have a freezer in the basement!! it's being overrun by BM but it sounds like the stash will be good just in case!! 

Thank you! 3 sessions it is!