Pumping at Work - Supply

altow1310

Is anyone else who has returned to work recently not getting as much milk while pumping as they expected to? I've pumped twice so far today (first day back) and have only gotten 8 oz TOTAL. I'm so disappointed. LO is drinking about 5 oz per feeding, so I'm worried my pumping won't be able to keep up with him. Luckily I only work in the office three days a week and am home the other days. I didn't drink a lot of water yesterday and I've been stressed/upset about returning, so I'm thinking that could be part of the issue today as well. Even when I pump in between nursing I usually get 4-5 oz total from both breasts. I am just so scared I won't be able to continue with breastmilk only if I'm not able to pump what he needs.

Mack2342

I was in your position when I returned to work a couple months ago. LO gets one formula bottle a day while I'm at work to supplement. I tried everything to increase supply but nothing worked.

holli0801

Try not to stress! For me, stress has been the number one milk reducer!! Mine has gone up and down since returning to work. I am part time as well, and it doesn't seem to matter where I pump.... At home or work. It has fluctuated more. I do think eating a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water, and an extra pump session per day does help. Not a ton, but I'll take slight improvements! Try to stay positive! Truly, when I have the lowest amount of stress, I get the highest volumes. Best of luck, mama.

PurplePanda2

I am in the same situation you are - I work 3 days a week and pump twice at work.  I do get a little more than you do per day - probably closer to 10 oz total.  

What I do is pump one breast in the morning before work - since I typically get more milk in the morning I usually get between 4-5 oz then feed the baby on the other side when she wakes up.  This gives me about 14-15 oz per day which is enough to feed my baby.  I do this on days that I don't work also so that I have some extra milk if I can't pump enough at work one day. 

jellybean8080

My pumping volumes can range between 13 and 18 Oz per day while I'm at work,  with the same number of sessions. The high volume days make up for the low ones so far. My biggest advice is DRINK WATER. I can literally see a difference at each session depending on how much water I drank.