FTM stockpiling to return to work

karichards88

How much breastmilk do I need to stockpile for my return to work? LO and I cue feed so I don't know how much he truly eats in a day. Any STM+ have any advice? I have 2 weeks until my return.

ashton2190

I don't know if there's a hard and fast rul but I'm planning on having at least a week's worth stockpiled at any time. That way I've got some in case something comes up. I would see the average daily number of ounces babies eat at the age of your LO and then use that as a guide

VitaLuna

It's hard to say, because you don't know how much you'll pump until you're actually away from baby all day. I'd start pumping once a day now (in the morning is best). After you go back to work, you'll know if you need to add in any weekend or evening sessions to keep up with baby. 

kinnonam

I feed on demand with baby also I'm building my pile up also I've been pumping once a day different times since LO isn't on a set schedule. But I have read that it's good to pump in the morning and try and add in an extra pump a day to let your body know make more so you can build up a stash 

Ju111310

You really only need enough to get through the first work day. You'll pump at work the first day & use that the second day and so on. If it makes you more comfortable, maybe put up enough for 2 days in case you have any difficulty pumping on day 1. Lots of moms get all excited about a massive freezer stash but it's unnecessary unless you travel a lot for work or plan to leave baby for an extended period of time. If I had a workday where I was short on pumped milk, I'd add in an evening session before bed or add in a Saturday morning session.  I have no desire to pump any more than necessary & I successfully BF while I worked full time till DS1 was 13 months old. You'll get in a groove and find what works best for you! 

As far as volume goes, check out kellymom for more info but generally BF babies need 1-1.5 oz per hour. So if you're gonna be gone 8 hours, I'd leave 13-14 oz just to be safe. With DS1, I did smaller more frequent bottles to reduce waste of that precious BM. So I sent four 3.5 oz bottles and a 4 oz bag of frozen milk for emergencies (spills, growth spurt, etc). I fed him at 7/730, dropped him off about 830. Babysitter fed around 9, 1130, 2, depending on his cues and sometimes at 430. If he wasn't acting hungry at 430 she would hold off so I could nurse as soon as I got there at 515.