I do pump both sides. Going to see how I do over the next couple of days (and LO too). Yesterday he only needed 3 bottles because he took an extra long nap. If that trend continues, it'll be right as rain.
Any my tips on healthy snacks to bring to work? I seem to be famished all the time! Probably going to make some lactation cookies this weekend.
Being back at work has been good, finding a place for me to pump has been interesting, they gave me my own office temporarily, which has been great. The downside to this is that no one in my office gets their own office unless they are management or staff that has been here for a long time, so tons of people keep stopping by to ask why I got my own office, it has come to the point that I tell middle-aged men I am breast feeding and that's enough to shut them up.
Also, does anyone have any suggestions has to how to increase supply? I am only producing about 2.5/3 bottles a day and I really need to be producing 4. My supply in my freezer is running low and I am super concerned I will not have enough milk to feed her, I really would like to breastfeed for a year. I have been pumping 3/4 times a day, do I need to pump more or more frequently, I am just so overwhelmed by this!
@adough27 oatmeal, lactation cookies/smoothies, and I, personally, notice a supply issue if I don't drink enough water. I try to get about 100oz a day. It's hard, but also helps keep me a little bit fuller...though I'm still famished every 3-4 hours!
@LDSJM123@kellz14 What settings are you using for the best results on your spectra? I know everyone's different but I wonder if I'm maximizing my output.
Hey guys, not sure if this is common knowledge but I found his site latchedmama.com and they have some cute nursing tops and sweatshirts. Planning on throwing a t-shirt under my scrubs to make pumping easier and minimize milk spills on my scrubs.
@LDSJM123@kellz14 What settings are you using for the best results on your spectra? I know everyone's different but I wonder if I'm maximizing my output.
@Heathereaddy I basically took one pumping session and throughout it started to increase the settings until it started to hurt - then reduced it by one and kept it there. So in letdown mode I have it on 5, and 70 cycles. On the regular nursing mode, I have it on the max cycles, 54, and a vacuum of 7. Sometimes I reduce the vacuum to 6 if I'm feeling sensitive that day. If I'm pumping at work every 3 hours, I end up getting about 3.5-4oz per session (15-20mins), which is about what my baby eats when he's on the breast! Except the morning one tends to be bit more, probably leftover from the overnight!
Pumping at work sucks. I can't smell or feel my baby...missing it
I had to stop after a week. Couldn't find the time or the place since I started a new job. Keep it up! Record cute short videos and play them back at work. That helps me just get through the day sometimes.
Posted this in feeding your baby but thought this thread might be better. Any advice on how much breastmilk to have in the freezer before heading back to work?
I'm trying to have a few extra days worth just in case! Its hard to know how many oz lil man eats so want to have some extras to give to daycare n my babysitter in case what i pumped for the next day isn't enough! I figure once we are in the swing of a new routine, ill have a better idea of what i really need! @hreed7289
Posted this in feeding your baby but thought this thread might be better. Any advice on how much breastmilk to have in the freezer before heading back to work?
I had enough for a week just in case. I know others did like a month or so. Unfortunately it's still sitting there because I switched to formula.
@hreed7289 I had about 3 weeks worth of supply so I could figure out how much LO was eating at daycare, I could settle into work and establish a pumping schedule that would match her demand. I went through about half of my supply in the freezer before finally getting supply and demand to match up.
My first day back & i can already tell I won't be able to pump near what my son needs . Heartbreaking to say the least. he had a good first day without mom; mom only cried twice!
@erinjay1015 if you are able to pump at work, it helps to look at pictures of LO or even a video or two! It will stimulate your milk supply! Rooting for you!
@Jodi1980 thanks for the support! i can pump at work, it's just finding time between meetings & other demands. I will definitely be using pics & video today!
@LDSJM123@kellz14 What settings are you using for the best results on your spectra? I know everyone's different but I wonder if I'm maximizing my output.
@erinjay1015 I block off time in my company calendar to pump. That way ppl can't schedule meetings with me during pump time. Also, I noticed my supply is crap if I am checking emails or doing paperwork while pumping. I try to either check my bump boards, play a game on my phone, or look at pictures/videos of LO while pumping. (The boards and games I normally due while BFing, so it's kinda a cue to my boobies). GL!
I don't have any supply issues, but my pump only gets 2 oz each time. I have had to supplement with formula unfortunately. I think a big part of it is that I only pump 3-4 times a week at work. The rest of the time I am at home. The pump also leaves red marks on me and sometimes cracks my nipples, so I think something must be wrong there but I'm not sure what.
@erinjay1015 I look at my schedule in advance so I know what to expect the next day and plan my pumping sessions around them. I also post a note on my door that states I am reachable via email or phone so no one just barges in while I am pumping.
@FTM53 - awesome idea! i started a new job yesterday so things will start to cool down. i turned my back to my computer & textend with my husband while pumping this first time. I work in Healthcare so blocking off my schedule is a must! thanks for your advice!
@adough27 - im hoping to have a better schedule in the next couple weeks as I just started a new job. like today I thought I could pump at 10, 1230 & then 3... well a meeting ran into another one & i wasn't able to start until 11. i also don't have a permanent office yet, but will definitely take your advice on putting up a sign! thanks!
@shaylalr Have you tried putting lanolin on your nipples before pumping? We had trouble latching from the start so I pretty much exclusively pumped every 3 hours and feeding BM from a bottle. Needless to say, my nipples did not like that and putting on the nipple cream right before a pump seemed to alleviate some of the pain.
Me: 31 DH:35 Started TTC in June 2014 Started seeing RE in June 2015 HSG in July 2015 = normal, started Clomid/Ovidrel/IUI cycle in August 2015 Cycle #3 in October afforded 1st month of mature follicles - underwent IUI BFP on 10/27/15 - EDD 7/8/16 DD#1 born on 7/1/16
TTC #2 in September 2018 BFP on 12/2/18 - EDD 8/16/19
Team Green!
I think daycare is throwing out my milk and overfeeding my LO. I get a sheet at the end of the day saying how much she ate and at what frequency. I drop her off with 28 oz. and she ate 24 oz of that. Where did the other 4 oz go? Also she is eating 6 oz of milk every 2 hours, is this a lot? I feel that when I breastfeed her at home she eats every 3 hours. When she is bottle fed at home she takes about 4.5 oz.
I am just so stressed to keep up with this level of demand, is this normal, does anyone have any suggestions?
@adough27 My daycare throws out milk sometimes too. If they've heated it and LO hasn't eaten it, they are required to toss it. To prevent this I send more smaller bottles. If you're concerned about how much she's eating, ask them about it. I had a similar, but opposite, issue and they were really helpful to explain what ques DS was giving them and why they made the decisions they made. You also can just tell them to feed her every 3-4 hours. Or ask them to used paced feeding.
@ftm53, sending smaller bottles is a good idea, then I can give her 5 oz in each bottle instead of 7oz in each storage bag! I have the kiinde system now which is super convenient since you don't have to wash bottles, but I want to minimize my liquid gold getting thrown out. My husband asked this morning when he dropped LO off about the milk and they said they did not know they could keep the unfinished bottles, which is frustrating because I have been pumping like a crazy person.
For any working Momma's that have completely made the switch to formula, how did you "dry yourself up"? I've always struggled with low supply and of course it has gone down even more since I started back to work, no matter what I try. I'm to the point that I barely get a 1/2oz TOTAL but my boobs still hurt like they need relief. Hard to feed a baby a breastmilk bottle when it's taking 5 days to make a 5oz bottle so I'm thinking that it's time I end this journey. Biggest question is how?
HoneyBear40 I made the switch prior to going back to work but I slowly reduced the amount I pumped both in frequency and length and when I was down to pumping once a day for 2 or 3 days I stopped. It was a pain free process, fortunately.
My supply is low too so she has always gotten both breast milk and formula. Basically now I'm down to breastfeeding 3 times a day and I don't feel any pain. I've just gradually started replacing feedings with formula until the point I am now . Next I'll drop down to 2 one feeding in the morning and one in the evening
For any working Momma's that have completely made the switch to formula, how did you "dry yourself up"? I've always struggled with low supply and of course it has gone down even more since I started back to work, no matter what I try. I'm to the point that I barely get a 1/2oz TOTAL but my boobs still hurt like they need relief. Hard to feed a baby a breastmilk bottle when it's taking 5 days to make a 5oz bottle so I'm thinking that it's time I end this journey. Biggest question is how?
I just relieved the pressure by pumping for a few minutes every few hours and I lengthened the time between those sessions each day. I also took ibuprofen.
Welp, tomorrow I start my return to work, part time. I'll be full time the Monday after thanksgiving. I knew this day would come, but I actually thought I'd be more ready. I'm really dreading it!!
I was going to ask about breastfeeding for those still pumping/working. Just caught up on the thread! I plan to try and pump and hope I can get enough for her to have the majority of her feedings. Not sure how my body will react though. My neighbor pumps every two hours at work! Does that sound about right?
@TiffRox81 I pump every 3 hours (9, 12, 3). My 9am pump still has overflow from the night before and I usually get 2 bottles (one from each boob). Then, I get one full bottle at each pump after that. 12-16oz overall. LO is at 3-5 hours for a bottle, so that is usually more than enough for him.
@TiffRox81 I pump at 10am and 230pm. I feed LO around 545am before I go to work (work hours 7-4). I pump after I feed LO at 545am and get around 3oz. I average about 4-5oz each pump session at work (I can get about 12-14oz total in the day). LO started daycare drinking 3, 4oz bottles (12oz total for the day). But she has now been drinking 4, 4oz bottles (16oz total for the day). Luckily I had saved a good amount from maternity leave so I supplement with frozen (usually a bottle or less). DH is an engineer so he did some calculation and thinks I can make it to 6 months with exclusive breastmilk. Haha. @FTM53 I like the look of your pump schedule. I would miss volleyball at lunch though! (we have 2 courts at my office).
@TiffRox81 I pump every 2.5 hours (7:30, 10, 12:30, 3) and I work 7-4:30. Like @FTM53 my first pumping session I get 2 bottles worth, 1 from each boob with a little extra. The remaining pumping session I get about 2.5 to 3.5 oz. Therefore I average about 14-17 oz. which is perfect for her at daycare. I have had to adjust my pumping times to get optimum output, so just be patient.
Re: October Working Moms Check-In
Any my tips on healthy snacks to bring to work? I seem to be famished all the time! Probably going to make some lactation cookies this weekend.
Also, does anyone have any suggestions has to how to increase supply? I am only producing about 2.5/3 bottles a day and I really need to be producing 4. My supply in my freezer is running low and I am super concerned I will not have enough milk to feed her, I really would like to breastfeed for a year.
What settings are you using for the best results on your spectra? I know everyone's different but I wonder if I'm maximizing my output.
@setosh videos is a great idea! I need to record her more often.
@Heathereaddy
@adough27 - im hoping to have a better schedule in the next couple weeks as I just started a new job. like today I thought I could pump at 10, 1230 & then 3... well a meeting ran into another one & i wasn't able to start until 11. i also don't have a permanent office yet, but will definitely take your advice on putting up a sign! thanks!
Started TTC in June 2014
Started seeing RE in June 2015
HSG in July 2015 = normal, started Clomid/Ovidrel/IUI cycle in August 2015
Cycle #3 in October afforded 1st month of mature follicles - underwent IUI
BFP on 10/27/15 - EDD 7/8/16
DD#1 born on 7/1/16
TTC #2 in September 2018
BFP on 12/2/18 - EDD 8/16/19
Team Green!
I am just so stressed to keep up with this level of demand, is this normal, does anyone have any suggestions?
@FTM53 I like the look of your pump schedule. I would miss volleyball at lunch though!