Pumping - how much do you get?

GatorNurse

I got a phone call from the hospital LC this morning, checking in with me. She told me that I should be getting 400-500ml per 24 hours. I'm not even close to that, I'm at like 200. She said that if I am behind at two weeks, then studies show I won't be able to increase my supply and eventually won't be able to keep up with the baby's needs. I hated hearing that, because pumping is like the ONLY thing I can do for my daughter right now, so hearing that I can't even do that correctly really upset me. I am using a hospital grade pump (Medela Symphony) and I am trying my hardest to pump every two hours. Sometimes, its impossible, esp considering the pump isn't portable.

Any suggestions or insight??

Angela

lemen99

I'm surprised she would call and tell you that.  I think that's sort of a douchebag move.  I think the reason a lot of preemie moms struggle is because of stress and I'm sure calls like that REALLY  help moms...as if you can help it. 

Anyways, You're doing so awesome.  Every 2 hours? You're a super mom.  The most I ever did was every 3.  

My advice is just to charge ahead and try not to count ounces.  Drink LOTS of water.  Try to get enough rest.  Be sure to eat enough calories.  Taking care of yourself is key, and even though, it varies some from person to person.

Bottom line is do the best you can and know that is all you can do.  if you feel any pain be sure to make sure you're not having any fit issues.

FWIW, my output shot up around a month and then I had tons!

Hugs!

kck329

Get a new LC. I can't believe she would be that discouraging. There are many ways to increase your supply and it can take longer for a preemie mom's milk supply to be fully established. Think about how confused your body must be right now.

The first several weeks my DD was in the NICU I struggled with supply too. The LCs started me on fenugeek and that helped a lot. After lots of pumping and time, I have an exclusively BFed baby.

Look at kellymom.com for lots of suggestions on how to increase supply. Also check out the BFing posts on the preemie resource blog.

If you are pumping every 2 hours around the clock, you are doing great. See if they can give you a hospital pump next to your baby's bed (bring a hands-free bra and a nursing cover when you visit). That helped me a lot because I could be with DD and still pump regularly.

If its important to you, keep at it. You'll find lots of support here-many of us have struggled with pumping. 

GatorNurse

Dude it was a TOTAL DB move! My husband was pissed! It totally bummed me out all day and now I am stressing over yet another thing, ya know? I just pumped and only got 15 ml total. Gah.

I am attempting to do 2 hours, just because I wanted to try to increase my supply as much as I could. It was hard today though, even when I was home, its just hard because you turn around and its been 2 hours ya know? I have pumped at the bedside, which is helpful, but tonight when I visited I had forgotten my tubing and they didnt have extra

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies. I did email a friend of mine tonight who is a LC and I am hoping she writes back soon!

lemen99

I think doing every 2 hrs short term isn't a bad idea to get a temporary boost, but, please don't stress yourself out over this.  You need time to take care of the rest of yourself as well as your baby, too.  It's not worth additional stress IMO!

 

Hugs! I hope it gets better!

kck329

I agree with Lemen--total DB move. Don't let her freak you out at all. My guess is she has not worked with preemie moms before. Almost all of us struggle with supply at the beginning. 

I pumped every 3 hours around the clock, 2 hours is really hard! You can try adding an hour of power pumping every night (see kellymom for how to do it) and maybe let yourself sleep a little more.Taking care of yourself is really important for pumping, but also for your baby. Also tell yourself that is ok if you don't meet that LC's goals. Do the best you can and feel good about that. There's lots of guilt in being a preemie mom. Try not to let yourself add pumping/bfing to that list. You are doing awesome being so dedicated. Any amount of milk is going to benefit your LO and is a great gift.

Oh and I can't tell you how many times I forgot pump pieces between home and the NICU. Luckily they sold them at our milk bank but as a result, I have 5 sets of pump parts. If you don't have extra, order another set now. It saves time with washing and you can always have a clean set ready to go. 

katie4253

What a wank.  You are doing GREAT!  Your LC was rude and not correct at all. 

There are some herbs that you can take that can help your supply.  Have hope!  My milk to FOREVER to come in (10 days) and even then it was so low.  However, I got up to pumping 32 oz a day!  It took a lot of pumping and I took herbs to help my supply.

Also, you can try power pumping.  Pump 1 hour a day (same time each day) up two two times.  When you do it you pump 10 min on and 10 min off.  It is supposed to simulate cluster feeding and help.  It helped me a lot.  

adrielegorburu

Please dont listen to that LC - she was soooo wrong.  I never had a good supply, and I did all the tricks in the book to increase it, power pumped, took fenugeek, drank mothers milk tea, ate oatmeal, drank gallons of water etc. and i pumped every 3 hours round the clock - even with my low supply (which by the way did increase after a month or so) I was able to give DD BM exclusevly for 7 months and now she gets BM in the morning and the rest of her bottles are formula, I will have enough BM to keep giving her a little and add it to her solids until the end of January hopefully. Dont give up, take care of yourself - you are doing great. PS  - at my most productive I made between 22-26 oz in 24 hour period.

sail123

What GA is your baby?  Are the numbers she is giving you based on a full term 2 week old? I know my supply was around was yours is for the couple of weeks but I was getting something like 40 ounces by 1 month. 

KatFCo

I agree with everyone else, it was a pretty rude thing for her to do. There are definitely things you can try, and if they don't work, contact your dr. and have your thyroid checked (that can cause low supply also).

I'm not trying to be discouraging, but sometimes milk doesn't come in fully. I tried everything anyone suggested, and pumped for 16 weeks and never got up to even half of full volume. Sometimes having a preemie will do that (my daughter was really, really early, though and that likely had something to do with it). Again, I'm not trying to discourage you, definitely try everything you can, but if it doesn't happen, remember it doesn't make you a bad mother. You're still a good mother no matter what happens. It's not the only thing you can do for her. You do your best, you sit by her side, touch her when you can and let her know you're there. It may not seem like it, but that helps her too.

Keep it up as long as possible, you're doing great! (and ignore annoying and rude people)

haziedaze

sail123:

What GA is your baby?  Are the numbers she is giving you based on a full term 2 week old? I know my supply was around was yours is for the couple of weeks but I was getting something like 40 ounces by 1 month. 

This! I remember being told I needed to be at goal volume by 2 weeks and freaked out when I wasn't. My output continued to increase over the next few weeks to the point where I was getting 40oz per day and had oversupply issues when DS started to BF. Definitely check out the preemie resource blog. I also did hand expression after pumping and found I could get a lot more out. I would pump for 15mins then hand express for 10 sometimes I could double my pumping volume! Good luck, and don't listen to anyone who tells you you can't do it. It's way too early to say that!

GatorNurse

Her GA is 29 w 6 d today. I cant even imagine pumping 40 oz in a day. I certainly hope I get there one day!

Thank you guys so much for the supportive comments. It makes me feel so much better to know that I am not the only one who's dealt with this. I just want to do whatever I can to help her, and I know that BFing is so, so important for preemies. I will keep chugging along, hoping that over time it will increase.

Also, it is ok for me to take fenugreek, right? I might try that too!

Thanks girls!

HEmery

Wow. I get about 2.5 ounces per session. Sometimes 3 ounces. Walker is 30 weeks and 5 days GA.

I feel behind now.

hunt2005

GatorNurse:

Her GA is 29 w 6 d today. I cant even imagine pumping 40 oz in a day. I certainly hope I get there one day!

Thank you guys so much for the supportive comments. It makes me feel so much better to know that I am not the only one who's dealt with this. I just want to do whatever I can to help her, and I know that BFing is so, so important for preemies. I will keep chugging along, hoping that over time it will increase.

Also, it is ok for me to take fenugreek, right? I might try that too!

Thanks girls!

You can totally do this!! I pumped every 2 hours during daytime and 3 hours at night for a week and it really helped my supply. Try talking to NICU nurses - I found them to be almost as knowledgeable if not more than some of the LC's in the hospital. The one advised to pump 3-5 minutes after the last drop of milk comes out to help increase your supply.

Fenugreek is great to take! One of our NICU nurses took 3 pills 3 times a day and it worked wonders for her. There's also something called a "lactation cookie" - you can probably google the recipe. Basically, it's a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie which tastes great but you include brewer's yeast and a couple other herbs that are good for milk production. And if you like beer, drink a dark beer a day, the brewers yeast in it is great for production Our Neo said to do that, then pump and mark it beer milk for the middle of hte night feeds when she comes home! haha.