EP'ers Please Help

davenh76

I've recently switched to EP because I am heading back to work in 2 weeks.  Right now DD is eating 4oz. every 3 hours, but it's starting to seem like that's not quite enough to satisfy her. I think that she is going to start needing additional ounces in the next couple of weeks.  If I'm pumping 4 oz. per session now, how do I up it when she starts to take 5-6oz so that I can keep up with her?

klmcguire

Are you doing anything to help your supply

? Fenugreek? Oatmeal? LOTS of water?

Those are some small things to try, but once you body gets used to the pumping you may start getting more than one letdown, but becuase LO is so much more efficent than the pump its hard to up your milk supply. You can try mocking cluster feeding and pump every other 10 minutes for an hour, but I found that it did not really help me much

rels09

Were you EBF before? If so, can you put baby to the breast once a day? We are mostly EP, but nothing stimulates my supply more than putting DD to the breast. We have been nursing twice a day, but will probably drop down to once a day with me going back to work this week. 

sdlaura

Agreed on still BFing when you're with the baby.  I plan to still nurse whenever I'm physically with DD even after going back to work (so morning and night most days).

davenh76

Right now I'm drinking lots of water to keep my supply up.  I haven't had too much of an issue so far.  

DD is an awful nurser, so I'm trying to nurse her just once a day.  She's a 'lazy eater' (that's what the LC told us) and she will take over an hour per side when we nurse, and be hungry again 20 minutes later. 

Will her nursing adjust my supply to what she needs even if she's so slow? 

emu0013

davenh76:

I've recently switched to EP because I am heading back to work in 2 weeks. nbsp;Right now DD is eating 4oz. every 3 hours, but it's starting to seem like that's not quite enough to satisfy her.nbsp;I think that she is going to start needing additional ounces in the next couple of weeks. nbsp;If I'm pumping 4 oz. per session now, how do I up it when she starts to take 56oz so that I can keep up with her?

How old is your lo? 56 ounces seems like a lot for a breast milk baby. I thought they max out usually at 24 ounces per day.

lady_tytah

emu0013:

davenh76:

I've recently switched to EP because I am heading back to work in 2 weeks. nbsp;Right now DD is eating 4oz. every 3 hours, but it's starting to seem like that's not quite enough to satisfy her.nbsp;I think that she is going to start needing additional ounces in the next couple of weeks. nbsp;If I'm pumping 4 oz. per session now, how do I up it when she starts to take 56oz so that I can keep up with her?

How old is your lo? 56 ounces seems like a lot for a breast milk baby. I thought they max out usually at 24 ounces per day.

My son drinks 4 oz. he's a big boy of almost 13 lbs. He eats about 6 to 7 tones a day. I imagine he'll go up to 5 oz but he'll drop once he starts eating solids around 5 or 6 months

mswood1977

DS has been taking 3.5 oz of breast milk 8 times a day since he was 4 weeks old. He is 13 weeks old now and weighs 15 lbs. He gains an average of 2.2 lbs. per month and shows no sign of wanting more milk than what he is getting now. I even occasionally try to give him 4 ounces, but he never takes it all.

mindymaske

If you pump more frequently than Lo eats you should have enough to give him more at each setting. Exam if LO eats 6 times a day, then pump 7x day

jlrschmidt

Pumping between each normal pumping session seems like a good idea. When I thought I needed to increase my supply I researched this and a few sources said to not pump after each feeding but between each feeding. I know you are EPing, but I would imagine the same principal would apply? 

Good luck?