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Looking for breastfeeding advice

mattperrybridemattperrybride
in Breastfeeding
I am 10 week pg with my second child and I want advice on how to breastfeed longer then I did the first time.  I breastfeed my DD for the first 5 1/2 months.  I would like to go longer with this baby.  I work full time and was able to pump 3 times a day at work.  But I was never able to get enough for a full day.  Before I went back to work I had over 300 oz frozen which really help me breastfeed as long as I did.  This issue I had was when I first whet back to work I could get 18 oz when I was at work but my DD would drink 20oz.  I always felt like I was short a few oz. By the end of the 5 1/2 months each time I pumped I was lucky if I got 2oz so finally I went to pumping once a day.  By the end of it I gave up. I felt so guilty and wished I could have gone longer.  How can I increase my supply so I can breastfeed long. 
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Re: Looking for breastfeeding advice

  • fame_amefame_ame

    It's as easy as supply and demand. If you feed and pump enough, you will produce enough. I haven't had supply issues, but never pumped either.

    Is there a La Leche League chapter close to you? They are AMAZING!!!!

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  • fun9fun9
    I had the same fear when I went back to work... but I rationed out her bottles for what I was pumping. I used up most of my freezer stash but after a few weeks of pumping my supply was back up. I also would pump at night before I went to bed and early morning to keep up. The more I pumped, the more my supply would go up and after a few weeks I was able to pump enough in 3-4 sessions while at work. It will all work out for you! Definitely contact a lactation consult or La Leche League for support and advice!
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  • DallasHornDallasHorn member

    In my experience, I never took the position of "i must ALWAYS send X amount" to the extreme.  If I pumped 18 oz, I would SEND 18 oz :-)  I think this is a major reason I have nursed 2 kids as long as I have and worked full time.  I also think there is a lack of understanding about how much to bottle feed a BF baby vs a formula fed baby and it seems to be the breastfeeding death of so many moms I see on this board!

     Just like you, baby's hunger will be different day to day and meal to meal.  Now, if you ever have a streak where there is major difference, then personally, I would add a pumping session at night and/or then I would tap into my freezer stash.

    It's important to remember a couple of key points...most babies purposely reverse cycle when mom is at work...meaning they will take less during the workday and make up for it when actually with mom & at night.  Additionally, it is SO important to NOT overfeed - - very very very easy to do with a bottle as baby can NOT turn off the flow of liquid.  A baby at the breast can be "sucking" but not "nursing".  Not true at a bottle.  Check out kellymom.com for charts on the max stomach capacity of an infant at different ages.  Also review https://www.workandpump.com/ for lots of good tips.  Finanally, yes, it is supply and demand.  While 1 missed or late pumping session will not kill your supply, you do have to commit to sticking with the pumping regularly while away from baby.

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  • Lotte134Lotte134
    At that age I had to pump once in the evening as well as the 3 times each day to make enough.  I was able to stop that at 6 months when DS started eating solids.  Also, what kind of pump did you use?  It is so important to have a good one when working full time.  And I agree with pp about overfeeding - definitely something to discuss with your daycare of sitter.
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