s/o breastfeeding supply

LauraLynneC · November 2011

When does supply insecurity go away??

I'm at 3.5 months of EBF and pumping for daycare bottles. The stress about supply is almost enough to make me quit BF all together. Am I alone on this? When does it get better? (I've been able to build a small stash and haven't had any true supply issues - just insecure about it!). I've had to stop reading about other people pumping (one woman gets 17oz several times a day - I can't get that number out of my head!) and just concentrate on the fact that my little guy is doing just fine which means, my extension, that my supply is just fine.

*sigh* nobody said it was going to be easy...

MrsH_08 · November 2011

17 oz??? That would take me 17-18 days!!! We're at 5.5 months. I pump 2-3x/day and get 0.5 - 1.5 oz total for the day. So, I'm sure you're doing better than that. :-) I pump only after feedings, so he's already drained some of it. It has helped my supply compared to early days, but we definitely have to supplement with formula, too. The Ped figures he probably gets a 3rd of each meal as BM. I just remind myself that I'm happy to give him some amount of BM each feeding.

I hope they're not still using your stash too quickly for L at day care! :-s

LauraLynneC · November 2011

I'm sending 6 - 3oz bottles to daycare with the specific instructions that to wait a MINIMUM of one hour after a bottle to give another bottle. I've also made it clear that formula is not an option and that my supply will dictate how much milk I send. Between the hour wait and naps, he's only drinking 4-5 bottles a day so I'm able to keep up with pumping.

And I MAY have found a new daycare...DH has to meet and approve and he'll be home this weekend (trade show means he's gone all week).

Ya - that 17oz comment blew my mind. I'm picturing storing breast milk in a gallon jug...LOL

greenmtbride · November 2011

I never had supply issues when I was home and nursing, but I could not keep up once I went back to work full time and started pumping. I ended up just throwing in the towel when LO was 5.5 months.

KNemo · November 2011

I didn't pump because Maximus wouldn't take a bottle, so I never had to worry there. I think that you are doing an excellent job, L, and you should stop worrying about your supply. It seems pretty good from all that I have read and heard from you!

LauraLynneC · November 2011

KNemo:
I didn't pump because Maximus wouldn't take a bottle, so I never had to worry there. I think that you are doing an excellent job, L, and you should stop worrying about your supply. It seems pretty good from all that I have read and heard from you!

See - that's the thing - by all measurements, I'm doing just fine. But I *still* worry! I just want to be able to relax about it...stress never helps anything!

(thanks!)

WatchPot · November 2011

What Katie said.

IMO you'll grow to hate BF'ing if it's such a cause of stress for you. See if you can try to adjust your attitude abou it (I know easier said than done) and give yourself small measurable goals so you don't feel like you have to always stress. "i want to hit 3 months", or I want to hit all his nursing sessions, and I'm OK not buidling a stash. What ever it is, if you know you are meeting your small measurable goals you'll have less to worry about.

Keep it up, you are doing a great job and you don't need to put all that pressure on yourself! Smile

ChristineVet · November 2011

I am at almost 11 mos BF'ing and pumping, and still have some insecurity about pumping what he needs.. even though I always pump almost EXACTLY what he needs. I gave up on having much of a freezer stash, as I had a great one when I went back to work and most of it went to waste - I always feed him what I pump and just have a few bottles in reserve, but LO rarely gets those. LO has really cut down on how much breast milk he is taking recently, and my supply is dropping accordingly - I know it is normal but I've been used to making so much more that it freaks me out a little. I think he's gearing up to wean himself.. I'm planning on stopping pumping at work right around 12 months (I'll be glad to be done with it, but it's also my 20 min twice daily of quiet time for me so I'll miss it too!) but will still BF at home and in the evenings.

Don't stress about it - at 3.5 months you've made it through the very worst part already - it is SO much easier from here on out . Don't worry if you don't have much of a stash built up - just feed what you pump. And don't worry about how much anyone else pumps - you are the only one who matters! As long as you are keeping up with your babys needs you are golden!

Good luck!

~Lynchie~ · November 2011

that 17oz woman is a freak...

That being said, I worried about having enough bm until I started adding in other foods, so around 6 months-ish?

mamababyrn · November 2011

I had an oversupply from the beginning. When I returned to work though, my supply went down quite a bit. I began keeping track of exactly how much I was pumping and how much she was getting and it was really stressing me out. Around the 5 month mark I made a conscious decision to just stop stressing. My body was going to do what it was going to do and there wasn't much I could do about it. It took a week or so for that mindset to really set it, but it eventually did. I honestly think my supply has picked up a little bit now. I hope I can make it to a year, but if I can't, that's ok too.

doublem · November 2011

I think that the BFing/pumping stress goes away when you let go of the feeling that you MUST do it. I think formula has gotten too bad of a rap. There are tons of amazing, smart, wonderful, healthy adults, kids, and babies who have thrived thanks to it. Somewhere I read that even if your LO only gets 3 oz of bm a day, it does a world of good for them. If I was you, I'd try to stop counting ounces while you're pumping (although I do agree that you're being wise for dictating the bottle usage at daycare!). Breastmilk is NOT the healthiest option if it is stressing you out - that is not good for your health, mentally or physically, and if you're stressed, you're spending time worrying instead of using that time to enjoy your little sweet guy. Do what you can, be proud of yourself for it, and don't sweat the rest of it.

MrsH_08 · November 2011

doublem:
I think that the BFing/pumping stress goes away when you let go of the feeling that you MUST do it. I think formula has gotten too bad of a rap. There are tons of amazing, smart, wonderful, healthy adults, kids, and babies who have thrived thanks to it. Somewhere I read that even if your LO only gets 3 oz of bm a day, it does a world of good for them. If I was you, I'd try to stop counting ounces while you're pumping (although I do agree that you're being wise for dictating the bottle usage at daycare!). Breastmilk is NOT the healthiest option if it is stressing you out - that is not good for your health, mentally or physically, and if you're stressed, you're spending time worrying instead of using that time to enjoy your little sweet guy. Do what you can, be proud of yourself for it, and don't sweat the rest of it.

Like!

LauraLynneC · November 2011

doublem:
I think that the BFing/pumping stress goes away when you let go of the feeling that you MUST do it. I think formula has gotten too bad of a rap. There are tons of amazing, smart, wonderful, healthy adults, kids, and babies who have thrived thanks to it. Somewhere I read that even if your LO only gets 3 oz of bm a day, it does a world of good for them. If I was you, I'd try to stop counting ounces while you're pumping (although I do agree that you're being wise for dictating the bottle usage at daycare!). Breastmilk is NOT the healthiest option if it is stressing you out - that is not good for your health, mentally or physically, and if you're stressed, you're spending time worrying instead of using that time to enjoy your little sweet guy. Do what you can, be proud of yourself for it, and don't sweat the rest of it.

You've hit the nail on the head and I know all of that intelectually - now I just need to chill....

Vincent · November 2011

Hey Laura- I'm glad I came across your post, I've been wondering how you've been.

Regarding your post, I would like to hope that was a typo and she meant 7 oz not 17 oz per pumpin session. Madelyn's daycare bottles (8 am to 5 pm) are three 6 oz bottles and I'm pumping 3 times at work and sometimes two more times at home just to make the 18oz I need. I'll tell you that I still get nervous about not having enough, just because I put a lot of pressure on myself that I don't want to use formula. Also, around 4 months the increase at daycare began (from three 4 oz bottles to 6 oz bottles) and I managed to use all my backup storage. I barely have enough to fill the bottles these days so making up the freezer supply is not an option. So to answer your question, I'm not sure if that feeling ever goes away. Good luck to you.

s/o breastfeeding supply

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