Pumping for work EBF

LilyGirl4 · October 2013

Hi everyone! I return to work in 4 short weeks and I would love to build a stash for my lo who will be attending home daycare. I have read some online sources but fear I may have low supply compared to many of those women. I have had to supplement with an occasional evening formula bottle if my lo goes on a feeding frenzy that afternoon into evening, so I doubt I'll get much by pumping after her feedings (plus she eats so often, how would I stick a pumping session in there!?). I have had to pump after feedings in the beginning to get my supply up and barely got an ounce, this was weeks ago now though (lo is 8 weeks). How have you ladies started preparing for work? How often/when do you pump? Do you immediately freeze or combine milk to freeze? All this is new to me! TIA!!

kje120 · October 2013

In the morning he will nurse on one side and sometimes I'll pump the other. Or like right now, he is napping so I pumped one side and got enough for a 5 oz bottle so I will freeze that. I've been freezing it in 5 oz bags so if I need to I'll combine pumpings, but normally I can get enough at one session for a bag. I let it cool in the fridge and then freeze it.

AarikaW44 · October 2013

I am also a new mom. I don't know if this is right, but I would pump the other side as my lo was eating. It seemed to help. My LO eats constantly too, so I found that just feeding him on the one side and pumping at the same time was most beneficial. I also am able to keep up with what my LO is eating while pumping at work.

thedash · October 2013

My goal has been to pump one time each day around lunchtime. That's when I will have the most time to pump when back to work so I'm hoping to teach my body to have a good supply midday. I just pump about an hour after she last nursed. So if she nurses at 11 and falls asleep at 11:30 I pump at 12 and then she wakes up to eat again sometime after 1.

If she only nurses on one side in the morning I sometimes pump the other. But my mornings are going to be crazy when I'm back to work so I don't want to get my body used to pumping too much early in the morning. I'll be on my own getting a toddler and infant out the door and absolutely cannot be late most days so I don't foresee having time to pump in the mornings.

I usually only get 3 or 4 ounces total when I pump. However, there have been times that I pumped instead of nursing her and I got 5+ ounces then. She doesn't really like bottles and will only take 3 ounces at a time right now.

RedHead0917 · October 2013

Just to give you hope--I pump once a day and get 1.5-2.5 oz. Occassionally I just have it in a bottle if I want it so we can go out. Otherwise I freeze it in that amount. You don't know how much LO will want to eat and once you thaw you have to use it. I don't want to waste.

magdalina.h · October 2013

Pump after the morning nursing session. That's when you have the most prolactin

CDMay2006 · October 2013

I don't have time to read the other replies but in the morning is when you have the most milk (though I'm not sure why), so I'd start with adding a session first thing in the morning and see how that goes. also try pumping after one or more feeding later in the day to try and get your supply up a bit.

crenteri · October 2013

I pump 4 times a day. I only save and freeze 3 oz per day right now

ravenclaw1 · October 2013

I read an article about pumping (maybe on kellymom?) that said not to stress about having a huge stash. If you pump every 2-3 hours, plus bf in the morning, evening, and night, you should be able to produce enough to cover your needs day to day

amy11401 · October 2013

ravenclaw1 said:

I read an article about pumping (maybe on kellymom?) that said not to stress about having a huge stash. If you pump every 2-3 hours, plus bf in the morning, evening, and night, you should be able to produce enough to cover your needs day to day

The problem is it is not always possible to pump this much at some jobs.

blondii428 · October 2013

I think lots of pumping sessions are key. I started with 3 a day and am now doing 5 a day. I mainly feed pumped milk from the bottle ever since DS has started having trouble staying on the breast. I've even mastered feeding during pumping while he's in the RnP. In a day he usually ends up eating half of it and I freeze the other half. I'm sure that if you pump as often as possible your supply should go up a little.

Pumping for work EBF

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