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Working mommas who pump

lnreynollnreynol member
in November 2013 Moms
Miss E is on day two of daycare so we are trying to get things figured out with her BM. On the first day I thawed 12 oz and portioned it into 4 3oz bottles. When home with me, E usually eats every 2.5-3hrs. She is at daycare for a total of 9 hrs. Well yesterday it said she had 15oz. I pumped 3 times at work yesterday getting a total of 12oz and again did 4 3oz bottles plus I sent an extra 2oz in that I pumped this morning.

I just called in to check on her and they said she had gone through 12 oz already and it's half way through the day! I explained that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with that and they told me that E is hungry and suggested I try pumping more often.

Is this a possible solution? I mean I already take a total of 20 minutes 3 times a day to pump, I can't imagine adding another session or two to this! How is everyone else doing? Any suggestions?
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Re: Working mommas who pump

  • mwhipple77mwhipple77 member
    Could you possibly pump every two hours?  That may help increase your supply.  I also take fenugreek and drink Mother's Milk tea to help increase my supply.  I can't say that they increase a LOT, but I have seen a difference.  But I don't get close to the 12oz a day like you are getting, I'm happy to get 6 ozs while I pump at work.  I tried for one day to pump every other hour and I felt like I had my office door at work closed more than open!

    I started supplementing with formula for this reason...I knew I would never make enough to keep up with her needs.  Not saying that's what you need to do, just that's what I ended up doing.

    Good luck!
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  • lnreynollnreynol member
    I was thinking it was an outrageous amount too! I will talk to them about how they are feeding her as well. I might also see if there would be a better way for me to proportion the milk.

    I did a 24 hr pump session last week at tr recommendation of my LC and she said my supply is exactly where it should be, actually about 25 mL higher, so I don't think it's a supply issue, but rather something is off with the feedings. Thanks a bunch ladies!
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  • J&JJ2011J&JJ2011 member
    Our little guy ate a TON the first few days, but has leveled out again this week.  I think he was using it as a comfort as he adjusted. 

     

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  • taradiestaradies member
    My DC does the same thing. It drives me insane. I found out the provider wasn't attempting to get her finish the bottles and tossing 1.5 ounce at each feeding, so she would be hungry more frequently. I struggle to keep up with her anyways and growth spurts are a nightmare.
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  • lnreynollnreynol member
    I double pump but with washing the parts and setting up/packing up the pump and a 10-15 minute actual pump session, it takes up about 20 plus minutes of time. Then when I get back to my office it takes me another few minutes to get focused.
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  • Zilly13Zilly13 member

    I agree - that sounds like a lot of milk for only 9 hours.  Every baby is different, but we do 3oz every three hours.  Are they mistaking her tired cues as hunger cues?  I'd ask them to try pacing the feedings a little bit, and then waiting 10 minutes or so before offering additional milk to ensure baby is truly hungry. 

    I'm just barely pumping enough to cover DD's bottles - if they told me to send in that much more there's no way I could do it.  And I can't imagine pumping more often than 3x while at work - it's a PITA as it is!

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  • lnreynollnreynol member
    Well when I called in to check on her today, I asked if E was fussy and they said "only when she is hungry" so I'm wondering I they are just feeding her every time she fusses, which I really hope is not the case. I'm going to have a discussion with them when I pick her up today.
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  • Kfran84Kfran84 member
    J&JJ2011 said:

    Our little guy ate a TON the first few days, but has leveled out again this week.  I think he was using it as a comfort as he adjusted. 

    This exactly. I was feeling just how you were, when LO first started daycare and was tearing through bottles like nobody's business.

    I'm like you- I get about 12 oz per work day but LO eats 12-16 oz in that same time. I compensate by pumping either first thing in the AM or during his MOTN feeding. I pump the boob he's not using with a manual pump while he feeds. Multitasking! I get 2-3 oz easily and it helps me keep up with his bottle needs without adding a pump session to my work day.



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  • SamanthaPoSamanthaPo member
    Is LO eating over night? I know it seems like a silly question, but if baby isn't getting anything overnight then that may be why LO is eating so much. My LO eats 12 ounces while I'm at work because she sleeps ttn.
    I would also talk to them about paced bottle feeding and how often LO should be eating.

                                                              

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  • AlisonM12AlisonM12 member
    I am now switching over to ff but I have had this problem with DC as well. My solution was to add a pumping session at night after her bedtime feeding or in the morning before she got up.
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  • lnreynollnreynol member
    That's the thing, E wakes up about 2 times a night to feed. We start the day with a feeding at 7. I drop her off at 8 and pick up at 5 will feed when she gets home and then we cluster feed until bed at 8:30. Then she is usually up at aroun 1:30-2 and then 4:30-5. I keep tellin myself it's only the second day and hopefully it works itself out, but I also don't want to burn through my stash only to find out it's a problem with the DC and how they are doing her feedings.
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  • lnreynollnreynol member
    So when I picked her up, E had a total of 18 oz in 9 hrs and the lady in her classroom was pretty much unreceptive to what I was saying and insisting that "she was hungry" and she "gobbled it down." I think in going to talk to her other teacher tomorrow. :-(
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  • Chargersgrl33Chargersgrl33 member
    Mine takes 9-12 oz in a 9 hr period and I go and feed him during lunch sometimes.
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  • mcahill1mcahill1 member
    I'm not an expert, but I've read a lot about it and I loosely go by the general "1 ounce an hour rule". I had to have a conversation with my daycare provider after my DD's first day because they were giving her more too (I provided extra frozen). The daycare lady was SURE DD was so hungry but I stood firm that I thought (& still think) they were overfeeding her. After a few conversatrions and some trial and error, we've found what works best for all invovled. DD (4 months) gets 3 3.5oz bottles (given at 9:30am, 12:30pm and 3:30pm). I give 2 extra small 1 ounce bottles in case they think she REALLY needs to be "topped off" at some point. Most days she doesn't get it, but when she does I feel like it must mean she really needs it now that we've talkd about making sure they're feeding her slowly and trying other ways of pacifing her, not just food.

    Hope that helps!
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  • Ninjamama86Ninjamama86 member
    LO sleeps through the night now, so I usually wake up and pump around 3 am (I don't set an alarm I just almost always wake up, full and uncomfortable) and pump at work. I think if you wanted to in tease your supply they recommend pumping for a few minutes after feeding to tell your body to make more.

    As far as that being enough/too much milk, it's hard to say. Certainly the daycare doesn't know your baby as well as you do tonrecognize hungry vs tired vs bored cry? Or maybe you need a slower flow bottle nipple so her brain and stomach get full together? We store mostly 4oz bags, but I also keep a few 2oz bags on hand, for when she's still fussy after a finishing a bottle she can have a little more
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  • AlisonM12AlisonM12 member
    mcahill1 said:
    I'm not an expert, but I've read a lot about it and I loosely go by the general "1 ounce an hour rule". I had to have a conversation with my daycare provider after my DD's first day because they were giving her more too (I provided extra frozen). The daycare lady was SURE DD was so hungry but I stood firm that I thought (& still think) they were overfeeding her. After a few conversatrions and some trial and error, we've found what works best for all invovled. DD (4 months) gets 3 3.5oz bottles (given at 9:30am, 12:30pm and 3:30pm). I give 2 extra small 1 ounce bottles in case they think she REALLY needs to be "topped off" at some point. Most days she doesn't get it, but when she does I feel like it must mean she really needs it now that we've talkd about making sure they're feeding her slowly and trying other ways of pacifing her, not just food.

    Hope that helps!

    I've heard the 1 oz and hour rule as well. But when I thought about it, I realized that that's 24 oz/day and from 8pm to 6am she's sleeping so that leaves me with 14 hours to provide 24 oz. So that's closer to 2oz/hour. Factor in naps...

    I just end up giving 3 5oz bottles a day for daycare and a frozen stash for backup. She's there for 9 hours.

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  • J&JJ2011J&JJ2011 member
    How big is your little one?  B is almost 16 lbs and he goes through 4-4.5 ounces every three hours, so I usually send about 20 ounces a day to have a buffer in case he's growth spurting.  DC keeps and freezes what we dont use as a back-up supply.  He semi-STTN, so usually has a feed somewhere around the 5:00 am mark and we drop him at DC around 7:15 with a pick-up of 5:00 pm.  I typically pump around 6:15, then three times at work, and two times at night.  I just moved to pumping/bottles except for MOTN feeds, because he was acting like he was hungry all the time, then I played around with different ounce amounts until, he seemed happy/satisfied.  Sore boobs aside, not knowing how much he was actually getting to know how to prep for daycare was one of my biggest fears with BF.   

     

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  • lnreynollnreynol member
    Miss E is a tiny one, weighing in around 11.5lbs, and does not STTN. I have tried the past two days sending 3 4oz bottles and then pump after her last feed before bed and again after her feed in the AM and send that in as well in case she needs topped off. It's usually between 1-2 oz. yesterday it seemed to work well. This is the one DC problem I did not anticipate, but things are looking up for now. Until the next GS :-p
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  • J&JJ2011J&JJ2011 member
    @Inreynol - Glad that things are working better for you!! 

     

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