fustrated

[andiandsierrasmom]

my daughter is justs about 4 months old now, and when I breastfeed every thing is good... but I work and away from the home for 10 hours aday I pump as best as I can (I work in a crazzy ER that like all is way understaffed). When I pump I do not get much milk,(steadily less every day) less than a feeding she will take all I pump the day befor in one or two feedings. So I only get to breastfeed her 2 maybe 3 times a day god bless the angel she sleeps for the whole night. I've even gone as far as setting the alarm to wake up in the night to pump but getting verry little but at the normal times that she breastfeeds i seem to have more...but only at 5 and 9 the rest i seem to be just about empty. I have been eating oatmeal every day and I hate to say it but she is having to be suplmented ......what can I do

[KerryS]

What kind of pump are you using?

If it's a Medela pump, have you changed the membranes? Are you doing breast compression when you pump? Have you tried reading or doing something to take your mind off what you're doing while you pump? How long is each pumping session?

[andiandsierrasmom]

yes its the medula pump in style all new parts there just dosent seem to be much there and when I pump at work its usualy about 1/2 hour but the milk stops long befor i do at home its longer and sometimes get a little more but not much. But when she feeds she seems content but when she drinks from the bottle she takes so much more.

[madelsmama]

Every baby will take more from a bottle b/c it's easy to drink from, and most of the time a baby can guzzle down a bottle before his/her brain even receives the message that s/he is full.

Have you seen this link before re: bottlefeeding a breastfed baby?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

[madelsmama]

How many days a week do you work?

How many times are you able to pump while there?

Can you pump on the way to work, on a lunch break, on the way home, etc? (Kerry and I are both hospital nurses, so we know how things can get at work).

[jupiterfruitcake]

My lactation consultant told me to pump right after every feeding for 15 minutes. So I guess you should pump right after you breastfeed, then maybe pump for an extra 15 after you pump at work? It worked for me in about 2 days. I wasn't having supply issues as you seem to be, but I wanted to raise my supply even more so I could store some milk for when I was going to be away overnight. Hopefully this will work for you too. Good luck!

[Nipple_nectar]

If there is the opportunity to nurse her right before you leave for work and as soon as you come home, really, giving baby access to the breast will be the best way to increase your supply. Even if that means semi~waking her for a "dreamfeed": most semi~sleeping babies will nurse when offered the breast.

Also, are your pumping horns fitting you well? www.pumpinpal.com offers angled horns which seem to increase the yield for each session.

Pumping is definitely an acquired skill, you may not be relaxed enough or too distracted to have a good yield while at work, are you able to be in a quiet atmosphere, away from the chaos sometimes associated with being at work?

Also, if you are preoccupied with how much is coming out, it may not happen. I foind it best to actually read while pumping to distract myself from the anxiety of performing for the pump;-)

If you have the time, I would be interested in seeing what an average week looks like for you:) For example: hypothetically: I work mon, tues and wed: on work days we wake at 5:30am and nurse both sides for twenty minutes then three hours later I pump for twenty minutes both sides. On days I am off we are nursing every three hours with the exception of her sleeping from 7pm to 7am. Something like that.

[andiandsierrasmom]

Well unfortunatly for now I work swing shift never the same but like this week for instance I am working dayshift all 7 days. Sierra wakes between 530 and 630. I breastfeed for about 30-40 min ( she dosent play shes all about the eating) then if at all possible I pump not getting anything but just to try to get things going. At work there is not set time that I can pump I do my best to get it in somewhere around 10 and then again after lunch i usualy breastfeed as soon as i get home alittle after 5 but sometimes she is not hungery because she had already wanted to eat and john couldent get her to hold off a little while, if so I pump. Then she will eat again from both breasts at about 8 to 9 usualy that is it for the night but like last night sometimes there is another feeding at anywhere from 130 to 230, but most of the time she sleeps threw the night only having the night feeding about once a week, I usualy pump once during the night too, but do not get much. maybe 3 ounces total.