*With apologies to the early ’90s fabulousness that was Technotronic.
I’ve been extremely lucky in that I’ve never worried about making enough milk for Baby Y. In the early weeks, I actually had to deal with a bit of an oversupply and overactive letdown – he would scream because he couldn’t deal with the fast flow, and I would have to spray a burp cloth for a little while before latching him. (Who knew you could actually spray? I didn’t before I started nursing, that’s for sure!)
Fortunately, once things regulated around month 3 or so, I didn’t have to worry about most of that any more. Gone were the days when I would wake up with a soaking T-shirt on nights that he slept through a feeding. Plus, as he got older, he was much more efficient, and a fast flow didn’t faze him anymore.
When I went back into the office part time before the new year, I would pump about twice a day, two times a week. I used a little manual Lansinoh pump and could easily get 4-5 ounces in 10 minutes or so. I preferred the manual over the setup and fuss of an electric pump – no electricity necessary, and I could toss it in a plastic bag and go.
In the past couple of months, though, pumping has been a lot tougher. On at least a few occasions I’ve spent maybe 40 minutes pumping pumping pumping only to get 1.5 or 2 ounces. Sometimes my milk takes forever to let down; sometimes it just doesn’t. Not good, and not enough to keep up with Baby Y’s appetite when I’m gone. Yikes.
There have been many factors at play here, I think – Baby Y is doing well with solids, so my supply is probably naturally shrinking, and we all got sick for a while, which I know can affect things, too. My period also returned a couple of months ago (though it has disappeared again) which apparently can cause supply to dive temporarily. And my work schedule is more erratic, which means pumping is, too.
I wouldn’t worry as much if I had a big freezer stash to fall back on, but I’ve been pretty lazy about pumping and have generally only kept one gift bag worth of milk in reserve (a small gift bag is a great way to store freezer bags of breastmilk – go here for a tutorial). So my already-small reserve has dwindled to about five bags or so right now. Gulp!
I’ve also found that my milk isn’t letting down for Baby Y nearly as fast anymore. It used to be almost instantaneous, and I would never really notice. Now my fidgety 8-month-old pops on and off, on and off, growing more and more frustrated at the wait, which puts me at risk of biting, too. Yow.
So, I’ve made some small changes to address both problems:
- I’ve upgraded my pump. I’ve switched from my Lansinoh to a single-electric Avent. It’s more powerful but still easy to transport and clean, and automating the pumping when I get into a good groove seems to help.
- I’m trying to unplug. I’ve been totally guilty of constantly hopping on my iPhone when nursing Baby Y. Now I’m making a conscious effort to relax and forgo technology.
- I’m drinking more water. Water is so crucial, and there have certainly been days when I had a diet soda or two and ZERO water. Not good.
- I’m visualizing success. It sounds hokey, but a lot of moms recommend that you think of rivers of milk and such. I feel ridiculous, but if I can get past that, I think it helps.
- I’m also thinking of trying lactation cookies. (OK, I really just want an excuse to bake some cookies. Any supply boost would be a bonus.)
Another obvious thing to try would be to pump more often, right? I will if I have to, but only if I don’t see enough results from the previous tweaks.
So far, results are mixed: My letdown during nursing is much quicker – I attribute this mostly to putting down my phone! Pumping at work is still tricky, though; recently I was able to pump a normal 4ish ounces, but it still took a lot longer than it used to. It’s much harder to unplug at work, where I pump at my desk. I’m going to need to make more of an effort.
One thing’s for sure: I have so much respect for moms who do this several times a day, every day of the week!
Any pumping mamas out there have some tips?
guest
I recommend renting a hospital grade pump, medela symphony, for a few weeks. it pumps more than my medela advanced in style. once you have the right supply going, then you can go back to the home pump
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
i could never get that much from the same manual pump, so i couldn’t live without my double electric pump.
oddly enough with charlie, i was able to get the same amount from a hospital grade pump as i could with my medela in style, but i don’t think that’s the norm.
i hear you about pumping more… it is so hard to even add one extra session!
how bout trying supplements like mother’s milk tea, fenugreek, more milk plus, etc.? easy to add and worth a shot. they definitely helped me increase my supply a lot in the early days.
grapefruit / 4120 posts
Go double electric or go home! LOL.
And you have to just relax while you pump. Read a book for pleasure. I downloaded a free app that played the sound of the ocean and some relaxing music.
I had to add sessions to where sometimes I was pumping 4 times a day. But it was worth it and the year was up before I knew it! Now I breastfeed but I don’t pump and no more stress and bag-counting.
You can also pump one side while you feed the other side.
Also, lactation cookies are delicious!!
guest
Up your protein intake! I’ve had luck w that in the past, as have other women I know. I know you hate the thought, but I’d also add in an extra pumping session that you do at the same time each day– the consistency is really helpful in cueing your body to make more milk. Maybe an hour after he goes to bed? Also, I’ve never really looked into “power pumping”, but it may be helpful as a last resort?
pomegranate / 3008 posts
I had to take supplements (more milk plus is awesome!), add in extra pumping sessions, drink around 120 oz of water a day, and look at photos of my baby when I was pumping at work. I also had to do breast massage and compression before and during pumping in order to get any letdown. The massage and compression and photos or video where you can hear your baby helped a lot for me.
guest
Beer and fenugreek! Lots of yummy Indian dishes have fenugreek in them, but more likely in your neck of the woods you’ll have to stick to finding the pills.
pear / 1728 posts
I had to build my supply early and drank Mothers Milk tea religiously, took More Milk Plus and fenugreek, and Drank a dark beer every day. I also have a double electric pump.
I pump 3-4 times a day at work, every day. I find it helps to watch a video of LO, anything where she is making noise. Her voice triggers my letdown pretty quickly
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
Hokidoki, @Mrs. Bee, @sloaneandpuffy: I despise my double electric. Going back to it will be my nuclear option!
@pelikila: 120 ounces? How did you not live in the bathroom?
Kate, the nearest Indian restaurant might as well be India here
@LivsMama: I will have to try the video thing at work. Thanks for the tip!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
I didn’t know you could spray either. Yikes.
grape / 99 posts
I tried Fenugreek and MoreMilk Plus with little difference seen. I have increased my water which has helped a little. Solids have helped a ton since he cut out a bottle as he’s eating more solids.
I pump 4 times a day on weekdays. Once when I get up, 2x at work and once before bed. I don’t think I could have done it with a manual. If you can add in that nighttime pump before bed it might help a little, it’s usually my smallest of the day but it’s better than nothing. Before I went to work, I could get 4oz every 2.5hrs, now at almost 9mo, I vary anywhere from 1.5 to 4.5oz a session, so unpredictable!! I have no idea how you did it with a manual pump! I tried one once and that was it, electric all the way. A video does help with letdown and I have put down the phone during nursing sessions like you and that’s helped.
Those cookies look good, maybe I’ll try those. These days, I generally break even, I’d like to be able to build a little more stash so I can stop pumping before a year and use up freezer stash. Next time I will definitely be much more diligent about pumping and freezing!
grape / 85 posts
I found pumping a lot easier and more enjoyable (and got a lot more milk out) when I started using a Madonna-esque bustier that let me pump handsfree. Later I realized I was a sucker and could’ve just cut holes in an old sports bra…score one for the baby product industry.
My pediatrician sister-in-law recommended 1) smelling something of your baby’s instead of looking at visuals and 2) using a double instead of single pump (something to do with milk-producing hormones).
That gift-bag setup looks great!
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Fenugreek worked for me, lots of water, oatmeal (not the instant or one-minute kind), lots of rest, nursing directly, and up the pumping frequency if you can. Papaya also helps. I’m Asian so my mom made me a lot of fresh fish/cut up baby back rib soups with cooked green papaya and/or seaweed.
apricot / 453 posts
I second the fenugreek, I also take blessed thistle. I know it sucks but adding an extra pumping session will probably be the best solution.
My LO always fell asleep when I nursed him, still to this day at 5 1/2 months he falls asleep, so I only nurse him before bedtime or else his schedules get all screwy. So I pump 7-8 times a day every 3ish hours. My schedule goes something like this:
6am-put makeup on/pump
9am-1st pump at work
noon-lunch time pump
3pm-3rd and last pump at work
6pm-eat suppler/play with LO/pump at home
8:30pm-nurse my LO and then pump after
midnight-wake up and pump
3am-wake up and pump
That’s a good day – most days I skip the two night pumps and wake up around 2ish and pump. My LO has mostly been sleeping through the nights since he was 2 months but I still get up once or twice to pump. 2 to 3 hours of my day I spent hooked up to my breast pump! Oiy!
I’m so over pumping…my goal was to make it to 6 months, I’m almost there – then I will cut down my pumping to 4-6 times/day and supplement with formula for whatever I can’t produce.
Good luck!
cherry / 207 posts
I am an exclusive pumper and pump 5x a day, min. 20 mins each time on a double electric hospital grade pump and get about 39-41oz daily. Not alot but enough for my twins.
Here’s my regiment:
– fenugreek capsules 3 x 3/ day
– more milk plus capsules 1 x 2/day
– 80oz water
– 80oz Herblore nursing tea
Just fill up bottles of water & nursing tea and drink them throughout the day. And no, I do not live in the bathroom
With my first, I only took more milk plus and drank water and never made half as much as I am doing now. Nursing tea makes the biggest difference for me.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@j0s1e267: I bow down to you! That is amazing.
cherry / 207 posts
@mrs yoyo, haha, all my babies are preemies, this is the least I can do for them. I hope that you can build up your supply again. Good luck!
p/s. I have no love for pumping. I am 1/4 through, 126 days and counting!
apricot / 453 posts
@josie267: way to go!
grapefruit / 4120 posts
@theknest: I don’t know your babe, but I think it’s pretty normal for them to fall asleep while nursing! Mine is 14 months old and sometimes he still does. His schedule must get pretty bad if it’s worth all that pumping, wow.
apricot / 453 posts
@sloaneandpuffy: Well that’s part of it – it’s a long story but here is a somewhat quick version….in his first 2 months of life I nursed 24/7. He would nurse, fall asleep, wake up, hungry cry (b/c he didn’t get a full tummy b/c he fell asleep), nurse, fall asleep, wake up, hungry cry, and so on and so forth. No one could hold him except me, he took short little naps and would always wake up when I set him down. I would wake him up to get him to eat, then he would fall right back to sleep. At his 2 month checkup he had only gained a little over a half ounce/day vs the recommended ounce/day. I felt like an awful mother who was starving their child. So…I started pumping and giving him bottles and then we had the happiest, most content baby in the world. By that point my milk supply wasn’t great b/c my son wasn’t consuming a lot of milk in a day – so I’ve been struggling to pump enough for him since that day. I could probably nurse him more in the evenings/weekends but he is on such an awesome schedule that I hate to mess with it, plus I know he can’t get enough to fill his tummy when he nurses so we would have to finish off with a couple ounces from a bottle.
I could probably remove a pump or two from my day but am fearful I’ll lose that milk. Now, he drinks 32-35 ounces/day with 1 bottle of formula/day.
grape / 90 posts
Lots of good suggestions here already. When I headed back to work and things got stressful, my supply took a dip – right when my son had a growth spurt. So suddenly our freezer stash was GONE. Here’s what I did/do:
Drink 80-100 oz of water while at work, PLUS more at home. I have a 40oz bottle that lives on my desk, and I usually drain it once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I actually don’t end up needing to pee that much, which tells me I need to be drinking all that!
Mother’s Milk tea. When my supply was low I was drinking 3-4 strong 8 oz cups of it per day. I saw results within a day. I think this stuff really helps.
Lactation cookies. I’ve heard the sugar, the brewer’s yeast, the oats, and/or the almonds (I didn’t have slivered almonds so I used almond extract – tasty!) is what helps supply. I’m not sure, I just enjoyed “medicinal” cookies.
Photo blog: DH maintains a photo blog of our little dude. While I’m pumping at my desk I scroll through the pictures. This has the twofold effect of keeping me from stressing about work stuff AND giving me lots of visual reminders of my son.
I also try to cram in an additional pumping session, but dang, is that hard. Pumping twice while at work is tough enough. I also pump once before I go to bed, which helps increase the fridge stash for the next day.
Good luck!
grape / 90 posts
@theRoo: I got a bustier-type contraption as a baby shower gift, and the stupid thing was so complicated, and so covered with scratchy velcro, that I hated it. Then a friend of mine told me about the sport-bra trick. So much easier! I keep one at work and one at home. (um, I have a lot of beat up old sports bras…)
apricot / 453 posts
@theRoo: thanks for this tip, I’m going to try this this weekend. I’ve always been too cheap to buy one of the hands-free “bras”
I think it’s clear I need to be drinking A LOT more water.