[jestef02]

My new dilemma is what to do with my situation. It seems that my supply just gets lower and lower. As a working Mom, I find that I really need to sleep at night otherwise I am exhausted during the day at work. My little girl pretty much sleeps through the night, unless she goes through a growth spurt and even then I just go back to sleep after giving her a bottle of breastmilk. I do pump at work though, and because she gets the bottle, she won't nurse anymore. It's really sad for me to do so, but that's the only thing that seems to work, unless I try and get her to do it again, which I don't know how to do. I don't really want her on formula, although I have found msyelf having to supplement with some of the freebie samples we got from the doc's office. She will be 6 months old here pretty soon, but I am beating myself up over this. I guess I should just wake myself up every couple of hours to pump during the night? I don't know, I really need some help and support right now. I know the benefits of breastfeeding and feel very strongly about it and don't really want to stop.

[MrsMaryland]

don't beat yourself up over this *hugs*

i was in the same situation when i decided to pump/bottle feed my son. it seemed like my supply was getting lower and lower.

when he started sleeping through the night i would pump once before bed, ONCE in the middle of the night, and once in the mornings. i tried that for a little while, but it seemed like it was still a little too much for me, so i would just feed him from the breast during the night hours and early in the morning, and that helped too.

my family/friends/drs have told me of many things that will help to increase milk supply (drink more water, eat more calories, etc), but when one person says something works, another person will say it doesn't. and there are always medicines you can take if natural methods don't seem to work.

call your dr or a lactation specialist when you get a chance.

hang in there.

[kimchee67]

I've been EP'ing for the past 4 weeks. I pump 15-20 mins about 8 times per day. We had so many factors that made breastfeeding very difficult, and I was too depressed at the time to put forth the effort. Even though I wasn't going to BF, I wanted DD to get breastmilk, so I've had to pump like crazy. Right now I'm pumping about 25-35 oz/day and DD only takes about 15 so I have a stockpile of refridgerated and frozen milk.

I would say that the first step you could take would be to add one more pumping session into your day. You could also extend your exsisting pumping session to 20-30 minutes. You should probably see an increase in a couple of days. I will usually pump whenever DD eats. If your little girl takes one bottle at night, you might consider pumping for 15 minutes after she falls back asleep.

When I first decided to EP I felt awful about it, but now I have accepted it. I have been working really hard to ensure my DD gets the proper nutrition and that's something to be proud of. Don't beat yourself up over it.

You might want to check out kellymom.com. They have tons of info on breastfeeding and a lot of info for EP'ers.

[mom2b03-2006]

How often are you pumping each day and how much do you pump each time?

I pump first thing each morning before getting ready for work, once mid morning, once mid afternoon, as soon I get home for work and once right before going to bed each day. I average around 50+ oz of milk each day and my little one is only drinking 30 oz a day plus eating food (I don't know what i will do when it comes time to switch over to regular milk b/c we have sooo much frozen that I don't have room to buy ice cream!).
The morning supply is usually the biggest and could easily be 20 oz (I pump for about 25-30 minutes). Sometimes I have even more milk after getting out of the hot shower too, so try pumping after taking a shower.
Try adding more pump times to increase the supply and drink lots of fluids. I have found the more I drink the more milk I have and the fuller I feel.

[jestef02]

So, do you get up in the middle of the night then to pump also, or are you just blessed with a large supply? I think my supply has decreased possibly to not getting up in the night anymore to do so. Not sure really.....I guess I could always get some meds!

[mom2b03-2006]

I don't get up in the middle of the night to pump, I pump at 10:00 before going to bed for about 30 minutes and first thing in the morning between 5:30 and 6. We have been blessed with a baby that has slept thru the night since about 4 weeks old. I have just "trained" my body with the times of day when I pump. I have been on this schedule since having my baby and I can tell when I am late pumping due to a meeting or schedule change in my day. There has been times when the supply seemed low but during those times I was traveling and not able to pump "on time" like I wanted to and once I get back home and back on schedule the supply increased back to normal.

Another time when the supply seemed to be low I was under alot of stress - is there any stress in your life right now, besides being a new mom? financial, marital, family or work that you didn't have until recently?

[jestef02]

Oh yeah...I know what you mean...you can pretty much tell when things are not right on time as far as pumping sessions. That's when I try to sneak another one in just to feel a little better! I barely have time to sneak away. Although, I haven't had a problem before, but I guess life is a little more hectic, which causes some stress.......work work work! Work is extremely demanding on my time. I'm a pretty busy person these days it seems.

[goodenough]

you can try fenugreek capsules, up to 12/ day.

or ask your doc to prescribe Reglan.

I'd urge you to call your local La Leche League leader. They can help you, free of charge. Their message board is good, too. Just Google....

[Hoping42]

You women are all amazing! I'd really like to applaud you all for pumping! Now how in the heck do you get so much milk? Madigan is still breast fed. We use demand feeding around here and she eats probably 3 times at night and at least 3 times during the day. I've tried pumping and I have NEVER managed to pump more than an ounce at a time. What am I doing wrong or is it a crappy pump? I've used the Isis hand pump and a battery operated first yearsp ump..

[mom2b03-2006]

Try renting a Medela electric pump in style it is the best one that I know of and I swear by mine. They are spendy to purchase but if it is something you are planning on doing for each of your future children it is well worth the investment.

If you know about what time your little one will be wanting to eat try pumping before that time to see if you can get more than an oz. I it will take time to get use to but once you get the hang of it it becomes second nature. I have also been told that if you pump both sides at the same time it creates more stimulation so if you wanted try feeding on one side while pumping the other side at the same time.

Good Luck --