I'm a working mom and trying to keep going with my breastfeeding for my 8 month old but I don't seem to be pumping enough milk during the day for the baby. I nurse whenever I'm at home so morning, evening and all weekend and things seem to be fine. She recently started pulling at the breast as soon as she latching, then sometimes bites me at the very end or released the latch & arches back into a cry until I burp her then she's happy. Her 1 bottom teeth are emerging.
I pump in line when the baby should usually eats. I don't know if it's possible that the caregiver is giving her too much during the day but she says she devours it and could eat more. I usually nurse around 5 or 6am, she gets a 5 oz bottle in the morning usually about 3 hours then 2oz at lunch time and solids (1 T of cereal (with water because I don't have enough milk) & 2-3 T of fruit/veggie then 4 1/2 oz in the afternoon and until I rush home. I nurse her and put her to bed. But today as of 4pm I pumped a TOTAL of 5 1/2 oz out of 3 pumping sessions --- NOT ENOUGH FOR TOMORROW. I have also been adding a pumping session at night after she goes to bed. If I can get myself up around 1:30 to pump, I can usually get 3-4 oz at that time. I only have 15 oz of frozen milk left. I drink plenty of water, eat oatmeal, eat lactation cookies.
What could I be doing wrong and how can I try to reverse this?
Thanks everybody for your suggestions and comments. I really appreciate it. I have had to resort to supplementing with formula but I'm still hoping my body can kick back into gear. She actually lost 1/2 oz within a month's visit with the pediatrician so I'm topping off bottles of breastmilk with formula. I'm on day 5 of More Milk Special Blend by Motherlove that has Fenugreek in it. It seems to have helped a little but not a lot. I might try the tea. I've spoken with a lactation consultant as well. A few times the baby has actually seemed to finish nursing but will still act hungry and we ended up giving her formula which she devoured. I was hoping she could get what she needed from nursing when I'm home but I'm having my doubts. I'm still hopeful to stick with this until at least a year esp with winter mos coming in with illnesses that tend to follow. She turns 9 months in a few days.
Thanks fellow moms!
Can you see a lactation consultant? Do you pump for 5 minutes after the milk stops coming? Hats off to you for doing this for 8 months it's hard to fit pumping into a work schedule.
You are not doing anything wrong, and this happens often.
In my opinion, your body has figured out the different between a real baby and a pump, and it's just not responding as well to the pump anymore.
This happened with both my kids. I nursed one for 12 months, and the other for 18 months. But both times, my ability to pump enough to keep up with childcare needs started to diminish around 8 months. I still pumped every day, because I didn't want to lose my ability to nurse when I was home, even though I only got a few ounces per day pumping. So, I started topping off bottles with formula (so if I needed 8 oz to send to daycare, and I only pumped 6, I would make 2 oz of formula and add it to the breastmilk). By 11 months, I was sending majority formula with just a little breastmilk.
Let me stress though that my ability to pump was NOT an indication of my ability to nurse. My body made plenty of milk to feed my babies, even when I barely got anything pumping. You can still nurse even if you can't pump!
As you mention, there are things you can try like drinking Mother's Milk tea, eating oatmeal for breakfast, drinking plenty of water. Also, looking at a picture of the baby while I nurse, or doing some imagery in my head (imaging the baby nursing while the pump was going) also sometimes helped. By all means, try these things. But don't feel guilty if you need to supplement with a little formula. It happens sometimes when you work full time and do a lot of pumping, even when you do everything "right".
The biting and pulling probably are because of the teething, and those are also things you can address (check out Kellymom.com for tips). They are likely unrelated to your pumping issue.
I understand.
What I did.
Fed in the morning, pumped for 15 mins after feeding.
Went to work. 10 AM pumped for 15-20 mins
2pm Pumped for 15-20 min
Came home, fed . Then pumped for 10 mins
10 pm pumped for 15-20 mins.
At first I also pumped in the middle of the night around 1:30-2:00
If you pump a little longer than milk is coming out, relax that will help to increase your "demand" and then the supply should increase. I always pumped for a few mins after the milk stopped coming out.
Good luck,
My daughter drank one bottle of formula at daycare starting at 4 months and exclusively nursed at home. It removed the stress of having to pump a certain amount during the workday, and also I had nowhere to store pumped milk anyway because of my job. I was able to feed her fine on weekends. She breastfed until 11 months this way and then she decided she was done.
You've gotten a lot of suggestions here that you can try, but my recommendation is to get some sleep, relax, and do not feel like you did anything wrong if you need to supplement with formula during the workday.
Kudos to you for making it this long!!! That is awesome!
I always got the most milk right after the morning feeding. I got a little less with every pumping session throughout the day.
I agree that it is very difficult to continue pumping at 8 months. Most people do not respond to the pump like they do to the baby, and the simply cannot keep up. My sister and I both had to supplement because we could not pump enough. If you need to supplement, please know that it us ok! You have done an amazing job, and it's ok to give her dome formula.
I would nurse her whenever you can, pump as much as you can and try (I know it's hard) to be ok with her having formula after that. Feeding your baby is the most important thing, and formulas is very, very good food for her.
First, I totally get how hard it is. I did it with both of mine. Good news- you can make it through without going over to formula, if you want. I was in grad school with one and working full time with the other.
Remember that the pump isn't nearly as effective as your baby, so you won't pump as much as he would eat at a feeding. So, for me anyway, I could never count on just replacing one feeding with one pumping session. I found that pumping during the morning feeding helped a lot. I could usually get 2-3 ounces while feeding. I also did better if I pumped once in the middle of the day rather than 2-3 times when the baby would have eaten. I could pump a lot more from one "full" session than two shorter sessions. Then I would pump again when I got home, during a feeding again, and get another 1-2 extra ounces. The key was getting those extra ounces whenever it was possible. If you cosleep, that helps keep your supply up, and your baby can make up for any daytime shortages at night.
Hang in there, you can do it!! The biting usually goes away soon. They tend to chomp when the nipple starts to come out of their mouth, reflexively, it's not malicious. Try breaking the latch with you finger and keeping a finger in his mouth until you are safely free :)
Check with a lactation consultant - the hospital, or your OB/gyn should be able to recommend some. They may have some strategies to help. And make sure they don't give you a hard time about formula. I had one whose attitude was great - you feed your baby the best you can (obviously she thought breastmilk was best) - it's a healthy baby that comes first.
Give soft table foods not baby food. Supplement. No big deal or pump at 5 a, big yield!
