Breastfeeding and Pumping

[czekit7]

I'm sure that this has been posted, but I'm tired, and just want to see if someone will give me their two cents worth.

Baby John is now 1 week old, taking to the breast well, but I will have to go back to work in another 5 weeks (didn't have any more vacation, and FMLA doesn't work since I started this job less than 5 months ago). Anyway...when I feed and then pump as soon after as possible (after diaper change), I'm only able to get about 10-25ml of breast milk pumped before I dry up. If I pump when he's still sleeping (try to feed or pump every 2.5 hrs during the day, and he feeds about every 3-4hrs at night), I'm at best getting about 30-45ml per pumping (which is about 1-1.5oz). Is it too early for me to be making a ton of milk, or is this amount normal? I'm averaging about 3-4oz a day extra to freeze (just in the past 3 days).

I'm hydrating and eating fairly well...haven't been able to leave the house since it's 0 degrees outside, and running short on fruit, but DH will pick those up tonight.

Any suggestions on increasing my volume? Going to take a nap now, but ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jenn

[SM23Mama21]

That sounds about what I had too, so I guess it is normal (at least it was for me). What pump are you using? Have you tried eating oatmeal?

[smiles33]

That sounds like the kind of output I had that early on. It's so exhausting to pump that early as you're desperate for sleep, so I wanted to also suggest (if you can get help from your DH!) to pump on the other side while your DS is nursing. I also read that you can pump BEFORE your DS eats as he's more efficient at getting milk than a pump so even if you think you're empty after pumping, there's still milk. I just wouldn't pump both sides before you feed him in case he's really hungry!

I also wanted to offer a warning to consider defrosting one vial after a week in the freezer to make sure you don't have an excess lipase issue. If you discover you do, then you'll need to scald the milk before freezing to make sure it's still palatable when DS takes it a month or more down the line. I made the mistake of not checking for excess lipase until my DD2 was 6 months old and we started rice cereal since DD2 refuses bottles and never even drank more than 2 oz of my fresh pumped milk at daycare. Turns out that some moms produce too much lipase and it makes your milk taste foul (soapy/metallic/rancid). I never had that problem with DD1 so I thought I didn't need to check for it and I'm now donating about 600 oz of frozen breastmilk to a local milk bank. They can combine it with other moms' milk to dilute the taste (as it's still good, just tastes bad), but all that work isn't benefiting my DD2 at all. I'm glad other babies can use it, but I'd much rather have back all that lost sleep early on when I was like you and frantically trying to build a freezer supply.

[srhs]

At 1 week, any production at the pump in addition to EBF sounds very good to me, supply wise. :applause:
For supply increasers, you can look at kellymom.org. I took fenugreek and domperidone (for other reasons), and they are both effective. IME, though, you need to watch for signs of overactive letdown, though if you are trying to produce more than baby is taking. My enthusiasm for keeping my supply high was exasperating DS2's reflux.

[czekit7]

Thank you all for all of the suggestions so far...my mother-in-law (who is also my Lactation Specialist--has been LS for 25+ yrs) has suggested a Mother's Milk Tea. Will look into all of this! Thanks again.

[Momof3Labs]

Pick 1-2 times a day and consistently pump at those times. Your body will respond to the consistent increased demand by making more milk. First thing in the morning can be a wonderful time - your supply tends to be higher earlier in the day.

What kind of pump are you using? What settings are you using on the pump? There are ways to make your pump work better for you, too, though like others have said, you're doing just fine for 1 wk PP!

[truly scrumptious]

Congratulations!
I found that eating oatmeal helped my supply. (Plus I was constantly starving from all the milk-making, so oatmeal was a good pick-me-up.)
I second what PPs said about defrosting one vial on milk to test if your DS will take it/ it tastes okay. FWIW i thought my defrosted milk tasted disgusting, but DS had no problems with it.
I also second the comments about pumping first thing in the morning, and making sure your pump is the right one for you. Hospital-grade pumps are typically better (than personal pumps) for building supply initially, so it may be worth renting one for a month or two until your supply is well-established.
Good luck, and remember to get plenty of rest!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I used to pump in the morning before my baby woke up to nurse. It was great for building a freezer stash, and for building up my supply. My breasts thought a set of twins came over for breakfast! LOL

I'd nurse right after pumping and baby would still get milk since the breasts keep making milk as long as there is suckling.

[sarahsunshine]

i was pumping so that my hubby could feed my LO at night once a day...so i would pump then, maybe an hour or two after his last late night feeding (which was around 8, so was pumping around 10 or so). i also was pumping once in the morning about an hour after he ate. my body began to respond and made more milk at that time, still does! good luck and congrats!