reduction in supply??

[♥ms.pacman♥]

today i nursed DD a few times in the morning (last time at 9:30). i go to get a much-needed massage and run a few errands, and i get back at 12:30. so, 3 hours of no nursing. while i was gone nanny gave her 4 oz of formula (i have limited freezer stash, plus it's too much trouble for her to defrost frozen milk, etc).

i sat down to pump at 12:30, and i pump for THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES, on a high setting (maybe 80%) on Medela PISA. I get a measly 1.5 oz out!!! I use a pumping bra and am squeezing/massaging boobs the whole time.

i don't get this. when DD was in the NICU and a teeny tiny thing (and i was pumping every 3 hrs), milk was shooting out of me so fast, i could get 5 oz in like 5 minutes (not kidding). I used a hospital grade pump, which i think helped, but not sure that's all. I don't get why now that DD actually NEEDS to drink more milk, my supply is decreasing.

i'm just so frustrated, i can pump for so long and get almost nothing out!!

do you think her STTN has something to do with this? DD slept through the night (11-12 hrs solid) since 4 months of age. When i was pumping exclusively (when she was in NICU and was too weak to nurse), i was pumping every 3 hours.

So, how do i help this?? Getting up in the middle of the night to pump ain't an option here, i NEED the sleep. I don't just have DD all day, i have DS who is a handful himself.

[BayGirl2]

We had a conversation about pumping at my LLL meeting a couple weeks ago and talked about how its very common to get less milk from pumping than the baby gets during a feeding. Its the time spent pumping that encourages milk supply, but the volume you see does not necessarily indicate supply. So you may not have supply problems when nursing, you may just be seeing less milk when pumping.
Just a thought.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

We had a conversation about pumping at my LLL meeting a couple weeks ago and talked about how its very common to get less milk from pumping than the baby gets during a feeding. Its the time spent pumping that encourages milk supply, but the volume you see does not necessarily indicate supply. So you may not have supply problems when nursing, you may just be seeing less milk when pumping.
Just a thought.

thanks..yeah, i think part of it is i just don't get a lot from pumping (vs nursing). after i pumped, dd was fussing and i nursed her, and i could hear her gulping down milk, so it kinda makes me wonder if pumping just is much less efficient..

though it's unfortunate bc now i feel like my supply will decrease if i keep leaving dd for a few hrs here and there and then when i get back i don't pump as much as she gets from the bottle...

[rin]

You know, by the time DD was about 10 months old or so, I stopped pumping when I was away from her. At that time I was home with her almost all the time, so it was only ever an occasional few hours here or there, and I didn't feel like it negatively affected my supply. If it had been more of a regular thing I'm sure it would've become more of an issue, but it was probably only one or two feedings every few weeks so it probably just wasn't enough to make a difference. I also kind of hated my pump, though, so if my relationship with the pump had been less fraught I might have continued.

[daisymommy]

I had oversupply with my babies, as in--they would drown in my milk, choke, gasp and sputter it came out so full and fast. They were all chunky, big babies when they were nursing. Never used a drop of formula.

BUT--when I pumped, I could only get out 1-2 oz. max, using a hospital grade pump, after 30 minutes.

My body just never did respond well to the pump. It knew the pump wasn't my baby

I would say, going out for 3 hours and then coming home and nursing her is fine. It's not like it's every day, right?

[BayGirl2]

thanks..yeah, i think part of it is i just don't get a lot from pumping (vs nursing). after i pumped, dd was fussing and i nursed her, and i could hear her gulping down milk, so it kinda makes me wonder if pumping just is much less efficient..

though it's unfortunate bc now i feel like my supply will decrease if i keep leaving dd for a few hrs here and there and then when i get back i don't pump as much as she gets from the bottle...

Not necessarily. From what I understand, its the time spent pumping that will stimulate production. So as long as you pump you can still maintain, regardless of how much volume you actually pump. If you are concerned pump for longer, say 20-30 minutes instead of 10, even if you are not getting any milk.

Volume was more of an issue for me because I was working and needed to pump enough to feed for a whole day. But if you are only away occasionally for 1 feeding at a time, and BF'ing in between,you should be better off.

[citymama]

I can hardly eke out 2 oz when pumping but DD2 can nurse and nurse and get a lot more milk. I hate pumping (she says as she hooks up the old PISA). Sigh.