Keeping up with pumping...harder than I thought

[Anonymous]

I've been back at work the past few weeks and it's quite hard to keep up with pumping. I had about 25 bags of frozen breast milk as back up and my supply is rapidly disappearing. I get up extra early to feed DS and then I pump. I pump 2 to 3 times at work and then again after DS has gone to sleep at night. I don't have trouble with my milk supply because on the weekends I feed him from the breast and he seems satisfied and happy. However, during the week our daycare provider goes through more milk than I'm able to pump everyday.

Anyway...my DS is soon to be four months. If we start on rice cereal will the amount of breast milk he drinks go down because he'll be less hungry? Or will he really drink the same and just have the rice cereal on top of that? Right now he eats every couple hours. Will the amount of time between feedings lengthen?

Also..I assume each time he is hungry you give him some rice cereal and then a bottle of breast milk. Or is it the other way around? Or do you only give the rice cereal once or twice a day?

He sleeps well - 11 hours at night and usually only gets up once to eat.

I'll ask the doctor about this before I try anything...but I'm just wondering people's experiences.

[Anonymous]

Are you sure the day care provider is using the milk? Ie, if she makes him a 5 oz bag and he drinks 2-3oz, does she save and re offer the rest later? Is she aware that breast milk stays fresh much longer even at room temp than formula does?

Just something else to consider if you haven't already.

With rice cereal, he will probably still eat about the same or a little less. It's usually only given 1-3x/day, not at every bottle. Every baby is different though.

[Anonymous]

Figuring out pumping is such a challenge. You don't give the times on the schedule below, but I wonder if you're pumping enough when you're gone. How much are you getting when you pump after his morning feed? What if you didn't pump then but waited until you get to work and then try to pump every 2.5 to 3 hours after that. It's a lot of pumping, I know, but it might help to keep your supply up. Are you pumping on the weekends too? That's often a way to get an extra bag or two put away (esp from that last pumping before you go to bed). Finally, be sure you're staying hydrated. I had some luck with using Mothers' Milk tea, but you really do need to drink a good amount of it to get the benefit (you'll know you're drinking enough if you think you smell like maple syrup!).

I found that cereal was just another thing that sucked up the pumped milk!! If you're low on stock, you can reconstitute cereal with water or formula, if you want the extra nutrition. But I didn't find that the cereal filled up my son enough to really make a dent in his EBM consumption. Our pediatrician recommended waiting on the cereal until 6 months, but check with yours to see what s/he thinks. We did cereal once or twice a day at the start, with EBM to follow and then several feedings of just bottles. Then we eventually worked up to three "meals" per day at regular meal times, with bottles at other times so he got enough. If you're interested in learning more about feeding, you can check out the Ellyn Satter book "Child of Mine: Feeding with love and good sense."

Hope that helps. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

also talk to the breastfeeding folks at k street. Also read kellymom.com. what you're describing is really common. I think there's a misperception that there has to be 3 to 4 5oz bottles that you leave with the provider each day, but you really don't. Just leave what you pumped during your absence the day before, plus maybe 1-2 more ounces of your storage milk. I find that a 4oz bottle of BM is not the same as a 4oz bottle of formula, and that providers always want to have tons of milk on hand.

[Anonymous]

Try pumping before you feed DS in the morning and then feed after. I regularly pumped 12+ ounces first thing and then my DD pulled all that she needed too. It was a good way to stock pile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been back at work the past few weeks and it's quite hard to keep up with pumping. I had about 25 bags of frozen breast milk as back up and my supply is rapidly disappearing. I get up extra early to feed DS and then I pump. I pump 2 to 3 times at work and then again after DS has gone to sleep at night. I don't have trouble with my milk supply because on the weekends I feed him from the breast and he seems satisfied and happy. However, during the week our daycare provider goes through more milk than I'm able to pump everyday.

Make sure your daycare provider isn't overfeeding him. Sometimes this happens because it's easy for a provider to calm a fussy baby with a bottle, or due to a misunderstanding of breastmilk, or any number of other reasons. Kellymom.com has some guidelines about how much milk baby should get while away from you - I think it's something like an ounce and hour.

Anonymous wrote:Anyway...my DS is soon to be four months. If we start on rice cereal will the amount of breast milk he drinks go down because he'll be less hungry? Or will he really drink the same and just have the rice cereal on top of that? Right now he eats every couple hours. Will the amount of time between feedings lengthen?

I haven't found the amount of BM to have decreased, and my DD (almost 9 mos) is eating solids other than cereal. If anything, it's increased a little bit since she started crawling and standing. You might find that you can lengthen the time between feedings though.

Anonymous wrote:Also..I assume each time he is hungry you give him some rice cereal and then a bottle of breast milk. Or is it the other way around? Or do you only give the rice cereal once or twice a day?

I think you're supposed to start slowly with the cereal - initially once and day, and move up from there. Especially if you're going to start on cereal so young, you don't want to replace the nutrition in breastmilk. So pick a time of the day to give cereal, and other than that, continue with the breastmilk as usual. If you're going to be giving the breastmilk and cereal in the same sitting, I would give the breastmilk first so that he doesn't fill up on cereal.

And for some completely unsolicited advice: don't be in such a rush to start on solids. Aside from the whole nutrition/digestive maturity angle, solids are a PAIN!! (at least, IMO) Yes, it's cool to see DC progressing in terms of moving away from solely breastmilk, but solids are time-consuming and messy. It was so much easier when all I had to do was nurse DD or give her a bottle. We started solids (slowly) at 6 mos and I also had hopes that it would mean less dependence on breastmilk, but it has not so far. I can't imagine how sick I'd be of the whole feeding thing if we had started at 4 mos. I am eagerly awaiting that pincer grip and the phasing out of purees, cereals, and anything that must be spoon fed to DD.

[Anonymous]

I too have trouble keeping up with my 5.5 month old DD. I feed her before I leave for work at 6am. I then will send 3 5oz bottles with her to the nanny's which she will eat at 9, 12, and 3. During the work day I pump at 10 and 2 and I usually get anywhere from 8-10 oz from the two pumping sessions. (I used to pump three times a day, but I got about the same amount so I figured only doing it twice would be enough). I then feed her again at 6 when I get home from work and then again between 8 and 8:30. Most nights she will sleep through the night so I get up in the middle of night an pump one breast where I will usually get 3-4oz. Then repeat the cycle. The thing that helps me the most is having a pumping session in the middle of the night. That is the only way I can keep up with her. I will build up a supply on the weekends to use throughout the week. I agree with the previous poster about keeping hydrated. It has an effect on your milk supply. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Your child could be having a growth spurt. Or maybe there is something going on with the daycare provider
s feedings.

Can you tell us how many hours DS is at daycare, and how much he consumes? Also if they feed on a schedule, what the schedule is?

[Anonymous]

check with your ped. about starting cereal. mine said wait till 6 mo & we did. even once your baby starts cereal & other solids, his/her main source of food/nutrition should be breastmilk (or formula) for the whole first year! solids are in addition to BM, not a substitute for it.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you're using the bottle nipples with the smallest holes / lowest flow. I found that if it was easy to drink from the bottle, my son would eat 2 -3 times (!!) what he would from a slower flow nipple. I had the same issue (fine with EBF on weekends, slurping bottled milk like there was no tomorrow during the week). I think it wasn't a matter of hunger but more of laziness, or perhaps a need for more sucking.

[Anonymous]

I have had the same problems -- been back at work a month now, and I am unable to keep up with her demand. I feed her in the morning at home at 6, then pack 3 5 oz bottles for 9, 12, and 3:00 feedings, then feed her when I get home and again at bedtime, and sometimes once during the night if she gets up (which is rare now that she is 5.5 months old.) So I need to pump 15 ozs a day to keep up with her, and I only pump between 8 and 10 total. I pump twice a day. This is what I have done:
- play catch up on the weekend -- pump after every feed to build up some for the week
- nurse her when I can during the day. she is at daycare in my office, so some days I can go nurse her at lunch, and that way I can save one bottle for the next day.
- pump at night after she is in bed.
- I tried getting up to pump in the middle of the night. I couldn't keep it up. I have a toddler too, not to mention a job ,and I found it was too hard on me, because I had alot of trouble falling back asleep and would end up awake for more than an hour.
- when all else fails, as it sometimes does, I put an ounce or two of formula in the bottle to make up the rest. I mix it with the breastmilk. I don't really like doing it, but in the end I was stressing myself out so much that I had to. Also, I do like that now she has been introduced to formula and so I can keep some on hand at daycare, etc, so that she could be fed in case there was some emergency and I couldn't get to her.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend becoming a member of the pumpmoms yahoo group for additional tips from other moms in your situation. I joined a few weeks ago and have been very pleased with the support.

[Anonymous]

Also - it helps to use a hospital grade pump.

I get more milk the four days I'm in the office with the hospital pump (Medela Symphony) than the one day I'm at home with the consumer pump (Medela Pump in Style).

I send 16 ounces in with my 4.5 mo old. He usually drinks it all and he gets formula the rare times he wants that fifth bottle.

[Anonymous]

Pat Shelley at the Breastfeeding Center on K Street said leave no more than 12-15 oz of EBM with the daycare for a 9 hour day. She said that daycare providers CHRONICALLY overfeed charges. They use food to soothe, to get kids to sleep, you name it. I'm about to start back to work and I'm planning to leave 15-20 oz at first and see how it goes. If DD isn't consuming it all, then I plan to cut back how much I leave behind. Another trick might be to provide smaller amounts per bottle (i.e., only fill the bottle with 2-3 oz), so that if your baby only consumes that much (the average is 2-4 oz), then there isn't any wasting of precious EBM. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the support and good advice. I've been getting up at 5:15am with DS to feed him. He falls back asleep, I get ready for work, pump about 5 oz total. I have to be at work by 7:30. Then I usually can only pump twice while at work, getting an average total of 10 oz. I'm there to pick him up by 4:30. Then I pump at night but only get 2-3 total by then. So it seems that I am pumping about 18oz. a day which should be enough to cover the nine hours I'm gone.

My DS is less than four months, but is over 14 pounds. At the last visit the doctor seemed fine with his growing rate. I wouldn't be surprised if the daycare provider is over feeding him, but I also don't want to limit the amount she should give him - what if he really is hungry?

I put 3-3.5 oz in each bottle. Maybe I should do what a PP said and give the provider 3 5oz bottles and tell her to feed him every 3 hours. That would limit the total to 15 oz and this seems more doable. He isn't fed on any type of a schedule at daycare. I think she feeds him when he cries.

I was kind of hoping that starting on rice cereal would fill him up and then he wouldn't be as hungry for breast milk. I guess that is not the case.

I've been trying to avoid formula, but it's hard to pump so much and always feel like you are barely scraping by. I do pump on the weekends to have some back up. It's just more stressful than I imagined!

I feel like I'm chained to that pump. On the other hand - in the evenings and morning and weekends - I LOVE breastfeeding.