Reply to I can't pump enough milk, even when breasts are full

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Definitely try a lactation consultant but I will say some of us just suck at pumping.  My baby eats his 3oz in 5-10 minutes when it takes me a hour long power pumping session for me to get it out with the pump.  I am struggling to keep up with my baby at daycare and very frustratingly have noticed that I do better when I’m well hydrated and not stressed… and of course not producing enough milk for my baby is a big stressor.  🙄 [/quote]

Seeing your baby is 8 months.  Mine is the same, been in daycare for 2 months.  Here's what I do (I didn't want to introduce formula for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because of the formula shortage):

1. Go hard on solids -- baby went for EBFing to four jars of puree a day in like two weeks.  He's a huge fan so that was an easy transition.  At 8 months, he's transitioning easily to table foods.

2. Power pump at least two times a day, sometimes three.  I'm basically attached to the breast pump, either pump or resting, most of my work day.

3. Mini-pump session (~5-10 minutes) right before I leave the house for daycare dropoff.  Sometimes this is nothing, sometimes it's surprisingly fruitful, so I keep at it to grab the 0.5-1oz when I can.

4. Nurse right outside daycare before dropping him off.

5. When necessary, wake up in the middle of the night to do another pumping session.

6. Feed the baby when he wakes in the middle of the night instead of encouraging sleeping through the night so he doesn't lose out on opportunities to eat.

YMMV if you want to any of these inconvenient things -- I'm fully aware that I'm not being wholly rational about it, but I only have a few more months to go so I'm going to stick with it for now.  Breast pump goes out the window in favor of cow's milk as soon as the baby turns 1, though.  I had trouble pumping for my older kid as well, but she was only in daycare for a couple months before her first birthday because of the pandemic and I'd been able to build up a freezer stash for her so it was way less stressful.  I still stopped pumping and switched over to cow's milk at daycare on her first birthday, but kept the morning, nap (on weekends), and evening nursing sessions for a few more months.  I plan to do the same here.[/quote]
 
Oh, one more super important thing I have to do to support pumping enough: HYDRATE.  Like a gallon of water/gatorade a day minimum.  It's hard to remember but it really does help.[/quote]

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