Hi Ladies!

Okay.. I have some questions about my breastmilk supply, and I know I can come here and ask you ladies, as I dont really have the breastfeeding support here at home.

Anyway,

I have just recently gone back to work, and I feel like my supply has drastically reduced.

Xavier nurses for about 20 to 30 min each session, and it seems like an hour later he's hungry again, as he gets fussy and he roots around at my chest.

I have been pumping, I pump ALOT, however when I pump, no matter how full my breasts are, I only get about 3 oz, and it takes 2 pumping sessions to fill a 5 oz bottle. Is this normal? What can I do to increase my supply?

I know about Fenugreek, and I plan to go get some, but what else can I do to increase my supply? I feel like Im failing him as it feels like I dont have enough to give him, and I have to break down and give him formula
 
. I dont want to stop nursing, but I just dont know what else I can do!

I pump and pump and pump, but I seemingly cant pump enough to satisfy Xavier.

Any Ideas?

 


Some women just dont' get as much when they pump as they do when they actually nurse. I've also heard of oatmeal improving supply. The other big, big thing you can do is to remember to drink lots and lots of water. Do you have a picture of the baby nearby, and are you pumping in a place that you can be relaxed in?

What I ended up doing was mixing the formula with the breastmilk in the same bottle. I did *not* quit breastfeeding. I also didn't pump at home, I put him right on the breast and made sure he had full feedings during the time when I was home and able to nurse him. It all comes down to what is most important to you. I decided that I was ok with him having a little formula to make up for those feedings we missed during the day, but I really wanted him to nurse from the breast when I was there.
Good luck.

I was rarely ever able to pump more than 4oz at once unless I was severely engorged. I did take Fenugreek + Blessed Thistle when I was having supply issues, and every time I took them I had a huge increase in supply within 48 hours.

I never ended up needing to pump very much since DD was with me nearly all the time. I could not imagine having to pump several times per day. Good luck!

By the way I did eat a lot of oatmeal and it does help, though I didn't feel it was as drastic as fenugreek.

How do you know he is not getting enough? Crying and wanting to nurse every hour or even every 30 min is very normal. It is very rare to not make enough milk for your baby as long as your feeding on demand and not supplementing just keep feeding him on demand and pumping when he is having a bottle or while your at work and your body will make what it needs. And then keep a good eye on diaper count because that is really the only way to find out if he is getting enough milk. He should have 6-8 wet diapers a day and poppies count as a wet one as well.
as for pumping people will never pump the same amount as what a baby will get when nursing. babies are way more efficient at getting the milk out then the pump so don't use that as an indicator to what he is getting when he nurses.
The best way's to increase your supply is to pump/ nurse. I would pump every few hours and then while home let the baby nurse on demand and try not to supplement because every time you supplement the baby is nursing less. Also drink lots of water and eat some oatmeal or something with oatmeal in it.

also some woman don't respond well to pumps. I dont know how long you have been pumping but I have heard that the more you pump the more your body will get use to the pump and it will start to respond better after a while.
good luck and I hope it gets better soon!

I agree with the advice the ladies have given you, and just wanted to give you a
 


Nursing & pumping was frustrating for me as well, but hang in there! It's worth it!