I hate pumping. To add insult to injury, lately I've been pumping less and less. Today was the first day I had to send formula to daycare because I didn't have enough milk. Has this happened to anyone else?
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I think it happens to just about everybody
especially if you work long hours away from your baby.
The only thing that worked for me was domperidone. But lots of mamas can add an extra pump session, drink tons of water (I filled and drank a giant bottle at my desk every day), oatmeal, supplements, Mother's Milk Tea, etc., and get back to where they need to be.For me, the stress would make it even worse. Be kind to yourself. Pumping is the worst, but it doesn't last forever and (IMO) it was well worth it for the short time (in the long run) you do it.
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@rachiecakes: Thanks. It may just be stress. Last week was tough (DS was sick, daycare issues, missed 3 days of work). I'll try more water and I have a bottle of More Milk Plus somewhere. What is domperidone?
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Yes, that happened to me for a few weeks. I eventually had to get religious about pumping before work and after he went to sleep, in addition to feedings and work pumps. A week or so of that it came back up and I've had no problems since. It was frustrating...days of getting just drops! Check your tubing for holes, too.
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It happened to me not long ago and was able to keep up using up most of my freezer supply. It didn't help that the week or two that my supply really tanked daycare was constantly using the 'extra bottle'. I've been eating oatmeal, drinking tons of water, not skipping pumping in the evening, and taking more milk plus.
How old is your LO? For me it helps to keep in mind that it won't be too much longer that I will have to do this whole pumping thing.
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Yep, me. I never had a great supply to begin with but I started at 7-9oz a day at work and now it's more like 5-6oz almost two month later. I'm taking fenugreek and mothers milk tea but nothing seems to be working. LO gets 3bm/1 formula bottle because I can't keep up, and once my stash is gone she'll be up to 2 formula bottles. It stinks, but it does seem to be pretty common...pumping just doesn't keep up the supply the way nursing does
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Oh yes, my supply has dropped. I'm taking More Milk Plus supplements and drinking a boatload of water each day. I think I'm going to stop the supplements after they run out tomorrow because they're just not giving me enough of a return. DD already gets two bottles of formula a day (and one bottle of milk).
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Me! I can only send one bottle of milk to daycare (I used to send 3). I'm hoping I can build it back up when I stop working.
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Thanks for the replies, ladies. Sorry to hear others go through this, too, but I'm glad we're all in it together! I'm trying to remind myself that for 2 solid months DS had nothing but breastmilk at daycare and that is an accomplishment.
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Sorry you're struggling with pumping! It seems totally common from what I read on here and those I know in real life. The only way I provide enough for LO is by pumping 5x a day - 3x at work and 2x at home. I also pump a few times on the weekends. I know that is not a workable schedule for MANY.
Everything I've read says that you don't need to exclusively provide breastmilk for baby to get the benefits, so you're still doing a great thing for you LO!
I've seen some improvement in supply with more milk plus and drinking lots of water, but the only thing that really works for me to get enough is adding pumping sessions.
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Has your cycle returned yet? From ovulation until the start of AF my supply plummeted! I hated that time of the month! So stressful!
especially if you work long hours away from your baby.
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