Pumping & Supply Question

[macaronmama]

I have a friend who just went back to work recently - she pumps at work and BFs at home in the evening, and she's seen a drop in her production very recently. She pumps twice at work and has been only getting 10oz to the 16oz her LO drinks while at daycare. LO is around 14 weeks old.

Any advice for her? Should she be adding an extra pump in at work to help increase her supply? She's turned back to lactation cookies and tea to see if that helps.

[emmyg65]

How long is she at work? If she's working a full day, she probably needs to pump 3x. I pumped at 9:30, 12 and 2:30. And actually, I pumped over breakfast before my son woke up too.

[seamonster]

Adding in a 3rd pump would probably help. She might also do some power pumping. I found lecithin helped a bit.

If she can't keep up with demand, she could do a 1:1 substitution of formula for bm.

[vvvvvfee]

yes, definitely up it to 3x a day. most women need 3 pumps over an average workday for at least the first several months in order to maintain supply. is she pumping for at least 15 minutes when she does pump? that is also recommended to maintain supply. she could also try adding on another 5 minutes per pumping session to try to increase supply/get a second let-down. massaging and/or using warm compresses before/during pumping can also help express more milk.

[billyhorrible]

She also should look at her intake, both water and calorie. I know when I went back to work I was much more distracted and didn't drink as much water or eat as often as when I was home.

[emmyg65]

The average pumping output is 2-4 oz. per session, so it would be a rare woman who got 16 oz. in just two sessions. That's why I pumped 4x/day.

[sandandsea]

I pump first thing in the morning before I leave for work and get double the amount then than I do any other pump of the day. I pump twice during work (10:30 and 3).

[kensie5226]

I pumped 3Xs a day until 8 months to keep up with a baby who is EBF.

[ThankfulSnail]

If she works an 8ish hour day, she probably needs to pump 3 times. To keep up with my big eater when my supply tanked, I started feeding on 1 breast while pumping on the other during the first morning feeding and eventually pumping one more time while I watched TV in the evening, for a total of 5x per day. Those extra sessions were added as my supply dipped over time and baby's appetite grew or at least stayed the same.

[Ray]

I pump at 6:30 one side, while I eat, (lo having just nursed the other) pump at work at 8, 9:50,12:30, pump while I nurse at 4, then before bed.

He eats 10oz/day while at work, 15 if he needs a third bottle before I'm home.

[shamrockshimmy]

Sometimes I have trouble getting enough pumping sessions in at work. On days that happens, I do an extra pump an hour or 2 after dd goes to bed. Does she work M-F? I do mostly 12 hour shifts so I have more days off per week. My first feed of the morning she only eats off one side so on days off I always pump the other to build a stash and help keep my supply up.