Hi mamas!
I'm a first time mom to a 7 month old boy.
I returned to work 2 months ago, and work 2 twelve hour shifts as a nurse. For about a month before I went back to work, I pumped every night (almost) after my baby went to sleep in order to amass a small freezer stash (I had around 60 oz).
Now that I'm back at work, I feed my son right before I leave and right when I get home, and then through most of the night. My husband cares for him while I'm gone, and he eats 16-18 ounces of milk. The problem? I pump about 10-12 ounces at work, and continue to need to pump at night after the baby goes to sleep in order to get enough banked in the fridge to give him the next day I work. I never work two days in a row, so for example, I pumped 11 oz today to supply the baby on Sunday. I'll probably pump 2 ounces tonight, and 2 tomorrow. There have been several days that we've had to use frozen milk from the stash because there wasn't enough fresh to cover the need, and now all that remains in the freezer is about 20 ounces. I'm sort of panicking at the moment
and hoping some experienced mamas can help with tips.
I use a Medela PIS at home...I usually nurse the babe down around 9, then stay up til 11-ish and pump 2-3 ounces. I use an Ameda hospital pump at work (I'm a nurse). On a work day, I feed the babe around 6am, then pump around 8:30am and 11am. He comes to me for lunch and nurses around 1. Then, I pump again at 4pm and try to squeeze one in around 6:30pm, thinking that frequent shorter pumps are better than long pumping sessions. Of course, there are some days that I can only pump 3 times at work.
I've tried larger flanges, and haven't noticed an appreciable difference vs. the smaller ones. I eat oatmeal every morning. I need to do better with water and lay off the caffeine.
Some other info: my son doesn't STTN, and still feeds usually twice through the night (we cosleep). He feeds on demand during the day; sometimes he nurses as often as every 1-2 hours, and other days he goes 3 hours, so it's tough to pump during the day time because I don't know when he'll want to nurse. He's eating some solids, mostly fruits once or twice a day (we're doing BLW). I know that I make more milk in the a.m., based on when he bulks up on nursing and wet diapers, and the times I've pumped in the a.m.
Ideally, I want to restock the freezer a bit if possible. But more ideally, I want to make sure that I can continue to have enough pumped milk available to him on the days that I work. Giving formula is not an option for us. Anyone have advice for this freaked out mama?
Thanks so much.
I'm a first time mom to a 7 month old boy.
I returned to work 2 months ago, and work 2 twelve hour shifts as a nurse. For about a month before I went back to work, I pumped every night (almost) after my baby went to sleep in order to amass a small freezer stash (I had around 60 oz).
Now that I'm back at work, I feed my son right before I leave and right when I get home, and then through most of the night. My husband cares for him while I'm gone, and he eats 16-18 ounces of milk. The problem? I pump about 10-12 ounces at work, and continue to need to pump at night after the baby goes to sleep in order to get enough banked in the fridge to give him the next day I work. I never work two days in a row, so for example, I pumped 11 oz today to supply the baby on Sunday. I'll probably pump 2 ounces tonight, and 2 tomorrow. There have been several days that we've had to use frozen milk from the stash because there wasn't enough fresh to cover the need, and now all that remains in the freezer is about 20 ounces. I'm sort of panicking at the moment
and hoping some experienced mamas can help with tips.I use a Medela PIS at home...I usually nurse the babe down around 9, then stay up til 11-ish and pump 2-3 ounces. I use an Ameda hospital pump at work (I'm a nurse). On a work day, I feed the babe around 6am, then pump around 8:30am and 11am. He comes to me for lunch and nurses around 1. Then, I pump again at 4pm and try to squeeze one in around 6:30pm, thinking that frequent shorter pumps are better than long pumping sessions. Of course, there are some days that I can only pump 3 times at work.
I've tried larger flanges, and haven't noticed an appreciable difference vs. the smaller ones. I eat oatmeal every morning. I need to do better with water and lay off the caffeine.
Some other info: my son doesn't STTN, and still feeds usually twice through the night (we cosleep). He feeds on demand during the day; sometimes he nurses as often as every 1-2 hours, and other days he goes 3 hours, so it's tough to pump during the day time because I don't know when he'll want to nurse. He's eating some solids, mostly fruits once or twice a day (we're doing BLW). I know that I make more milk in the a.m., based on when he bulks up on nursing and wet diapers, and the times I've pumped in the a.m.
Ideally, I want to restock the freezer a bit if possible. But more ideally, I want to make sure that I can continue to have enough pumped milk available to him on the days that I work. Giving formula is not an option for us. Anyone have advice for this freaked out mama?
Thanks so much.
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