I've been back to work since my LO was 3 months old; he'll be 5 months next week. When I first went back, he was sleeping from about 9 pm til 3:30 am, getting up to eat, then sleeping again til about 7:30 am. Life was good 
I was pumping 3 times a day and getting about 12 oz total. A week after going back I switched shifts, from first shift to seconds. I can now only pump twice in a shift, plus when I get home, since Ethan is in bed. I get about 10 oz.
Since I've gone back to work, Ethan has been getting up 3 to 4 times per night to nurse. At first I thought the regression was due to him not getting enough to eat, especially since his weight gain slowed way down. I started taking fenugreek, then started supplementing with formula. Originally I just added 2 or 3 ounces to the days bottles (4 3-ounce bottles). Then, on the advice of my ped (who is very natural-minded), upped his bottles to 5 oz each. He still gets up at night, but now only takes 3 bottles (~16 oz total). I feel it's important to mention that he weighs 20 lbs and 28" long... He's really big for his age.
The big problem (as I now see it) is that he's nursing less in the morning. My boobs seem less full, and he almost always fusses when I feed him. Our feeding sessions have gone from 15-10 minutes to 10 minutes at most. Unless it's in the middle of the night, he only nurses to eat. He won't suck on an empty breast, so he's not much help if I'm trying to build supply. I had a nursing marathon last week and nursed him every hour, but all it did was upset him. I've also tried pumping after I feed him, but it doesn't seem to do anything to stimulate my supply.
I wish I could pump more at work, but I just can't. I work in law enforcement, and it's hard to get in the 2 sessions I do. Some days I can only pump once at work. In the summer, I'm not sure I'll be able to manage at all, since we're much busier then. Thankfully I have a good relationship with my co-workers and supervisors, so it's not been an issue so far.
Here's what I think I need to do. Since the bigger bottles didn't help him sleep at night, I know he's not nursing at night cause he's starving (maybe he misses me?). In fact, it seems to have hurt my supply and not helped anything. He poops more and wants to nurse less. My gut feeling tells me that I need to cut back his formula supplement to what it was initially (2 or 3 oz). This should help him want to nurse more and rebuild my supply. Right?
Any other suggestions? TIA!
I was pumping 3 times a day and getting about 12 oz total. A week after going back I switched shifts, from first shift to seconds. I can now only pump twice in a shift, plus when I get home, since Ethan is in bed. I get about 10 oz.Since I've gone back to work, Ethan has been getting up 3 to 4 times per night to nurse. At first I thought the regression was due to him not getting enough to eat, especially since his weight gain slowed way down. I started taking fenugreek, then started supplementing with formula. Originally I just added 2 or 3 ounces to the days bottles (4 3-ounce bottles). Then, on the advice of my ped (who is very natural-minded), upped his bottles to 5 oz each. He still gets up at night, but now only takes 3 bottles (~16 oz total). I feel it's important to mention that he weighs 20 lbs and 28" long... He's really big for his age.
The big problem (as I now see it) is that he's nursing less in the morning. My boobs seem less full, and he almost always fusses when I feed him. Our feeding sessions have gone from 15-10 minutes to 10 minutes at most. Unless it's in the middle of the night, he only nurses to eat. He won't suck on an empty breast, so he's not much help if I'm trying to build supply. I had a nursing marathon last week and nursed him every hour, but all it did was upset him. I've also tried pumping after I feed him, but it doesn't seem to do anything to stimulate my supply.
I wish I could pump more at work, but I just can't. I work in law enforcement, and it's hard to get in the 2 sessions I do. Some days I can only pump once at work. In the summer, I'm not sure I'll be able to manage at all, since we're much busier then. Thankfully I have a good relationship with my co-workers and supervisors, so it's not been an issue so far.
Here's what I think I need to do. Since the bigger bottles didn't help him sleep at night, I know he's not nursing at night cause he's starving (maybe he misses me?). In fact, it seems to have hurt my supply and not helped anything. He poops more and wants to nurse less. My gut feeling tells me that I need to cut back his formula supplement to what it was initially (2 or 3 oz). This should help him want to nurse more and rebuild my supply. Right?
Any other suggestions? TIA!
