Should I be worried about my supply/pumping output?

[eastendjenn]

My youngest daughter is almost 5 months old, and exclusively breastfed. I work from 8:30 - 3:30 every day and she is with a nanny then. I pumped some while I was at home with her and froze it, and have been pumping when I am at work, of course. I feed her at about 8, pump at about 9:30-10:00, go home and nurse her around noon, pump again around 2-2:30, and am home to nurse her again by 4:00.

For the first month and a half she was with the nanny she refused the bottle entirely. Cups and droppers too. But she's come around to it, and now will take my milk from a bottle. The problem is, she is drinknig more than I am pumping, every day. Fortunately, I have a freezer stash built up since she wasn't taking any for a while, but we are chipping away at that daily and I'm starting to worry.

My older daughter is almost 3, and I worried like this constantly with her. I always felt on the brink of not having enough milk for her while I was away. She ended up refusing bottles after she hit 13 months, and wouldn't take my milk in a sippy, so I donated 100 oz. at the end. And I'm still nursing her! That whole experience should give me confidence, I guess, but I can't help it - every day when I get home and the nanny tells me how much milk she had, I feel a little sick knowing I didn't pump that much. FWIW, I'm pumping between 3.5-5 oz. (both sides combined) each time. I'm typically falling an ounce or three short every day of what she's actually consuming.

Should I be worried? Taking supplements? Switch to a hospital grade pump? I don't see how I could pump more frequently, honestly. Do I just need to relax?

[rlmueller]

I always

Pump in the morning with a manual as I feed her as I'm very full then. I can feed her completely on one side and pump 3-5 oz on the other which is how much she eats per bottle feeding with the sitter. That gives me one extra bottle a day. I do this on weekends also 2 x per day Sat and Sun for a little extra. I take Motherlove More milk special blend (alcohol free is easier on the stomach but after a few days you get used to it) and fenugreek. Oatmeal everymorning at work.

[Spiralshell]

Here's a good article I found about using your freezer stash wisely http://www.workandpump.com/freezerstash.htm

It sounds to me like you're doing fine and that you're maybe having the same problem I had... my 7 month old is watched by his Grandma (DP's mom) two days a week, and by his Oma (my mom) two days. Grandma reported that she "ran out of milk" and had to dip into the freezer most days -- this happened for a while and I saw my very hard earned stash disappearing. (This never happened with Oma.)
I realized that when he fusses, Grandma gets a bottle. Oma gets the binky and rocks him and he's fine. Not that Oma is depriving him of milk -- she gives him what I have left for the day -- but she finds a way to spread it out. So if your child care is running out, it might be that they're interpreting your babe's need to suck for a desire for more more more milk!
For the record, I pump three times at work. I get between 2 and 3 ounces (both breasts combined!) at each session. I would KILL to get 3-5 oz from one boob at one pumping! KILL! I'm gone every day and leave 9-10 oz of milk. (I sometimes squeeze in another pumping session in the morning before leaving at 7AM, and after he goes to sleep. I can get another ounce or two total.)
Between his 9-10 oz per day and all the solids he's eating now (this boy LOVES food!) we're doing fine. Remember that if a babe doesn't get all the milk they need during they day, they'll just nurse more at night. Nate does that, and since we're cosleeping it's easy for me to nurse him and fall back to sleep.

[Hannah'sMommy]

How many bottles and how many ounces each is she getting when you're gone? It's very possible that she's being given a bottle when she fusses and not necessarily hungry, I've heard of that happening too often. Your pumping output is great, really more on the higher end of output compared to other women!

[hotharmony]

For breastfeed babies they need about an once an hour while your away. Also they should be limited to 4oz bottles per session max.

[KempsMama]

Originally Posted by hotharmony

For breastfeed babies they need about an once an hour while your away. Also they should be limited to 4oz bottles per session max.

Do you have a source for this, or a reason? At 5 months DS1 took more than 4 oz. per feeding, usually closer to 8. I could pump 12.

[Phoenix~Mama]

Originally Posted by KempsMama

Do you have a source for this, or a reason? At 5 months DS1 took more than 4 oz. per feeding, usually closer to 8. I could pump 12.

Every baby is different of course, but I beleive I saw the same average on kellymom. I lived on that site when DD was younger. My pedi kept wanting to push larger bottles spaced further apart for the day.

I second what someone else said about pumping a side in the morning feed. I got WAY more milk in the first pump of the morning than any other time and that helped tremendously in having more milk at the end of the day.

[KempsMama]

Originally Posted by JSMa

Every baby is different of course, but I beleive I saw the same average on kellymom. I lived on that site when DD was younger. My pedi kept wanting to push larger bottles spaced further apart for the day.

I second what someone else said about pumping a side in the morning feed. I got WAY more milk in the first pump of the morning than any other time and that helped tremendously in having more milk at the end of the day.

Right, every babies different, which is why I'm questioning Harmony's advice that all babies be limited to 4 oz. per feeding.