do I need to pump during missed feeding?

[AJHCFamily]

Two days per week our sitter would be giving DS a bottle after his morning nap. Do I need to pump during that time or can I just wait and feed DS at his next feeding? Will it affect my supply? I don't think engorgement would be an issue. I'm never very full even after DS goes long stretches at night or an extra long nap.

It's easier for me to pump early morning before baby wakes up or just other times and have a freezer stash than while I am working.

[fireHC11]

Originally Posted by AJHCFamily

Two days per week our sitter would be giving DS a bottle after his morning nap. Do I need to pump during that time or can I just wait and feed DS at his next feeding? Will it affect my supply? I don't think engorgement would be an issue. I'm never very full even after DS goes long stretches at night or an extra long nap.

It's easier for me to pump early morning before baby wakes up or just other times and have a freezer stash than while I am working.

How long will your body be going between feedings?

If you don't pump: It will affect your supply in that in time, your body will stop producing milk for that feeding.

What worked for me, in a similar situation, was to tandem nurse-pump: My son on one breast (the low-producer), and a manual hand-pump on the other (the high-producer). When he drained the low-producer, I would stop pumping and put him on the high-producer to finish the feeding.

However, my time away from my son was limited to about 3 hours, so he would either eat very little from the bottle, or skip it altogether. I found that he preferred to just wait it out. Somehow, he knew that he'd get lots of milk as soon as I came home.

Good luck!

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

If you generally dont fell engorged even after long stretches at night, I would still pump for fear of that skipped feeding effecting your supply even more. As a WOHM who had to work her ASS off to keep her supply up for 11 months pumping 5 times a day 5 days a week, I speak from experience how easily that skipped feeding can be a slippery slope for a borderline low supply mama.

SOme ladies are lucky and supply is just not an issue. My MIL is one of them. Im not so lucky. Perhaps you arent either. But its hard to get that supply back up again if you loose it, so better to be safe then sorry I always say.

[jdg]

Given that you said this is only two days per week, I wouldn't personally pump during those feedings if I didn't feel a "need" to. If you're already "feeding" the pump in the early morning when your babe isn't eating, then you should be fine. I have more than enough supply, so having enough milk is not an issue for me and I don't need to pump on a meal-for-meal basis to have plenty to both feed directly and have stored.

But I am so jealous that you don't get over-full! My husband has been taking babe for about four hours in the morning and it's painful by the end of that and I desperately need to pump!

[Ruthla]

You need to pump enough milk during the week to replace what the baby is drinking from a bottle. You dont' have to pump at exactly the same time that the baby is getting the bottle. If you're only working 2 days a week, you don't even have to pump on the same days as the baby gets the bottle- though you'll probably want to pump before, during, or after work to help releive engorgement, even if your'e also pumping on other days. If the baby got a bottle while you weren't pumping, then you'll probably still feel "full" after the baby nurses when you return home from work. I used to nurse on one side and pump the other after work.

[AJHCFamily]

Thanks for all the responses and good ideas!

Originally Posted by Ruthla

If the baby got a bottle while you weren't pumping, then you'll probably still feel "full" after the baby nurses when you return home from work. I used to nurse on one side and pump the other after work.

Hadn't thought of that...good idea. thanks!

[AJHCFamily]

Originally Posted by Barbie64g

If you generally dont fell engorged even after long stretches at night, I would still pump for fear of that skipped feeding effecting your supply even more. As a WOHM who had to work her ASS off to keep her supply up for 11 months pumping 5 times a day 5 days a week, I speak from experience how easily that skipped feeding can be a slippery slope for a borderline low supply mama.

SOme ladies are lucky and supply is just not an issue. My MIL is one of them. Im not so lucky. Perhaps you arent either. But its hard to get that supply back up again if you loose it, so better to be safe then sorry I always say.

You know, I had never thought of myself as having a low supply but you bring up a good point. My son is a chunky baby and has plenty of wet/poopy diapers so I didn't consider a low supply, but my breasts are much smaller this time around I rarely feel engorged or even full. For the last two weeks DS has been so cranky in the evenings, waking up for night feedings when he was sleeping 8-12 hours stretches since 6 or so weeks (don't shoot me, I went through no sleeping for two+ years with my daughter but somehow I got lucky this time around), and nursing more often. It has been hot with no a/c, DS is hitting a new developmental stage, and we were traveling. So plenty of reasons for the fussiness, but I wonder if I should try to ramp up my supply in some way other than frequent nursing (every 2 - 3 hours during the day, cluster feeding in the evening). Last night he was less fussy and did sleep all night again. Sorry for the ramble....appreciate any thoughts on this.