Not pumping enough

[trimommy2009]

I need some advice on getting more milk from pumping.  My ds is just now 6 months old and although I work from home most days there are a couple days a week that I have to go into the office for full days. When I'm at the office my ds will eat anywhere from 12 oz to 16oz but recently I'm only able to pump about 6 to 8oz.  Up until about a month ago I was able to pump over 20oz.  Where did it go?  He certainly hasn't slowed down his nursing schedule, I haven't really introduced solids yet and I'm not pumping any more or less frequently then I did before.  My store is quickly running down, what can I do?  

I've been drinking the Mother's Milk tea 3 to 4 times a day, and a friend recently gave me some "goat something" More Milk drops but none of it seems to be helping.  DS is gaining weight well and seems satisfied after nursing so I know I'm producing enough to exclusively nurse him, but what gives?  Any thoughts on getting more milk from my pumping sessions?  

[rnra]

Has your pumping environment changed?  If you were pumping at home in the vicinity of your baby and are now pumping alone at work then it is quite likely that your supply will change along with the environment.  Adding manual expression/massage while pumping (you can find plenty of tips for this via Google) can help.  It can also help to have a picture of your baby nearby and having one of his blankets that has been "used" can help too.  Try to visualize the milk flowing in order to feed your baby.  You could also try "power pumping" (Google that one too) while you're home.  Good luck!

[skycheattraffic]

Are you apart on those days for 10 hours or more? EBF babies while nursing consume roughly about an ounce per hour, give or take. If you're apart 8 hours but baby drinks 16 oz then that is definitely more than he would take from you by nursing. It's easier and faster to get milk out of a bottle than the breast so it may look like he is gulping it down but he is just trying to meet his sucking needs with a bottle that gives milk too fast and easily. I EPd for 10 weeks for DD before she latched on and for a while she would chug 32 to 38 oz a day and I couldn't keep up. When I learned about paced bottle feeding, I was able to gently work her down to 22 to 28 oz a day. Baby was still happy, thriving, gaining very well and making lots of wet diapers and my pumped supply now was a lot closer to her demand. I did use a paci to help fulfill her sucking needs but as she started nursing she needed it less and less and literally threw it away at 12 months, wanting nothing more to do with it. Two big points in paced bottle feeding: use smaller bottles (3 or maybe 4 oz) and hold baby more upright so gravity isn't helping drain the bottle. By using paced feeding while you're apart, you can prevent bottle preference which can be very challenging to break with older babies. Here's the kellymom link that gives more details:

http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/