How much do you pump at work...

[Deleted]

compared to what your LO consumes while you're at work?

Trying to get a feel for what others produce...do you pump just enough to cover one day, do you end up supplementing to make up the difference or have a surplus by the end of the week?

Does your output vary day to day?

Last week was my first week back and by Friday I had 9 ounces leftover (a full day at daycare). I didn't pump over the weekend at all. Monday, I pumped exactly enough for the next day. This makes me a smidge nervous. I added in a hand-pumping session (didn't want to deal with packing/unpacking the pump) to the opposite side before bed and in the morning - just 5 minutes each. This has helped me add 3-4 ounces to my daily output the past 2 nights.

I really love my instant cranberry oatmeal from TJs but I know it won't help my supply. I've tried to recreate it with real oatmeal to no avail. So instead I'm eating lots of lactation cookies and drinking 2 cups of mother's milk tea a day. And drinking water when I remember.

I think part of my issue is I only have time to pump for 10 minutes + setting up and putting everything away. I do this 3x daily during prep periods and at the beginning of lunch (I actually dismiss my students 5 minutes early to get a head start since we have a very short lunch period) I need to use the rest of my prep time for meetings, running to the copy room, etc.

I think it will get a bit easier if DD would just sleep until I wake her up to get ready to go in the mornings haha...none of this waking up to nurse at 5am nonsense (we leave by 7). That might save me a bottle at daycare some days.

Not sure of my point with this post...guess I just want to see if I'm "normal" in terms of pumping.

Oh...I remember what I wanted to ask... If I am able to build up a decent enough stash to drop a pumping session sometime in the spring, will I be able to bring my supply back up in June when DD is 9 months and I'm off for the summer and can stop pumping altogether? Or does it not matter at that point because of solids?

[jenjen]

My output varies by day. I average 10-15 oz/ day and DS takes 12 oz while at daycare. I often rotate in some older pumped milk so I do freeze, but not always. Sometimes I'm lazy and just send whatever I pumped the day before.

Do you already have everything connected before you go to pump? That might save a few minutes because it looks like you cut it close with your time and don't have the flexibility to move anything around. I do have time to pump at work so I'm able to pump 15-20 minutes, I do get a 2nd let down between 15-20 minutes and sometimes I can squeeze out a little more.

About DD waking at 5. Is she up for the day then or does she really want to nurse? If DS wakes at 5, I usually just bring him to bed. Other times he will wake around 6 or so but I don't nurse him until 6:30. He's content just hanging out in bed with us or whatever, not crying from hunger. It doesn't always work (and then I'll send an extra bottle to daycare) but it does work 99% of the time. No clue on the last question - however I only pump 2x at work (DS takes 3 bottles) and I'm able to nurse on demand on the weekends/holidays.

[xokell2]

I think I pump about what he eats when home. I work 12 hr shifts, I usually feed him when I wake up from one side then pump the other side for his bottle when he wakes up. I usually get 4-6 oz for that one. Then at work I average 16-20 oz over 2-3 sessions. I just try and drink toooons of water throughout the day.

When my supply started to drop I made oatmeal with my leftover lactation cookie ingredients and I swear it helped but I literally ate it all day at work for three meals a day.

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2012 21:11:27 GMT -5 jenjen said:

Do you already have everything connected before you go to pump?

I have the tubing and the plug connected under my desk, but the pump parts and bottles are in a fridge down the hall. Most times it's not even worth using my hands-free bra...so I just balance the bottles against the side of my desk and kind of prop them up with one hand. I have one session a day when I have a bit more flexibility and can use the bra then.

Dec 5, 2012 21:11:27 GMT -5 jenjen said:

About DD waking at 5. Is she up for the day then or does she really want to nurse?

She wakes up hungry. She freaks if I try to change her diaper first so most times I just nurse her and she falls back to sleep when she's done. Then I wake her up when I'm ready to leave the house.

I try to rotate my little stash by using my oldest frozen milk on Mondays, fresh the rest of the week and freeze Friday's milk. I figure it's a way to cut down on storage bags.

[curbsideprophet]

My output varies by day, that sounds normal to me.

[pacificrules]

I pumped at work for seven months. There were a handful of days that I pumped more than DD consumed, and would often pump equal to the amount of ounces she had that day. But the majority of the time I pumped a bottle less than she had and DH ended up using one freezer bag of milk a day. I was thankful to have that stash, but bummed to have to dip into it. I ended up pumping on the weekend to up our freezer stash. It worked out ok, but was stressful for me the whole time until I quit bf'ing.

[aspentosh]

When I was pumping 3x at work (until DD was 9 months) I was getting 12-16oz. She would eat usually 12oz, sometimes more.

Now that she's on three solid meals a day she is only taking 10-12oz at daycare. I dropped to pumping 2x at work a few weeks ago and I am getting 8-10oz. I am ok with that because I have quite the freezer stash and needed to use some of it.

[Deleted]

My output varies by day. Yesterday I pumped 13 oz total, today I have already pumped 7 oz (morning pump sesson). It really varies. If you can pump even once a day on the weekends I think it might help take the "edge" off so to speak and help you build a little buffer.

[jade]

I have always pumped just enough for the next day. I used to get a little extra at the beginning of the week, but then use it all up by Friday. At first he was taking 12 oz while I was gone, but then about two months ago my supply tanked and I had to dip into my teeny tiny stash. It has come back, but now I am only getting 9 oz a day, and often need to add a session at night. He eats two meals of solids a daycare, so that makes up the difference.

[mie]

I usually pumped what I needed, but would also pump once before bed and on the weekend.

[whitterbugk]

I'm usually 1-3 ounces short, so I pump each weekend morning and use that to fill in the next week whenever I'm short.

If I run out of weekend milk too early, I pump at night.