[ylime1982]

My daughter is a little over 6 months old and has been receiving only breastmilk since birth. I went back to work right before 3 months so she started taking bottles at that time as well as nursing. I have a pretty crazy work schedule that varies from month to month and can include days, nights, 30 Hr shifts, and combos of all of the above. I made it through 3 months of pretty crazy schedules and was still doing pretty well with keepng up pumping wise, with maybe a slight decrease in amount pumped from 5 oz to 4 oz average per session. So this month comes along and I have an awesome schedule, where I can nurse her all but 1-2 feedings per day most days and I'm only working 5 days per week instead of 6-7. So for the past week I have been pumping less and less with al ost each pumping. Now I am getting 2.5-3 oz every time I pump, if not less. I have not changed how frequently I pump and she is still eating as frequently/as much as usual. She was also sleeping through the night since like 2 months of age but has been wakng to eat 1-3 times per night for the past 2 weeks. I am still drinking 120+ oz of water per day. I even tried using the hospital grade pump at work to see if my pump was just not working as well but it didn't help. At first I thought maybe AF was coming but it has been a week and there is still no sign of her...

Any help is much appreciated! I am so devastated that my breastfeeding relationship is falling apart right in front of me and I don't know what to do to fix it.

Emily

[mgm78]

i would check out the pumping mommies forum and the info on power pumping. are you double pumping? i found, for me, drinking 4-5 cups of mother's milk tea/day got me 2oz/more a day.

[-erin-]

How often do you pump? How much is she taking in a bottle? How long are you pumping for? If you're pumping every 2-3 hours, then 2-3oz is pretty average. If she's waking up at night, she may be reverse cycling to get some more nursing in with you. It also could be the age, my DD went from waking 1x a night from 3-6 months to waking 2-4 times a night from 6-9 months.

Other things... are you getting enough food/calories? double pumping? changed the membranes, depending on which pump you have?

[ylime1982]

I am double pumping. I have the PIS Advanced and I tried changing out the membranes, and I even used the hospital pump at work to see if that would help. I am going to try to get some of the more mother's milk and see if that helps.

I pump every 3 hours at work and when I am with my daughter I always nurse her. I have always pumped every 3-4 hours, but this month because of an easier work schedule I can pump exactly every 3 hours. Until recently I always got 4-5 oz per session when pumping every 3 hours and sometimes a little more if it was 4 hr. My daughter takes 4-5 oz per bottle every 3-4 hours, which is what she has done since 3 months when she started taking bottles. i know that is kind of a lot for BF babies but I think it's definitely not too much because she has not been gaining too much weight and she will stop when she is full and not just keep eating. She is actually only 10% for weight now, whereas she was almost 50% at 2 months and 25% at 4 months. I'm not sure if my milk is just skim or what, but it seems like she needs more than most babies.

since she is 6 months old we are starting some food (avacado and brown rice cereal and green beans so far) and she likes it so I am hoping to maybe have the babysitter give her a "meal" in the morning before one of her bottles just so she will take less, but I don't know if I will be making enough even with that...

[mgm78]

I would try some power pumping and maybe adding a pumping session in. I found when I was low on my stash, that pumping first thing in the morning while DD nursed on the other side worked well to make up those extra ounces. ALSO, i hear from a lot of moms, myself included, that there is a dip in pumping output around 6-9 months. Not sure why, but it seems pretty common, unfortunately.

[ylime1982]

Originally Posted by mgm78

I would try some power pumping and maybe adding a pumping session in. I found when I was low on my stash, that pumping first thing in the morning while DD nursed on the other side worked well to make up those extra ounces. ALSO, i hear from a lot of moms, myself included, that there is a dip in pumping output around 6-9 months. Not sure why, but it seems pretty common, unfortunately.

I added in a pumping session after I put DD to bed, starting yesterday. I will have to look into power pumping. I am glad to hear that this isn't something that is uncommon. I was just scared that my milk supply was going to just keep going down and I wouldn't be able to BF anymore.