Working, pumping and BF-ing

[kzener]

I'm returning to work in a couple of weeks.  I've been stocking up on some milk for the first few days and plan to pump durig the day around the same time I would have fed my DS.  Since pumping always seems to produce less than BF-ing, I'm thinking I will need to pump at least 1 more time. 

MY DS is is 2 months old and we are on an every 3 hour, 2 cluster feeds and 1 dream feed.   I'm expecting to have at least 4 BF opportunities, but usually he doesn't take too much on the last cluster and the DF.  (leaving approx 3-4 bottle feedings, which have often been his longer feeds)

When I express milk, I generally feed him about 4 ozs. As he gets older and bigger, how does one know how much to feed in a bottle? How will I know when to move to 5 oz's or more? How do we avoid losing supply since pumping always produces less than BFing? 
 
I'm really concerned about this because we are still working hard at getting his weight up. (Born at 6lbs 5oz and now up to 9lbs 10 oz)


Clearly I have to do everything possible to keep my milk supply up, but I also need to know if I should increase my pumping if his daytime bottle feeding demand is up. 

Any tips on keeping up supply, getting enough sleep, and knowing how much to bottle feed is appreciated. 

Thanks!!

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I'm not sure what to do about knowing how much to give him - other than just feed him what you pump and see if he still wants more!  :oops:   If you can pump every 2 hrs during the day, it should help to keep your supply up.  Nursing him on the weekends might also help to jump start your supply during growth spurts.  I also think that during growth spurts, he might wake at night a bit if he's not getting enough during the day, and that will also increase your supply in the short term.  HTH - I'm going back to work in 2 weeks too so I might have more experience after that! 

[dkjokisch]

Talk to your day care provider.  They should have some means for letting you know how much he ate during the day.  When he starts polishing off the bottle while still looking for more, add a little.

[Melissa (Sydney's Mommy)]

I have been working and pumping fairly successfully for the past seven months.   Trenton is 10 months old.  I also bf my dd for 8 1/2 months, and worked during that too.  So, I know what you're facing.  It isn't easy, and takes a lot of work, but it can be done.

I found that I had to pump one more time than Trenton was eating.  To get enough for two feedings, I pumped three times.  In the beginning I had plenty and was able to freeze some every day.  Now, I'm finding that I have to pump at night before bed to get enough to fill his two bottles.

I have always allowed Trenton to nurse at night if he woke and was hungry....  This really seems to help stimulate my supply.  Yes, I'm tired and would like to get past this, but bf is important to me, so I'm just doing what I can.  On days that I'm home, I also feed Trenton a bit more frequently--again to stimulate my supply.

As for how much to put in his bottles--it's a bit of guessing.  At first I allowed his providers to fill his bottles and determine how much he wanted.  Now, I make his bottles, as solids are well established and it's generally the same amount every day.