Discovery Home & Health

Hello everyone,

I'm returning to work part time in 6 weeks and am beginning to think about building up a supply of breast milk. As I've exclusively breastfed up to now i have absolutely no idea how much milk Harriet takes per feed. Does anyone have a vague idea how much milk i should put in each pouch? She'll be 10 weeks when i start back. I have tried expressing and only get about 30mls of each breast but that doesn't seem very much

Any advice would be very much appreciated

Rusty x (babies due jan 08)

Hi Rusty!

I used to express on an evening once I had had my dinner and a bit of a rest (???!!!??) and found that was when I could express the most. The amount you express is no where near the amount Harriot will get when she has a feed. babies are better than pumps at extracing your milk! My DH used to give the expressed milk in a bottle for the evening feed though so I had had a break from BF to allow my milk to build up. Used to get about 3-4 oz off each breast (Avent hand pump).

Pumping in the bath ( ) can work too if you put a warm flannel onyour breast it can help with the let down. Or if you are good at multi tasking you can pump the other breast while you feed Harriet on the other one.

As you say I was never sure how much Kaitlyn took from me but in the bottle DH used to give her last thing she used to take anything from 4 - 6 oz. Once she took 8 but that was unusual. I used to freeze batches of 4 oz to avoid waste and found that was a good amount. You've seen those bf milk pouches from Boots?

What kind of pump are you using? Some people find it better to hand express but I could never do that well. I used an electric pump in hospital which was great but bought an Avent hand pump and found it worked fine in the end. It is a knack though and quite tiring!

Good luck on going back to work and continuing feeding. I've just given up after a year of BF...sob!!!
There is a breastfeeding thread on here somewhere but you might have to scroll down to find it.

Laura Mc xx

Thanks for your reply Laura!

I've got a tommee tippee breast pump, it seems to work ok and i can feel my milk let down when i use it but i just don't seem to get much! Will keep trying as at the moment Harriet feeds at least every 2 hours so its difficult to find a time when i'll have a good milk supply.

I've got some pouches from Boots and want to build up a supply for my sister (who's looking after Harriet) so i don't have to worry that she'll have enough. I know i'll have to express at work too, do you know how often i'll have to do. They can be a bit difficult at my work but i think they have to give me time to express.

Thanks for bumping up the other thread, i'll have a read now

Rusty x

Hi Rusty

I'm sure they def have to give you time at work to express (and somewhere suitable to store it!) Think it comes under H&S guidelines if you need to check it up.

I never had to pump at work as I reduced the feeds to morning and night when I went back (Kaitlyn was 8 months). I guess you will have to see how your supply goes as to how often you need to pump. When K was about 4 months I went away for a night and think I pumped about every 4 or 5 hours or so while I was away from her...mainly cos I was bursting by then and quite sore. It's early days yet and as you say if Harriot is feeding a lot (prob still establishing your supply or growth spurts or whatever) you might find it difficult to pump a lot. Once your supply is properly established you might get better / easier results. Don't forget that you can add to it. eg pump in the morning, put in fridge, next timeyou pump you can add to it but the storage time goes from your first lot of pumping. Make sense? this website is also really good for advice on storing breastmilk..and in fact all BF advice! www.kellymom.com

My sis used the Tommee Tippee one and found it ok - she did try my avent though and found it a bit better. Sure you will get there with your TT one tho. If you are going to have to pump a lot it might be worth investing in an electric one. I wish I had and prob will for next time. One of the girls at a breastfeeding group I go to just bought one for about 40 quid I think - Medula. I think you can also buy them off ebay and NCT hire them (I think?) It is reassuring to have a supply in the freezer of your own milk when you leave your babs. I know people who have topped up with formula and it won't hurt but I managed not to use it.

Good luck!

Laura Mc xx

Rusty, I am still expressing my milk for my 10 month old and I know exactly what you are talking about. Once Conner was finished eating I would use my electric pump and pump both breast until no more would come out and by the time Conner was ready to eat again in a few hours, my body had already made enough to satisfy him and pump extra after he was finished. As you know, the more your baby eats, the more you milk your body will make. So by feeding Harriet and pumping afterwards you will have enough and even more by the time she is ready to eat again. Conner has weaned himself off of the breast and will only take the bottle now so I am currently pumping my milk every 4 hours for 10-15 min each session. I get between 3 and 4 oz from each breast and I freeze 6oz because he eats 6oz at a time right now. You could freeze less or freeze what you express and your sister can pour just what Harriet needs and put the rest back into the fridge. I am not an expert or anything but I have gone through the exact same thing as you are and Conner is still drinking my milk. You can e-mail me any time at jilewis_98@yahoo.com
There are pleanty of things that I wish people would have told me instead of learning by experience. Like when he went through a growth spurt and I kept sending everything I had pumped and an extra bag from the freezer each day. My body didn't know that he was going through a growth spurt and I kept producing the same amount so I had to pump every 2 hours to build my supply back up so I could feed him and still be able to put more back into the freezer. My work is great about letting me go to the bathroom and pump my milk. I would suggest that you pump every 2 1/2 to 3 hours until you know that you have a good supply built up and then you could decide to go longer between pumps but just remember the more you pump the more you will make. Once you get home from work then Harriet will nurse from you and that will keep your supply up.
The one thing I do regret is letting Conner drink from the bottle when I got home from work. Conner was about 3 months old and taking the bottle just fine and nursing on me at night. I thought that it would be easier for both of us if I just fed him a bottle of expressed milk and pumped my milk when he was done with the bottle. He would nurse for about 30 minutes and it would only take 10 minutes for him to empty the bottle. That is when my supply dropped. As Laura already said, babies are better than pumps but at that time I didn't know that. So when I tried to get him to take the breast again after a whole month of drinking exclusively from the bottle, he wouldn't take the breast again. I felt so awful for letting him drink from a bottle just so I could go back to sleep sooner. I hope that my experience can help you and Harriet so you don't make the same mistakes I did.
~Jilli

Laura- will definitely have to make sure i express at work as i'm a veterinary nurse and there's no way i will be restraining dogs with big painful breasts!! I have a meeting with them in 2 weeks so will discuss it then. I'll see how i go with the manual pump for a few more days and will have a think about getting the electric one. I am a bit worried about the electric ones hurting though as i do have quite painful nipples as it is. Thanks for the website, i'll take a look!

Jilli- thanks for the advice on pumping after a feed, i didn't know that was the best way. I've been trying to do it an hour after a feed and then, inevitably, Harriet's been waking for a feed earlier so i haven't had time to recover. It feels like such a difficult decision how often to give a bottle. I don't want her to reject breast feeding but i also need to know that she will take a bottle when i'm not with her. I will be starting giving her a bottle this week as i've heard 4 weeks is the best time to start. I really wish i didn't have to go back to work then i could just breast feed her and not have to worry about all this!!

Thank for the advice, i really appreciate it as it all seems so confusing

Rusty x

Hey Rusty
Here is a link about how much milk you will need to leave/pump for your LO

milk calculator

With pumping perseverence is the key-to begin with you will get very little but if you keep at it regularly you will get there-I found using a hand pump (as it was quiet) while feeding Liberty on the other side was best for me. Freeze in 1-2oz increments and defrost only as needed-you shouldn't need to give more than 3-4oz as the makeup of breastmilk changes and it adapts to your growing baby unlike formula which doesn't change which is why you need to give larger amounts.

Also I would try taking a supplement to increase milk supply-something like fenugreek or mothers milk tea as you will need to work hard to maintain your supply once you go back to work.

Good Luck

Rusty, we are here for you hon. I do know exactly what you mean about having to leave your little one at 6 weeks old. I also had to return to work when Conner was 6 weeks old. I did introduce the bottle when he was 4 weeks old and he wanted nothing to do with it. He would just cry and cry until I gave him the breast and he would calm right down. It was very difficult to get him to take the bottle. His pediatritian said to try giving him a pacifier and then it would be easier on him to drink from the bottle, well we did that and now he thinks that he needs to have the pacifier when he goes to sleep. I wish that I didn't push so hard for him to take the bottle because he did reject the breast. Best of luck to you and do remember that we are always here for you.

Hi Rusty - just anotherthought. I'm sureI read somewhere that you canalso arrangefor someone to bring your baby to you at work so you can breast feed. Could you sis bring Harriet to you say at lunchtimeso you could give her a breastfeed? Just a thought anyway.

It will be all worth it intheend you know - just a bit difficult to start off with. Kaitlyn was jaundicedw hen born and had to have phototherapy. The hosptial insisted that she had a top up with expressed milk from the bottle as she wasn't feeding well off me to start with. So she had a bottle and breast from week one and never got confused. Guess they are all different but I'm sure you will be able to combine both.

Good luck

Laura Mc xx

Hi everyone, thanks for all your advice!

Baby usa- where would i get those supplements from? Could i get them in a health food shop or are they more hard to come by? (Know it's probably different in the us!) If breastmilk changes with the milk i express now not be suitable for her in a couple of months? Hope you don't mind all the questions!

Jilli- i've used a dummy for Harriet already as she likes to suck a lot and she makes my nipples sore! Hopefully that will help with the transition to taking a bottle So sorry that Connor rejected breast feeding but at least you are still able to give him breast milk.

Laura- i will be borrowing my sister's car for the first few weeks so can drive to hers and feed Harriet in my lunch hour. Will just have to time it to make sure she's hungry!

Thanks again ladies

Rusty x

Rusty, I must clarify that the reason Conner refused the breast is because I was exclusively pumping for a whole month and then tried to get him back on the breast and he was so used to the bottle that he didn't want the breast anymore. I think that your supply will be fine and she won't reject your breast if you pump while you are at work and continue to let her feed from you while you are with her. She will choose the breast over the bottle as long as it is still being offered. I haven't had to take a supplement to increase my milk supply, just remember to keep on a schedule while you are pumping. I pump at 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and 10pm. My supply is well established and I get about the same amount each time I pump. BabyUSA is right, pumping to maintain your supply is hard work but you still have Harriet to help you so it won't be so hard. The reason I tried to get Conner to take the breast again is because my supply dropped. My body knew that the suction wasn't him. Having your child eat from you does make a world of difference. I can not stress enough that as long as she is feeding from you when you aren't at work then your supply will be fine. If you do decide to exclusively pump then just remember to stay on your schedule...the more you pump, the more you will make.

Hi Rusty
Supplements wise, I found this on the holland and barrett website
fenugreek

This is one of the things i used-you can find the correct dosage on the kellymom website-it will make you smell like maple syrup!!!! I also had a Mothers milk tea which I couldn't find on holland and barrett-you might be able to find something similar maybe on ebay?

kellymom on fenugreek

herbal supplements

Hopefully these links will point you in the right direction