HELP!! Do any mom's have to supplement?!?

Question

This is my second week back to work and I'm worried I'm not pumping enough. I have probably 2 to 3 days frozen and am pumping 12 to 14 Oz everyday at work but some days he eats almost 18 Oz when I'm gone! I'm sure I'm just over thinking but I'm a ftm :/  if you did have to supplement what did you use?? I am interested in similac supplemental formula but idk. I drink water and Gatorade all day long and take milk flow max from upspring a probiotic a prenatal and an omega 3. I pump 2 to 3 times while at work and nurse on demand at home. I feel like I'm doing everything I can to keep up. Any words of wisdom suggestions or just encouragement would be nice :) pic because he's cute :) (12 weeks 3 days old)

Answer

I think my daughter is going through a growth spurt as well! She drinks 5oz every 2-3 hrs at daycare, and tonight she drank 7oz before bed! That's a total of 31oz in all today! My supply definitely isn't keeping up with her! Hopefully I can increase my supply for the next 3 months, I have about 15days worth in my frozen stash but do not want to deplete it.

Answer

Also, you want to pump at work as often as your baby would be eating. So if your baby normally eats every two hours, try and pump every two hours (I know asking for the time to pump is it's own struggle!!) but try not to go longer than four hours between pumping/feeding your baby, it will definitely affect your supply. And if you want to increase your supply you can wake up and pump between 1-4 am (if you don't already nurse during those hours) for whatever reason, those hours seem to give the most output for women across the board and will help to increase your supply as well.

Answer

With my first I wasn't able to keep up so I spent an entire weekend nursing and pumping. Right after my daughter nursed, I would then pump for another 10-15 minutes to tell my body to make more. She was also sleeping through the night at this point so I would make myself get up every 3 hours to pump as well.  After an entire weekend of this, my supply went up and I was making an extra 10 ounces. It's a lot of work though! Why does breastfeeding have to be so hard?!

Answer

Have you heard of pace feeding? It's really important for bf babies. They only need 1-1.5oz per hour. So if you gone 8 hours then he only needs 8-12oz of milk. It sounds like your producing enough! Look up pace feeding is your not familiar and make sure to show who ever is watching LO! Also try as premie nipple

Answer

I've used Similac for Supplementation with my 10 wk old with no problems. When he was a couple weeks old he still hadn't made it back to birth weight yet, so we began supplementing once per day just to try to give him a little extra. I would pump each time he got a bottle and freeze that, which helped me build a stash. He now only gets a bottle of formula maybe a couple times a week, just to use it up honestly. Good luck and just know that no matter what, you're doing the best you can!

Answer

I think don't over think it or stress because stress can affect your supply. If you have a couple days supply already frozen then you are already ahead! You can even try adding in a pumping session at home after your baby eats or before you go to bed or something just to give you an extra session and it will give you a little more to freeze! Also, if you do feel the need to supplement, the supplemental formulas are just a sales gimmick and really offer no extra nutritional benefits. But really, if your baby seems fine taking in what you have stored then don't over think it. I exclusively pump and don't nurse at all. My son drinks 4-5 oz breast milk every 2-4 hours (depending on whether he's sleeping etc) if that gives you any range of what "average/normal" intake is...I don't know for sure. Kellymom.com has a lot of great advice about breastfeeding/pumping. Good luck!

Answer

Try to pump more. I pump to empty after her AM feeding, then pump 3 times during the day. I get 15-18oz and she usually eats 12-15, occasionally 18. If she ends up eating an extra bottle (the days she has 18) i try to pump again right after I get home if she ate recently.

Answer

Are you pumping both sides or just one at a time? I'm in the exact same boat but I'm trying to pump for at least 15 minutes and both sides. I've also started pumping one side after she goes down in the evening or in the morning whichever I can get in! That gives me some extras too!

Answer

How long are you away from your baby? Pumping twice definitely doesn't sound like enough. For a normal 8 hour work day, I would for sure shoot for 3 pumping sessions (maybe 2 for 10 minutes and 1 for 15).

HELP!! Do any mom's have to supplement?!?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey