Pumping, but not getting enough

Last week my husband and I went out of town and left our 11-week-old baby, Savannah, with my parents for three days. I pumped previously (about 90 oz) and had it for her to be fed by my mother. While I was gone I pumped but not as frequently as I should have (only about once every four hours).

Savannah usually eats about every 1 1/2- 2 hrs during the daytime and she goes to bed at approx 9 pm and sleeps through the night until about 6- 7 am. While I was gone she went through the breastmilk much faster than I had anticipated and my Mom wound up giving her half breastmilk and half formula until I could return.

To make matters more complicated my husband and I got a very bad flu (nausea, diarrhea, body aches and chills) and I think I was very dehydrated by the time I returned to spite my efforts to keep fluids down. On top of that I think Savannah is going through the three month growth spurt.

Now my problem is that I don't have nearly as much milk as before I went out of town and it seems as though she can not get enough to eat and it seems as though I am not giving her what she needs. I wake early in the mornings now so engorged that I am leaking everywhere. I have tried pumping when I get like that so that my body will produce more but I never seem to have enough milk for her by mid afternoon and evening. Also, it seems as though now one of my breasts isn't producing very well (she will take either breast). I have been putting her on that breast all this past week first for a long while before I switch her but it doesn't seem to want to produce as much. I know there are a lot of questions here but I am not sure what to do with the combination of all these factors.

Thank you for your help.




 

Val,

It certainly sound like you are worried about your milk supply at this time. You are certainly right in saying that you may not have pumped enough while you were gone, the usual recommendation is to pump as often as the baby is nursing especially during the 3 month growth spurt which is a time in which the baby will nurse even more frequently to increase the mother's milk supply as her need increases.

Even though it may be very hard to wake up to leaking breasts, my recommendation would be to pump and/or nurse as much as you can in order to increase your milk supply. You may also want to add a night time pumping session! Val, keep in mind that the more you nurse Savannah the more milk you will produce.

Are you still supplementing with formula? Is she nursing as happily as she was before you left? The kind of pump that you use is also important toward your increased milk supply. Have you started your menses yet? I would recommend that you increase your pumping and nursing to every 2-3 hours just like when she was a newborn for 3-4 days to increase your milk supply.

You may also try a milk boosting tea as follows: To make a milk boosting tea, use 1 teaspoon *each* of fennel, cumin and dill, steeped in 8 oz of boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Drink one cup, three times a day. Results should be noticeable within 24 hours. Then you can increase or decrease frequency as needed. Or you may want to try fenugreek tea or tablets, for the tea: use a teaspoon of whole fenugreek. Steep in boiling water for 15 minutes or so and drink three or more times a day. You can find these at the grocery store or at fresh food stores! You are doing a wonderful job and although this may be discouraging for a while you can overcome this!

Yvonne C. Bannister, B Sc, CBC, LLLL, IBCLC





 

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