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nursing moms

Jodi - posted on 05/14/2010 ( 3 moms have responded )

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I'm about to go back to work after the birth of my first child. I've been pumping for a couple of weeks and my son does REALLY well on the bottle. However, when I pump, I'm averaging no more than 2 ounces each sitting (that's with expressing and pumping a full breast). I have strong reservations about the amount and giving it to the babysitter when he starts going; I almost want to give her two bags of milk to add to a bottle.

Is this amount normal, or do people usually get more when they pump?

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3 Comments

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Anna - posted on 05/15/2010

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Jodi, I've been pumping ever since my baby was 3 weeks old (latching/weight gain issues - now he is 3 months!) and for the first while I only got 2 or 3oz from both breasts combined. Then it became 4 or 5, and now it's usually between 7-10 (depending how long it's been since I pumped).
I'm sure pump quality has something to do with it, but don't give up! You'll get more after you've done it for a few weeks. :)
Good luck going back to work! I am headed back on Monday myself. I think it'll be a hard day. I'll think of you and say a prayer for both of us. :)

Marcy - posted on 05/14/2010

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Jodi don't worry about it. Leave your sitter with what you have which I am sure is enough for a day or so. When you are at work you will get in a routine with pumping (I did 2 times per day) and pretty soon I was pumping 6-8oz at a pop. Make sure you wear nursing pads being away from your son will be an adjustment and you will have a few letdowns during the day. I returned to work when my son was 3 months old. I bought the little bags for the milk. What I did was give my daycare provider about 6 little frozen bags of milk. When I pumped at work I would bring over whatever I pumped and give it to her to give to my son the next day so that it didn't need to be frozen at all. I also bought a little cooler and kept my milk in it vs the community work fridge. You can;t be too safe when it comes to your milk.

Amy - posted on 05/14/2010

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Some women have issues with different types of pumps. What pump are you using? Are you pumping both sides at the same time (This can make a huge difference)?

You can add milk from one pumping to another bottle of milk from the same day with no issues. Bags are expensive, what I found worked great was stock up on some bottles (cheaper ones), and only use the bags for when I was freezing the milk, and make sure the bags were full when I froze them.

Do you pump after your feed your child as well? When you pump how long do you pump for? Some women will not get much because they just don't pump long enough (If you pump for 2 min after the milk stops flowing you should be fine).

Pumping on one side while the baby is feeding could help increase your supply. Also pumping after the baby feeds could do the same thing.

Good luck!

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