HELP - Breastmilk Supply and Returning to Work

I can absolutely relate to this!! I had similar issues with both of my BF kiddos. The first baby went to stay with a close friend who had 1 child of her own while I was in school. She was not experienced in child care and gave my son waaaay too much milk. The problem was, he often nursed for comfort when he was with me. Comfort nursing is far less efficient and they get far less milk. When they try to use the bottle for comfort, they get overfed. I was CONSTANTLY stressed about pumping enough and he did end up getting a handful of formula bottles to "make it through" until I got home.

With my second, we had found a wonderful, VERY experienced daycare provider. I gave her enough milk for 2-3 days at a time plus one extra bag with about 4-5oz. She never ran out. She fed him multiple small bottles throughout the day, to mimic breastfeeding on demand. For example- I would drop him off at 9:00am, having fed him that morning around 8:00 or 8:30. She would give him about 2oz at 10:30, 2oz at 12:00, 2oz at 1:30, etc. He never ate more than about 18-20oz in an 8 hour day, often less. Even as an older baby I think we topped out at 3 6-oz bottles and maybe 1-2 "snack" bottles, so maybe 24oz. He was 9lb 2oz at birth and consistently in the 90%, so he definitely got enough to eat :)

My emergency trick- give her a handful of breastmilk bags with only 1oz or so. If she runs out of milk she can make a bottle with 1oz milk and 2oz distilled water. That will act as a little tide-over until you get home.

Oh, and I left my little one for 2 nights when he was 10 months old with my mother. I left enough pumped milk for a week and she managed to go through ALL of it and called me while I was in Vegas for my wedding anniversary trip to tell me that my baby was "starving" 10 hours before we would get home. Sigh. They mean well, really they do.

Yep, agree with everyone else. This isn't a milk supply issue, this is a MIL overfeeding issue. Babies don't need a bottle every time they fuss. Sometimes they just need held, or comforted, or a pacifier.

How often to you breastfeed when you are at home? If you nurse him 4 times in a 9 hour period, he shouldn't need more than 4 four-ounce bottles in a 9 hour day with her (16 ounces, not 30!!). Maybe he'll take 5 ounce bottles, but at that age, probably not more than that. And hopefully you can pump 16 ounces or so.

For a more unbiased resource, look here: http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/
Kellymom, the breastfeeding mom's bible, says that a baby should take between 24 and 30 ounces per day TOTAL. And you are still with your baby in the morning and evening so should NOT need that much to send with your MIL.

Also, nurse just before you drop off, and plan to nurse again as soon as you pick up so he'll need fewer bottles.

Good luck! It might be a tough conversation with your MIL.

I agree that sounds like a lot. I worked full time and had to supplement with formula when I went back to work. Didn't hurt him one bit. He has an immune system similar to Hercules. Don't beat yourself up if you can't keep up with his demands (assuming you get the MIL feeding under control).

If she gave him 29 ounces of milk in one day, then she's overfeeding him. Most newborns (which he still is) do not require more than 12-14 oz of pumped milk, about an ounce to 1.5 ounces per hour you are away. The fault is not yours here, IMO. My DD took 14-16 oz per day TOPS, when she was in her 6 mo. growth spurt. The problem is that infants will take anything even when they are not hungry. They'll just keep sucking on what they get put in their mouths.

I think you need to call a lactation consultant and/or check out the tips on Kellymom.com and have some firm words with MIL. Then make the bottles just a few ounces each, more like 12-15 oz per day, and tell her she has to make it last. Get her informed about bottle feeding a breastfed baby, because if she gave him 29 oz before 2PM (my time anyway), she's overfed him by A LOT. I never gave the daycare my whole stash. I gave them the bottles *I* felt DD needed, plus 1 frozen meal for emergencies. If I had to short a bottle, I shorted the one I marked for the end of the day, so that DD would soon be with me and able to nurse. MIL may have meant well, but she's lost the ability to make his bottles. You need to take charge. When he's tiny, he'll likely take more bottles of 2-3 oz each and when he gets bigger, the oz will be more, but probably not more than 12-14 oz in general. Your milk will change with your child (you'll see it getting fattier) so unlike a formula fed baby, he won't need that much more.

You'll get through this, but you do need to clear things up with MIL.

I definitely agree that your MIL is over feeding him. Here is a good site to gauge how much you should leave for him: http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

I didn't go back to work until my daughter was 4 months old, but at that time she was taking 4 oz every 3 hours. My son took more like 6 every 3 hours, but he wasn't so good at regulating his intake and would often spit up a lot of it.

Is your son on some kind of schedule? With my children we followed a "routine" rather than a schedule, which was eat, play, sleep. It helped me not be confused about whether they were hungry or tired. Maybe your MIL was confused about reading his signals and thought he was hungry when he wasn't. Some babies are pretty good at communicating what they need (like my daughter) and others (like my son) are pretty bad at it. They will both adjust, but in the meantime make sure she doesn't have access to that much milk!

It's a lot more likely that your mother in law is overfeeding your baby!! They are probably both stressed with the arrangement (he doesn't understand what's going on, she doesn't know how to soothe him), so feeding him seems like the easy option. When I wasn't able to pump enough for my son, I gave him bottles that were half breastmilk, half formula. He was able to go a little longer in between them. He still nursed morning and night. That arrangement worked for us. Good luck to you and your mother in law!! Please don't think you are doing anything wrong! You WILL figure out what works for you.

That sounds like too much for a 10 week old - but am guessing. Read up on pumping and increasing your supply at www.kellymom. There is a great calculator here to figure out how much your baby had been taking before you returned to work:

http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

You mention that you've been fighting a cold - are you taking any decongestants? They will dry you up very quickly - use nasal sprays and humidity instead of any sudafed type product. Drink warm liquids - even if you just heat water in a microwave and sip on it. You need to keep your fluids up in order to pump. When you get home, take your baby and nurse as much as you can. Remember that if a baby needs 25-30 oz of milk per day and your son gets 1/2 of that at night than he only needs 15 oz or less during the day.

Hang in there - it is very tough to nurse and work but you will all get used to it and you will be fine. I actually miss it! LOL!

PS Also, if your baby likes to suck to comfort himself and many do - try a pacifier. It isn't the end of the world and can be comforting to him and grandma!

I love to recommend this book to pumping moms as they go back to work: the milk memos by cate colburn smith

These are tips that I got from a friend. I tried a couple and it seemed to improve my supply. She actually got these from a lactation consultant that she was working with.
- Dark beer ( like guinness ), said it worked really well, only maybe drinking a 1/2 to 3/4 of a bottle.
- Oatmeal (said she eats it like every morning)
- Smartwater ( it has electrolytes )
- Mother's Milk Plus ( it's a tincture, can be found at your local health food store)

Also, just from what I read on my own: Nettles Tea, Red Rasberry Tea, Fenugreek ( which I think was mentioned already)

I was feeling like my supply was dropping, and I had to work more this past month, so I started buying a big bottle of smartwater when I worked and eating oatmeal in the mornings and it seemed to help quited a bit, I went from pumping 4 ounces at a session to pumping 7 to 8 ounces at each session. I didn't get around to trying the other things, but if it happens again, I may. My friend said the Mother's Milk plus usually made a drastic increase within 24 hours. She said it tastes horrible though. I didn't buy it only because it was like $18 for a small bottle. I think if you use even a couple of these suggestions or the others people have mentioned here you should be able to see an increase. I know it can be really nerve wracking! I'm there with you! You're doing your best and that's all you can do! Keep up the good work! ; ) Good luck to you!

You need to drink alot of fluid. Everytime you nurse or pump you have to get yourself a large glass of water and drink it until it's done.
You have to intentionally relax in order for your supply to be ample. Use your childbirth relaxation techniques.
Babies go through stages of eating alot, then eating less - your baby is probably preparing for a growth spurt this week. Expect growth. He probably won't eat like this every day.
Assume that MIL is feeding baby everytime he fusses - she's a grandmother and wants to keep baby happy. She's forgotten how to deal with fussing. She'll get used to it. He will probably not eat like that every day.
If you don't use a pacifier yet get him one or 2. Babies sometimes just want to suck - he may be surprised that he got milk everytime he wanted to suck. Many times he nursed he probably got an empty breast and was satisfying his need to suck. The pacifier will work wonders.
There is nothing wrong with supplementing breast milk with formula. My first child was exlusively on breast milk for her first year. There were times I made myself crazy getting to pump while at work. I see clients during the day and I can't believe the places I would pump! (Airplane restrooms, car while driving, park bench under a raincoat on a sunny fall day, etc.) You are doing an awesome thing by supplying as much breast milk as possible - but a little formula won't harm any child. My second baby, (a "starving", always hungry boy) received about 2/3 breast milk, 1/3 formula and he's big and strong - he's 13 and 6'1" and the girls all think he's adorable.

You'll all adjust to this new schedule. It's MUCH harder on you than baby - he's getting love all day from grandma and your adoration when you get home. The only thing I can suggest is to not expect your house to be as clean now as it was pre-baby. You have to work to help pay the bill, your baby and your husband need your attention. The house can wait. Get plently of sleep and do everything you can to intentionally de-stress and stay clam.

It's tough but it's wonderful. Try to treasure up all those cozy evenings with your baby becuase before you know it he'll be rushing through homework and running out the door or on to skype / game with his friends. I miss those baby days (except for the lack of sleep!)

You'll do fine mama and baby will thrive.