working lowers my milk supply...whinge

[Jaspat24]

Well as the title says, me being at work away from my bub lowers my milk supply. I can only express once at work in an 8.5 hour shift and i'm lucky to get 50mls from both breasts, double pumping and hand expressing afterwards.
so i usually only work wednesday, friday one week then wednesday saturday the next week...so never two days in a row. I needed some $$$ so picked up an extra shift last week and worked tuesday wednesday (but not friday cos it was a public holiday) and my supply suffered immensely! i was kinda shocked actually.
I'm basically just having a whinge and a vent...i obviously can't get out enough to leave enough for DS, so have to use formula (which i hate doing, but have no other choice) and i only normally work the minimum to get us by and we get NO govt assistance at all (only child care tax rebate) so i have to work.

[WorkingClassMum]

I hope this helps;

I went back to work FT when DS was 8 months old and found intially that supply suffered;

I was told to make sure I drink heaps of water - working often means you lose track of your water intake and your body will take water away from milk production if your body needs it first

I would express as soon as I got to work, then at lunch time and then feed DS as soon as I picked him up and then express straight after I fed him, and then expressed 2 or 3 hours after that as well.

By constantly expressing and expressing after feeding I actually built supply back up

I also took a photo on my phone and would look at that before/during:o expressing

Maybe also look into nursing cookies as well

Good Luck - it is very very hard bf and working :hugs:

[Jess988]

There are tablets to help ur supply but u need to be expressing every 3-4hr!

Maybe when ur at home after breast feed maybe one hr after try expressing then so u can get a build up at home. And freeze it so you can use it when ur away and helps ur supply

[Jaspat24]

hey girls :D yeah i've done the whole expressing thing in the past but was just having a whinge cos i normally don't work two days in a row so my supply won't suffer as much, but had to work extra last week and i was surprised by how long it took to get it back up
I weaned off motilium in feb, its not too much of an issue now that DS is 1.

[MsMummy]

I hear you!

I'm so busy at work, that I can only pump once a day some days. I get about 100mL, but obviously it's not enough.

I've found I need to pump three times a day at work, to get enough, and I already start early and finish late so it's a struggle.

I used to express at nights and weekends to make up the shortfall, but I've been using a bit of formula to top up now as he's 18 months.

It really irks me having to do that though. Other people don't understand, but I really wanted to get to at least 2 without any formula.

Anyway, the life of a working mother.:D

[Jaspat24]

I hear you!

I'm so busy at work, that I can only pump once a day some days. I get about 100mL, but obviously it's not enough.

I've found I need to pump three times a day at work, to get enough, and I already start early and finish late so it's a struggle.

I used to express at nights and weekends to make up the shortfall, but I've been using a bit of formula to top up now as he's 18 months.

It really irks me having to do that though. Other people don't understand, but I really wanted to get to at least 2 without any formula.

Anyway, the life of a working mother.:D

OMG i could've written the exact same post! I work long days, with an hour each way to and from work...I never wanted to use formula, but it was that or nothing, and with DS on the 3rd% i felt it was the only option when i couldn't leave enough EBM. I used to pump 3x a day at work, but cos my workplace isn't BF friendly it was always expected that my 'extra breaks' weren't going to last forever. I just pump on my unpaid 1/2 hour lunch break so they can't comment on that at least.
PLUS...i get walked in at least once a month! luckily so far its only been women, but still, what a way to kill a letdown!

[SPC]

I've found that Esme is adjusting to my working pattern and not feeding as much during the day. So she just has water at daycare and eats well and then feeds at night. Annoying as she is still feeding twice overnight at 18 months, but it's working for us. I don't see any need to give her formula for three daycare days a week. I'm sure she catches up the rest of the time.

[MsMummy]

Yeah, there's definitely an unsaid, but "understood" time period in which it's acceptable to regularly express.

I have an office with a door, so I spend every lunch break doing it. Sort of chained to my desk, routine.

I've been working reguarly since he was 3 months old; I think I'm just tired.

SPC: My son expects his milk, and he's a skinny little thing. He only drinks about 200mL in total during the day anyway, so it's only 50 to 100mL of formula.

He makes up for it overnight though...

I was thinking of stopping expressing when I work (4 days a week) but I want to feed long term, and I worry it will stuff my supply completely.

[Jaspat24]

Yeah, there's definitely an unsaid, but "understood" time period in which it's acceptable to regularly express.
SPC: My son expects his milk, and he's a skinny little thing. He only drinks about 200mL in total during the day anyway, so it's only 50 to 100mL of formula.
I was thinking of stopping expressing when I work (4 days a week) but I want to feed long term, and I worry it will stuff my supply completely.

I agree, my DS also expects his milk, but speaking to his carers last week, they said he isn't fazed about his first bottle, but he definately lets them know when his second bottle is due! So DH looked after DS on Sat (i work every 2nd sat) and they skipped the first bottle without too much fuss so it looks like i'll do the same thing with daycare.
I also want to stop expressing at work. i normally work 8-430, expressing about 1230. But the other week i worked an extra shift 8-2 with no expressing and i think thats what really affected my supply. so becuase of that, i'll keep pumping for a little longer at work.

[LittleBug'sMum]

I hear you Jaspat!!!
I have been expressing at work for the last 4 months and it is doing my head in!
My workplace is BF friendly, so I can take paid espressing breaks and have a breastfeeding room, and electric pumps etc, but I still find it soooo hard to keep doing, and am always whinging to DH about it.
I have always had an oversupply, so it wasn't really a problem for me, but lately as I have been so lazy, when I work a shift where DS will only miss 1-2 feeds I don't bother expressing, and boy has my supply suffered.
My freezer EBM supplies are quickly dwindling too.
I only intended to BF until I went back to work, but as DS wouldn't drink formula, I was forced to express at work. Now he is almost 1 he does have the occasional drink of cows milk when I'm at work, but now I've changed my mind and I want to be able to BF long term :rolleyes:, so am starting to get scared about losing my supply.

[SomewhereOverTheRainbow]

Oh I can also relate. I've only been back at work for 4 weeks but I'm a nurse so my shifts can be a little haywire! I only work weekends and mondays and usually evenings but she won't drink much of anything from a bottle (about 50mls is all and then she starts chewing on it!) so the last week or so I've been taking longer for my meal breaks (combining my dinner and expressing breaks together) and coming home to feed her when I can. I only live about 10mins drive from work but it's still kind of fiddly so think I'll try n get more mornings when DH can bring her into me on the weekends instead.

Some shifts though there just isn't time to express at all and by the time I get home I am bursting! I got rostered night shift but luckily managed to swap it as I have no idea how I would have done them. I think repeated night shift will one day mean the end of BFing for me as she feeds so often overnight.