Help with Milk Supply

[talisyn]

Help please!! I work 12 hr shifts and most of the time I can't take regular pumping breaks, and it's affecting my milk supply. Does anyone know of anything I can do (besides quitting lol) to increase amount? I've been drinking water and it helps a lot. Thanks!

[prospectmom]

When not workin pump as much as you can. Breast milk can be frozen and you could catch up that way.

[Gwen]

your body will produce for what the baby (or pump demands). if you pump in addition to nursing when you are not working your body should eventually learn to make more milk on the off hours than when you work. similar to when the baby starts to sleep through the night, after a few nights the body will stop making milk for the night feedings but will continue in the day. you can train you body to make more or less at different times. now if your work schedule isn't consistent then you can't create the routine like that. a lot of places have laws that require the employer to allow for nursing breaks, might look into that. also if you are on fb there are a lot of groups/pages for nursing support, might be able to get some info through those.

[Guest]

12 hour shift can be a challenge - 12 hours of working, 8 hours of sleep leaves you with only 4 hours to ramp up. Might not be practical.

If there is a way for you to take regular potty breaks - 10 minutes each - every hour or every 2 hours. That would help. Use a double-pump and pump both breasts at the same time to save on time. You should be able to get at least 7 minutes of quality pumping time every hour/2 hours this way. Hopefully, this is an option.

Staying stress-free helps in production. Even through a 12-hour shift, if you keep your mind peaceful and stress-free it would do a lot of good. You would want to remind yourself "don't sweat the small stuff".

[talisyn]

I get four 15-20 minute breaks during my shift. However, depending on how machinery is running the times for those breaks can vary wildly. For instance, last Sunday I was able to pump at 9am and 1130 am, but I didn't get my next break until 530pm and didn't get a 4th break at all >< I'm a utility operator and cover for vacations, so there's no one to cover for me lol. It hasn't been too big of a problem, I thought, until about noon yesterday when after a few minutes of feeding my baby I was totally dry.

Thanks for the advice, I'll make sure I pump more on my days off. The Health Care Act requires my employer to give me time for pumping breaks and I take advantage of that when I can, but working on the production floor where things happen now can make it hard.

[Lilac]

Fenugreek (the supplement) is supposed to help.

There are quite a few teas to help also...if you go down the tea aisle in a Whole Foods kinda store, you'll see "mother's milk" tea.

I worked full time and pumped and it's very hard.

[Tarnished]

I am currently taking fenugreek as well along with mother's milk tea. You have to take a certain amount of fenugreek, or the tea for it to work. Here is a site with more info on it. kellymom.com :: Fenugreek for Increasing Milk Supply

[Eltelepi]

I had a baby who breast feed properly, so I was always pumping to make sure he got as much as I could give him. Despite buying a good pump my milk supply dried up after 3 months. I was getting next to no sleep because I would try to feed him, then give him what I had pumped and formula till he was full. Then I had to pump for the next feeding. What no one told me, was that your body produces more milk while your sleeping.

With my second I found I had difficulty meeting his needs, and was put on medication to increase my supply. So you may want to talk to your doctor, and you also want to make sure that your getting a good night's sleep. If possible have someone else get up with baby at night, if he/she doesn't need a drink.