Pumping breast milk at work and early morning when baby sleeps...?

Question

My daughter is 7 weeks old and has started sleeping through the night, which for her is usually 12am to 5am, sometimes later. There is a slight fear I have that I'll lose my milk supply if I don't pump when I'm engorged while she is sleeping. I have read a few posts of people saying to just sleep and your body will adjust to day/night.

With her sleeping schedule from 12 to 5/6am, and my work schedule (starting back next week) from 4pm-2am four days/wk, should I just pump when I get home and not worry about pumping again? I have spoken with my supervisor and am able to pump about every 2 hours if possible (I work at a police dept so sometimes it may be too busy) She will usually feed three times during her night which ends about 10:30am, after that feeding we are up for the day. I'm thinking my supply will be ok because of my schedule two days on, one off, two days on, two off in stead of all 4 days in a row depriving my baby of too much baby to breast feedings.

What do you guys think? Pumping is a part of life for working moms, I'm just wondering how badly this will effect my supply. Any advice/ecouragment/suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

I had massive problems with getting my 3 month old son to sleep.  He would just lie awake and cry for hours, then when he finally went to sleep he would wake every hour or two hours through the night and cry again!  Talk about pulling our hair out .... we were absolutely desperate for sleep!

It was a baby sleep audio program recommended by a friend that finally saved us. We followed the advice and began by creating a baby sleep routine which included bathtime, dimming of the lights, putting Paul into his crib, final nappy change and then lullabies. We also made recommended changes to his naps during the day and used some of the other recommended techniques. Within two weeks he was sleeping through the night most nights with just the odd night where he would just wake once!

Definitely start by creating a good baby sleep routine though and you could find that solves most of your baby sleep problems.

Good luck!

If you want to take a look, the audio program is at http://www.babysleepsolution.com

Answer 2

You don't need to pump in the middle of the night, I stayed at home, so never pumped, but still breastfed my son til he was almost 3, your milk supply adjusts with the needs of your baby, it's supply and demand.  Pump at work when you would normally be breastfeeding if you were home and your milk should be just fine!

Answer 3

If you are still feeding your baby then do keep pumping, the milk will ot run out that quick and it will only stop when you stop pumping your breast for a long period of time.

If you are worried about leaking, you can get special pads to put in your bra to absorb the milk so it doesn't show.

Answer 4

It won't affect your supply, since your body will adjust. Try pumping at least once or twice at work (you don't need to do every 2 hours) and you'll see you will still have a pretty good supply.

Answer 5

go to http://forums.lalecheleague.org/

Answer 6

my advice would be pump accoring to when she would be drinking. you know if you know she would be breastfeeding 3 or four times while your at work try and pump that many times. your milk supply adjusts to how much your baby drinks so if you don't pump enough you might loose it. i know its easier for babies to drink if you aren't engorged so if you are and she is having trouble try draining some i would reccomen pumping when you get engorged or try before you get engorged so you don't have to go thro the pain  

Answer 7

Put baby to the breast as much as possible. Dont give bottles at all when not at work. Pumping too often will dry up your supply.

Dont pump unless you have to for work. If you are engorged, try expressing a little in a towel before feeding.

Putting baby to the breast is what keeps your milk supply up. Dont worry about night feedings, your supply will adjust itself. Also, make sure baby is drinking every drop of milk that you pump. If you pump too much, it could lead to engorgement.

Heres a way to tell how much to pump.  Take baby's weight and double it, then add 4. This is how many ounces she needs in a 24 hour period.

Remember - make sure she eats EVERYTHING you pump.. no more no less and you will be fine.