I have a six-month-old daughter that I exclusively breastfeed. I recently started working part-time, and I bring my daughter with me. I pump for this time because I cannot nurse while I am out. Before I started working, I would pump just to have a supply in the freezer. Now that I need to pump for work, I am not getting nearly enough. I try to pump at night after the baby has gone to sleep. I wait a couple of hours after her last nurse. Lately, I am lucky if I get two ounces total. When my daughter nurses, I know she does get enough; she is a healthy weight and has no issues. I am just not able to pump enough. Any suggestions?
14 Likes
Keep pumping, at the same time every day you will produce more at that time it will take a little while. Make sure you drink lots of water limit caffeine and other dehydrating drinks. Also she is old enough to start solids which will lessen the demand for milk. If you offer cereal with her last feeding she will need less milk and you can pump right after she is done.
1 Like
Drink alot of water, coconut milk, and eat alot of yogurt. Their is also a tea you can order to help production and increase eather thw amount of times you pump a day or the length of time you pump for to tell your body to produce more milk! Also Starbucks has a drink called the pink drink witch many of my friends have said help them produce way more
Jobs are legally required to let you pump according to your pumping scheduld
1 Like
Drink some body armor they just to make me produce 8plus oz. After a feeding
1 Like
oatmeal pies are a miracle worker, keep some in your purse or at desk at all times
1 Like
Hydrate and lactation foods to tey to boost supply. You can get things to make your own smoothies, cookies and brownies. Usual active ingredients are brewers yeast, fenugreek, flax seed, oats etc… mothers milk is a tea. Injust tried it for the first time last night and I dunno how I’m going to get 3-5 cups of it drank in a day as I do not like the taste. Havent tried the body armor drink, but hear its good to help with hydrating. Im still figuring out everything too.
I had the same issue. I could never pump enough when I was at work (worked part time as well) but baby was was definitely getting enough when she nursed. We ended up supplementing with formula to make up for my lack of breast milk with pumping. Just keep pumping while at work to keep your supply going
Buy the edible brownies that help with breastfeeding
Try a different pump. A manual went much better and much faster for me than my electric pump.
A pump wouldn’t get all of the milk, a different pump might help you, but its not because you’re not making enough. If your baby is fed and happy when you nurse her then you have enough milk.
Mothers milk tea and fenugreek… You might smell like maple syrup but you will produce more… Stress cause me to almost dry up… So relax!
Pump after each feed. Invest in a Hakaa to catch letdown. You really only need enough milk for the next day. Milk production is all about supply and demand. The more milk you remove from your breast the more you tell your body to make.
If you have the white flap filter thingys (Medela) they may need replaced that can affect
While u are home after you nurse the baby. Pump for 15 mins. Even if nothing comes out do it after every feed. After about 5-7 days you will start to produce more and then you will have enough to feed baby and pump while at work
1 Like
I had the hardest time with a pump. I wouldn’t get much from the pump but if I hand expressed I would get double the ounces I could with a pump.
Lactation cookies, mothers milk tea, and approximately 60-80 oz of water should do it. I’d also recommend power pumping 2 or 3 times a week while you’re off work .
How long are you pumping for? I exclusively pumped for my son, and I always had to pump for at least half an hour/45 minutes for my last session to make sure everything was emptied and that we had enough. Drink lots of water too!
Do you use massage or compression when you pump? I have a 5mo old (my 3rd) and I’ve always had a difficult time pumping. I have to do a mini power pump session each day (10 min on, 5 off, 10 on) to keep up my midday supply. In addition, I use a halter and double pump, and have to use compressions to get all the milk out. It will seem like I’m “done”, but if I massage and squeeze them in particular areas, more milk gets expressed. It’s almost like gravity is collapsing the ducts and I have to manually work to get that milk out. So. Much. Work. 
I find I get more if I pump in the morning rather than at night. At night I get maybe one ounce. In the morning I get about 3. (I don’t respond well to pumping)
POWER PUMP. And after normal pumps hand express the last bit. Warm your breasts with warm compresses before/while pumping. I ran dry at 9 months. It’s ok if you have to switch to formula. I promise you it’s ok 
Eat oatmeal Walmart has cookies to help boost your supply lots of water
Check to make sure you are using the correct flange size.
Pump as soon as she’s finished feeding. It will help you to produce more. Could also try a drink, like complan (not sure where you live but like a meal type drink they give to elderly people) I had a lot of trouble producing enough milk so those are the things that helped me 
I just couldn’t pump
Try a better pump? Cheap pumps can lessen production
Drink body armour drinks
1 Like
Pump after each feed and drink lots or water x
One thing I started doing was using a hakaa in the middle of night feeding. Use on one side while baby is feeding on the other. I was able to get an extra 2-4 oz at night and I felt like it helped a little when I pumped. Bit definitely check your flange size and make sure your drinking lots of water or body armour. I stay away from gaterade because of all the dyes and extra sugar. Try to relax and take deep breaths. This might sound crazy but I use to visualize my milk flowing through my milk ducts and into the bottles. It always helped my let down. Also massage your breasts before hand and try to hand express some after pumping.
1 Like
I use a Haakaa when I nurse. It is weird at first but when your kiddo nurses off one side, the Haakaa can draw milk out of your other side! It eliminates my stress of not pumping enough while at work.
My best friend can’t pump enough to feed her daughter but can breast feed enough. Her body is just weird about pumping but not breast feeding. Maybe mention it to your doctor because I guess sometimes pumps don’t work as well on some women.
1 Like
I’ve heard oatmeal and Body Armor fruit drinks works well. They also have cookies in the baby isle at Walmart that help produce
Some woman just cant pump. I was one of those. I could have been so enlarged that it leaked but regardless of when i did it or the pump i used i could never get more than 2-3oz out. But when the baby drank (especially during growth spurts) he could drink me flat 
wish u luck
Fenugreek can actually harm a lot of women’s supply. I would avoid that and just order some goats rue and alfalfa from amazon. Take 3 of each morning and night. My friend recently did this and she noticed an increase in production. Also you want to make sure your flanges are the correct size. This affects output. And get the LaVie breast massager. One is enough.
One ounce at a time IG page is a great place for information.
Also body armor (lyte) helps a ton with production as well.
Period can also affect supply.
I nursed for 17 months! Good luck!
1 Like
Mothers milk tea, fenugreek, oatmeal, lots of water, and pump. Don’t stop after your first let down, continue until you have another letdown. I usually have 2 or 3 and have too switch the mode back to “suckling” (faster suction sessions) until the letdown comes and then go back to the normal suction (longer suction). Pump for like 30 mins and continuing to pump after all your milk is gone can also make your body produce more thinking the child needs to feed more. I also recommend hand expressing after pumping to get ALL the milk out so your body also thinks baby is taking it all and should produce more.
I know this sounds funny but use one of babies blankets or clothing that smells like them and look at pictures of baby while pumping I was shocked how well this worked
3 Likes
The more you pump the more you will produce.i use to feed and pump right after for 10 minutes even if i only got a little n before you know it i was pumping 8 oz off each side after every feed(15 minutes each side per feeding).its a pain but worth it.
1 Like
Lots of great advice here, but if for some reason nothing seems to work for you (my situation), my sons doctors (we were in hospital for quite awhile and I had this issue from the very beginning) would give him what I could pump first, and then top him off with formula to make sure he was getting my good nutrients but also getting enough to eat. Fed is best, no matter how you do it 
6 Likes
Drink a ton of Gatorade and water(I do zero calorie free) and looking T a picture of my daughter always seems to help.
1 Like
going back to work can cause a dip in production for sure. WATER, WATER WATER, lots of pumping prenatal an nursing will bump your supply
Oatmeal, flaxseed, I made my own lactation cookies. water water lots and lots of water.
1 Like
Fenugreek, brewers yeast (you can get powder and mix it into food but its super bitter so I used capsules), mothers milk tea, blessed thistle, gatorade powered or propel (something with extra electrolytes), power pumping (I had the freeme pump cups and would pump in the car - like 30 to 45 minutes at a time), and if all that doesn’t help ask your obgyb or midwife if they can prescribe you donperidone. Its a stomach medicine with the side effect of increasing lactation. Its not available in the US (fda won’t approve) but its been used in Canada and the UK for 30+ years. There are lots of online pharmacies that will ship it to you (our dr should be able to give you a website you can use - I think my prescription was around $50 for almost 3 months of pills so it’s really not too expensive)
At there someing you can biy that can be used to help you from all the time thing will lut me say it like this making all of her food your self tell daddy to start pumping out some money so you can take a break 
ok
You get more in the morning! I pumped one side and fed on the other. And then when pumping at work, keep pumping after it stops, that will send the message to your body to make more!
My milk didn’t really start coming out a lot until my son was 4 weeks old, best wishes!
Take fenugreek supplement, can buy it at Target or Amazon. Worked for my daughter.
There is a breast milk tea you can drink. I think there is also a supplement you can take. I read Hopps can help also.
If u need extra milk find a breast milk bank in ur area or bring formula. Baby needs her milk esp if u are not into solids yet.
I always got more if i pumped and nursed at the same time
Lots of water and I would drink a beer helps produce milk.
Formula is always an option too…
StRt pumping right after feedings. It will signal that you need more produced
Pump at work, drink more water, try Fenugreek, it helps.
As in as she’s done nursing, try pumping.
Are you taking your vitamins?
Old fashion oatmeal and body armor
2 Likes
Coconut water helps a lot
1 Like
Hand express before pumping
I heard boobie bikkies are brilliant
Check flange size and replace some pump parts. Fenugreek can lower supply, you will want to increase supply above what your daughter takes
1 Like
Check your flange size! I was using one that was too big and was getting an oz or 2, once I got the right size I got 6 oz from each breast!
5 Likes
I have a lot of tips…you can message me if you want, my youngest is 5 weeks old
2 Likes
These cookies! These worked so well for me with my last baby, with just one bag. I am getting like 3 bags when I have my baby in september.
Power pumping twice a day for a few days can really boost your supply. Pump for 10 mins, rest 10 mins, pump 10 mins, rest 10 mins …etc. do this for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening for a few days in a row and it should help
7 Likes
I am the same. Not working tho but I breastfeed. I cant for the life of me Express more than 10mls per boob. It sux. Doing manually can be hard too. Baby gets plenty when hes on my breast but just struggle with pumping.
2 Likes
Once your body realizes there is a demand at the pumping time your supply will increase. Having a picture or watching a small video clip of my baby always helped with let down. And sticking close to a schedule helped me.
Try changing flange sizes. You may need a bigger or smaller size.
How to get back your ex lover back fast and reliable,contact Dr Idahosa for help, he is one of the best spell caster in the world his spell has no side effect, his spell brought back my wife who divorced me and brought back my sister’s lover back to her so if you need his help contact him on email. [email protected] OR WhatsApp +2348116774486 for help and he will help you if you have a problem at all contact him he do
job spell
love spell
Ex back spell
money spell
lotto spell
job promotion spell
pregnancy spell
And he also cures different dreadful diseases like
HIV, high blood pressure ,Hepatitis b virus, Pile infection
+2348116774486 or email ([email protected])
Join Breastfeeding Center’s Mama Chat. Lots of good advice
I learned to drink a full 8 oz or more glass of water before I nursed & a second full glass after I nursed. One for the baby, one for me. I had plenty of milk & the most in the morning. Be sure to drink enough while you’re working. That’s an adjustment for your body to get used to. 
Water intake, oatmeal and making sure your flanges are the right size. You could power pump after baby lays down for the night. Babies are extremely efficient at pulling all milk from momma so you may not be responding to a pump since you’ve been EBF. may just take time.
1 Like
Have you tried the Haaakaa pump? It’s a small silicone pump that suctions to the opposite breast while nursing. It will catch the let down from the non nursing breast and it helped my supply a lot by using it every time I nursed. Also make sure to stay hydrated! I struggled with drinking enough water and my supply has doubled since I’ve been tracking and making sure to have enough water intake.
2 Likes
I had this issue with my first daughter. It depends on the pump you have and if you have the correct size flanges. If my flanges are too big (like with my first) I actually damaged my ducts and lessened my supply. Also, now if I have any issues I watch videos of my second daughter or look at pictures.
The best thing I ever did was wake up on my own between 3 and 4 am before the baby and pump BEFORE the baby woke up and nurse after. I got the most milk because my body was at rest for a bit and ready for the next feed. Your baby will still get enough and you’ll probably start to produce more. You’ll get less later in the day always. You produce most first thing in the morning.
I would pump and feed at the same tome. I know it’s kinda annoying and a bit time consuming but it helped to bump up my milk supply and the baby was still eating so it worked really well for me. And I would make sure to always pump in the morning! Sometimes I’d even skip the first feeding in the AM make hubby give him a bottle cause he would only eat about 4 oz but I’d pump about 10 oz 
I also recommend the milk catchers door feedings
I used a lactation tea. I used 3 teabags in 16 oz water each morning. I went back to work at 3 months and pumped twice a day at work. He weaned after 2yo.
Watch videos of her, look at pictures and smell her clothes. Plus eating and drinking while you pump can boost your supply.
1 Like
Could be the stress of being back at work… make sure your staying hydrated and call your dr for suggestions too
I used a product called legendairy milk, it’s a supplement that promotes better flow and production.
Mother’s milk tea regularly and a bowl of oatmeal when you need to increase supply quickly.
You can easily ask to have formula as a secondary if you are not getting enough when you pump. It helps to have the formula and breast milk.
1 Like
If all else fails which did for me join human milk for human babies, group, life saver for my little guy to still get breast milk good luck 
My niece has a company called mothers milk n cookies where she makes and sells lactation cookies maybe try something like that to increase
Are you drinking enough water? You may have changed your water intake while working.
How long have you been doing this routine?
If nothing works there is absolutely nothing wrong with formula. The healthiest of my kids is the youngest who was only bottle fed from birth .My other 2 had at least a couple months of me trying to breast feed but it hurt my back being large chested plus didnt produce enough. Oldest had major speech issues and 2nd daughter was fine til a host of vaccinations had a fever and sick then just was a different child and later diagnosed with autism.
Power pump. It tricks your body into thinking your baby is cluster feeding and increases supply. Just once a day for awhile is enough. It can take a week or so to see the increase. Exclusive pumping mom for 12 months.
You definitely need to pump every 2-3 hours at work and aim for pumping or feeding 6-8 times a day to keep your supply up
Vibrators, massage, moist heat! Your ducts go rather high, lots of massage going towards your nipple. Babies are much more efficient at removing milk than a machine. It’s not a reflection if howmuch milk you make. Relaxing the ducts will help​:kissing_smiling_eyes:
good luck!
Tons of water and it’s better to pump right after baby has breastfed (if you have any left) as baby has already started the natural process of stimulating milk for you
try using a video of your baby to stimulate milk production as you pump and have something that has their smell on it as well. massage your breast as you pumo as well. fenugreek( some pills) help as well, mothers milk tea( i think thats what it is) increase your oats and water intake
1 Like
Fun idea…I hear BEER really helps! The oats a d pumping sister boob to feeding boob while feeding, also a good idea. Try a few things and see what works!
I would lmagine you feel severely stressed out. You could put baby on formula. I had to after l got cysts on my breasts. Was fine.
BodyArmour drinks!!! Decrease caffeine.
I agree with yall who said formula. I definitely think if she’s worried about baby getting enough then she should get some formula to add in.