I returned to work 10-ish weeks ago. The first day at work, I pumped every chance I had, even though I assumed that I'd produce in those 9 hours what she ate while I was gone. I was shocked when I only pumped 5 ounces of milk during my work day. I estimated that Lily would eat 9 oz. So, I started pumping around the clock. Some days that week, I left for work knowing that I didn't have enough milk to leave for my baby girl. Now, she's eating around 12 oz per day, and I've gotten myself up to pumping 8 oz at work.
Pumping output is not at all an indicator of how much milk someone is producing. Babies get out way more milk than a pump can. The average woman can only pump from 1/2 to 2 oz total per pumping session. Any more, and a woman is considered to be over producing. But, that means that to meet the needs of a baby eating 12 oz, a woman needs to pump 6 to 24 times per day. Egads!
I don't need to increase my milk supply. Baby is gaining well and has good diaper output. However, it is exhausting pumping 7 to 8 times per day for 15 to 20 minutes each time. From set up to clean up, I spend around 4 hours pumping! This is done 5 days a week, and then I still pump on the weekends. Like most women who pump at work, I need to increase my pumping output for my sanity. It's common for women to try to increase their pumping output so that every day isn't a fight to provide milk for the baby. So that maybe in a couple of months, there might be one day where we could relax. Or, maybe so that we aren't spending every meeting or work moment thinking about how the heck we're going to get out of here to pump.
There are so many galactagogues to try, and since some of them can take a few weeks to have any noticable effect, it's common for women to take a handful while not knowing what is working and what is not working. Different methods yield different results in different women. Here's what I've done to increase my pumping output:
1. Remove as much milk as possible. I pump 7 to 8 times each day. From what I've read, women should pump for at least 10 minutes, but really from 15 to 20 minutes if you're trying to increase your pumping output. And, make sure to pump 2 to 5 minutes after the end of your last let down, because that puts in the request to your body to make more milk. I also read that it is better to pump more times for shorter periods than to pump less times for longer.
2. Use a hospital grade pump and get the best flange size for you.
3. Apply pressure during a let down. I squeeze my breasts a little during a let down, which makes more milk come out. More milk out means that your body will make more milk.
4. Pumping when I will get the most milk. My first weekend after going back to work, I tried to pump during or after every feeding to build up a stash for Monday. That left me sore, frustrated, and without very much of a milk cache in the fridge. Pumping during or after every feeding will help increase milk supply. But, it was not something I could keep up with every day. So, if I was going to pump 7-8 times per day, I was going to pump when I'd get the most milk. I pump as much as possible at work. I pump one breast while feeding when I wake up, one breast while feeding two times overnight, and I pump both breasts if she is down for a long nap.
5. Watching food and water intake. It is common for women to produce less when they eat and drink less. I am the opposite. I have been drinking a lot of tea and was trying to get 60+ oz of water on top of that. Well, I got very sick at the end of December, and I noticed that I could pump more milk when I wasn't drinking much water. We think a hormonal imbalance causes me to produce LESS milk when I drink MORE water. Oxytocin, one of the hormones involved in milk production, is also involved in the transportation of salt. We think that more water drowns out something in this process, so I am also trying to consume something with electrolytes in them everyday in hopes that maybe this helps.
6. Power pump. This is where you pump for 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off for an hour. Some women do 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for two hours. This can be done a few days in a row to stimulate milk production. I do this if Lily is down for a LONG sleep and I can be home and up and moving around, which is once in awhile.
7. Avoiding herbs that decrease milk production. I discovered that I was consuming a lot of foods everyday that were made with herbs that decrease milk production. My lasagna and the pizza I would eat for lunch, while organic, still contained a lot of oregano and parsley. My prenatal vitamin, which I heard was still a good idea to take while breastfeeding, contained lemon balm and peppermint. I chowed down on a candy bar one weekend that had a lot of peppermint in it. I learned to be careful about what I was eating to make sure that it wasn't going to work against me.
8. Taking supplemental herbs that increase milk production. There are many options available, so I would suggest doing a google search for herbs that increase milk supply. I was taking fenugreek in capsule form for a few weeks, and while I saw a major increase in my milk output, it started to give Lily green diarrhea, so I stopped taking it. I am now taking blessed thistle: in capsule form and a goat's rue tincture.
9. Cooking with herbs that increase milk production. We're trying to use basil, marjoram, tumeric, and fennel seed in our cooking.
10. Drinking teas that increase milk production. I am currently brewing mother's milk tea, nettle tea, and I'm going to throw some alfalfa tea in the rotation or mix it with nettle.
11. Eating foods that increase milk production. Oats/oatmeal is said to increase milk production. Some women do well on lactation cookies. A coworker shared an oatmeal bake that I like. Hops is another substance that increases milk production. We've been drinking some hoppy beer to help boost my milk output, too.
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