Ladies that BF and Pump and FF

DD is three months and my supply has never been great. Nearly every feeding I BF then follow up with a 4oz formula bottle. Once a day she gets a breast milk bottle instead of a formula bottle. I pump twice a day and if I'm lucky I get about a bottle and half's worth between the two sessions. When I add more sessions I barely get two oz combined.

In about a month I will go back to work - hopefully part time, but maybe full time. I have no freezer stash at all and I def don't want to go all formula when I'm not home.

So do you think I should switch her once-a-day breast milk bottle to a formula bottle, since I am home and able to nurse, and then stockpile and freeze whatever I am able to pump?? That way I will have breast milk for her when I go back to work?

Those who BF/pump/FF, do you have a freezer stash? I'm a crappy pumper so I can't just sit down one or two sessions and pump like 10-15oz... my body doesn't pump more than 4 on my BEST session...

TIA!

Re: Ladies that BF and Pump and FF

I completely understand how you feel. I was in your shoes a few months ago.

My supply was so limited and I was lucky if I got 4 oz total at each pumping session and DD would latch for nursing.

So, I ended up stopping pumping (plus there was no privacy area at work for me to pump) and giving her all formula from that point forward.

As your child gets older, their demand for more is going to occur.

If you're adamant to not do FF, then pump and freeze and nurse for her feeds now.

GL!

Re: Ladies that BF and Pump and FF

I think I'm gonna answer bits and pieces of your questions.

I, too, had a terrible supply... I EPed after two months and supplemented with formula. I went back to work p/t when DD was 4 months old.

I always preferred to give DD the freshest BM possible. My preference was for her to have milk that was never refrigerated, but that didn't work around our schedule so she got some refrigerated BM. I really didn't freeze much because of this.

My reasoning for all of this was that I read chilling BM destroyed some of the immunity benefits, and I also read that the compositiion of BM changes as the baby ages, so BM for a 1m old was made for a 1m old.. and if I gave it to my 6m old, she'd be fine and would get excellent nutrition, but wouldn't be an exact fit for a 6m old. I don't remember my sources, so maybe this is all BS, but it made sense to me and helped me decide how to schedule out the little BM I was pumping.