Takes 3 days to express 7 oz of milk... please help!

[BornSicky]

I'm back to work and on average it's taking me 3 days just to get 7oz of milk. My baby is 9 months old and I'm away from him for 10 hours a day.

I just can't seem to express enoough milk and that means formula top ups which I didn't want to do.

Currently my baby has milk feeds at:

7am
10am
3pm
6pm
11pm
3.30am
5.30am

The 10am and 3pm feeds happen during my working day.

Anyone have any ideas how to up my supply or express more efficiently? and how much should he have?

He drinks a bit of water from a cup at lunch and dinner and has cow's milk on his porridge for breakfast.

I've tried a manual and electric breastpump and neither are as fast as hand expressing.

Hi BornSicky - I have a hard time expressing but I seem to get a bit more when I use the 'letdown' setting on my breast pump a number of times in one session. My pump normally does the letdown thing for two minutes then switches to a slower pace - I just re-run the letdown a few times and I seem to get more afterwards. Good luck - I hate expressing!

Oh just give him water when you're nit there and feed lots when you are. Make sure he gets yoghurts, cheese and other milky products during the day and possibly a drink of cows milk if you like. I wouldn't stress with the expressing thing at his age tbh.

thanks for your replies.

am sitting here in bits because i can't express enough for him.

for the first time since he was born i feel like i'm failing him. it's so unfair

Is there a reason to be anti formula at 9mo? Unless its an ethical issue. Your LO would have eaten all sorts of things that are harder to digest than formula isn't it? Maybe you can reconsider so you don't have to be so hard for yourself? You will still give him wonderful bm when you are with him.

You don't need to give him formula. Honestly, it doesn't matter when you bf him. Can you move to on demand to ensure he gets what he needs when you have gaps and possibly create a shift in the night feeds?

You are NOT failing him! You've BF him for 9 months which is a HUGE achievement and you have given him the best possible start in life - you should be very, very proud :) And you are going back to work to support him in another way - financially! My LO dropped a lot of daytime feeds around this age as he started filling up a bit more on solids and taking a snack instead of a BF. You may find that your DS starts needing less daytime feeds anyway. Expressing can be infuriating and horrid and if you're feeling a bit low about being away from him I'm sure it's worse. Make sure you're hydrated, express every chance you can, try to do it when he's around so you can get those lovey hormones which help make milk! I have juggled a baby on one boob and a pump on the other :) Good luck and try not to be too down on yourself :)

lilham most formula contain meat/fish and we're vegetarian. also, formula is not as good as breastmilk and i don't want to disrupt my supply by adding formula top ups at this stage.

gloria he is on demand - just fell into that pattern roughly. i'm trying to give him lots of feeds and dairy, but i'd been trying to lessen his night feeds because it's exhausting.guess i'll need to keep them up for a few more months yet.

and wow, thanks clarejane

it's all of it really - 50 hours nursery care a week, losing time with hi, not being able to feed him during the day. i just didn't want to miss a moment and it's all so difficult.

bf feels like one of our strongest bonds and i don't want to damage that.