How to build up EBM bank in preparation for work

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pmcheng

Member
I'm going to work on mid May and I'm starting to wonder how should I build up my EBM bank so that baby has milk when I return to work. I'm currently letting baby latch on most of the time (unless I'm out of the house without baby, I would plan a few days in advance to store some EBM). My milk supply is just enough for baby - only about 90-120ml every time I pump. I tried tandem pumping while feeding to build up EBM bank, but bb drinks a lot and finishes them very quickly.

Any tips on how and when to start building EBM bank?
 
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chiro san

Member
Hi,

Its great to know you are still breastfeeding! Keep it up. I am also breastfeeding my DD. I started stocking up my milk in early March before I start work in April. As I am completely latching her on all the time, I started off with pumping in the morning as that's when my both breasts are pretty full. She will latch on one side while I pump the other. I would store them in the freezer and subsequently pump when i feel full again on both sides. The supply will increase due to the increased frequency. Till today, I have a freezer full of EBM. Haha.

Good luck and happy breastfeeding!
 
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pmcheng

Member
Hi! Have u encountered a situation when baby happens to wake up for milk just when you have emptied your breasts? It happens to me quite often. So I end up giving the EBM and baby finishes everything, leaving no excess to store. *faints*
 
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chiro san

Member
Yup I have encountered that, jus latch baby on. Baby's suckle will stimulate more milk supply next time. If you give baby the EBM, your supply will not increase. I would advise to pump while baby drinking the other. The pump will empty the breast effectively this way without the need of massaging or squeezing the lumps in the breast :)
 
missyqiqi

missyqiqi

Member
I build up 2months before I go to work, coz my sister told me when her first one suddenly increase his drinking to 200plus she got not enough milk, and best is to prepare early, coz when I fall sick after i go back to work, my supply drop a lot, nearly not enough for my baby to drink
 
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lyra

Member
You must teach baby to use bottle since you latch on all the time. My friends and I did not teach babies to use bottle and our babies refuses it. My friend needs to go back to work and her poor baby had to be spoonfed, cried terribly for my friend and drank only 50ml in the day until her mother comes home after work to breastfeed her.

You have to build up your supply of breastmilk because by 5th or 6th month, mother's milk supply will decrease to suit baby's demand. I find that my breasts are less engorged and not engorged so frequently, which means I have less milk for extra storage. Previously, I can store about 120ml 2times a day even when I'm fully latching on. So store as much as you can while you can. You can use a separate storage freezer instead of a freezer shared with other food so that you can store the milk for 6 months instead of 3 months.
 
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pmcheng

Member
Wish I can have so much to store cos I'm the dry cow kind. Only produce enough for my 3mth old son. Can only store when I "break" the cycle with formula. Pumping after a feed only produces very little, like 20ml.. So I'm collecting these little bits of 20ml in preparation for my return to work. Sigh. Eat fenugreek also doesn't seem to substantially increase my supply; only prevent it from dropping.

Wanna BF for as long as I can, but hearing that supply drops at 5/6mth.. Hmmm.. Dunno if I even have enough for baby after that, considering my boy is the kind that will keep drinking however much u give him. Breast or bottle also can, as long as there is milk!
 
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notabigdeal

Member
if your baby is not fussy, you should really try pumping and feeding at the same time. I do this for my night and morning feedings when my baby is least fussy. I always give him the side with lesser milk and pump the side with more milk. Can get about 100ml from each pump.
 
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chiro san

Member
Yup, that's what I do too. Early morning feedings and during evenings when it's full. Give baby the one with less milk and pump the one with more, each time im able to pump ard 250mls. Once there's increased in frequency, yr milk supply will increase to meet demand.

Good thing your baby takes both bottle and breast well. So dont be disheartened, and jiayou!
 
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milkshake

Member
Hi I have a silly question - do u store your milk in the freezer (bags or bottle?) and when you need it you use a warmer to warm it? If there's no warmer can you put the milk bottle in a bowl of hot water to warm it?
 
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chiro san

Member
milkshake said:
Hi I have a silly question - do u store your milk in the freezer (bags or bottle?) and when you need it you use a warmer to warm it? If there's no warmer can you put the milk bottle in a bowl of hot water to warm it?
Click to expand...
I am using both Avent VIA cups and Nanny Breastmilk Bags to freeze. I will thaw it overnight in the fridge. And when i need it I will pour the milk from the bag to a bottle then warm up in the warmer. Hope it helps!
 
littlepea

littlepea

Member
Hi mummies, I need some advice.

Im currently feeding my 3 weeks old princess fully on EBM as I'm unable to latch her properly since Day 5.
I can express about 100-150ml each side every 4-5 hours. (used to be 3-4hours but recently it takes longer for the breasts to fill up and sometimes i barely reach 100ml. I have a bad feeling my supply is starting to deteriorate)

She currently drinks about 90-100ml each feed, every 3-4 hours. (seems like she starting to increase intake to 110ml)
So initially my supply was much more than her needs. But because it takes too long to defroze from freezer, we placed all the EBM in the fridge. End up, after a few days, we throw away the oldest milk :( I've already been asked to throw away more than a dozen bottles of "not so fresh" milk.

Now, I'm feeding her 1 day old milk and the supply is starting to build up again.

My question is, would it be too early to build up EBM bank now? I'm returning to work only in early July.
Also, how can I reduce the need to throw away the not so fresh EBM? Kinda pains my heart every time I need to throw away my pain-stakingly EBM :(
 
C

chiro san

Member
littlepea said:
Hi mummies, I need some advice.

Im currently feeding my 3 weeks old princess fully on EBM as I'm unable to latch her properly since Day 5.
I can express about 100-150ml each side every 4-5 hours. (used to be 3-4hours but recently it takes longer for the breasts to fill up and sometimes i barely reach 100ml. I have a bad feeling my supply is starting to deteriorate)

She currently drinks about 90-100ml each feed, every 3-4 hours. (seems like she starting to increase intake to 110ml)
So initially my supply was much more than her needs. But because it takes too long to defroze from freezer, we placed all the EBM in the fridge. End up, after a few days, we throw away the oldest milk :( I've already been asked to throw away more than a dozen bottles of "not so fresh" milk.

Now, I'm feeding her 1 day old milk and the supply is starting to build up again.

My question is, would it be too early to build up EBM bank now? I'm returning to work only in early July.
Also, how can I reduce the need to throw away the not so fresh EBM? Kinda pains my heart every time I need to throw away my pain-stakingly EBM :(
Click to expand...
Hi mummy! Great to hear u are breastfeeding too, keep it up! It's never too early to build up your EBM bank so you may start building it up now : ) to reduce the need to throw away the precious milk, calculate roughly how much she will need daily. For instance she drinks 100mls 3hrly, You will need 800mls daily. You can thaw them overnight in the fridge, so that by next morning they will be defrosted when you need it. That's what I do. Sometimes I will only put 500mls to thaw, and I'll pump the rest early in the morning then let baby drink the fresh one first followed by the thawed ones. Hope this helps!
 
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pmcheng

Member
Thanks for the advice mommies! Maybe I'll try tandem pumping in the morning and pump after a feed in the afternoon. So far, I've only built up for 4 feeds :p

Littlepea, try to monitor how much your baby drinks and put the relevant amount in fridge. If need extra then take from freezer. Don't waste all your effort in pumping :) If not, just let baby wait for a while when you heat up frozen milk. Haha, that's what I did initially when I couldn't estimate how much my son drank.

Everyone, press on with our hard work for our babies!!
 
ahjoyz

ahjoyz

New Member
ii want to check if any of uu thaw frozen ebm and the ebm has a fishy smell?
cos mine have and ii didnt dare to feed my baby. ii want go out without her also difficult cos chilled milk only lasts for 2 days and its difficult to pump enuff milk for her if ii place the ebm in chiller.
 
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