Working and Pumping

Hi Emily - good job planning ahead!  My interpretation of the 6 month slump is that a lot of factors can converge at this time to make it harder to keep up.  The first is that this is the time when your moo is taking the largest amount of milk of your entire pumping year - because she's big, usually quite active, but not taking solids in any appreciable quantity yet. Often there's a growth spurt thrown in there as well.  Then add to that that around 6 months is a time when a lot of moms see the return of AF - which throws a further (if temporary) dip into supply. You may be taking on more at work, increasing your stress, or you may have to spend your first night away from the baby - lots of things tend to happen around this time, and the convergence is common enough that the phrase "6 month slump" had cropped up. This doesn't mean it will happen to everyone - but it's not a bad idea to be prepared.

The best thing to do is just try to keep up, week for week, with what your DD is taking in her bottles. When I hit the 6 months slump, I started supplementing from my freezer stash - which does nothing to address the fact that your DD is needing more milk and so your body needs to make more - and the freezer stash will run out at some point.  So, if you are running short on the bottles, add in a pumping session, really focus on your own nutrition (good hydration and lots of protein), minimize the time you have to pump for by nursing at drop off and pick up, and if you've started solids, have daycare give all the solids so you can focus on nursing when you're together.  You can pump a bit on the weekends to make up any difference, or take a "nursing holiday" and just breastfeed for a few days straight to get your supply in step with how much your baby needs through this time. I put together more supply boosting tips in this post, but the basic rule is just to keep up.  If you're a few days from AF, you may not be able to pump as much, but as soon as your actual flow starts, your supply should rebound, and you can use this time to replenish the freezer stash.  Once you get past this stage, your moo will begin taking more and more of her nutrition from solids, and while breastmilk is still an important part of her diet, you can substitute foods on days your supply is low once she's older, and my experience is that you'll never have to pump any more than you do at 6 months.  The pumping just gets easier after 6 months, so be proud of yourself once this stage is past!

Hope all is going well, and that the 6 month slump doesn't appear for you!

When I hit my six month slump, I had not found this board yet and was taken unawares.
I wish I still had a supply stashed in the freezer, but the transition into pumping for daycare used it up fast. DC ended up supplementing with formula and DD is starting into solids too. I know bm is best, but the supplement has not hurt my sweetie. I am still pumping and sending bm, then if she is still hungry she gets a few oz formula.

Looks like great advice in earlier posts.

Good luck,

Dee

Emily