Hi there, mamas. Kayla Evans wrote in about her newborn baby. Kayla plans to go to work when her baby is a mere one month old, and asks how to stimulate a healthy milk supply during month one, and then for suggestions on pumping at work thereafter.

Kayla, I have been there. I went back to work later, at four months, with babies #1 and #2, but the trials and tribulations of pumping at work are familiar to me. OK, let me answer your queries one by one as best I can.

Got tips regarding increasing milk supply? Weigh in below!

To start, you ask how to maintain a healthy breast milk supply when baby is first born. I have a lot of posts and videos on this since this question hits my sweet spot. My text posts and videos all touch on one central theme: when it comes to ways to increase milk supply, keep your baby physically close and feed frequently, emptying each breast before going to the next. Try to feed directly from the breast rather than pump, and make sure your baby is awake, burped and full. Then, you know that baby has received a full feed. With a newborn, you want to breastfeed every three hours from the beginning of the feed until your baby begins doing longer stints of sleep at night. Stay hydrated, eat healthy and try to get as much sleep as you can. I delve into these tips and more regarding increasing milk supply in my various videos on breastfeeding and pumping during the early stages.

Onwards to once you’re back at work. It seems that finding a place from where to pump is a challenge for you. Such is the case with many new moms, and would that it were not so. Please speak to your employer and try to make a plan. Really, you want to be pumping every three hours for at least a healthy bit, ideally 15-20 minutes. If you can’t manage this, even 10 minutes would be better than nothing. I worry about mastitis (which I have had repeatedly), blocked ducts, and declining milk supply. In addition to actually producing umping encourages your body to produce more milk.