BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: Roseii on May 29, 2012, 10:23:25 am
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Continued from http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=122472.0
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Katy, it's a support thread for those working and breastfeeding really, but as you're doing both, chat away :)
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Welcome Katy!
I'll be back soon to post properly.
I have to eat something before "dream pumping". :P
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argh. daycare makes me want to cry. It seemed he was doing well at the end of the week, but today was rough after a long holiday weekend. I came home to a zombie-like baby with salt crusted to the sides of his face and in hair. They promised they don't do CIO. They said he got a 45min, 1hr, and 2hr nap in today...which isn't horrible...but he was falling asleep on the boob for his BT feed. He hasn't done that since he was quite little. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to get enough in him to help him STTN. We're trying to push a little extra into his dreamfeed to get him through the night. He so badly needs that sleep after a day like today. Days like today make it hard to go back to work :(
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Well today was my first day back at work. It wasn't too bad, but DD did not nap at all at the babysitters, of course. She is a notorious non-napper, so I'm not totally surprised, but it still sucks. I went over there at lunch to nurse her, and she had just fallen asleep. Dummy me thought, "oh, I'll just barely wake her up and nurse her right back to sleep". Nope, my DD thought she'd fall asleep nursing, but be wide-eyed as soon as I put her down. Obviously a mistake on my part.
Work itself was fine. My boss is out of town, so that helps, but finding time to pump was tough. Between meetings, sorting through 800+ emails and just catching up with people took a lot of time. I also realized that I simply need to leave early. Getting home at 6 just isn't going to work.
Fingers crossed that tomorrow goes better for my LO!
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MummaB - oh no, that's horrible for you and him :(
klinthwaite - glad you had a reasonable day. I guess it's finding the balance now.
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klinthwaite - good luck with the rest of the week. Hopefully you both fall into a good routine!
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Thanks ladies! The good thing was DD took a nice long 3 hour nap today at the babysitter's...yeah! I, however, have managed to get BM all over me every time I pump. I can't seem to master pumping yet in a small space. I'm used to spreading everything out all over my dining room table.
MummaB - I hope the daycare situation gets better for you! That sounds rough.
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Ok, ladies, how often are you all pumping? This whole pumping at work thing is a pain in the arse! It's making me think about supplementing with formula. I feel like even with the 3 pumps a day at work, plus the 4th pump at home for the DF bottle, I'm barely keeping up with her. Sigh.
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Kirsten - I pump at lunch time when at work and once at night (around 11 pm) - that I call "dream pump". DD2 is on 3-4 milk feeds/day and I have/had a lot of frozen BM stored for her daytime bottles at daycare.
I agree that pumping can be PITA. I was thinking of quiting now that DD2's older but I keep myself thinking that I could go a little longer.
I know that's hard, so do what is best for you. IMHO, there's no point on being so tired to pump and don't keep up, maybe you could do a combination of BM and formula? Big hugs!!
:-*
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Hey girls,
how have you been?
DD2 has this never ending cold, with runny nose and some episodes of bad coughing. I am patiently waiting for the summer. I think when they are this little, we just have to accept they WILL get sick. >:(
I am definitely thinking about stopping pumping at work. I tried not to pump last thursday and oh my! My boobs hurt. I drove to the daycare to pick the girls up and decided to pump there so that I could relieve the pain and also to have time to produce more milk before her BT feed. I wanted to go on for a little while but it just annoys me having to carry my computer backpack, my pump, an umbrella (it's been rainy lately here). :(
I feel like I have to use the mantra "it's for her best, keep going"....
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Sorry I've been out of the loop! Lately i feel like i can't keep up with life!
Lidiayy- I feel for you on the pumping! I know some people can get away without pumping or just doing it once and exclusively BF on weekends to keep supply up. Maybe you can try dropping a pump session at work or gradually reduce how long you pump for at each session to make the transition more comfortable.
I'm still pumping 3x at work even though I'm only missing 2 feeds because I'm not pumping as much as he eats. Definitely gets old!
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Any of you experience breast refusal after bottle? I started back to work 2 weeks ago part time and DS gets more bottles...as of this past week he's slowly refusing to nurse. I'm bummed. Was hoping to do both bottle and nurse for a while. I'm just pumping right now and hoping he'll turn around.
I think he's also possibly going thru a growth spurt - maybe that's part of the issue too?? Sad mommy.
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Pualani8 I see your LO is 10wo and you have started your own thread so perhaps anyone with advice could pop over there. Prefers bottle over breast now!
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Pumping definitely gets old, especially when its hard to keep up. I can usually get enough when pumping twice during the day, but occassionally I don't; then I have to manually pump after I nurse at home (evening and morning feed, plus DF if I really need more - manually since it's quicker and I just want to get an extra oz or 2). I don't have a freezer supply since it's too hard to pump so much extra. When I do have extra I just keep it in the fridge to use first, typically by the end of the week I'm running low so my supply is never too large.
At the beginning I found that I could pump twice for her 3 bottles since I could pump enough in those 2 sessions, I put myself onto the 4 hour EASY before she was on it.
I really hope to keep it up to 6 months and then some. Pumping for my DD helps me feel connected to her even though we spend so much of the day apart from each other. I feel fortunate that I can do this for her.
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Well done for keeping it going :)
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I made it to 6 months with only giving my DD my milk! :)
The hardest was when my pump needed replacement parts, but it took a few days to get them (no time to shop and shipping takes time), so it was real slow pumping for a few days. But I'm still at it and so happy! With DS I was only able to pump 1 bottle for him instead of two starting at 6 months, I thought it was b/c I was pregnant, but in retrospect, I think if I had changed some parts out in my pump it still could have worked. I'm so much more in-tuned with bf-ing this time around.
We'll start solids on the weekend, and I hope to keep pumping for a few more months (maybe till 1 year... and totally skip formula this time around).
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Yay! Well done both of you! :)
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I just thought I'd post to offer some encouragement to mom's returning to work - you never know just how supportive your work will be! I'm going back in October when my DS is 13 months. I've been putting off the call to my supervisor to ask where/when/how I can pump as I want to keep nursing for awhile yet and don't want my supply to decrease (I struggled with low supply for months). I thought the conversation would be awkward, particularly as there isn't a space conducive to pumping, I'd have to explain myself and state what my rights are to pump at work. But I didn't at all and the conversation went soooo great! My supervisor (a man) offered that as long as I do it at the same time every day, he'll step out of his office and do other work so I can use his office to pump as it will guarantee that no one will accidentally walk in on me, He also has a small fridge in his office where I can store the milk until the end of the day! I couldn't believe his response. I feel so blessed! So, for any of you who are dreading the conversation with your employer about pumping, it may just end up going better than you expect - I hope it does!
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What a great story Char ;D thanks for sharing.
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That's fab! Glad he was so understanding. I had a similar experience (again with a male manager) when I had to go back to work for a couple of weeks after DD.
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Jumping on the thread! Curious to know if anyone has had issues pumping when lo is 12ish months? I plan on breastfeeding for as long as possible and I only work a few days a week so it's promising. I'm not pumping as much at work anymore and I wonder if it's normal at this age (dropping/space between feeds). Can anyone else relate? When dh says she has 17-20oz while I'm at work and I only pump 3!!!...I'm a bit concerned. Should he not be giving her that much and more food? Is it my pump? Just hoping to get some reassurance. On the positive side, I've been breastfeeding for almost 12 months and no supplementing needed. Ya!
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It is quite normal for pumping output to decrease as LO gets older.
How many bottles is your DH giving and how big are they?
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DD is 7 months, and I already feel like I have pumping/supply issues :(. If you made it to a year that's amazing.
Low output can be a pump issue, some pumps need to have parts replaced for maximum output, so you could check into that to see if it'll help.
At 12 months you could start giving milk if you don't have enough EBM, we warmed ours up to make it more familiar to DS. Then you could just nurse when you are home and also give whatever you are able to pump (this is less stressful since there's an easy substitute if you don't pump enough).
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He just middles through..there's not always a set time/amount he gives. I would say between 20-25oz while I'm at work. I have some stored in the freezer but that's dwindling rapidly. Do we just need to wean her feeds during the day while I'm at work or would that be too confusing? Or just have one feed during the day?...I don't think I'm ready to drop feeds but she is getting bigger so it would be the time :-(
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What time do you work/ out of the house?
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That's a good point about the pump parts. It's actually borrowed from my sil and she needs it back in 2-3 months for her new lo. So again, I guess it's that time to decrease feeds on work days so it's not such a shock when we have no extra milk. :-( I still feel great making it this far and will continue as long as possible (morning and night time at least). Apparently my time on this thread will be short lived....
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Pumps are now covered under health insurance here in the USA when you have a baby, tell your sil that she should try to get a new one and let you keep this one ;D
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I would say between 20-25oz while I'm at work.
So 4 or 5 bottles of 4-5oz each, do you think? Or more like 3x 8oz bottles? How many feeds are you giving at home before/after work and on days when you're not working?
Sorry for all the questions :)
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Goldmom - I'll have to talk to get about that. Thanks for that
Fiver - I would say 3x8oz bottles. I feed her at wake up, shortly before 1st nap, 3/4ish, and shortly before bed. She wakes once at night unless teething/discomfort. I'm pretty available to her when I'm home so there could be an extra feed or two on those days. I only work 2 days right now and my pumping issue just started a few weeks ago (not pumping as much). Which could very well be a natural thing I'm hearing.
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My LO is 12.5 months and I'm going back to work 3 days/week starting in October. Natbug, I do the same number of nursing feeds as you and at the same times of the day as you. 3 x 8 oz bottles plus nursing in the morning and before bed is quite a bit of milk for a 12 month old, as far as I know. If I were you, I'd offer her as much milk during the day as you end up pumping. That's what I'm planning to do when I go back to work. I'm going to nurse when he wakes, then pump at work and he'll get 3.5-4oz in a sippy cup before his nap and then again between 3 and 4:00 and then I'll feed at BT. I figure 3.5-4 oz in the sippy cup twice per day as that's about what I pump.
I remember reading somewhere (perhaps kellymom?) that average milk intake for 12-23 month olds who still nurse is around 20 oz (Fiver do you know?). I figure my DS gets 8 oz in the morning, 7-8 oz during the day and another few oz before BT which I think is enough. Just my thoughts, though ;).
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From the Kellymom milkcalc link I posted earlier:
"One study found average breastmilk intake to be 30 oz per day (875 ml/day; 93% of total intake) at 7 months and 19 oz (550 ml/day; 50% of total energy intake) at 11-16 months."
So if LO is getting 3x 8oz bottles while you're away and then two(?) BFs while you're there, she's getting considerably more than 19oz per day.
You could use the same theory as the milk calculator amending the 25oz for a younger baby to 19oz and divide by the number of feeds per day she might be having, so call it 4 BF per day as an example.
19oz / 4BF = 4.75oz per bottle while you're away.
If you're doing more like 5 BF while you're at home with her, obviously the quantity per bottle will decrease (3.8oz)
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That makes a lot of sense. I'll talk with dh about this. I knew something was up when I heard he gave her that much on one day. I think he doesn't realize just how much she should eat in one day (solids that is). I feel like she's always in that high chair. ;-) So I will start her on 4oz then and see how that goes...sometimes I can only get out 2-3oz! My left side is slow slow slow at producing so it gets out only half an ounce, if I'm lucky. :-(
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What kind of pump do you use?
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An ameda purely yours. What parts usually need replacing? Do you think that's an issue?
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TBH, I'm not sure what parts need to be replaced. Goldmom?
I use a Medela Pump in Style and it works fabulously. I had low milk supply so I originally rented an Ameda and it would take me 1 hr to pump 1 oz! It wasn't until I ordered the Medela that I realized the issue was the pump, not my milk as in 10-15 minutes I'd have 4-5 oz....what a difference! So I do know that sometimes the issue is the pump.
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Sometimes a different sized flange helps. I think the replaceable parts tend to be diaphragms (the rubber "sucky" bit) and valves.
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I also use the Ameda Purely Yours. Sometimes I like it, other times not. Recently I can pump about 2-3 oz on each side in about 15 minutes in a good session and 1-2 oz each side in a bad session. The white valves definitely have to be replaced occasionally, but I'm not sure about anything else. I used to be able to get 4+ oz on each side in the morning and 2-3 oz each side in the afternoon with this pump, but it's been less since my DD turned 6 mo. I've been hoping replacing the valves would help increase the output, but only on some days does it work better, unfortunately. Though sometimes replacing the valves have made a big difference, so I'm not sure why recently it hasn't been helping as much as I'd like it too. Maybe I'll switch out the diaphragms also and see if that helps.
I've been using this pump now 2x a day for usually 5 days a week since DD was 7 weeks old, so I'd say it's generally a good pump, but maybe just for the first few months?
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Getting the correct fitting diaphragms also made a big difference for me. I used the Medela for a couple of months and then realized I probably needed different cups so I sized myself and sure enough I needed the smaller ones. I bought them and it made a big difference as I was able to have more suction before it became uncomfortable.
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I'll try replacing the rubber bits and use my smaller flanges and see where that gets me. Hope to report back with increased pumping output. ;-)
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Good luck :)
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I am looking to return to work in about a month, 3-4 days/week. I have an 10 month old breastfed daughter. She used to take a bottle extremely well when desired but recently will not take a bottle or sippy cup. When I put her in daycare, I will need her to take 2 feedings, one after each nap, and I will continue to breastfeed the morning wakeup and before bedtime. She was diagnosed with a potential MSPI but we are having success with introducing small amounts of yogurt and cottage cheese, but still no cows milk.
What do other mom's who exclusively breastfeed do when you return to work and your child will not take a feeding from a bottle or cup? I plan to keep trying to get either the bottle, sippy cup, or cup to work throughout this next month that I have, but I am worried about our options if it does not work. The office is a bit too far away for me to feasibly come by and feed her during the day, but perhaps I have to and just re-arrange my schedule/job? Thoughts? I'm feeling really discouraged because she used to take a bottle so well and we have been trying for over a week now with no success :( I even had Grandma and Grandad try while I went for a walk just to be out of the house, but it was a no-go. She just screams at the sight of the bottle or cups.
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At 10/11 months you can probably start reducing the number of daytime bottles and just focus on morning and bedtime feeds.
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As she will be almost 1yo I would just see what she does when she is away from you. I'd get them to offer her an open cup and just see how she does.
I know when my sister went back to work when my nephew was 1yo he wasn't taking much fluid from anywhere other than BFing. It was like he realised he got thirsty and mummy wasn't there so he had to take his drinks from elsewhere.
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Hi ladies!
I am new to the forum and was hoping for some advice before I dive into babywise sleep business.
My question is about setting up the schedule with my early work hours.
I am nursing my now 5 week old and am heading back to work at 12 weeks.
I have a 2.5 yo as well and have to be at work at 6:30 am which means drop off at daycare when they open at 6. (I work 4,10 hour shifts)
I don't know how to create a schedule if we will be getting up at the crack of dawn every day. I would like to nurse before work, so should I plan to 'dreamfeed' the baby around 4:30 am then put him in his car seat and call the official start to his day 6 am when he gets to school? Was just hoping to get some insight from you pros :) Thank you!
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Just bumping in case anyone has similar experience.
I'd maybe be tempted not to get you all up that early and fed him when you arrive, even if you have to do it in the car before they open.
Does he take a bottle?