Working moms/mums - come share tips and get support too! #2

[marensmama]

Pump came by courier today, and all I can say is wow, I'm so glad I spent the money... as far as breast pumps go, it's beautiful!  Even my DH thought it looked like such nice quality.  Had a drink in the hot tub tonight, so I'll wait to use it until tomorrow.  I can't believe I'm actually excited about pumping!

[ladyv]

Liacarmen (I love that name:)),
I am already back to work and that's all I'm getting with pumping both at work and home. Sad isn't it?  I feed her at 6 am and phave tried pumping at 9 and 10 and neither yields much, so I end up with another session at 1, then at home after her afternon session (3:30) and in the evening after I feed her for bed. 

All that and what do I get? One 4 once bottle.  A lot of work for very little.

I'll keep trying. This is the first time she's been in daycare and I'm wondering if stress isn't making it worse than it should be.  Maybe if I kep pumping away and relax, things will get better.
Thanks for the support!  You, too Campbellchick!

[campbellchick]

Thanks ladyv - definitely keep up the pumping and once your dd settles into daycare, I think you'll relax and get more milk - it is a stressful time - especially when you are even more worried about not getting enough milk.  How long have you been doing this for?

Nicole - really pleased your pump has arrived - kwym about being excited about pumping though   Since I got my new pump I haven't even thought of it as a task anymore - I actually don't mind it at all.  Love the new photo of Hayden btw - sooo cute!

[clh]

Welcome, Ladyv!  Hugs, hun!  It's so hard to start back to work.    The other ladies are right:  stress can definitely affect the amount you pump.  I couldn't even look at the bottles when I was doing it.  I had to cover them with my shirt so I wasn't thinking, "When is it going to come?  Am I going to make enough?  What if I don't get enough?..."  Some women do well by imagining flowing water:  streams, rivers, waterfalls...  I had to pretty much ignore it completely. 

Just for clarity, your feed/pump times look like this?
6 am - bf
9-10 am - pump
1 pm - pump
3:30 pm - bf then pump
7ish? pm - bf bedtime then pump
I think you mentioned instituting a dream feed?  If she's sleeping well, I probably wouldn't do that, but I might start pumping at that time (~10 pm)  That was the one that helped my make up the difference I needed.  Just a thought.

Also, some women have had luck using fenugreek in conjunction with blessed thistle, but you'll need to ask someone else about the dosage.  (I never used that one.)  I did use something called Mother's Milk Tea by Traditional Medicinals.  I found it in the organic dept of my regular grocery store and in health food/herb shops.

Hope something in all that helps.  Welcome again, & keep posting. 

[mamitica]

Hello ladies-

I've been back to work for almost 2 weeks now.  You guys were right, it was not as bad as I thought.  Meaning, DS is loving daycare and has adapted beautifully to beign with MIL for 3 days and daycare 2.  He's napping and eating well.  Me, on the other hand, still trying to adapt to the change, schedule, and demands, but I'll find my own routine soon.

Pumping is going well. I pump once at work and once at home at 8:00 p.m.  I'm thankful for the $250 I spent in my Medela Advanced In Style.  It's worth every penny.

DS wakes up once at night to nurse and I don't give it a second thought.  It's my chance to be with him and it gives him comfort.

Kerry, I'm glad your work situation is going well.

Campbellchick, good job on the pumping!

Ladyv- Don't worry about the low yield.  Pumping and breastfeeding will only increase the supply and soon enough you'll be pumping a lot more.  Relax and look at some pics of baby while you are pumping.

[clh]

mamitica!  I was wondering where you were.    Glad to hear everything is going so well.  You're right.  You'll find your groove soon. 

[marensmama]

Mamatica, you're my inspiration... my DD still has a night feed, I think you've got a great outlook on it.  And I plan on pumping 2x a day, so I'm happy to read that it's working for you!  I bought my PISA and haven't used it yet but it looks like it will be worth very penny!! 

[lidiayy]

Hi ladies,

Good to hear that everyone is happy with their pumps... Interesting to think of what we do for our LOs, isn't it?

I think DD went through a GS as you suggested, Kerrie. She woke up some nights and now she has returned to her old "routine"  She has increased the amount per bottle, though  (from 150 ml to 220 ml) - lots of pumping work for me. The good thing is that since she woke up some nights and fed, my body understood that the demand increased and started to produce more. I'm taking advantage of it and expressing (pumping) as much as I can to keep the supply up. 

So far, I have been able to keep my stash at the same level. But I know I'll start to have some difficulties from the next month on, because last month there were some days when she was sick and I had to offer my breast to her more often, so couldn't pump and freeze too much. My stash will decrease faster than it has been.

Anyway, my first goal was to keep her exclusively breastfed until 6 mo. Although I had to start with fruit juice and fruit puree because she was spending so much energy at daycare, I'm very happy to know that I could make it and will probably be able to do it for some months to come (with one or two nursing sessions).

My two cents for you: be positive and try not to push too hard. Pumping is really a hard task but really, really worth it! It's hard in the beginning but once your body gets used to it, you'll see the difference!

HTH

Lidia

[liacarmen]

ladyv, I'm really just Lia, Carmen is my middle name but someone's already got Lia on the boards (I haven't run into her yet!). I'm sorry about your pumping trouble, I pumped like a maniac too, I did 3 pumps on the days I was home (morning, mid morning and night time), then added a night time pump on the days I worked, in addition to the three pumps I did at work. I was counting down the days till I could start adding a little whole milk if I couldn't pump enough. Bummer for me, a couple weeks after my son turned one he went on a nursing strike and I still haven't been able to convince him he really wants to be an extended nurser. But here I am - still pumping! I can't believe that I can't give it up yet. I'm still hoping he'll decide he wants to nurse, and he's doing well with the whole milk, but I want to make this transition nice and slow. Enough about me - is that pump of yours working? Those white membrane things wear out, pull on them a little and see if there's cracks in them. On the front of the pump, the gage thing that you use to turn it up and down, if you push on it, do you get more suction? If you stick the flanges part on your gut when it's on do they suck your skin in? Just a few things to check because wouldn't it be lovely if you just needed a pump tune up?

On the blessed thistle/fenegreek, I take that combo and I think it helps - 3 of each together 3 times a day. Also, drink TONS, and I mean tons of water. Good luck to you!

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

I have heard that oatmeal is also really good for your supply and of course drinking lots of water.

[anyamom]

cinnamon is good as well... so see if you can have cinnamon -enriched cereals in the morning. and chicken noodle soup.
these two were the things that my lactation consultant insisted on me having

[campbellchick]

Hi Ladies, I have a question - I have had a really really bad flu this week (unfortunately has gone through the entire family).  Its the kind of flu that brings on the body aches, roaring headache, fevers/chills etc etc.  It has just been such a miserable week.  Thankfully I am on the mend now though.  I came down with this on Monday and by Wednesday afternoon I noticed that my milk output had dropped compared to what I can usually pump at work.  By Thursday I was down to about half of my usual output and the same again on friday morning .  I picked DD up early on Friday so got to give her her afternoon feed and haven't pumped since as yet.  Do you think this drop would be from dehydration or from being sick?  As soon as I noticed my decreased output, I made sure I was drinking plenty of water - but I still felt dehydrated (as you do when you are totally congested). 

In the past I have used DD to get my supply back up - but now I only have tomorrow to get her to keep sucking on the breast and since she is all congested, I've noticed that she is now not eating much either  .  Then on Monday afternoon I am heading away for work for 2 nights and won't be back until late on Wednesday night, so it will be pump only during this time.  Any suggestions to help increase my supply again (in a hurry)?  I will make sure I keep the water intake right up there (I usually drink close to a gallon of water a day anyway) and anyamom - I've been eating Chicken Soup like it is going out of fashion    Thanks, hope you are all going well anyway, haven't heard anything from this thread in a few weeks 

[shark]

if you can try some super charging...

sit down with your pump and pump for 5-10 min every hour for as many hours in a row as you can

can also try galactogogues like fenugreek or domperidone (need to see doctor for the latter)  Can try oatmeal too, it's supposed to help, good luck!

[campbellchick]

Thanks Shark, I'll give that a go.  I ended up pumping once over the weekend and got a fair amount out (still not as much as usual, but better than I expected).  I think the water is definitely helping!

[bennysmama]

Hi - I'd be really grateful for some advice, please.  I'm going back to work part-time, 3 days a week, in November.   DS will be 5 months old.   I would love to carry on giving BM for as long as I possibly can, trouble is my job makes it incredibly tricky/near impossible to pump.  Assuming DS is on a 4 hour EASY by then(!), I think I'll need to pump enough for feeds at and 11am and 3pm plus some extra in case DS gets super-hungry.  I can BF in the morning and evening.   Trouble is...I won't be able to pump until 12noon at the earliest.   How long does it take most people to pump?    Could I pump enough if I pumped at, say, 12 and 1 and 4?  maybe again at home?   And how should  I add the pumping on the days when I'm at home?  Sorry so many questions!   

At the moment I pump for the dream feed.  It takes about 30 mins to get 2oz even with an electric pump (medela single pump).  I can get about the same amount in the same time with a hand pump.  Are the double ones much better?  And are they very noisy?  or heavy?   

Is anyone using formula while they are at work and BF in evening and mornings?  Is that working alright? 

Sorry to ask so many questions.  I've been working myself up into a real state about this!   Thank you so much for any replies.