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

[jessiecat]

Hi everyone

Lidia- I'm glad to hear your lo is feeling better. It sounds like even though she got ot at daycare at least she wasn't distressed. The carers will soon learn her cues I'm sure and if she enjoys it it will be less stressful to leave her there. I agree that changes are hard on los they seem to love routines. The trouble is that they change and grow so quickly everything is always changing for them. I look forward to hearing more about her adaptation. I'll be taking notes
Thanks for the support and reminding me I'm not the only one having meltdowns. I, like you, am a perfectionist and add a little baby to the mix and things get worse. It seems really important to get every little thing right and even tiny problems and mistakes seem like massive failures. I suppose all mums and dads want what's best for their children - I think I'll be forever feeling guilty or inadequate about some aspect of mothering though.

Hi Jesse - Ludmila's a great name and she's got a cute little smile.
 I found it really upsetting when my DD took to a bottle so well but she quickly made it clear she still liked feeding from the breast. Your little one might find it easier to feed from a bottle but remember breastfeeding offers the chance to be cuddled up close to you in a really special way and babies love to be close to their mums . Plus, you won't have to worry about leaving her when you need to as you know she'll take a bottle. I know some mums who dread leaving their babies because they know that they won't feed unless it is from the breast. My heart goes out to them and I have to be thankful that my lo can feed without me there.

[lidiayy]

Ok, so day #3 of adaptation at daycare:
Today I left her there at 8 am. She had a long nap of 2 hours, which made me very happy as I thought she wouldn't like to sleep in a different place.

She woke up at 10:20 am and the caretaker tried to offer her a bottle. She refused. I'm using Breastflow with stage 1 teats. The girl said to me that maybe this teat is too slow because when she offered the bottle with stage 2 (4pm), she accepted better. I think maybe she has difficulty in drinking from the bottle because she is still learning? 

She only took 1 Oz from this first bottle and ended up without feeding until 12:45 pm, when I arrived there to give her my breast. She ate at 6:45am, so too long for her tiny stomach! The 4 pm bottle, she took almost 2 1/2 Oz, so I think we're improving.
I pumped at 10:40 am and 5:30 pm in order to keep my supply when she'll be at daycare. Hope I can keep doing it from next week on.

Have a nice weekend!

Lidia

[Jesse Pihera]

Good afternoon everyone! Thank you for the tips DD has been a perfect suckler for the past day, a plunket nurse (after care for mum & baby untill 5yo in nz) said to try standing up when you put her to the breast...worked first time...The only downside is i have to hold a 6kg baby for how long! Thank you ladies once again!!! So awesome to have a suppport network...and its only a click away!!!

[shark]

Hi,

Just a quick question, I'm back a work now and having a hard time making sure I pump enough volume durng the day.  What's better for volume and supply, pumping longer (i.e. 20min) or shorter (5-10min), more frequent pumping?

[clh]

Hi, Shark-- I don't know which is *better*, but I can tell you what I've done.    I went the longer, less frequent route.  I ended up pumping 2 times per work day, plus a "dream pump" after lo went to bed (about 10 or 10:30).  If you do not do a dream feed, that might be an option. 

Also, note that a lot of women need to pump more than once to make up a feed.  I had to pump about 2x for 1 bottle.

[lidiayy]

Hi girls,

So today was my first day back to work.
I pumped first thing in the morning as my breasts woke up engorged - DD was sick last week, so having NW to eat, she has STTN the past 2 days and my body is still producing milk for this night feed  ) I also fed her before leaving her at daycare.
At 10:30am, when she usually nurses, I pumped around 4.5 Oz    And I had to do it at the locker room, which is not a nice place in terms of hygene so I think I'll have to dump it 
I went to daycare at 1:30pm to fed her. Picked her up at 5:45pm and fed her at 6:30pm (my breasts were engorged as well). She took a bottle in the morning at 10:15 am (3 Oz) and another at 4:30 pm (4 Oz). I've been using Breast Flow bottles and she's doing fine with it and breast  (mommy happy!!! 
So far, the caretaker didn't use any of the frozen bags I've sent since DD is only taking the "fresh" milk.

Candice - as you have suggested, we're using the fresh milk and will top up with the frozen one. I can't say that she's taking 4Oz because this amount is increasing every day as she's getting used to eating from the bottle. 

Shark - my pumping routine: 7 am ish- 4Oz + feeding
                                       10:30 am ish - 4Oz
                                       11:30 pm ish - 4Oz

HTH, hugs to all

Lidia

[shark]

I'm basically pumping full time as my start/end times change a lot and besides, we have latching issues...
My current schedule looks like this
7:30AM   pump 20 min
12:00PM  pump  20min
5:00PM    pump  20min
7:00PM   pump   10-15min
9:00PM  pump    10-15min
3:00AM  pump    20min

I find I have to get up in the middle of the night because it is my most prolific pump (stupid prolactin peaks at 3AM).  I also find if I don't then the AM pump takes 30min or more to empty the breasts and I don't have that kind of time in the morning.
I'm finding I have trouble going from 12-5 without pumping as I get a bit too full and I think this is having a negative impact on my supply as I'm finding the volume of the 5PM pump a little on the low side, especially considering it's been 5hrs since the last pump.  I think Ineed to pump at 3:30-4PM instead, but it's so hard to do when it's so close to the end of the work day...any suggestions?

[clh]

Gosh, Shark!  I didn't realize you were only pumping.  Wow! 
What would happen if you shifted earlier an hour or 2 during the day:
7:30 am
11 am
3 pm
7 pm
9pm (or maybe 10 to make it more even)
3 am
That would get your 2nd pump of the work day away from the end of the day and put you on basically a 4 hour schedule. 

Sorry I have little to offer.  {{hugs}}

[shark]

I guess my thing is that I was trying to disrupt my work day as little as possible by pumping right before starting, at lunch and then after work but it just doesn't seem to be working out that well.  I don't have control of my work-day schedule and can't offer to work through lunch or stay late to compensate based on the nature of my work.  So pumping at 11 kind of sucks cause it's just an hour before lunch, but pumping at 3 may be do-able.  I guess I was just wondering how often other working moms out there pumped and how they incorporated pumping into the work day.

[clh]

Maybe do give it a shot at 12 and then again at 3 before pumping at home at 7.  That would be a 3 hour gap, then a 4 hour gap, as opposed to 5 hr then 2 hr.  I'm blessed for my work to be flexible.  I do know that there are some out there that can't pump at all during the day due to work (teachers?) that manage, but I think they nurse while they're home. 

Are you interested at all in trying to get him back on/working on the latch?  A separate thread for advice and a lactation consultant appointment might help.  Don't know if you've been down that road before...  or if you're content where you are, that's great, too. 

A separate thread about not being able to pump during the day may get you a wider audience than just posting on this thread, too.

[15milner]

Hi Shark

Hugs first and what a great mum you are for pumping exclusively. 

I'm afraid I can offer no ideas as my work situation is extremely difficult to get time and privacy to pump.

How many sessions does it take for you to get enough milk for one day's feeding.  I used to have to pump for 2-3 sessions for just one feed.  Just out of interest, how much milk do you get at each session.

I know we have another member who exlusively pumped but I am not 100% certain who that it - i have pm'd Emma to see if she can remember. 

ditto to what candice has said

I'm sure you have already had lactation consultants to help with the latch - is it something you would like to try again?

Try a separate thread asking for help - you need more input and specific help than that is probably available just on this thread.

alex

[Samuel's mum]

It's 'stacy' who was an exclusive pumper for a long time. She's very helpful.

Shark - I think a separate thread is a good idea as this is an unusual situation. Most working mums have the option of doing natural feeds which benefits their supply.
Exclusive pumpers often end up taking galactalogues - prescription domperidone or fenugreek and blessed thistle from a health food store.
Also consider your pump. They can often get tired after several months of frequent use. What kind are you using?
Definitely breaking up that 5 hour gap would help. Even if you do just 5 mins at 3pm it would help.
At 9pm or 7pm I would go longer if you can. Carry on after milk has finished to send those signals. Sometimes it's beneficial to do 10-15 min and then a 10 min break and then another session to get another letdown.
I'm assuming you have a double-sided pump. Warm compress before and during pump a possibility? Massage during pump?

[shark]

I think flutie is also a full time pumper and I've pm'ed her too.

I get roughly 1-1.5 oz per hour since last pump.  So if it's been 3hrs, I expect 3-4 oz that pump, if it's been 6 hours (like at 3AM) I usually get 6 or 7 oz.  That being said, often by later in the day the ratio is a bit lower.

DS currently eats 6 x 4oz per day, though we're working on redistributing that to make it only 4 or 5 feeds a day and elimante the 2 night feedings.  We're having trouble with that though because he's a spitter upper and I hate to give him more milk than he can handle andf then just watch it all come back up.  It took nearly a month to go from 3 to 4 oz feedings without spitting up large amounts.

In terms of getting baby back to the breast, our problems started right from day 1 and we were seeing 2 really great LCs.  Unfortunately, my nipples were just getting so sore that I had to take some time off BFing to let them heal and I just pumped instead.  Then at 4m he was found to have a small tongue tie.  We had it clipped in hopes it would help improve his latch but I think the damage was done.  I have tried him on the breast many times since (I try for once every 2-3 days) but he's still a nipple muncher.  I am going to try and see the LC again now that it's been a few weeks and he's had time to get used to his new tongue, maybe there's still hope...

[shark]

Oh, I am using a medela pump-in-style advanced pump.  I don't think it's getting too tired yet...

[lidiayy]

Hi Shark,

I just wanted to say that you're brave to be exclusively pumping! with all those difficulties, you must be proud of giving your LO your milk!

Hugs

Lidia