Monday, May 16, 2011

Burning Question #8

Obviously I suck at this feature... it has been on hiatus, ok?  For this one I am just asking more for advice and life experiences. 

I am breastfeeding Owen and it is going well.  Better than it did with Lola (I dried up at 5 months :(  ) But he is getting so big and eating tons and I can't keep up with him so we supplement him with formula.  We have tried rice cereal and he hates it.  So we are going to give it another go soon and see how that goes but my question is:

Were you able to keep up with your babies appetite as they started eating more?  Other things that I think may factor in are the fact that I work so 3 days a week I have to pump at work and the fact that he sleeps through the night now.  Could it be that since I am pumping, at work, my milk has not increased?  Could not feeding or pumping through the night affect it?  What do you ladies think and what are/were your breastfeeding experiences like?

Pumping at work... the story of my life.
UPDATED- I have had a few questions asked so here are the answers.  I pump every 3 hours at work and I work 10 hour days so I pump 3 times most days.  Unless I am way busy then sometimes it is 2.  Also I am not having a dip in production, it just hasn't increased as he has gained a bigger appetite.  We are talking from 5 to 8oz's!  I do have mother's milk tea and an herbal supplement to help with production but I haven't resorted to those yet :)

9 comments:

  1. Here is my experience with breast feeding my babies. With my first I dried up at about 7 months so we went to formula. I think it was the stress of my hubby changing jobs and us selling our house. With my second I was able to bf for the full year. He was 2.5 lbs. bigger than my first and LOVED to nurse. I didn't think I would be able to keep up with his appetite. Sometimes he was eating every hour to hour and a half. I would suggest keep pumping every 2 hours, especially during the day. Even if you are home with him, pump or nurse every 2 hours. A lactation consultant told me that as long as your nipples are getting that sucking stimulation your milk will keep producing. Good luck, and keep up the good work mama! I love that you are willing to pump at work...so good for that baby!!

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  2. I totally feel like once I stopped pumping at night that my milk production slowed WAY down. I do have some supplements for you thought. Remind me to give it to you the next time we get together. Are we getting together next week? Anyway, Scarlet has always hated rice so I add it to her bottles and she doesn't even notice. I just had to snip the nipples a little so it would come out. We have always had to fortify her bottles since she has been so little. Neosure has more calories if you want a higher calorie formula to hold him over a little longer. Anyway, I'll talk to you soon!

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  3. How often do you pump at work? Maybe you could pump a little more frequently? Ahnika sleeps through the night so I've been pumping right before I go to bed so that I don't go quite as long with out feeding.

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  4. You have to love pumping at work! One time I was pumping and the only man in our office walked in! It was about that time I stopped! I work 10 hour days, so I wasn't pumping enough to really keep producing much so I did supplement with formula. It didn't last long (4 months). I felt really bad about it but there wasn't much I could do. Don't be too hard on yourself!!

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  5. Obviously, I have very little experience in this but I'm going to follow this to see what is said. But what has been said so far makes me nervous for whats to come. Perhaps I should start pumping more often...especially at nights

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  6. I pumped with Ruth and I saw a vast difference in my output when I didn't pump during the night.

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  7. Make sure you drink a TON of water. Also, I took Fennu Greek capsules that seemed to help increase milk production. You may want to add an extra feeding in while you're home & an extra pumping session when you're at work. Your body will make less when your baby sleeps through the night.

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  8. I went back to work at 6 weeks. I work 12-hour shifts (2-3 a week) so I was pumping about 4 times at work. It was hard to be consistent, find the time on busy nights, and sometimes keep up with what Sophie was eating. I made it through, we got to twelve months, barely, and despite lots of challenges and emotions, it was well worth it and if Sophie would have nursed longer I would still be nursing now! I am a huge breastfeeding advocate in my own life and at work.

    Now your questions:
    I pump every 3 hours at work and I work 10 hour days so I pump 3 times most days. Unless I am way busy then sometimes it is 2. Also I am not having a dip in production, it just hasn't increased as he has gained a bigger appetite. We are talking from 5 to 8oz's! I do have mother's milk tea and an herbal supplement to help with production but I haven't resorted to those yet :)

    The great thing about your body is it will make milk based on supply and demand. It's always hard to know how much Owen is getting and how much milk you're making, but sometimes you just have to not stress about it. Try to add in a pump sometime: wether it's an extra pump at work, a pump before you go to bed, or an early morning pump. That might give you a chance to build a freezer stash to use for these growth spurts.

    Also, know that no pump will ever be effective as baby. So at work, even though you might feel like you don't have the time, you need to pump at least 3-5 minutes after the last few drops. If possible, some days try to pump a little sooner too.

    There are simple things that increase milk: whole wheat, oatmeal, drinking lots of water. You can also take fenugreek capsules, drink that nasty tea, or if you feel like you need something stronger you can get a prescription for domperidone or reglan.

    A website I TOTALLY recommend you spend some time looking through is kellymom.com. It is great, lots of great info from a smart lady. It's lots lots of general info about breastfeeding, troubleshooting, and some different calculators and graphs. Also, don't be afraid to call the lactation consultant at ORMC. This is their job and they are very dedicated and may have some advice to offer.

    Good job for giving Owen the best! That's great that you've made it this long - he's gotten the most important part. He is a big, happy, healthy baby, and you're body does know what to do so don't stress too much about it all!

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  9. Also, please please please don't add rice cereal to his bottle. That is a huge aspiration risk and totally not worth it. We've had several babies in the last two years admitted with pneumonia from this!

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