Pumpers unite!

[Puppmom]

Icekid, it'll definitely get easier. Pumping was so stressful for me at first and now it's just part of my routing. I do work an office job though which probably makes a difference.

Do you always work 12 hour shifts? Are you close to home?

 

[drk]

Icekid - I found things got easier over time. I was also lucky that DH was able to stay home with K for the first 3 months after I went back to work. In a way, pumping made me feel closer to her during the day, because it was something I could do for her even while working. The pumping itself was always a hassle, and I never had your level of supply (I made 26-27oz in 24h at my peak), but I hung in there.

LS - congrats on making it to one pump! I'm barely making 16oz a day now, and am finally having to start thawing milk again for K. As I've cut back on the domperidone, things are dwindling quickly. I'm hoping to go to 1 pump a day by next weekend. In a way, it's great that I have a trip to see my brother 5 hours away that first weekend in March, because I'd really like to be done pumping by then to be able to enjoy the visit. It'll be easy enough to take along enough frozen milk for the trip, but it would be so nice not to have the pump. I'll probably take it along just in case I end up engorged and in pain, or have to pump every other day for a little bit.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

drk, this morning, I got only 3 oz total. I think the end is near, most likely this week sometime. I guess I'll do it tomorrow and see what the output is. If tomorrow is the last day, I think I'll keep my pump at home on Thurs, but I kept a hand pump at work in case I forgot the Freestyle and I'll use it to relieve engorgement. Or, perhaps I should keep pumping till the weekend and that way if there's an issue, I can take care of it at home.

It's going to be weird to be done, don't you think?? And using all frozen will take some time getting used to logistically, at least for me.

 

[Puppmom]

I know I'm going to panic when it's time to wean. As soon as my supply dips, I'll be inclined to pump! It's must be so nerve wracking!

So, we found a recipient for my milk! There's a single dad from the Boston area who will be in my area for a conference this weekend. I'll set aside some fresh milk for his little girl over the course of this week that he'll pick up on his way to the conference to feed her over the weekend. On his way back to Boston, he'll pick up the frozen stash. Yay!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Puppmom, that's really great that you found someone to take your milk! That's a wonderful thing you're doing.

Oddly enough, this morning's AM pump yielded 5.5 oz, so I guess I'll take that as a sign to keep at it until it's obvious it's time to stop. Who knows what's going on!

 

[icekid]

So far so good! Unexpectedly, I am consistently pumping more than jumper is eating. It is still draining to feel like it is necessary to rush around every break to pump though. Since he has been sleeping longer at night, I have been pumping at night too. Once it seems comfortable supplywise to stop, I will but it is hard to give up that extra milk i think I understand how the weaning mamas feel already.

Yeast infection is still here! We have stopped 90% of the crazy things that were supposed to get rid of it and it has not flared. How nice. Oh I have blood blisters now, too. They do not seem to hurt, at least.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Geri, How are you doing? Are you seeing a lactation consultant? Have they recommended Fenugreek to help with supply?

DRK, Were you supplementing with formula at all in the beginning? If yes, I'm curious at what point things turned around for you.

My LC gave me a fairly reasonable plan for transitioning from formula to breast milk in our last session, but things have not been going so well. I'm currently feeding about 50% breast milk at this point, which is wonderful, but which doesn't really lessen my feelings of guilt very much with respect to the other 50%. We are also breast feeding more frequently, so perhaps we are at more than 50% now. It is is hard to say. By far, this is the most difficult part of child rearing for me.

 

[drk]

LV - I never supplemented with formula. Just went on high doses of domperidone, fenugreek and blessed thistle, and pumped for 20min after every time I breastfed. Then she'd get the extra that I had pumped from the previous pumping session while the pump was running. We did finger feeding until a little bit after I went back to work, but then transitioned to bottle feeding. And I switched to exclusively pumping shortly after going back to work because it was easier, and she could get fewer bigger bottles of milk a day.
BF/EP was the hardest part of the whole motherhood experience, I'd say.

I'm now down to once a day as of yesterday. Only made 10oz in 24h, which was sad. Hopefully I'll be down to nothing by next weekend when we're going on a road trip to see my brother's family. I bet I'll have to take the pump along just in case, but given how quickly things are dwindling here, I doubt I'll need to use it.

 

[Kunzite]

I'm down to 4 pumps and I only lost about 3 oz in the transition. My schedule is 7:30, 1:30, 7:30, 1:30, which is inconvienent in the evenings. I'd really like to drop down to 3 pumps so I'm not pumping in the middle of the evening (I'd probably do 5:30, 1:30, 9:30) but I'm super paranoid about my supply dropping. I know that's not a logical fear since I pump nearly 50 oz. and we're lucky to get O to eat between 20 - 21 oz a day! So totally not a logical fear but I can't shake it for some reason.

I'm super annoyed with the family I was donating milk to. I asked them to let me know in advance when they wouldn't need milk anymore so I didn't end up with a full freezer and nobody to give it to, but that's exactly what happened! DH emailed them this morning that the freezer is full and they said they were done taking BM because they have enough to get to a year. UMM, what happened to letting me know!? So I have no idea how I'm going to continue storing milk until we can find a new family. So annoyed.

LV - Please don't feel guilty!! You're doing everything you can for S and 50% BM is still great!! Sending you lots of hugs!!

icekid - Sorry about the blisters. I get at least one batch of bloody milk a week. It grosses me out. I'm just so thankful that I can dump it instead of feeding it to O.

pupp - So happy you found a family!!

Logan & drk - So happy to hear that weaning is going well. Do stick around this thread for the rest of us

geri - Have things gotten better?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Kunzite, WOW to 50 oz? That's amazing! And, you developed your supply from pumping exclusively? What's your secret? I hope you find a new family soon. Just think, if only we were neighbors, our problems would be solved! Oh, question -- do you usually pump the same amount at every pump, or does the amount dwindle down during the day? I consistently pump less and less as the day goes on. I assume this is typical. I have another apptmt this week, so I'll mention it. Sigh.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Kunzite, WOW to 50 oz? That's amazing! And, you developed your supply from pumping exclusively? What's your secret? I hope you find a new family soon. Just think, if only we were neighbors, our problems would be solved! Oh, question -- do you usually pump the same amount at every pump, or does the amount dwindle down during the day? I consistently pump less and less as the day goes on. I assume this is typical. I have another apptmt this week, so I'll mention it. Sigh.

Kunzite, "they" say that most women's supply decreases as the day goes on b/c your prolactin levels are highest in the middle of the night. I used to get 12oz for my first pump of the day, then 8oz for the remaining ones, but sometimes the evening pump would be a little less.

 

[AllieLuv83]

I am trying to be 3 bottles ahead at all times. So when I send in 3 bottles to daycare I would like to have the next 3 bottles already pumped. I have started pumping in the car on my way to pick up C.

I have been having troubles with BM at daycare. Charlie will only eat well for ONE teacher. I think he has bonded with her and when she feeds him he will eat all 3 of his 4oz bottles. On Friday she was absent and he only ate 5oz of the 12. The rest they had to throw away because of the 1 hour rule.

I am sick of having my milk wasted and am looking for some advice. I am bringing in extra bottles to daycare so if they see that he is having a day when he will not be eating well I am going to ask them to split the bottles into smaller ones. I don't want to send in small bottles to start because I know he can and does eat 4oz every 3 hours at a time so I don't want him to go to eating 2oz bottles and eating more often. I also want to ask them if they will save the milk for me to take home instead of throwing it out so I can still use it to mix his rice cereal at night.

I am scared that he will only eat for myself, DH and this one teacher because in 2 months he will be transitioning to the 6-12 month classroom and I don't know what he will do in terms of taking bottles I am sorry for the vent. I hope that you guys can give me some advice! The milk is precious to me. I just donated 150oz of milk to a mom in need and felt so good about it but I don't want to pump on my planning/lunch/drive home only to have to dumped.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Allie- how many times will they heat the milk? Sounds like they only heat it once, then toss it if it's not eaten within a hour? My daycare heats twice but if yours won't, then I would at least ask them to save it for you, like you mentioned. Mine sends back any unused portion, assuming it hasn't been heated twice already. I only want my fresh milk heated twice, so if they send back a bottle that's been heated once, I put masking tape on the bottle with a note that says to throw away after the next heating and send that bottle back the next day.

 

[AllieLuv83]

I haven't asked how many times they are heating. I think they offer it to him 2 times w/in that hour. I think they are heating it two times as well. I don't drop him off at daycare in the mornings and by the time I pick him up his lead teacher has gone home and only the assistant teacher is there. We have been having good luck with feeding once we got the temperature on the bottle right. He wasn't eating before because it was too cold. Now all of the sudden it's starting back up again. I will ask them how much they heat it.

 

[turtledazzle]

Kunzite, WOW to 50 oz? That's amazing! And, you developed your supply from pumping exclusively? What's your secret? I hope you find a new family soon. Just think, if only we were neighbors, our problems would be solved! Oh, question -- do you usually pump the same amount at every pump, or does the amount dwindle down during the day? I consistently pump less and less as the day goes on. I assume this is typical. I have another apptmt this week, so I'll mention it. Sigh.

Kunzite, "they" say that most women's supply decreases as the day goes on b/c your prolactin levels are highest in the middle of the night. I used to get 12oz for my first pump of the day, then 8oz for the remaining ones, but sometimes the evening pump would be a little less.

I also get less and less as the day goes on. First thing in the morning (6:30am) I can get the same (or more) from one boob than I do from both combined at my first pumping at work (10:30am). At my second pumping (2:30pm) I get a couple of ounces less than I did at 10:30am.

 

[Kunzite]

Kunzite, WOW to 50 oz? That's amazing! And, you developed your supply from pumping exclusively? What's your secret? I hope you find a new family soon. Just think, if only we were neighbors, our problems would be solved! Oh, question -- do you usually pump the same amount at every pump, or does the amount dwindle down during the day? I consistently pump less and less as the day goes on. I assume this is typical. I have another apptmt this week, so I'll mention it. Sigh.

Yes, just pumping. No secret, I just think my body is a little confused!! Have you considered donated milk? Like the other ladies said, most people get less and less as the day goes on. That's not the case for me at all. I get almost the exact same amount at each pump as long as they're the same amount of time apart. Maybe my body just has a lot of prolactin!!

 

[split_shank]

Hi all!

I kind of dropped off the face of the earth before DS arrived, and I apologize. I have been keeping up with reading, but I never felt like I was 'with it' enough to respond regularly to all of you. I do have a pumping question. I am back to work , DS is 3 1/2 months now, and I am on a pumping/feeding schedule very similar to AllieLuv. He is at daycare for about 3 bottles. I pump two times at work and can get 3+ bottles worth. My sister insists that I should be pumping as many times as he is eating during the day (3x). If I am keeping up, and even getting a little extra for freezing, do I need to be pumping more?

 

[Puppmom]

SS, do you nurse full time on the weekends/days off? If you do and DS seems to be getting enough on those days then I wouldn't sweat it. Pumping three times at work was a challenge for me so I dropped to two. DS only takes two bottles while I'm gone but, in terms of ounces (12), he's probably taking as much as your DS while you're at work and I have no problems.

 

[split_shank]

Pupp, Yes if I am home, he gets me I haven't had a problem keeping up on those days, its just seems for now that I just get more at a time during those 2 pumps instead of a little during 3. I think I'm fine right now, but I just wonder if it will hurt in the future when he demands more total in a day. Hoping the supply/demand things holds true and that I am not 'set' in production from here on out.

 

[turtledazzle]

Hi all!

I kind of dropped off the face of the earth before DS arrived, and I apologize. I have been keeping up with reading, but I never felt like I was 'with it' enough to respond regularly to all of you. I do have a pumping question. I am back to work , DS is 3 1/2 months now, and I am on a pumping/feeding schedule very similar to AllieLuv. He is at daycare for about 3 bottles. I pump two times at work and can get 3+ bottles worth. My sister insists that I should be pumping as many times as he is eating during the day (3x). If I am keeping up, and even getting a little extra for freezing, do I need to be pumping more?

My LC told me that you just need to pump enough to give your LO what he needs. She said for *most* women, that would mean pumping every 2-3 hours when you are away from your LO. However, if you get enough in 2 pumping sessions, then that is fine. I only pump twice while at work. My first week back I tried pumping three times per day -- it was hard to fit in that many sessions and I ended up with too much milk, which just went to my already overloaded freezer stash. I still have leftover milk that goes into the freezer, even with two pumpings, so I think you're fine.

 

[turtledazzle]

Pupp, Yes if I am home, he gets me I haven't had a problem keeping up on those days, its just seems for now that I just get more at a time during those 2 pumps instead of a little during 3. I think I'm fine right now, but I just wonder if it will hurt in the future when he demands more total in a day. Hoping the supply/demand things holds true and that I am not 'set' in production from here on out.

He may not demand more total in a day -- most babies that are exclusively breastfed consume the same number of ounces per day between months 1 and 6. At 6 months, consumption will usually start declining as solids are introduced. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html
If you do find that he starts needing more, you can add in an extra pumping session which should help generate additional milk.

 

[split_shank]

Pupp, Yes if I am home, he gets me I haven't had a problem keeping up on those days, its just seems for now that I just get more at a time during those 2 pumps instead of a little during 3. I think I'm fine right now, but I just wonder if it will hurt in the future when he demands more total in a day. Hoping the supply/demand things holds true and that I am not 'set' in production from here on out.

He may not demand more total in a day -- most babies that are exclusively breastfed consume the same number of ounces per day between months 1 and 6. At 6 months, consumption will usually start declining as solids are introduced. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html
If you do find that he starts needing more, you can add in an extra pumping session which should help generate additional milk.

Thanks for the reassurance!!!!!!

 

[geri]

Thanks to everyone for your advice and support. Unfortunately we resorted to supplementing with formula last week - I just couldn't keep up with the LO with the expressing. So we are doing a combination of breastfeeding, expressing and supplementing with formula. She is probably getting about 50% BM at the moment. It is not ideal but it has taken a load of pressure off me and I feel much better for it.She also seems a bit more regular with feeding and sleeping and DH can do some of the feeding so there are definitely some benefits. My supply has dropped a little but she seems to be feeding much better and the expressing is working better, especially if I do it after she has fed. The hand compressions and massage also helped with the pumping so thanks DRK for the link. I'm not sure we will get back to fully breastfeeding but will keep up the combination for the time being.

LV - I hope things are improving for you. You are doing a great job trying to breastfeed your little one so don't make yourself feel guilty about using formula if you need to. Happy mother, happy baby!

 

[Puppmom]

Geri, I'm so glad you found a system that's working for you! For pumping, you may want to try soft shields. I find I get more output that way. Since using them, I get about 4 ounces more per day.

 

[Loves Vintage]

I'm back to report that things are going really well! I think we turned a corner over the weekend. I started taking Fenugreek last Thurs, and my supply is increasing. Yay!! She is also happier when bf'g, probably because there is more milk. We are still supplementing, but I am now feeling much more confident that I will catch up to her. The dr at the lactation consult practice that I go to said that once your supply starts increasing by a few ozs, it gets easier and easier to increase. In other words, when I was producing 8 oz per day, she said it would be hard to get to 10, but once I got to 10, it'd be easier to get to 12, and once I got to 12, it'd be even easier to get to 14, etc. I am finding this to be the case! I also switched consultants at the practice and really felt a lot more comfortable with the new consultant.

Geri - Good for you for introducing formula. You sound quite relieved. And, yes, there is so much pressure, isn't there!? I was reading on another message board. A mom wrote in, and she was just beside herself because her 3 month old was not gaining weight, had fallen several percentiles, and her pediatrician advised to add formula because she was not producing enough milk. She said that her baby was "acting hungry", but she didn't want to give him formula! And, others on the board supported her and told her to get another pediatrician, one who knows that "breast is best." Whoa! People can become so extreme! Anyway, I'm glad to hear that things are going better and you feel more relaxed.

Kunzite - You know, I hadn't really considered seeking milk from another mom. I am nothing if not tenacious, and I knew that I would make this work, even if it took some time. Where there's a will, there's a way! Have you had any luck in finding another mom to donate to?

 

[Kunzite]

Oh, LV, I hope you didn't think I meant you would give up BFing and use donor milk. I meant had you thougt about supplementing with donor milk! I did find a new family (or I should say dh did). There is a mom that is only a mile from us and her son wasn't gaining weight so her pedi said she should supplement. So instead of using formula she's going to add in BM. I hope my milk is nice and fatty for her!!

 

[Kunzite]

Yahoo! I did it, I'm down to 3 pumps a day! It's so nice to not get up in the middle of the night although it means I have to get out of bed 45 minutes earlier in the morning. So my amount of sleep hasn't changed it's just all at once. The best part is that I only have to pump once at work. The down side is that I got some really nasty milk blisters. I've had bloody milk on and off for about four days now So gross!! They're healing a lot slower than usual too. I hope this isn't going to be recurrent.

How is everyone else doing? LV, ice?

 

[Lanie]

I'm down to 3-4 a day too. I was doing 4 a day since back at work, and it is nice not having to wake up for the MOTN one! I only did 3 pumps yesterday by accident, and my boobs hurt so bad. My left boob can only get about an ounce, maybe 2 and the right fills up the 6.5 pretty much every time so I stop once it gets there. I'm starting into my freezer stash. Wonder long it will last?

I must say that bfeeding is WAY WAY easier now than it was in the beg. He doesn't attack my nipples like before and he's so much faster at it!

 

[Puppmom]

Isn't it great how efficient they become? N can nurse both side in NO time. Early, it could take up to an HOUR. Fortunately, he's never been a frequent nurser. Even as a newborn, he nursed 5-7 times per day as opposed to the 8-12 average.

I'm building a freezer stash again but will probably donate it. It's weird, now that I know that my milk could feed someone else's baby, I 'm way more diligent about pulling it from the fridge and freezing it in a timely manner. I donated 2.5 weeks ago and I've already got about 120oz frozen. As N starts taking more and more solids, I imagine my supply will dip slightly - or maybe not since I pump during the day. Right now, I'm pumping between 22-28 oz per day and N eats 12oz from the bottle. Then, on the weekends, I pump one side in the am and get 7-10oz and he doesn't get the bottle at all on the weekend.

...oh, and yay about dropping the MOTN pumping! I was never that diligent!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Kunzite, Thanks for asking! I thought we had turned a corner last week, but it seems we've reached another roadblock. I'm still pumping away. The good news is that I'm now pumping 2X as much as when I started posting in this thread. The bad news is that it's still not enough. I'm pumping more than 50% of her intake, and we were breastfeeding a lot more, but now she is getting very upset again when at the breast sooooo I am pumping more, taking fenugreek, milk thistle and drinking goat's rue tea and raspberry leaf tea. Going to pump again now!