Going Back to Work/Ack

That is so great that your little boy will be with family! Starting out pumping that much is probably a good idea. I didn't have a problem with supply, though, so I didn't do a lot of research about pumping. You might not want to jump to "scheduling" him right away to minimize the chance of it affecting your supply -- in other words, try to nurse at home as much as possible. I think a lot of moms' supply gets compromised when they return to work because they don't end up nursing much at night and the pump just isn't as efficient as a human baby. I continued to nurse at night when I went back to work, as hard as it was, but he slept in the same room with us, and with us, so I barely woke up. Also, most "cry it out" people don't recommend doing it before they are 4 months old, and some a year, so that's something to keep in mind. However, having a colicky baby sounds so hard, so I feel for you! Have you tried Happiest Baby on the Block suggestions for the fussiness?

Wow, that's soon to jump back into work -- but it's great to keep breastfeeding. It's wonderful for the baby and it's so good for the mom too, especially when you're away from him for awhile. I'm a mom of 3 kids --ages 9, 7 and 3 and also a teacher. I stayed home for the first 3 months with my oldest, then went back to work for a year, and finally quit. I've been home ever since. I remember trying to pump in the staff room, in the supply closet, wherever I could. I never was able to pump much, and my daughter seemed to do fine with the formula the sitter gave her. I nursed her as soon as I picked her up and throughout the night (my first two didn't sleep through the night until they were 2 years old -- my third I sleep trained and she slept through at 6 months. I highly recommend sleep training -- mothers need their sleep and sanity too -- all in all, it's better for the child to have a well rested mom.) My main point is to try sleep training (later, when he's a bit older) and don't stress about the pumping. All of my kids went back and forth from formula to breast without a problem. The nipple hype is exaggerated... just keept trying. and number one rule, relax. Kids and babies are incredibly sensitive, they pick up on our moods so quickly and they just react to us. The more relaxed you are, the happier the baby is. Good luck!!

Hello, first of all I want to compliment you on pumping when you return back to work. Great Job! Breast milk is so important! Secondly, I want to remind that even though your sleep is very valuable, this too shall pass and your baby won't be a baby forever so hang in there. I have found that co-slpeeing really helps the sleep issue. I sleep with my son, so when he wakes and needs changed or is hungry I don't have to get up. Just roll onto my side and we can both fall asleep while he nurses. I barely know I was awake.

Also, you are so lucky that you have family coming to be with your son!!!!

I don't know how to keep him full but I do know that Dr. Sears, a very well respected pediatrition and author of several baby books has a web page where you can diretly ask him questions. I highly recomend checking it out.
The website is
www.askdrsears.com

Keep up the good work, you're doing great!

It's really OK & normal for a newborn baby to want to wake & nurse that often! When he's older (maybe 6 months, maybe older), you can worry about his sleep, but for now, let him tell you what he needs.

It's tough that you have to go back to work so soon, but great that you're committed to breastfeeding! It's often hard to keep up your milk supply when you're working--it's easy to skip a pumping, and since pumping stimulates the breast less than your baby does when he nurses, before you know it your supply has gone down. This happened to me when I went back to work.

I've been told that we produce more milk at night so it would be important to nurse on demand at night. Since I've been doing that, my milk has been plentiful, even during the day. Other things that can reduce your milk supply are stress, including lack of sleep. Many moms find that co-sleeping and nursing on demand give them more sleep and I just read a study in a nursing journal that verified that; and I find that has been true for me, at least. Even hauling baby out of the co-sleeper and putting him back was more than I wanted to do, much less struggling with any kind of sleep-training.

BUT, some people swear by sleep-training; you might give it a try. Get some books on it--there are many--because there are a lot of variations on the theme. We learned a lot from The No-Cry Sleep Solution and Sleeping Through the Night. But our baby is 7 months old. I wouldn't have tried this before 4 months.

Our kid loves to eat and we never had a problem with the bottle. But, this was our midwife's advice about bottle-feeding: if your baby has a pacifier he likes, find a bottle with a nipple that is most like the pacifier. If not, get several of the ones marketed for newborns and see if he likes one. It sounds like the baby wants to nurse for comfort and closeness to you as much as for nutrition. Be sure that your baby can't see, hear or smell you when your husband gives him the bottle--go out for coffee! It might also help to have a lovey--a blanket or something that he can hold that you've slept with for a few nights so that it smells like you; even t-shirt you've worn will do. It will help him sleep too.

If it does end up that your milk goes down, try to nurse as much as you can, because he'll get good immunities from your milk, and after having been apart for many hours the closeness of nursing will probably be nice for you both. But don't stress too much if you have to supplement or even substitute with formula--lots of kids are fine with it. But I hope you're able to breastfeed as long as you want! Good luck!