Seeking Helpful Advise on Breastfeeding

P.,

I breast fed my daughter for 6 months, and went back to work when she was 6 weeks old. I'd be happy to help in any way I can. :-) You can also email me at ____@____.com

I'm more than willing to help, I've been breastfeeding for the last eight months and working since my daughter was 8 weeks old. I'm in the military (getting out soon) and my husband is stationed in Georgia so I've been doing the single parent thing and maintaining breastfeeding too. I only have a cat, but I love ALL animals because I grew up on a farm in NY. Yes, there are farms in NY, I lived in western NY. My daughter's name is Maia Ann, she was born on 15 Dec 2005. If you need anything please feel free to e-mail or call, my phone number is ###-###-####, e-mail is ____@____.com H.

try here :)http://www.lalecheleague.org/vbulletin/index.php and there is a local LLL chapter also! :) best of luck

ETA: I didn't see all the other responses before lol glad you got help :)

P., Congratulations! I think it is wonderful that you are breastfeeding! I nursed all four of mine, with the last two being twins. Ultimately I had to express for both my first and last pregnancies. It was a challenge, but worth every moment. With my oldest I learned to hand express because I was going to school and the machines made way too much noise , not to mention took longer (after I got the hang of it). With the twins, I expressed out of necessity. I don't care what they say, I could not nurse both at once! I could however, bottle one and nurse the other. For this one, I rented a machine which made a huge difference. Regardless, if this is what you want, you will find a way. Good luck, and God Bless!

I would love to answer any questions you have! I breastfed my oldest for over a year and am still breastfeeding my baby now. With low supply the best way to know is by diaper count and weight gain. Is you child having enough wet/pooy diapers? Is she gaining weight and thriving? If the answer is yes then low supply is not a problem. A lot of mothers think their supply is low because 1) the baby is having a growth spurt and needs to eat more often, 2) milk levels have finaly evened out and there is no more full feeling, or 3) baby seems fussier after eating. None of these things means a drop in supply, and the worst thign you could do would be to suppliment feedings. Milk works in a supply and demand ratio, if you suppliment feedings with fourmula then your breasts will assume that they don't need to make as much. It will truely cut your supply down. Nursing more often, pumping in between, and allowing your child to just be at the breast will stimulate milk production and help to increase supply.

Feel free to email me with any questions reguarding breastfeeding. ____@____.com

Hi P.. I'm not a lactation consultant, but I did take a class on it and breastfeed both my children. If there is anything I can do to help and answer questions let me know. You can email me at ____@____.com first thing you're going to need is a good pump. I recommend the Medela pumps. Any of those cheapies like you get at Walmart or Target won't last you. The motor burns out easily.

I would encourage you to contact a lactation specialist. I know of one personally who helped me with my breast feeding issues. She is the outpatient lactation consultant at St. Johns Hospital in Springfield. I am sure she would be happy to talk with you over the phone or meet with you if needed. She is very experienced.

Her info is as follows:
Sheila Peters, RN, BSN, IBCLC
St. John's Outpatient Lactation Coordinator
phone ###-###-####

In order to help your stress level you need to have a supply of milk on hand in the freezer, so that you don't feel so stressed out about milk supply. Over the next two weeks, in the morning when your milk supply is greatest feed the baby on one side and pump on the other. If this doesn't work out. Feed the baby and then pump an hour or so later, so that you are pumping in between feedings. Do this in the morning, not afternoon or evening. Your body will also start to produce more milk from doing this. When you go back to work, set a time that you will pump. I pumped everday at 10 and 2. You need to have a quality dual breast pump. If you don't have one yet let me know. I have the pump you would just need to purchase the attachments. Feed the baby on demand at home in the evenings and weekends. You may find on Monday mornings that you have more milk this is fine more to freeze. The number one piece of advice that I can give is try not to stress yourself out. Stress is a milk killer. If you have any questions or need any advice please email me I have done this 3 times and would be more than happy to answer questions in order to see a mom be able to continue nursing. Also, it may seem like a lot of work to get up and feed the baby after you return to work remember that it takes a lot more time to heat up a bottle:)

Ask away! I went back to work part time after my 1st son was born and I pumped. I did eventually decide to stay home with my kids after now having 2 more and I have been very successful with breastfeeding. 16 months, 15 months, and so far 19.5 months respectively is how long I have nursed each of my children. I stopped nursing for my older kids about halfway or more than halfway through my next pregnancy.

Don't judge your supply by how much you can pump. If your baby is gaining, then your supply is fine. Fenugreek and Blessed thistle are wonderful supplements for amping up the supply. I was always able to take my supplements, wake up the next day and nurse my son and pump a bottle worth. Then at work I was always able to pump 2-4 bottles per day.

Good luck!

B. :)

hello, please feel free to email me any time,
I rturned back to wrk when my daughter was 12 weeks old and she only got breast milk, The first thing is to start increasing your milk supply now, and dring lots of water,
Do you have a good pump?
B.
____@____.com

I suggest calling Kangaroo Kids. They have a breast feeding consultant and I have had to call them several times and each time have found them to be very helpful. They also can put you in touch with someone who can come to your house for a fee. However, if you are able to go to the breast feeding support group that meets at 12:00 on Thursdays, I would recommend that. The breast feeding consultant is there to answer your questions and you get to meet other moms and their babies. They are good people at Kangaroo Kids. I don't think I would have made it through without them. I have been back at work now for 3 months, my son is 6 months, and I just called them two weeks ago because i had a few questions and I also wanted their opinion on something. The number is ###-###-####. I actually have it entered into my cell phone contacts.

I am a certified breastfeeding peer counselor through La Leche League.I have breastfed my four children and am a birth and postpartum doula.Any help I can be just let me know.

My son was breastfed for a year and the last 5 months I had major supply problems. I also work part time.

#1 you want to make sure you have a good breastpump. Don't judge your supply by how much you can pump, the pump does not do as well as your baby does. However, a better pump or a different style might give you better results. Definitely make sure it's a double electric to save you time. You can even get good at doing it hands free so you can work or read or eat or whatever you want at the same time.

#2 for supply...I ate oatmeal every day and I took a supplement from the healthfood store, fenugreek.

#3 I would pump as often as you would nurse if at all possible.

#4 Since I did have supply issues those last months, DS did have formula. I felt bad about it at first, but the thing is...it doesn't have to be all or nothing. That's what formula is there for anyway.

Hey P.-
I have a 9 month old and went back to work after 3 months. I pumped twice a day at work. I'd be happy to talk with you about pumping and milk supply. Feel free to call me at home ###-###-####. As for your milk supply-make sure you are drinking lots of water and reduce the caffeine as much as possible. (I know that's hard being as you are so sleep deprived!) One other thing that I started to do was give my daughter a bottle of Infamil at night. I would pump at night and use the bottle the next day. The formula seemed to help her get to 6-8 hour sleep stretches. Again, feel free to call me! ~D.

Hi P.,

I'm actually pumping at work right now! I have a seven-month-old boy and I also successfully pumped for 13 months with my first. My first advice is to get a hands-free bra - I have a Self-Expressions Bustier hands-free bra that zips on, you don't have to take off your nursing bra or change clothes. This way you're free to read, type, talk on the phone etc. I find that I pump more when I'm relaxed & doing other things. Keeping something nearby that reminds you of your baby is great too. I look at online photos often when I pump.

Do you have a good double electric pump? I sure hope so.

Also, it's really easy to think that you have supply issues between 6-12 weeks. That's because of a few things - first of all, your supply is regulating and you're probably not experiencing as much engorgement & leaking. This is NOT an indicator of low supply, it's just that your body is getting the hang of things. Also, the 6-week growth spurt (give or take a week or two) is a doozie. She needs to nurse like crazy for several days in order to do all that growing. Your supply will increase with her demand so avoid supplementing, you need that stimulation!!! And beware, they have another spurt around 3 or 4 months of age.

Here are a few links at my favorite website, kellymom.com - this is the BEST breastfeeding site on the web:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index.html

Last of all, feel free to call me anytime - and anyone else who needs nursing help - at ###-###-####.

C.

Hi P.!

Feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions or just need support. My little one is two now and it was rough when I went back to work and had to pump when she was 8 weeks. I'm also going to school for my BSN as well as working on becoming a Lactation Consultant so I do have current info if you need it. Another excellent resource is the Beyond the Basics breastfeeding class at MO Baptist. They go over all the basics of pumping and going back to work. :)

T.
____@____.com

I didn't breastfeed either of my girls but my sister nursed both of her kids for 12mo while pumping and working full time. She took a cooler to work with her to put the milk in after she pumped and froze it when she got home to send to the daycare. She nursed at home to keep her supply up, she also bought a really good pump that her local la leche league had recommended it was about $200 but she said well worth the money and a lot less than formula would have been for a year. Good Luck

Hi!

I would be happy to help. I went back to work at 5 weeks with both kids and pumped all the way. They breastfed until 2 and 2.5, respectively.

The best thing you can do right now is nurse and pump A LOT! You want to get your supply as high as possible before you to work (because it will decrease some when you are at work).

You can email me your specific questions at ____@____.com remember, you can do this! I decided that I was going to make it work, and I did. It was hard, inconvenient at times, but also wonderful. My kids are so healthy. Not one ear infection their whole life.

Anyway, best of luck. And I'll wait to hear from you.

-M.

hey P.. congrats on continuing breastfeeding...even if it is pumping. i went back after only 1 week so i went through alot of struggles. please email me directly at ____@____.com with questions or concerns. i'd love to correspond with you.

"Pumping Breastmilk Successfully" by Susan Stafford

Two fantastic LLL leaders I know
Kayl ###-###-####
Tiffany ###-###-####

P.,

I understand your concerns about breastfeeding and going back to work! I went back to work with my first born when he was three months old (now 8 yrs old!) and I remember some of the struggles I went through with nursing. If you have a lunch break and are able to be with your baby to nurse, that would be ideal. As for the pumping and supplying enough milk for the baby, what I did is I brought the pump to work and pumped in the bathroom. I then labeled the breast milk and put it in the freezer at work (I had a nice female boss who allowed me 15 minute breaks twice a day between my lunch break (the legal standard)to do this. I always had enough milk supply though (too much!). Try to pump as much milk as you can now and freeze them in plastic disposable bottles in your freezer. If your milk supply is lacking and you fear you won't have enough to give to your infant, you can supplement with formula or rice milk. In the meantime, I would start to give her an occasional bottle so she will become somewhat used to it.

Have you seen a lactatation consultant? Usually you can find one at a birthing center or L&D hospital (there's one at Lakeside Women's Hospital). I just gave birth to my 4th child on June 8th so our babies are about the same age! Good luck with everything! You can do it!
R. White, Okc

I would love to help with your questions in anyway. I've breastfed both of my children and will the third as well...just let me know.

A.

You should get in touch with a Lactation Consultant from the hospital where you gave birth. They will answer all your questions anytime. Also you can go on the La Leche League web site. www.lalecheleague.org They have tons of information on every breastfeeding question you could possibly have.

I went back to work 6 weeks after having my son. I pumped at work for 4-5 mo., but continued to breastfeed him up to his 1st birthday. I admire you. Let me know if you'd like to talk more.

pumping from work can be tough....but worth it! As far as your milk supply, mine did the same thing, and it was because I wasn't eating enough calories...I just wasn't really that hungry. so, I upped my calories with more whole grain type breads and protein, and it worked for me...also, when you are pumping...pump for the same amount of time that you would normally breastfeed on each side (like 10 minutes or whatever). Hope that helps.

The only suggestion I can make is do what works out best for you. I hear from people to drink extra water to keep up your supply, but that doesn't work for everyone.

My sister stopped breastfeeding when she went back to work and switched over to formula, because she truly didn't want to mess with pumping at work. She found it to be a big hassle, and it took her away from getting anything done. Her child had no problem with the switch, as long as you stick to one brand and don't switch back and forth between brands. We both used Enfamil. Similac is also a very good brand too.

The trick is, do what works out best for you, and don't let anyone make you feel guilty, or like you are not being the best mom you can be. That's ridiculous! Motherhood is stressful enough without people judging us.

Our children have turned out healthy, strong, smart and happy!

Good luck to you!

The best advice I can give you it to invest in a quality pump. Practice using the pump before you return to work to get comfortable. My pump is an Ameda electric double pump that I purchased from breastpumps4less.com. I have been very satisfied. You should also plan to pump at least twice during the day at work - more if necessary.

I'm happy to try to answer any of your questions. I also have pumped while working. It's well worth the effort!!

Hi P.,

I saw your posting and just wanted to let you know that if you need to talk to someone about breastfeeding I would love you help as best as possible. I also had to go back to work about 6 weeks after having my daugter and the only way i could breastfeed her was by pumping. It takes a lot of time and work but it is worth every it. I was able to breastfeed her until she was about 16 months. my email is ____@____.com

thanks
N.

** i am 23, married, we moved to lenexa a little over a year ago and i have a 23 month old daughter (Teagan) and a baby boy on the way

I have 2 children one year apart, work full-time and breast fed both. I'd be happy to help in any way!

J.

Feel free to contact me any time. I breast fed two children while working full time. Personally, I would start pumping from the breast that you little one isn't nursing on. This way you'll not only have breast milk stored for her when you go back to work, but you'll increase your supply which can decrease when you go back to work. Other than that, make sure you drink plenty of water while at work, and pump at all breaks. It's a little awkward at first, but pretty soon you can eat your lunch, read a book and double pump all at once! Even the feeling of being a dairy cow goes away : ),,,,sort of.