Post by erinshelley21 on Feb 23, 2017 20:11:08 GMT -5
cosmicav going back to work early does create challenges with bf'ing. I went back part time at about 5 weeks with DS and our nursing relationship was not good. He actually didn't nurse at all. I pumped exclusively for 2 months and we would attempt nursing in the evenings and on the weekends but still heavily relied on the bottle. We eventually figured nursing out.
Bf'ing while going back to work early is difficult. It can be done but it's tough.
kristhegirl I would keep some for your freezer for all the things breast milk is a remedy for, like clogged tear ducts.
This is true, it's great baby medicine.
I totally forgot about Human Milk For Human Babies, guys, thank you.
One thing to consider is if you have a hospital that has a donation program nearby, your milk will go to "medically needy" babies. Some people obviously won't have a preference but I knew a woman who had a ton extra and said she preferred the hospital route for that reason and I had never thought about it like that before (BM can help avoid really serious GI complications in preemies)
I don't know how I won't introduce a bottle early on with having to return to work after 6-7 weeks. :/ I want to breastfeed but I feel that this shit ass maternity leave is going to screw up my plans. I mean we will see if I even can do it in the first place (since I couldn't with #1) but I feel like the odds are not in my favor with this.
I'm sorry you have such a short leave. FWIW, I went back to work at 7 weeks with DS and had no problem BF. I introduced the bottle early and it was fine - he switched between the two without issue. I did end up combo-feeding after awhile because I didn't respond well to the pump and he was eating a crap ton at DC, but I continued to BF when I was home. Just to give you some hope that a short leave doesn't automatically mean you won't be able to BF.
I don't know how I won't introduce a bottle early on with having to return to work after 6-7 weeks. :/ I want to breastfeed but I feel that this shit ass maternity leave is going to screw up my plans. I mean we will see if I even can do it in the first place (since I couldn't with #1) but I feel like the odds are not in my favor with this.
I'm sorry you have such a short leave. FWIW, I went back to work at 7 weeks with DS and had no problem BF. I introduced the bottle early and it was fine - he switched between the two without issue. I did end up combo-feeding after awhile because I didn't respond well to the pump and he was eating a crap ton at DC, but I continued to BF when I was home. Just to give you some hope that a short leave doesn't automatically mean you won't be able to BF.
I totally forgot about Human Milk For Human Babies, guys, thank you.
One thing to consider is if you have a hospital that has a donation program nearby, your milk will go to "medically needy" babies. Some people obviously won't have a preference but I knew a woman who had a ton extra and said she preferred the hospital route for that reason and I had never thought about it like that before (BM can help avoid really serious GI complications in preemies)
I don't think they'd take my milk, though. I have no qualms with an alcoholic beverage in the evening, but most official programs want no drinking.
My milk still hasn't come in, I'm hoping it will be here soon. Today's pumping session brought some liquid stuff in so hopefully that means my colostrum is turning to milk soon.
After seeing 2 LC'S and a nurse midwife in the hospital, we got on a baby to breast, formula suppliment via bottle and pumping schedule. It's very tiring to do all three at every feed but I hope it works.
I need some words of encouragement - does this plan seem "right"?
For STM c-section births, how long until your milk came? Did pumping at every feed for stimulation help it come sooner?
Post by kristhegirl on Feb 25, 2017 10:28:21 GMT -5
mikaela20 that sounds like a good plan with good support - it also sounds like a short-term plan, so at least you aren't looking at such a process forever and always.
Do they have any ideas where the "problem" might be? By that I mean very common things like maybe the baby has a tongue or lip tie or just a lazy latch, or you have flat nipples, etc etc etc. I always wonder about those kinds of things because according to official studies it's very rare to have supply issues, but based on people I've known in person and on the boards, it's a lot more common than the research suggests.
YOU are doing everything right and feeding your baby. I'm asking questions out of curiosity. Liquid at pumping is a great sign!! My milk took a solid five days to come in with my first and I panicked on day four, but all was well in the end.
mikaela20, I'm sorry things are getting difficult, but you can do it! I forget, how many days post-partum are you? I know a lot of LC's recommend the "triple" schedule, and I know it can be very difficult and exhausting. I am about to say something that goes against what some LCs say. I'm a bit hesitant to say it, and you should probably take it with a grain of salt. If you are still only a couple days post-partum, the amount of pumping you get in does not correlate well with milk coming in or supply according to the (somewhat limited) research on the topic (the supply/demand relationship only starts after your milk comes in - called lactogenesis II). If it is working for you, then by all means keep at it, but if you are exhausted and something needs to go over the next couple days before milk comes in, that would be the first thing I would decrease if it were me. Once milk starts coming in, supply/demand becomes more important.
I hope that your milk just comes in soon (and seeing some milk when pumping is a good sign!) and you don't have to worry about it any longer
Post by erinshelley21 on Feb 25, 2017 10:47:21 GMT -5
mikaela20 that sounds like pretty standard game plan. Very similar to what I did. Are you still doing skin to skin? That will help encourage your milk to come in.
mikaela20 that sounds like a good plan with good support - it also sounds like a short-term plan, so at least you aren't looking at such a process forever and always.
Do they have any ideas where the "problem" might be? By that I mean very common things like maybe the baby has a tongue or lip tie or just a lazy latch, or you have flat nipples, etc etc etc. I always wonder about those kinds of things because according to official studies it's very rare to have supply issues, but based on people I've known in person and on the boards, it's a lot more common than the research suggests.
YOU are doing everything right and feeding your baby. I'm asking questions out of curiosity. Liquid at pumping is a great sign!! My milk took a solid five days to come in with my first and I panicked on day four, but all was well in the end.
I definitely agree that supply issues can be a lot more common than is quoted by the research (of which there isn't a lot unfortunately)! If there are still issues once milk comes in, I think it's especially important to figure that out. Hopefully it's just early, (delayed milk onset is very common in FTM - up to 44%!), and your milk comes in soon mikaela20!
mikaela20 I didn't have a c-section but my milk still took 4 (5? it's a bit blurry) days to come in. Your feed/pump/supplement plan sounds very similar to what my MWs had me doing as DS had dropped more than 10% of his weight. Anecdotally, we only needed to do all 3 twice as my milk came in a few hours later. Fingers crossed your milk will come in soon. You're doing great!
I've been exclusively pumping, and supplementing with formula as needed. (Didn't have much of an option since she was in the NICU) I tried BF a couple times, and don't like it. I've decided to exclusively pump. She's a little nugget and I like knowing exactly what she has eaten, and I honestly, I found BF totally uncomfortable and stressful. (I felt like I was going to drop her!)
Day 3 today, and I finally started pumping enough for the nurses to not need to supplement.
moutonrouge, I would maybe hold off. Some people leak a lot, some people don't leak at all. Even in the early weeks when my supply was regulating I barely needed nursing pads and only leaked through anything once.
. - FWIW, I had the same idea before DS. I had no desire to BF (I was legit freaked out by it) and wanted to exclusively pump but promised myself I'd give it a try. BF ended up being really easy and natural and not weird at all. And I ended up hated pumping with a fiery passion lol. It was so much freaking work and my body didn't respond well to it at all.
I only say that to say maybe keep an open mind because you may be surprised at how you feel in the moment. Of course in the end, as long as your baby is fed, any and all methods are fine.
caer, I am open to keeping my mind open to exclusively formula feeding, but with my anxiety I cannot do BF. I need to know how much food baby is getting or else I will obsess about it, which isn't good for me mentally. I wish I could, but it's one of those things that will bug me no matter what. While I am planning on going back on anxiety meds after birth, the one that works best for me still lets one compulsion thought through and I can pretty much guarantee it will be about not knowing how much I am feeding her and if it's too much/not enough. Plus, it's important to H that we introduce a bottle immediately.
That being said, I've already decided that if pumping works, I'll keep at it til it gets annoying, whether that happens when I go back to work in August or at another time. If it sucks a ton, I'll switch to all formula right away.
My wife felt the same way but felt pressured to BF and did it for too long (it was not good). I'm glad you can make the decision that is best for you!
. - also, I didnt intend to scare you about pumping. It didn't work for me but for lots of people, it's NBD. My SIL exclusively pumped for 15 months and there were lots of people on my other BMB who did it for a long time with no issue!
And just to be clear, I have zero problem or interest in how anyone feeds their kiddo. I was just trying to give some hope about BF if it was simply nervousness like I had my first go around. I am definitely in the "fed is best" camp.
Post by kristhegirl on Feb 25, 2017 20:42:23 GMT -5
. I love that you're making the decision that's best for you. I think it was cosmicav who said a few weeks ago, "formula is a miracle." I love breastfeeding and want everyone who wants to, to be able to; of you don't want to, don't!
The weird-ass double pressure about feeding babies is so dumb. If you breastfeed you better not do it in public and isn't that selfish that no one else can feed the baby?? If you formula feed people expect that you at least "tried breastfeeding," and isn't that selfish to want freedom from your baby?? I hate it.
I hope pumping works for you since you want to do it. If it doesn't, formula is a miracle.
. I'm also FF. I struggle with my mental health, and I'm incredibly thankful for formula. If pumping doesn't work for you and even if your LO never gets breastmilk it's completely fine. My DS is a picture of health and had only formula for the first six months.
. I'm doing it bc I find it easiest. I never was BF or bust, so I was fine with the supplementing from the beginning bc it was best for the baby. (Out of curiosity as a FTM whose baby is in the NICU- what exactly do exclusively breastfed babies EAT the first couple days? I've been told I'm having excellent production, and there was not nearly even close to the 30 ml she needed per feeding?)
She doesn't seem to care whether it's breastmilk or formula. I love knowing exactly what she is getting even though I never considered that before her birth. I also am able to bond with her more when I'm not awkwardly holding her and trying to maneuver my nipple. And H is loving feeding her...
You'll also be happy to know that every nurse Ive had this hospital has been super supportive of that decision- with the exception of 1.
You will figure out what is best for you guys! I literally had no clue what I was doing, and found something that works well.
Post by kristhegirl on Feb 25, 2017 21:39:42 GMT -5
glb30 this is only my experience, but Max was on a glucose drip in his IV for the first few days. I was pumping to get my milk to come in, but really mostly hand-expressing the colostrum into tiny syringes that they could give him by mouth. That started the second day, I think, that I got even the tiniest bit they could actually give him.
He was on a vapotherm with a line into his stomach to vent the air so he couldn't nurse or take a bottle until around day 3 - he got the syringes of colostrum and the glucose until they turned the air pressure down enough that he didn't need the stomach venting.
If I was there (I did all day feedings) he nursed and then I pumped, and then I pumped overnight at home and the nurses gave him bottles of my milk overnight.
If he hadn't been strong enough to nurse or hadn't started gaining weight, he would've been put on a feeding tube. If I didn't make enough milk, they'd have given him nutrigamin formula.
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