Breastfeeding / Breast pumps/ FF

bumpybump

@livlew-2 to build a stash when EBFing, I added one extra pumping session after the initial morning feeding and then froze that milk. Mornings typically have a higher supply. 

lewliv

When (week) did you start pumping?
ed. @bumpybump

kvh22

This might make me sound like a lush but I promise I have a good reason: I'm interested when/how much people started introducing alcohol while breastfeeding or if you have some good books or websites that I might not have found. I did a bit of research and it looks like the recommendation is to wait 3 months for any because babies drink less milk if there's alcohol in your system at all and it dehydrates you so you might produce less, plus the baby's liver is much more susceptible to even small amounts. The amount in your milk is highest at 30-90 minutes post a drink so it's best to time this for right after a feeding when baby is about to take a longer nap.

The background so you don't think I'm horrible (hopefully): we live in the San Francisco bay area and love taking visitors to wineries. My dad and his girlfriend and DH's parents will be visiting us from the east coast for the first time in 6 years of us living out here to see the baby while I'm on maternity leave. I'm working on planning activities for us to do now so I'm not worried about it postpartum. We'll see them in a couple of weeks and I am pulling together my suggestions to get their input since I won't see them again until their trips. The amount of wine-focused activities will probably depend on whether I can even have a few sips of DH's wine at a tasting or not right after a feeding if the baby is around 2-2 1/2 months old. I haven't taken a breastfeeding course yet but I'm scheduled for it, so maybe this would be answered there. I'm a FTM and the first of our friend group to be having a baby so I just really have no clue.

bumpybump

livlew-2 said:

When (week) did you start pumping?
ed. @bumpybump

**stuck in the box***
I'll pull up the data I sent another person on here that I pulled from the app I used to keep track. I'll send it to you privately.

MetsGirl18

@livlew-2 I started pumping by 6-8 weeks PP.  I pumped for 15-20 minutes after the first morning feeding because that's typically when your supply is the largest.  Just pumping once per day through my maternity leave allowed me to build a good freezer stash.  

Having a good freezer stash was important for me because I was out of the office a lot at meetings and knew I wouldn't be able to stick to a consistent schedule and/or be able to squeeze in as many pumping sessions as I wanted.  I didn't have to stress about how much I produced because I knew I had a stash to rely on.  My supply also tanked once my period returned or when I had a cold.  When I returned to work, I stopped pumping after the first morning feeding during the week, but continued to pump once per day on the weekend after BFing.  

I used a combination of fresh fresh and frozen milk in the first bottle or two during the day so I continued to rotate the milk in the freezer.  

Kathryn0903

I went to an infant care class at my hospital recently and I had already previously made the decision to formula feed from the beginning. During the class I really felt like breastfeeding was really being pushed. Now I'm worried after delivering breastfeeding is going to be pushed on me. Any tips for dealing with that since I've made the decision to formula feed and want to stick with that?

imwithbaby

@Kathryn0903 that happened to one of my girlfriends, unfortunately. She had decided she wanted to formula feed and her OB was supportive, but the nurses at the hospital were terrible and her husband had to basically take them out in the hall and tell them to never ask her about it again or he'd file a complaint. Our main hospital has the "baby-friendly" designation so they're pushing EBF until they're blue in the face (plus no pacifiers and requiring a prescription for formula). It's obnoxious if you ask me, and one of the reasons I didn't want to deliver in a hospital. I wish I had more help to give you but maybe just have DH be ready to lay down the law for you?

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f

bumpybump said:

livlew-2 said:

When (week) did you start pumping?
ed. @bumpybump

**stuck in the box***
I'll pull up the data I sent another person on here that I pulled from the app I used to keep track. I'll send it to you privately.

@bumpybump Any chance you can send me that info too when you get a second?

bumpybump

Yep @secicc12

lewliv

@MetsGirl18 when did you go back to work? I'm wondering how long before going back should I start to build the stash (if I pump once a day like you did). Once I'm back at work, I can pump at the regular feeding times. 

shyviolet-2

@kvh22  With DS my Doula was a lactation consultant as well and she said if you were sober enough to take care of a baby you were fine to nurse.  I never took it that far but I also didn't worry to much about it based on that.  That being said after giving birth I was not interested in drinking for over a month and when I did start again I would be happy with a 1/4 of my husbands beer.

MetsGirl18

@livlew-2 I went back to work at 13-14 weeks both times.

Kudlica27

@livlew-2 With my DS I pumped at about 3-4 weeks. I was trying to get my supply up, but I also knew I needed a bottle or two for a wedding when he was about 6 weeks. I also wanted to make sure he wouldn't refuse a bottle if needed. I was told to pump in extra session in the morning, because that's when most people had an abundance. I didn't find that was true for me. I think I pumped better in the early afternoon. (Maybe I drank more water being awake all day?) I just added that incase it isn't true for you either.

I went back to work at 13 weeks, and I didn't have much of a stash before heading back. However, if you pump as much as the eat (which is what should ideally happen) you won't need much of a "stash."

belmont1785

I started pumping a little extra each day right when my milk came in (mostly because I was so uncomfortably engorged and my baby was only relieving a little of it) an extra half ounce here and then eventually and ounce at a time and I built up quite a stash 

Don't go super crazy. I ended up throwing out a TON of bm and it made me sick because of allergies my daughter couldn't have it and I couldn't find anyone to take it. This time I'm registering for a milk bank early so I can donate if I have too much.

sgrant432

@livlew-2
I went back to work at 11 weeks and started pumping just a few weeks before that.  I felt like I had a good stash built up, but quickly discovered my son was an avid eater and started to want more milk than I could keep up with.  With this baby, I am going back at 6 weeks and will start pumping to build up my stash after the 1st week home.  

jacksonbears

I posted this in the FTM thread, but wanted to get the insight from everyone on this thread.

I plan to BF for at least 6 months (hopefully). My baby girl is due 4 weeks before my sisters wedding. I will need to be away from the baby for about 12 hours for the wedding, and will have MIL watch the baby. They will be 10 minutes from the wedding venue. I don't want to bring the baby and want to focus on my sisters big day, its important to me that I'm there. Our preference is to have the baby comfortable on the bottle at 4 weeks, and I'm planning to have enough bm in bottles for my MIL to continue her feedings.

When should I start introducing the bottle to my baby? I plan to start pumping after my milk comes and after her first feeding so I  can start my supply. I also want to get bm ready for my husband to help with feedings. Is this too aggressive for 4 weeks? 

SouthernMama15

@jacksonbears I only BF for 2 weeks due to extremely low supply. I started pumping and supplementing when DS was 3 days old. We personally never had any nipple confusion. Flame away, but I think nipple confusion is bull and all part of hospitals forcing breastfeeding. I don't think 4 weeks is unreasonable. I remember being told nothing but boob till 9 weeks. What about working moms that don't get that long?

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f

@Southernmama15 Right - good point! That also means only mom can do all the MOTN feedings for 9 weeks...with DH home on paternity leave in the beginning, it'd be nice to share some of the feeding responsibility! I wonder if 9 weeks is the standard recommendation or if it varies by pediatrician/hospital. 

SouthernMama15

@secicc12 I'm seeing different time spans on different sites, but this is a good article 

https://www.parenting.com/article/is-nipple-confusion-a-myth

bumpybump

secicc12 said:

@Southernmama15 Right - good point! That also means only mom can do all the MOTN feedings for 9 weeks...with DH home on paternity leave in the beginning, it'd be nice to share some of the feeding responsibility! I wonder if 9 weeks is the standard recommendation or if it varies by pediatrician/hospital. 

Just be aware that you'll be up pumping if DH is up feeding with a bottle. As much as it sucks, it's a reality if you want to keep night supply up. Plus, I would get so engorged during the night that I wanted a form of relief (pump or nurse). 

lewliv

@SouthernMama15 I refused to BF after I had a bottle. But I think that nowadays bottles are better at mimicking BF flow and it's not such a problem anymore.

ed. My mom doesn't think it was "nipple confusion" in my case but bottles were easier to be fed from. 

taylormarie923

What @livlew-2 said. Bottles are instant gratification and some babies can form a preference to the bottle and go on a nursing strike.  You want a bottle that when held upside down doesn't automatically leak out milk, so the baby still has to work the nipple in order to get fed. The Dr Browns are a good imitation. The LC I worked with taught parents to feed baby sitting up so the milk in the bottle only filled the nipple about half way. This was so gravity wouldn't work against you and the baby would really have to work. 

You can introduce the bottle any time, but it is a good idea to establish your supply and get comfortable with BFing first. 

SpotConlon

Years ago I did an internship at a children's hospital, and the speech therapists there helped medically complicated and/or premature babies learn how to feed. There are lots of ways you can change flow by what kind of bottle nipple you get or even thickening the formula/milk in order for feedings to go slower so a baby is more likely to successfully feed rather than breathe in the milk. Positioning was definitely part of it, too! Anyway, the moral of the story is, feeding can get more complicated depending on what's going on with your baby and professionals can help.

imwithbaby

@taylormarie923 but don't you not want air in the nipple to prevent gas? Gah why is feeding a child so complicated

belmont1785

@mrsmatt1212

My lactation consultant told me the no air thing was a total marketing ploy to get people to buy their brand bottle/nipple and that the amount of air the baby took in meant nothing. We also were encouraged to feed upright with milk only filling half the nipple.

bubblesmtu

Instead of a nursing strike, my DD was on a bottle strike when I went back to work. It was awful and she would only eat 1-3 oz the entire day at daycare. 
Im going to introduce a bottle right away with this baby and make sure he has one each day to avoid that issue again. We had given DD some bottles but weren't consistent and we figured she'd be fine as soon as she had no other options. Boy was I wrong. 

taylormarie923

mrsmatt1212 said:

@taylormarie923 but don't you not want air in the nipple to prevent gas? Gah why is feeding a child so complicated

Yes, but what she always said is the babies are going to get air no matter what.

sgrant432

For those that are getting the spectra pump this time around, what kind of bag are you getting?  I have decided I am going to pay the small upgrade fee and get the spectra s1 and not the spectra s2.  I have seen some really cute pump bags online, I just really don't want to shell out over $100 for a bag.  I've seen some people have used a 31 zip tote and it looks cute, but I'm just a super organized person and like to have things packed/fit a certain way and that bag is completely open.  Any suggestions?

jacksonbears

@bubblesmtu are you planning on pumping right away? Or formula feeding? Once the milk starts coming for me, I want to start pumping. So I'm thinking after my first feeding, I would pump, and start storing up. 

smallbutmighty77

@sgrant432 I am doing the Spectra S2 and the bag I have on my list is the Sarah Wells Lizzy Bag. $100- but I have seen deals on amazon etc often and I like that it can fit more than just my pump. Plus the pump doesn't have to come out of the bag to use! https://sarahwellsbags.com/collections/all/products/lizzy-navy

bubblesmtu

jacksonbears said:

@bubblesmtu are you planning on pumping right away? Or formula feeding? Once the milk starts coming for me, I want to start pumping. So I'm thinking after my first feeding, I would pump, and start storing up. 

Yeah I'm going to pump right away so we can introduce a bottle right away and start building up a stash. I started right away with DD too and l think I had the most supply in the morning just like PP's mentioned. 
I never got a ton from pumping so I want to make sure I have a supply built up. 
With DD I started supplementing with formula a couple months after I went back to work. I never got enough pumping and she just didn't like bm from the bottle. But formula she was ok drinking from a bottle. Every kid is different so you just never know!

kvh22

@sgrant432 I was planning to just put it in my diaper bag but you bring up a good point. I was only really thinking about travel for overnights but I'll probably need a separate pump back once I go back to work.

@smallbutmighty77 and others - did you have two separate bags (diaper bag and breast pump bag)? If you are mostly thinking you'll use the bag for to and from work, does smaller make sense? I know a breast pump and diaper bag don't count as your carry on allotment when flying but I feel like a huge breast pump bag with other stuff plus the diaper bag plus your carry on and personal item would send up some red flags.

morgy_bee

bumpybump said:

livlew-2 said:

When (week) did you start pumping?
ed. @bumpybump

**stuck in the box***
I'll pull up the data I sent another person on here that I pulled from the app I used to keep track. I'll send it to you privately.

Can I get in on that? I had the hardest time pumping a stash! What app did you use? 

smallbutmighty77

@kvh22 the pump bag will act as my work bag mainly-laptop, snack, purse stuff. I bring my laptop home daily so I wanted something that could just hold all my work and pump stuff w/o being massive.
I will have a diaper bag, but more for daycare/ home/out life. We won't be doing much flight traveling the first year, if at all. I figure if we need diaper bag + pump etc than DH can take one. 

lewliv

@sgrant432 I'm also getting a Sarah Wells but the Kelly. It's a bit smaller. There are many nice ones and, as @smallbutmighty77 mentioned, they are cheaper on Amazon. 

bumpybump

@morgy_bee I used the BabyConnect app for tracking everything (nursing, pumping, diapers, sleep, etc). I can PM you the charts I sent the other ladies. 

SouthernMama15

Question for STM+ moms who were successful with breastfeeding.  I know you are supposed to take vitamins while nursing and I'm curious if y'all just continued with the same prenatal vitamins or used something else? I've seen "postnatal" vitamins but I didn't know if it was the same thing labeled differently. 

belmont1785

SouthernMama15 said:

Question for STM+ moms who were successful with breastfeeding.  I know you are supposed to take vitamins while nursing and I'm curious if y'all just continued with the same prenatal vitamins or used something else? I've seen "postnatal" vitamins but I didn't know if it was the same thing labeled differently. 

I was very lucky and breast feeding came very natural to me and baby. I had a great supply and no issues. I did not take any vitamins or supplements. Probably not a bad idea, but they always upset my tummy so I don't take them.

bumpybump

@SouthernMama15 I continued taking the same prenatals as I did during pregnancy. I took them the entire time I nursed (21 mos total). 

MetsGirl18

@SouthernMama15 If I remembered to take vitamins, it was just the prenatal ones that I took during pregnancy.  For some reason, I was much more forgetful about taking them post pregnancy.