A couple of questions from a newbie . . .

oolala

My DD was born 1/5, and I've been bf'ing since then.  (And I thought I'd never do it!)  I do have a couple of questions though:

1.  When can I stop wearing a nursing bra 24-7?  I currently wear it to bed and leave it on all day.  Will I ever be able to sleep without one? 

2.  When will I stop needing the nursing pads in my bra?

3.  If I want to leave the house (and DD) for more than a few hours, do I need to pump?  Should I leave formula with the sitter for DD to have during this time?  If I do need a pump, do you have any recommendations  for what kind of pump to get?

4.  When I go back to work in April, will bf'ing be possible?  I leave my house at 7:30-ish for work, and get home about 5:30.  I do not want to pump at work, but is there any way I could pump early in the AM and I'd be okay all day til I got home?

TIA!

JAC1027

Congratulations on your new baby!

I recommend reading So That's What They're For?! by Janet Tamaro, that will help you with these and any other questions you may have.

1. I still wear a nursing bra 24-7.  I tried not wearing one while sleeping and leaked all over.

2. I still wear nursing pads as well, though not all the time at home.  I still leak from time to time.  I would definitely wear them if I went out in public!

3. You should pump anytime that the baby would normally feed that you won't be with her.  That will help maintain your supply and keep you from becoming engorged.  I would pump and leave your BM with the sitter.  I would also get a double electric pump -- they are the most effective and efficient.  I have the Ameda Purely Yours and have been very happy with it.  People on here also like the Lansinoh double electric, which is supposedly on sale right now at Target.

4. Same with # 3, if you want your LO to have breast milk, you'll need to pump when she would be eating.  Its unlikely that you would be able to pump enough before or after work to supply her for the entire day. I SAH so I can't speak to pumping at work, hopefully someone will be able to help you with that concern.  You may want to start building a freezer stash of pumped milk for when you return to work.

azuremama

As to #1 and 2, it'll depend on you and your body.  I wear nursing bras during the day and nursing tanks at night, but I haven't leaked in quite a while except while feeding.  (The side that DS is not nursing on tends to leak a little.)  It's just more convenient for me since DS still gets up to nurse at night.  I haven't needed nursing pads (again, except while feeding) since maybe 4 months?  But if I go a really long time without nursing/pumping, I sometimes will leak.

 #3, especially this early on, pumping as often as the baby feeds will protect your supply.  If I was just going out to dinner or something, I'd nurse before I left and usually right after I got home.  I have a medela pump in style advanced.  It's very good, but I planned to (and have) used it a lot.  If you're not going to be pumping very often, you might get away with a cheaper one or even a manual one.  I always left pumped milk for the baby.

 #4.  It's definitely possible to bf and work.  If you go that long without pumping, you'll probably lose your supply.  Some people are able to continue to nurse a couple of times a day and the baby gets formula for the rest of the time.  I don't know much about that, though, so I can't help.  You may have your reasons for not wanting to pump at work, and pumping at work can be kind of a production, but it's not that bad!  It's definitely do-able and once you get into a routine, you don't even think about it too much.

Hope that helps!

 

JARbaby

Ditto to So thats what they are for

1.  When can I stop wearing a nursing bra 24-7?  I currently wear it to bed and leave it on all day.  Will I ever be able to sleep without one? I wear sleeping bras with pads to bed, the entire year I BF #1 and again with #2. 

2.  When will I stop needing the nursing pads in my bra? I was always too afraid to go into public w/o one but at home after 5 moths I was okay. I always leak when a baby cries.

3.  If I want to leave the house (and DD) for more than a few hours, do I need to pump?  Should I leave formula with the sitter for DD to have during this time?  If I do need a pump, do you have any recommendations  for what kind of pump to get? Double electric, I have an Ameda Purley Yours and a Hospital Rental Ameda Elite they work the same the APY is smaller though. About $150. I have also used Medela PIS and it does the same job for twice the price.

4.  When I go back to work in April, will bf'ing be possible?  I leave my house at 7:30-ish for work, and get home about 5:30.  I do not want to pump at work, but is there any way I could pump early in the AM and I'd be okay all day til I got home? I left the house at 7am and got home at 5, I BF right before I left DD and as soon as we got home, I pumped at 10:30 and 2pm. You HAVE to pump if you want to keep the daytime supply up, you CAN FF during the day and BF at night but will probaly have to FF during the day when you are home and continue with the BF morning and night. I did the later for the last month and your supply regulates. I pumped when DD#1 was 3mo-12mo.

TIA!