Critique my bfing/pumping plan
Details: going back to work @ 6 weeks post partum, will be going back 3 days a week, I have a Medela PIS. Plan to use drop in's (have 4 of them), also have 4 Dr. Browns as back up if he doesnt like the Playtex.
First 3 weeks- exclusively breastfeeding
Start of 4th week- Pump at home after 3 daytime feedings. Save 2 for storage, have DH introduce 1 middle of the night bottle per night. Sleep during this bottle, but pump once overnight
Start of 5th week- Add one daytime bottle, continue to pump after 2-3 daytime feedings.
6th week- Act like I am back at work. 3 days a week, make all feedings between 8a-6p bottle feedings and pump during these times. Breastfeed all other days. On days off, continue to pump daily after 2-3 daytime feedings
Back to work- On the 3 days I work, Breastfeed at 7a, pump at 11a and 3p, breastfeed when I am home. Pump once overnight on days I work, and on days that I am home, continue to pump 2x a day after breastfeeding and around the same time I pump when I am at work.
WDYT?
Re: Critique my bfing/pumping plan
I think there are a few flaws:
1. When you are BFing and pumping, anything you get from pumping is extra and will probably not be enough for an entire bottle. When you BF & pump, you can expect your pump output to be about half of a feeding. Unless you have an oversupply, but that's not a good thing either. So for those first few weeks, it may take all your daily pumpings to get enough for that 1 overnight bottle.
2. When you go back to work, you are going to want to and probably need to pump more often than every 4 hours. I pump at 5am, BF at 6am, pump at 9, noon, and 3, and then BF at 5pm and 7:30pm (and if DD gets up in the middle of the night). If you pump less often, it could affect your supply. It's all based on supply and demand, you need to keep the demand up so they say you should pump as often as your LO eats.
But I think all the extra pumping you plan on doing will be great for building your supply and a freezer stash.
I think you are on the right track in terms of trying to have a game plan since you have to go back to work in 6 weeks. You are introducing the bottle early and trying to work in pumping sessions which is good. My primary suggestion is to try to keep a mindset of flexibility and know that it's probably not going to go exactly as planned. One thing that I have learned from breastfeeding is that the breasts aren't like the coke machine where you just press the button and stuff comes out...[which is what I sort of thought before I started]. In some ways, the breasts have a mind of their own.
With that being said, I think you will be fine because you have clearly researched this and are trying to come up with a solid plan ahead of time. I'm sure you will adapt and figure it out as you go along as we all do.
I'm impressed at the planning but be careful, things rarely work out as we plan. I went back to work full time at 6 weeks and didn't really have any problems w/ EMB, we introduced a bottle int he 4th week and gave 1 every few days until I went back - she had no problem with a bottle though so I didn't feel a need to give more frequently when she was nursing so well. I would caution you in thinking you are going to sleep through a feeding during those first weeks as it takes time to make a bottle while BFing full time w/o an oversupply and you want to be able to keep up and many of us end up reverse cycling (I occasionally work nights and am a sucker so I still pump once around 230-3am for a stash). I would glance at pumpandwork.com it was a good source.
GL!