Celyn....I have a question please

mandy0505

I read a post not too long ago where you were talking about breastmilk having different qualities (maybe not the correct word) depending on the time it was pumped. I return back to work tomorrow night and am working night shift. I will be pumping while at work. The times dh provides the bm to her will be different than when I pumped, will that affect her sleep pattern? 

She is already a pretty fussy baby so I'd hate to mess up her sleep pattern or daily schedule but I am assuming it would still be better than formula, yes?

Just when I thought supply was stressful enough now I'm stressing about timing.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

TIA 

Celyn

So you're staying the stash you have now is all from daytime pumping?  Yes, it's ideal to give daytime milk in the daytime and nighttime milk at night, but if you can't do that, it's still better to give what you've got than not give it at all.  She'll adjust.  Can you pump at work?  If you can, I'd suggest doing a few nighttime pumps to mix in with what he's giving her from the stash.

soon2Bkranz

I never knew that. Our bodies are amazing!

mandy0505

Celyn:

So you're staying the stash you have now is all from daytime pumping?  Yes, it's ideal to give daytime milk in the daytime and nighttime milk at night, but if you can't do that, it's still better to give what you've got than not give it at all.  She'll adjust.  Can you pump at work?  If you can, I'd suggest doing a few nighttime pumps to mix in with what he's giving her from the stash.

Sorry for the delayed response...its been crazy trying to adjust being back at work. So ideally I'm trying to pump at work and supply it for the next night however what I did this week was pump after feedings on my days off during the day and provide that for monday and then friday's pumping goes in the freezer. I also have about two large freezer bags of milk that I've been slowly collecting. DH has been giving one freezer bottle a night as it seems like I'm not producing enough each night by pumping. I'm guessing it's my body trying to adjust to pumping and at some point it will get the hang of it. 

Right now I need 4 three ounce bottles a night but when I'm pumping I'm only getting about 3. This seems to make sense though because I'm pumping every 3 hours and dd usually eats every 2 to 2 1/2. I just cant find the time to get a 4th session in 

Celyn

It will take your body some time to adjust, plus pumps are about 30% less efficient than babies in draining your milk.   Make sure you're getting plenty of water (half your body weight in ounces, lots of protein in your diet, and if at all possible, no caffeine -- if you do drink caffeine do not count that toward fluid intake).

Make sure you've got a good pump with new bladders and seals. Restart the letdown cycle when you feel like you aren't having a good stream of milk, and do breast massage and compression to encourage the letdown.  How long are you pumping for? 

mandy0505

I get 3 twenty minute breaks during a 10 hour shift but 5 of that is getting equipment/uniform on and off. Im trying to do it in around or cus i usually have a let down at 16 minutes give or take a minute