Working Moms
Lovenyc
member
DS will be 9wks on Thurs.
I've been EBF apart from supplementing the 1st week. He hasn't taken a
bottle (not for lack of trying) since he was 3 or 4 wks. He flat out
refuses to take a bottle. I've tried Breastflow & Dr Browns with no
luck.
BF Moms: How did you do it?
Lovenyc
member
in Working Moms
DS will be 9wks on Thurs.
I've been EBF apart from supplementing the 1st week. He hasn't taken a
bottle (not for lack of trying) since he was 3 or 4 wks. He flat out
refuses to take a bottle. I've tried Breastflow & Dr Browns with no
luck.
I head back to work in Jan and I'm petrified. I have
absolutely no idea how to plan for this as far as feeding is concerned.
My job is pretty chaotic and stopping to pump every 3 hours will be
very difficult. I've been making a little stockpile but that will only
get me so far.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: BF Moms: How did you do it?
I think pumping every 3 hrs is key if you want to keep it up and not supplement. Can you get a hands free pumping bra so you can work while you pump?
Who has tried to give the baby a bottle? It might be easier if someone tries to give a bottle while you're not around. Also - have you tried different kinds of bottles?
Every 3 hours would be way to often for me. What I do is pump 4 times a day: 6:30am, Noon, 5pm, and 9:30pm. If/when we nurse, I still pump my 4 times. Some days, depending on how busy I am, I only pump 3 times (then I just get more). I started this at 1 month (that's when I went back to work) and have now been doing it for 4.5 months. I pump on average 35 ounces/day.
Basically, if you really want to do it, you will make it work. You may decide it's not worth it. That's your decision. However, if you do keep it up, it's very important that you eat (yes eat--we need the nutrition to maintain supply) and stay hydrated no matter how busy you are.
GL mama! I promise it's not as scary as it may seem.
ETA: I'd start pumping once or twice a day now so that you get in the habit, build a stash and find your groove with the pump.
I pump 2x a day, and have since DD was about 3 months old (I went back to work when she was 11 weeks). My job is too hectic to take the time 3x a day to pump, but 2x a day has worked well for me.
As for the bottle issue--DD had the same problem. You should try more bottles--I've heard that a lot of EBF babies like the Playtex drop in bottles. We eventually found that she liked MAM bottles, and we've stuck with those since. Have your DH or someone else give the bottle when you're not in the house. Have the person giving the bottle try different positions--my DH eventually found that DD would only take a bottle if she was laying on his knees (ie, he propped his feet up on a table and laid her down on her back facing him).
Ultimately...baby (probably) won't let himself starve. My DD has never been good about taking a bottle, but after a few days she realized she needed to figure out the bottle...and now she takes what she absolutely needs during the day and makes up for it when I'm home. It's scary, but you and your baby will figure it out!
This - and if I feel my supply dipping I do every 2 hr pumps on Sunday...
In regards to your bottle questions - I personally prefer Avent Bottles for my kids and they also like the Playtex Drop Ins - but Avent has been hands down a winner with both girls... Try giving DS some pumped milk before he is "demanding" to be fed, a calm child makes for an easier transition...ultimately he may reverse cycle for a couple weeks after you go back to work but will eventually take the bottle at Daycare. DD was the opposite and took in so much during the day at daycare - comfort nursing - she wanted nothing to do with food when she got home...
One important thing here is to make small bottles. LOs don't drink as much BM as formula so don't ever compare to the bottles of formula that others might bring (or recommendations online). I simply gave 3 oz bottles, I think DD had 4-5/day when she was 7 months (I worked part time until then). Kellymom has good information about this. In the beginning you will probably send a bottle too much to daycare and then just gauge things from there. They might accept to have a couple of frozen 'emergency' bottles in their freezer, so you can undersupply them rather than oversupply. GL, BFing and working is hard, but worth it :-)