ryan's momma julie
SanHawaii08
member
hi Julie, you mentioned you EP - how does that work for you? how do manage to pump and feed ryan a bottle at the same time? or you do one and then the other? doesn't that make every feeding take much longer? or is someone else able to feed him while you pump? one of my other friends EP's also, and she said that was the most difficult part after her husband went back to work, and she hated it, but her daughter just didn't take the boob. then her supply tanked, she had to start supplementing with formula, etc.
E loves the boob, but we're going to try moving him to all bottle-feeding, since it will get him out of the nicu faster. bf'ing just tires him out too much, and he can't get enough food that way. but i'm really hoping he'll still want to bf after he comes home, since i'm really not a fan of the pump. so i guess i'm just looking for some words of wisdom that it does work, if that's what it comes to for us too! thanks!
Re: ryan's momma julie
::: butting in :::
Hi Sandra!!!
Julie, I was going to page you and ask the exact same question. I've been going back and forth with the idea of EP or finding some kind of balance between primarily bottle-feeding EBM and BFing, but was at a loss as to how to get started and the logistics. I'd also be interested in any insight you can provide!
:::butting out :::
:::can i butt in too?:::
I'd like to come out of lurker mode and share my tips and experience with EP. I've been EPing since Caitlin was 2 weeks old, and am still going strong now that she is over 9 months old. She never really had a good latch and she would always fall asleep on the boob, so our routine in the first two weeks was breastfeeding, pumping, and then feeding her via a syringe/tubing. That was a major pain, and by the time we were done, it was almost time to do it again!
So I made the decision to EP since breastfeeding wasn't working out. It was extremely helpful to have my husbands help and support, since it is a lot of work, especially in the beginning. In the first 2 months, I pumped 8 times/day for 15 minutes, usually every 2.5 to 3 hours, maybe every 3 to 4 hours in the middle of the night. I would always pump first, and then my husband or I would feed her right after. Early on, I got to a point in my pumping where I was able to pump and save enough for another bottle so that Caitlin didn't have to wait for me to pump before feeding her. The swing was a lifesaver when my husband went back to work and I needed to pump.
I could probably go on and on about EP, so here are some tips:
I hope this information helps. Please let me know if you have any more questions.
-Susan
First of all, this is great info....thanks for sharing!
Secondly....dang!!! Impressive! I pumped for three months, and the most I ever got was about 12-14 oz. a day (pumping 5 times) No wonder we had such trouble! My supply was awful!
Also, I'm way too cheap to buy a special pumping bra. I cut the nipple part out of a sports bra to get hands free at first but then I learned the rubber band trick. I'm sure if you google 'rubber band trick" and pumping you will find the instructions.
I hope I answered your questions. Good luck! Kisses to little Eric and Hank :-)
Susan, Julie - thank you both so much for the super helpful tips and advice! It makes EP seem much more manageable, knowing how you ladies make it work.
Julie - i cannot imagine pumping in an airplane lavatory!! ... i'm sorry
and i did just try for the first time yesterday pumping a little bit to get letdown, then bf'ing E. it worked out okay, but timing is difficult, b/c when he wakes up hungry, he wants to eat. right. now. for all his lung troubles, he's got a good set of pipes now! haha. so we need to weigh him, have me pump, then nurse him, then weigh him again, warm up some more milk (he gets some powder supplements mixed in, which only lasts a few hours, so we haven't been using fresh stuff as much) - all the while he's still hungry and screaming, then finish feeding him. it's difficult to manage. when we tried it yesterday, the scale said he got 20 cc's from the boob, but then after finishing that feed, he never went back to sleep! he was up for another 2 hours until his next feeding (everything is on a schedule in the nicu 
no eating on demand), and he seemed hungry the entire time. and i've seen the scale not change, even though he obviously got milk (the nurse pulled it out of his stomach, back through the feeding tube, to check 
), so i don't really trust the scale... however, since the nutritionist wants him to get a certain amount every 3 hours, and he needs sleep, it's just makes it hard all around. once we get him home, he'll be able to nurse all day if he wants/needs to 
i try to pump every 3 hours, but it sometimes gets dragged out to 3.5 hours. and i do a 4 hr stretch at night (or 2 4-5 hour stretches at night, when i just can't get out of bed, like last night
), so i'm only pumping 7x/day. i've never been able to get to 8. but i think i've noticed that pumping when i'm less engorged hurts less, so i may try pumping every 2-2.5 hours today and see if that helps make it more tolerable. but like just now, it took me an hour(!) to empty out my left boob, which has a clogged duct. hopefully it's better now, and the next session won't be so long. but yeah, it's been taking me about 30 min just to pump each session. plus time to prep and wash. so pumping every 2-2.5 hours means there's really not much time in between! less time if i really crank up the pump, but then it hurts too much. sigh. will have to try not washing so often, or buying another set of parts.
anyhow, thanks again, ladies!
no personal experience by I know our friends with a micro preemie used a supplemental nursing system because she knew exactly what it was when I said that is how I gave Jack his probiotics before he ever had a bottle. That would deliver the milk faster while still getting the nursing experience to keep your supply going strong and giving him (and you) more practice.
Anyways good luck, sounds tough. Do you have an LC lined up for continued support once you get home or are you thinking of EPing for the long haul?
i can call the LC's at the hospital anytime, but if i want to see someone, i'll need to figure out how to make that happen. i have met with the LC's a few times now, and they all say E is doing great, latch is good, etc. i'm planning on checking out the resources at birth and beyond. I would love not to EP! so we'll see...so far, he seems to be able to transition well between breast and bottle, so i'm hoping we won't have any issues going to primarily bf'ing at home. it will take a while to get used to, i'm sure, since everything is so measured out at the hospital, i'm sure i'll be freaking out about whether he's getting enough to eat, especially if he keeps falling asleep at the boob...
my supply doesn't seem to be an issue right now, i think the hospital-grade pump (i'm renting a symphony) makes a really big difference. but i will keep the supplemental nursing system in mind - thanks!
I'm wondering if she was rec the sup nursing system so E can still BF but not have to work as hard to get the milk?
Glad to hear he's got a good latch and your supply is doing well! Once he gets stronger you guys will be A-OK!