FT Working moms, I need your help/support

Re: FT Working moms, I need your help/support

• Cookiecake7 member

  March 2012

  Do you have a hands free bra you could use? I pump while getting ready I save time. But, my philosophy is any BM is good BM so if a bottle or two has to be formula it isn't the end of the world. I think not stressing about making enough has really helped me. And maybe try some fenugreek? That has helped me increase my supply after mastitis. Good luck!

  

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• alissa427 member

  March 2012

  My DS is 9 months.  When I finally allowed my DS to supplement during the day with formula a whole lot of my stress reduced and I did a little better with producing just enough on most days.  I felt so guilty that I might be starving him, and he eats a lot, like your DS.  I think we are at a disadvantage as working Moms, because our breasts seem to understand right away that there is a difference between the pump and the baby.  I struggle all the time with letdown, it is NEVER as good as with DS, and at the end of the day I'll come home with a meager number of ounces, meanwhile he at like a pig all day.  Very rarely is he unsatisfied at bedtime (there are sometimes in the middle of the night, but I've only supplemented with a bottle 2-3 times tops), because he wants the comfort more than the milk.  I keep trying though, and doing everything I can to increase my production.  I drink enough water, drink Mother's Milk tea, make breastmilk cookies (oh my gosh they are YUMMY), pump an extra session during work if possible, keep myself surrounded by DS's pictures, think about him as much as I can, and most of all BREATHE.  All we can do is the best we can do, and every little bit you do for your DD is a blessing!  Be vigilant about maintaining your supply, and if your DD is losing weight or not gaining enough, be concerned, but otherwise you are doing a great job! 

  

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• mabst196 member

  March 2012

  Don't be hard on yourself if you have to supplement. I've been very lucky thus far that my supply has stayed up since I've been back to work, but if it doesn't continue I'll supplement and not feel bad. It's hard to work outside the home and bf. 

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• CA2006 member

  March 2012

  AmyG*:

  I think the evening fussiness is caused as much by her not being patient with a slower/lower supply in the evening.  Giving in and giving a bottle is just going to make this fussiness worse, as she may begin to refuse the breast completely.  Evening supply is normally lower, and slower flow, but is higher in fat and calories, so she isn't going to miss out on anything nutrition wise but she has to be a bit more patient.

  Make sure daytime bottles are given SLOWLY with the slowest flow nipple possible to make bottles take at least 20 minutes, to be more like how breastfeeding is, so nights won't be quite so tough.

  how much is she taking at daycare and is she STTN? take 25 oz and divide it by how many feedings in a day to get an appropriate bottle size.  It is common to make the bottles larger than they need to be, and encourage (by daycare often) for baby to go ahead and eat fairly fast and that just makes nursing at the breast totally different than bottle feeding and some babies really come to prefer that faster flow, faster eating from a bottle.  Moms have to be patient and a bit more stubborn about giving in and going and getting a bottle.

  I usually have forceful letdown (pumping and feeding) that has DD finished within 10 min or so when I nurse her.  She doesn't prefer the bottle at this point and will go back and forth just fine on the days I am off. At night, she doesn't actually have that period of constant swallowing then, when I try to hand express to see if it's just her being tired/impatient or nothing is really "flowing", I can barely get a drop.  And she still acts hungry. I do end up giving her pumped milk sometimes b/c I have a 3 YO DS to be with, as well.  As a working mom, my couple hours per weekday with both of my kids are so precious.  I just can't work with her for hours to get her to stay latched at night on weeknights.

  DD takes 15 oz. at daycare. She doesn't STTN.  She is BF'd before bed and twice during the night. so 15 oz. plus the 3 sessions at night.

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• Red_Dahlia member

  March 2012

  Before work - I wake up DD and feed her then put her back to sleep while I get ready. I have to wake her up again right before we leave to put her clothes for the day on. BFing is must faster than pumping in the am! And she's so sleep and full that it is easy to put her back down to sleep.

  After work - I have letdown issues, and DD refuses to wait. So, I have to lay down and take deep breaths and get a letdown on my own, and then BF DD. Could your spouse watch the baby for a few minutes while you lay down and relax a little? There's no way I can get a letdown when DD is FREAKING out because she.wants.milk.now.

  I started having to supplement at 10.5 months, and while I did shed some tears, it isn't the end of the world. She's still getting MOSTLY breastmilk, and I'm way less stressed over whether or not I pump enough now.

  HTH!

  DD born March 2011
  DS born Dec 10, 2013

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• slstine19 member

  March 2012

  I agree w/ pp about waking LO up to feed.  I actually get up early to pump, take a shower, then feed DS before leaving for work. I am not much of a morning person and now I understand why moms go to bed so early.  

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