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Intro new mom

beccaxradbeccaxrad member
in Breastfeeding
Hello! I am a new mom of a beautiful 4 week old baby girl. I want her to be breastfed for a year, but I'm worried about going back to work. She eats so often that I have no time to pump, so I haven't been able to have any stored up. When I do get to pump, we end up having to use it for feeding so she isn't having a meltdown and starving! Any suggestions would be helpful.
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Re: Intro new mom

  • beccaxradbeccaxrad member
    Thanks for all the insight. The problem is that she isn't always finished eating by the time she drains one side and I have to put her on the other side. If I pump, she won't get any on that side and she goes into meltdown mode. It seems like if she is awake she is never satisfied and is constantly hungry. She will eat for an hour straight sleep for about 20 minutes and wake up hungry again.
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  • beccaxradbeccaxrad member
    Should I alternate formula and breast feeding for a day or 2 in order to get some supply saved?
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  • surpriseadditionsurpriseaddition member
    I would not introduce formula, because the first 6 weeks is when you are establishing your milk supply. Unless your doctor has concerns and recommends formula, don't go there. Until about 6-7 weeks, your LO will basically nurse all the time. It is next to impossible to pump and get extra because your body is working hard to keep up with LOs demands. The good news is after the 6 week spurt, the next one isn't until 3-4 months. After the 6 week, I was then able to pump and store for back to work. How old will LO be when you go back? My LO began sleeping longer stretches overnight, and I would wake and pump then to build my freezer supply. The key was to have it all ready to go so when I woke, I would pump and just put the bottles in the freezer compartment and jump back into bed. It was no different than the MOTN feeding I was used to, and those ounces went right into the freezer, or half were used to practice a bottle and half went to the freezer.You'll get engorged overnight anyway when the MOTN feedings get dropped. I also pumped multiple times to get enough together to freeze. I, along with many other moms on this board have worked and pumped to a year. It can be done, so keep the faith! GL!


    **DD1 - 7/9/98**

    **DS - 11/9/00**

    **DD2 - 4/30/13**

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  • CNYBride05CNYBride05 member
    beccaxrad said:
    Should I alternate formula and breast feeding for a day or 2 in order to get some supply saved?

    No! There's no need for that and stressing about this at 4 weeks pp is likely to do a number on your supply. Just nurse and enjoy your LO right now. There's no need to start a freezer stash or worry about pumping this early. Itty bitties are supposed to nurse all the time and if you are blessed with adequate supply, put the pump away until a week or so before heading back to work.
    Natural m/c Oct. 2005

    Dx: balanced translocation and LPD

    TTC since Oct 2011

    BPF 02/19/12, EDD 10/31/12, natural m/c 02/28/12 (4w6d)

    IVF (BCPs starting 10/30/12, ER 11/18/12, 5dt of 1 beautiful, healthy embryo 11/23/12)
    BFP 12/02/12, u/s @ 6w,5d showed 2 HBs! Identical twins!!
    Bed rest from 21w-35w due to short cervix, hospital bed rest from 23w-32w due to PTL
    Our rainbows were born 07/19/13 (36w, 5d)

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  • beccaxradbeccaxrad member
    Thank you everyone for your words of wisdom! I will definitely not do the formula and try pumping once a day while she eats.
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