Breastfeeding/Pumping Check-in.

mamatohne · November 2014

I know there are still a lot of babies to be born, but I thought this is a good time to start a check in.
-How long do you plan to breastfeed?
-What are your short term goals?
-What are your long term goals?
-What is something you are proud of so far?
-What is something you are struggling with?

KMW08 · November 2014

How Long: This is up in the air, initially I wanted to do at least 6months, but I'm not even sure if this will be doable.

Short Term Goals: Sticking with pumping and practicing latching.

Proud of So Far: Staying on a pumping schedule as I'm pretty much EP'ing at this point.

Struggling With: My supply. It's low, so I'm working on trying to increase it. If my supply doesn't continue to build within 3 weeks I might have to do formula only.

*Praying to the milk gods*

mamatohne · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? I am hoping to make it to 1 year.
-What are your short term goals? Establishing a routine. Right now we are feeding on demand which means my book is in her mouth ALL.DAY.LONG. Once I establish this routine I plan on starting to pump to build my stash.
-What are your long term goals? I really want to make it to a year, so building a freezer stash is going to be a big job, I go back to work at 11 weeks (the middle of january) so I have a lot of work to do before then.
-What is something you are proud of so far? I am happy I have made it two weeks without giving her any formula, and I feel like it's getting easier by the day.
-What is something you are struggling with? Her schedule. She likes to eat for 5 min every half hour. It's exhausting. Also she is like a little wild animal trying to latch thrashing her body all around, then only latches for 1 min at a time. This just started and I'm hoping it's just a phase.

mamatohne · November 2014

@KMW08‌ I have posted this before on other threads, but I swear by it so I have to post again. When I was slugging with supply issues with my son my LC recommended it try this... https://mountainmeadowherbs.com/mommy-formulas/57-maximilk.html
it really did boost my supply.

morrkim · November 2014

How long do you plan to breastfeed? At least a year to year and a half

-What are your short term goals? Able to pump enough to ebf when I go back to work.

-What are your long term goals? Nuse until they self wean.

-What is something you are proud of so far? I am starting to tandem nurse most times

-What is something you are struggling with? Trying to get them both on when I don't have help.

sweetbabyrahe · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? Hopefully for a year like I did with DS1

-What are your short term goals? Have a good weight gain at DS one month appointment

-What are your long term goals? Build a freezer stash before returning to work

-What is something you are proud of so far? Successfully establishing a good latch without any pain for me and no need for a nipple shield (used one for an entire year with DS1)

-What is something you are struggling with? Sleep, extending his time between feeds overnight

AnnieRoo13 · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? I would like to get to at least a year.

- What are your short term goals? Learn to pump so DH can do a night feed. Learn to NIP comfortably.

- What are your long term goals? Get on a good on demand routine. Right now I'm still waking him up to eat every 3 hours max in the day and every 4 at night. I'll be happy when I can just feed him when he asks for it.

- What is something you're proud of so far? As of his first doctor's appointment yesterday he has surpassed his birth weight at 1 week old. I figure this means something must be going okay!

What is something you're struggling with? My nipples are sore and sometimes it can take a little while for him to latch. I'm also nervous about pumping and having anyone else feed him. I'm scared about losing our time together.

KMW08 · November 2014

@tarynleann‌ with that maxi-milk, how did you use it?

ETA: for pumping a hands free bra is a must! I'm not even slightly crafty and I was able to convert an old bra that the wire had cracked in!

ssstephanie214 · November 2014

1. How long do you plan to breastfeed?
6 months I think. Might switch to EP in a few.

2. What are your short term goals?
Fix her issue with latching on the right. I saw a consultant yesterday, it was excellent and totally worth the copay--she said that baby prefers to twist one way and so she favors the left one.

3. What are your long term goals?
Hit these first two weeks without succumbing to the pump! Two weeks is long term enough for now. I hate leaking. It is so messy. I leaked all over the floor changing her yesterday, and then I continued to leak on the bed later. Leaked in my shirt and it SMELLED SO BAD. The nursing pads are awful, don't stick to any of my clothes.

4. What is something you are proud of so far?
I'm proud of my baby for having a great latch, it was really easier than I thought to get all of this started. She's also been complimented for her strong neck muscles! So proud.

5. What is something you are struggling with?
Feels like she isn't emptying the right side. It's always hard especially in one spot. She also has issues staying awake for feeding! It's tough to keep her awake. Any tips appreciated--we do tickling, strip down, blowing in her face.

lovingaddi · November 2014

How long?
Hoping to make it a year at least

Short term?
To get a good milk supply started for when I go back to work (right now looking at Jan 2).

Long term?
To be able to continue bfing while she is bottle feeding at daycare. I'm hoping she will still want to latch vs having to just pump

Proud of...
Not needing a nipple shield this time & not needing to supplement so far

Struggling with...
Night time feedings. She sleeps wonderfully...but each feeding (typically 3-4 hours apart) she eats for 1.5 hours at a time. She also switches sides on me about 4-6x.

scarlet3egonias · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? 3-6 months

-What are your short term goals? Get some sleep today while she sleeps.

-What are your long term goals? Just to keep it up without giving up. I feel like all I do is feed her sometimes and it's a little overwhelming.

-What is something you are proud of so far? She latched like a pro immediately out of the womb. I wasn't even planning to BF but when she latched so well I thought I may as well give it a shot!

-What is something you are struggling with? Timing. I feel like I just sit around and wait for her to wake up and eat. I need to learn how to sleep/shower/get stuff done while she is asleep and get away from the "well she could wake up at any minute and be hungry"

TeeJ526 · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? At least 6 months. DH and I agreed to re-evaluate at that point to see if it's still feasible.

-What are your short term goals? To learn the difference between wanting the breast because she's hungry versus wanting to soothe. My LO does the usual, such as rooting, sucking on her hands and lip smacking, but when I put her on the breast, sometimes she falls asleep.

-What are your long term goals? Ideally to BF for a year. I worry a little about being able to maintain a supply once I go back to work and being able to pump every 2-3 hours.

-What is something you are proud of so far? Both LO and I have established a pretty good routine and I've figured out what's her favorite holding position depending on what side she's eating on and have managed to get her to eat from both breasts. The first week was really rough. She would only eat from the left breast and refuse the right and we had latching issues, so much so that I had to use nipple shield briefly, but it's much better now.

-What is something you are struggling with? Reading her cues and figuring out if she's still truly hungry or full. She'll eat and unlatch herself and look "milk drunk", but then I'll hand her over to DH and she'll start head butting his chest and trying to suck on him. Then she'll realize he has no milk and start crying. I'm letting her sit with me for a few minutes and offer her the breast again, but it's not a foolproof system.

jessa1228 · November 2014

tarynleann said:

I know there are still a lot of babies to be born, but I thought this is a good time to start a check in. -How long do you plan to breastfeed? -What are your short term goals? -What are your long term goals? -What is something you are proud of so far? -What is something you are struggling with?

How Long: 1 year

Short Term Goals: get DS to continue to gain weight (he gained 15oz in a week...woot!), continue establishing my supply

Long Term Goals: be able to BF for a year, become a master at pumping at work

Proud Of: myself for pushing through the pain in my left nipple. it hurts so.effing.much when he first latches on.

Struggling With: my left nipple. I think it was damaged due to improper latch in the beginning and it's not getting a chance to heal.

rox825 · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? I was hoping for 12 months, but will be glad just to make it to the end of maternity leave now.
-What are your short term goals? Preserve my left nipple so that I don't have to switch to a bottle. And work on his left latch- he prefers the right, which doesn't produce as much and is completely shredded so is restricted to pumping until it heals.
-What are your long term goals? Increase my milk supply and improve his latch. I have to use a nipple shield and syringe-supplement with formula and I want to stop both.
-What is something you are proud of so far? Not a whole lot, it's been so challenging and it seems like we've had 1 problem after another.
-What is something you are struggling with? Latch, supply, pumping schedule, bleeding nipples, the time commitment to nurse, supplement, and pump at each session, so I guess all of it. And this is after 5 days in the hospital working with lactation consultants. Sorry for the huge vent-fest but it's causing me a lot of stress and anxiety, I'm trying my best and I hope it improves soon.

KatieOz920 · November 2014

How long?
I would be thrilled if I can make it to 6 months

Short term?
Work on trying to get my supply up and coordinate pumping and feeding my LOs

Long term?
I'd love to be able to do a few actual feedings by breast and not pump and bottle

Proud of?
I'm proud of the fact that I haven't given up- BF has been a huge struggle for me between sore nipples, plugged ducts and engorgement and subsequently a low supply that it would totally be easier to throw in the towel.

Struggling?
Struggling to get in the number of pumps I need to get my supply up/keep my current supply- I feel like I need to choose between snuggle time and pumping

I'm also struggling with not feeling like a total failure for not making enough to feed my twins -_-

mamatohne · November 2014

KMW08 said:
@tarynleann‌ with that maxi-milk, how did you use it?

ETA: for pumping a hands free bra is a must! I'm not even slightly crafty and I was able to convert an old bra that the wire had cracked in!

You put a small amount in water and drink it 2-3x a day.

dr_pr · November 2014

@AnnieRoo13--I worry about losing bonding time with mine if someone else is feeding him too. It's my only time that he's all mine and no one can take him! What helped with my first was seeing how much it meant to my H to share in the feedings. And it helped me, too, since I got to sleep in the evening!

@ssstephanie214--I have trouble keeping mine awake too. I just constantly bother him for lack of a better word. I poke him, tickle his feet and ears, talk to him, etc. At night when I'm waking him up, I change his diaper first so that he wakes up some before putting him on. I've heard that skin to skin can wake them up (strip the baby to the diaper and stick him/her on). But I worry then he'll be too awake to go back to sleep!

@scarlett3egonias--just do what you've gotta do! It's easier for me the second time around, since I know that crying isn't the end of the world. I totally took a shower and blew my hair dry while he fussed today and didn't feel guilty. You need to feel like a human and not just a milk machine

@TeeJ526--I never know if mine's done eating either until I try to pass him off! Sometimes even if he empties both sides, he'll still want to comfort suck. We have introduced a paci, and he is good about absolutely refusing it if he's hungry. That's my only clue at this point! I remember that getting better as they get older!

How Long: I'm hoping to EBF until I return to work at 7 months, but my goal is really 3 full months. I'll re-evaluate at that point!

Short Term Goals: Him still gaining weight. We've been better at monitoring his weight gain at home, since we didn't with Gabby and she ended up falling off the growth curve before we noticed. I'm just worried that's going to happen again. He is definitely gaining, so I'm happy so far.

Proud of So Far: Being able to pump a bit. I never could get the timing down with Gabby, but Louie is way more chill and lets me put him down after feedings for a nap. The pumping is definitely helping my supply increase!

Struggling With: Supply still. It seems like he doesn't get enough some feedings, and I feel really guilty about that. I will say I am better about just letting him comfort suck and not always insisting that he take a paci instead (another mistake I made with Gabby). Why is this so hard for some people?

tamarnina · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? At least a year. So far I have made it 10 months with my son and 11 months with my older daughter.

-What are your short term goals? Get my right nipple to heal!

-What are your long term goals? Build up a good milk supply for going back to work.

-What is something you are proud of so far? I am not using nipple shields this time. I am not sure if Ruth is just a nursing prodigy or it being my third time just made things easier. But whatever it is, nursing is so much easier this time around.

-What is something you are struggling with? She wants to nurse every 45 min in the evenings, which is right when my older two need attention (and dinner!). But the trade-off is that she has been sleeping 4-5 hours at night, so I am actually sleeping much better than I expected to at this stage.

turtles7 · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? Of course I would to do this for a year like everyone else but I'm setting a goal of three months as its more attainable for now.

-What are your short term goals? To work on her latch

-What are your long term goals? To be able to bf and pump when I return to work

-What is something you are proud of so far? For surviving two weeks. Feeding almost every hour has taken a toll on my sanity. I'm thankful for DH for helping out when he comes home and throughout the night.

-What is something you are struggling with? Feeding every hour during the day and not getting sleep. She is a very lazy eater, falls asleep instantly and feeds for about 10 mins then won't feed on the other side. At night, we give a bottle of breastmilk. Would like to nurse at night so we don't have to clean bottles and pump parts.

Lilwatz · November 2014

@tarynleann Thanks for setting this up. I am a discouraged mess about this so I appreciate reading everyone's posts.

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? I'd love to go a year, but at this point I'd be happy to make it 6 weeks.

-What are your short term goals? After the tongue clipping tomorrow I want her to latch and feed and have us enter successful breastfeeding bliss!

-What are your long term goals? Feed my baby and be emotionally healthy--be it breastfeeding, pumping/bottle feeding or formula feeding.

-What is something you are proud of so far? I haven't quit yet. EPing blows.

-What is something you are struggling with? Staying the course. Formula feeding sounds soooo appealing. I heard from one doctor that 6 weeks is the most babies need for maximum benefit (others disagree) so I am forcing myself to make it through Saturday (6 weeks!). After that I will take it one day at a time...

mamatohne · November 2014

AmyG* said:
Congrats to everyone on your new and not so new babies!!
And for working on your breastfeeding and looking for support. Knowing you aren't in it all by yourself is so helpful!
I can maybe give suggestions for some of your struggles but I don't want to get yelled at for overstepping my bounds on your board. I'm usually at the breastfeeding board and you can ask for help there. www.kellymom.com is a great resource, as well as Dr Newman's latching videos can be useful when you just can't get it right since you can play and rewind them to really see what is going on. Check your insurance and go get help if you need it. If one LC doesn't help, go see another one, they all have different levels of experiece.

You are more than welcome here!!!! I think I can speak for the group in saying thank you for all of your advice. It is very much appreciated!!!!

brianandkelsey · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? Don't have a long term goal on this...just day by day for now.

-What are your short term goals? Healing my left nipple. It's cracked and bleeding and hurts like the dickens when she eats. Do I pump for awhile to let it heal or suck it up through the feeding?

-What are your long term goals? I really don't have any. I pumped for about two weeks with my first and then we went to formula. This one latched on great so we decided to go with the BFing flow for now. It would be great to build up a stash and continue to feed but I also won't make myself miserable if I switch to FF like I did with my son.

-What is something you are proud of so far? That I'm BFing this one

I wasn't set on it but wanted to at least try. She's been a champ so I'm trying to hang in there with the time demands.

-What is something you are struggling with? Sore, cracked nipples. Growth spurt feeding. Balancing her demands with my 3 year old.

hidingangel82 · November 2014

Thank you for starting this thread... just this morning I was thinking I'm ready to give up nursing and starting EP, but Noob rarely let's me pump without getting angry, and i don't want to touch formula... I'm glad to learn I'm not alone with my frustrations...

-How long do you plan to breastfeed?
6 months, but I worry now how my supply will be after I return to work at 8 weeks.
-What are your short term goals?
Get more regular with pumping to keep supply up & so DH can continue to feed baby while I sleep.
-What are your long term goals?
Keep supply up even after switching to pumping & nursing after returning to work in 6 weeks.
-What is something you are proud of so far?
Righty is a milk master, LC said he transferred 2oz in less than 10 minutes on monday.
-What is something you are struggling with?
Getting Noob back to his birth weight. He has no interest in staying awake to eat longer than 20 minutes, or being woken to eat at day/night... when he's sleeping, that's all he wants!

akatiegrl · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed? anywhere from 6 months to a year would be the goal.

-What are your short term goals? continue to get better at latching quickly. also she tends to gag/choke because there is too much milk at first and i have to self express a lot to get her latched. so i'm trying out one breast only each time to try to reduce my milk supply a little... which also makes me nervous about her getting enough. so to get all that worked out would be nice.

-What are your long term goals? just for the whole process to get more efficient and predictable schedule-wise. we're all over the place on demand eating right now.

-What is something you are proud of so far? that i'm doing it. one day at a time. i've been so overwhelmed but it really is getting better, little by little.

-What is something you are struggling with? worrying about how much she is getting. worrying about how often she is eating, sometimes she sleeps forever, sometimes it's only an hour between feedings. i just worry a lot!

so72409 · November 2014

-How long do you plan to breastfeed?
Around first birthday or whenever she self weans...I will continue to pump to first bday if she weans sooner
-What are your short term goals?
Better positioning to reduce her choking.
-What are your long term goals?
To continue to ebf when I'm with her I go back to work. I EP last time once I went back
-What is something you are proud of so far?
Lucy was 5oz over her birth weight at her one week appt so we are on the right track!
-What is something you are struggling with?
Over active letdown and over supply. I think my body thinks I'm feeding twins again!

uncharted01 · November 2014

How long do you plan to breastfeed?
Still unsure. I'll just say as long as possible.

What are your short term goals?
Since I am exclusively pumping, I'd like to start building up a freezer supply as soon as possible.

What are your long term goals?
Keep my supply up. I'm nervous that my boobs are going to dry up for some reason.

What is something you are proud of so far?
I was pretty devastated when breastfeeding didn't work out for LO and I. A combination of flat nipples and his tongue tie made the whole experience very unpleasant and stressful. I'm really proud that I've been able to pump enough milk to keep him happy and healthy and I haven't had to supplement with formula.

What is something you are struggling with?
I feel like I'm missing out on a bonding experience with LO because I can't breastfeed. I still try to do skin to skin with him everyday to make up for some of that loss, but it still saddens me.

NunyaBennis · November 2014

Thanks for starting this!

-How long do you plan to breastfeed?
As long as we're both okay with it. Ideally at least 6-12 months.

-What are your short term goals?
Just buy a hands-free pumping bra already! Maybe even a nursing bra that fits? Novel ideas.

-What are your long term goals?
To find a successful combo of BF & pumping/ freezing when I return to work. Travel is inevitable and I'm a bit nervous about it.

-What is something you are proud of so far?
That we've learned a lot and have a fairly good grasp on this. We've been really lucky!

-What is something you are struggling with?
Physically: an insane supply is both pride worthy and a struggle. I'm glad that I can provide all of the nutrition that she needs, but I'd love to not gag her with my fire hoses! Also, my right nipple is really sore!

Mentally: preparing for life beyond feeding on demand during maternity leave. I'm not looking forward to developing a schedule. At all. I have absolutely no problem with just following her lead... indefinitely!

In general: I hate pumping.

staugustinewedding · November 2014

I plan on BF for at least 6 months

Long term goal: BF for 6 months or longer and building a stash. Right now I'm just adjusting to BF but she does have a great latch and my milk just came in (gave birth on Monday). Right now it's overwhelming and I'm taking it day by day, hour by hour.

Short term goal: get through the next two weeks. That's when I hear the nipple pain gets better and milk supply will be totally regulated and I will just feel better overall.

What am I proud of? That I'm handling all of the pain well. I tore in two spots and have stitches which hurt whenever I sit down. I'm nursing on my side a lot which is working well. Nipple pain is intense but nipples aren't cracked and bleeding which is a good sign. Latch is getting better and better.

What am I struggling with? Getting my supply regulated. My boobs are so so big and sore and painful, but I just keep thinking this is temporary.

Want a personalized experience?

Breastfeeding/Pumping Check-in.

Re: Breastfeeding/Pumping Check-in.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards