Is anyone have any problems with the time change? I feel like daylight savings is killed my routine and I am not pumping as much as I need to for my LO. I started supplementing a bit, but I don't like it.
I currently pump 4 times a day: 5am, 8am, 1130am, 230pm. Then LO nurses when we get home around 5 and again before bed at 7.
The past two days, my 11 30am pump has been so weird...I used to get about 6oz pretty consistently but now I'm lucky to get 4.5. My 230 pump is maybe .5 to 1oz lower than normal too. Wondering if I should just cut one pump session out...or if it's my cycle coming back (which I have feared since I stopped pumping MOTN). I'm still running a small daily surplus of maybe 3-4oz.
I've noticed each day is different, where I used to get the same smount. Now one day, I'll barely have enough for the next day's bottles, and the next day, I'll have 7 ounces extra. I'm not going to worry about it until I consistently come up short.
Im barely pumping enough for the next day. I keep freaking out my supply is getting low every time I pump at work. i pump in the am before work and then 3 times at work and then nurse him when I get home. Luckily the longest stretch of pumping I do is 3 days in a row.
@jesshrou Lately I seem to be making less than she's eating each day. I have some frozen milk from myself & my sister but not much. It's a worry for me too but I'm taking it day by day at this point. I need to start pumping on my days off but haven't managed that yet. I guess I'm just too tired & sick of pumping & worried I'll pump & then she'll want to eat right away. Curious how many ounces everyone has in their frozen supply? Also how much does your LO usually eat while you're at work?
Curious how many ounces everyone has in their frozen supply? Also how much does your LO usually eat while you're at work?
My LO eats 19-23oz while I'm gone 8am - 6pm. I pump on the way to work, 11am and 2:30/3pm. Those pumps net me around 12oz, then we nurse 2x at home before bed and I pump another 6-7oz MOTN (DH gives him a 3oz bottle when he wakes around then). Recently LO has been waking up at 5am to eat, if he doesn't I pump at 6am. Add it up and I'm just breaking even, some days when LO wants more after the 19oz I have my mom give him a bag of frozen. Frozen supply is gradually getting smaller. I'd guess I have 120-160oz left.
I love breastfeeding but with having to pump at work I feel like keeping supply in line with demand is all-consuming. It's almost like when you weigh yourself in the morning and if you've gained it ruins your day...if my MOTN pump doesn't hit 7oz I spend the whole day analyzing it and how I can make up the shortfall later. If I'm at home, like on the weekends I'm nursing then running to pump just to get whatever extra I can. Most of my day is spent thinking about the nursing and pumping schedule. I have my heart set on making it to 6 mos without solids or formula and after that I've promised myself I will relax about it. I think I have an obsessive personality and being able to measure and compare output has made me really obsess about it.
My LO normally eats around 12-16 ounces while I'm gone (11-12 hours). He eats every 2 hours at night still. I have maybe a couple hundred ounces frozen? I tried to pump when I'm not working and I can't stay full enough to nurse my LO. So i only pump on the days I work. I may start pumping again just after my first feed of the day. I'm eating oatmeal daily and drinking a Gatorade to help. I ordered the honest company lactation pills and after 2 weeks they still haven't arrived!
My kid eats around 16oz while I'm at work, 3 5-5.5 oz bottles. We nurse in morning and at 6 before bedtime routine starts. When she was sleeping through the night, I'd wake up a bit earlier and pump 5 oz. to get ahead of the game---I struggle to keep up when I pump at work, only getting close to 2 bottles for the next day. I'm staying ahead of it by those morning pumps but makes me nervous when I get 2oz during a pump session. I drink tons of liquids too!
I'm really struggling to find time to pump during my work days. But I've noticed that is I pump just once in 8-9 hours away I usually get 8-10 ounces. If I pump twice I get 11-12 ounces, doesn't seem worth it for the extra lost work time. I am cutting into my freezer stash a lot, losing 10-12 bags a week all of the sudden. I really don't want to obsess about pumping, it takes time away from my kids. Either directly if I am home or indirectly if it cuts into my work day and makes me work longer. 18 days until 6 months, I hope we make it. At that point I'm going to try my best to still pump once a day and nurse as much as I can when I'm home but I'm not going yo give it a second thought if we need to supplement. We will. I wish I was home 2 days in a row, I think that would really help supply. But right now I work Monday-Saturday with 12 hours days Monday/Thursday and half days Wednesday. Its a crappy schedule for breastfeeding so I'm just glad we've made it this far.
I am probably not the norm. We have a deep freeze of a stash. My amount actually increased these past two weeks after she had a growth spurt. Pumping twice at work, get between 21 to 23 and she takes about 18 oz during that time. Just trying to get to 9 months but feed to a year.
So I am waiting for a dentist to call me today to talk about working. I already went in to the office on day and spoke to him and then went back another day and shadowed him for a few hours to see how he did everything. That was in August I think? I texted him yesterday that I was ready to work ( LO STILL won't take bottle so thats pretty much what I've been waiting for) a few hours a week and he answered back "great lets talk today." Im so ready to get working. I graduated in May and got my dental hygiene license over the summer so its exciting to start soon, and its a pediatric dentist so even better!
LO took a bottle for the first time yesterday! Only 1.5 oz but enough to keep him satiated enough to go for a nap. DH gave it to him and put him down at MIL's house while I worked at my parents' house. DH is thrilled he won't be stuck coming back to me every two hours, and can have more independence while he watches LO during the day.
The first nursing session after the bottle, LO fed a lot longer and stared into my eyes the whole time - which e doesn't normally do. Made me feel better about my fears of him pulling away from me (I know that s silly - that's a hormonal/emotional reaction, not logical, I know)
@virginiaunicorn11, I was/am in a similar boat. DH is taking a few weeks off after I went back to work and he's had on/off luck giving LO the bottle. Luckily we live right by work so he's had to make some trips to me so I can feed her. In the back of my mind I also had that thought/worry if she'd end up liking the bottle better than me or not needing me anymore. But I've noticed that she'll take herself off sometimes to look at me and smile, then go back to eating...very nice feeling! Glad your LO took a bottle for the first time, I'm sure that eases some stress.
Re: Working mom check in - October
The past two days, my 11 30am pump has been so weird...I used to get about 6oz pretty consistently but now I'm lucky to get 4.5. My 230 pump is maybe .5 to 1oz lower than normal too. Wondering if I should just cut one pump session out...or if it's my cycle coming back (which I have feared since I stopped pumping MOTN). I'm still running a small daily surplus of maybe 3-4oz.
I love breastfeeding but with having to pump at work I feel like keeping supply in line with demand is all-consuming. It's almost like when you weigh yourself in the morning and if you've gained it ruins your day...if my MOTN pump doesn't hit 7oz I spend the whole day analyzing it and how I can make up the shortfall later. If I'm at home, like on the weekends I'm nursing then running to pump just to get whatever extra I can. Most of my day is spent thinking about the nursing and pumping schedule. I have my heart set on making it to 6 mos without solids or formula and after that I've promised myself I will relax about it. I think I have an obsessive personality and being able to measure and compare output has made me really obsess about it.
Counting down to 1/3/2016, my 6 month date!
The first nursing session after the bottle, LO fed a lot longer and stared into my eyes the whole time - which e doesn't normally do. Made me feel better about my fears of him pulling away from me (I know that s silly - that's a hormonal/emotional reaction, not logical, I know)