@kat0607 I second what @AdaByron said. I am a SAHM and really rarely leave my son, but occasionally it is necessary or we want to go on a date! For a while I pumped every night after he went to bed to build up a stash in the freezer. It would take me two nights to pump one meal for him, but it just made me feel secure knowing that if I had to leave him with someone there would be milk available. Now that he's almost a year I only pump when he's had a bottle with someone else (I just pump what he would have nursed to replace that bag in the freezer). Pumping isn't fun but it gives you a little more freedom/flexibility even if you're with LO 99% of the time.
I have another dumb - probably *super* dumb - question, this time about breastfeeding. Do all breastfeeding moms need to pump? From reading and random research, I feel like most moms who pump are away from baby most of the day (working, for example). If I am a SAHM, will I need to pump all the time? Or if my husband and I go out will I need to have breast milk ready? Of course this is all *assuming* that I am able to breastfeed. I am obviously a FTM ahahaha.
If you're a SAHM that is with your baby and nursing on demand, then you usually won't have to pump. I work from home and nursed on demand, but I pumped sometimes too just to have a small supply in the freezer for emergencies. I continued pumping for a bit after we weaned, so that I could donate milk to babies in need. It's all about your preference and circumstances. If you NEED milk in the freezer for some reason, then definitely pump. Hope that's helpful!
I have another dumb - probably *super* dumb - question, this time about breastfeeding. Do all breastfeeding moms need to pump? From reading and random research, I feel like most moms who pump are away from baby most of the day (working, for example). If I am a SAHM, will I need to pump all the time? Or if my husband and I go out will I need to have breast milk ready? Of course this is all *assuming* that I am able to breastfeed. I am obviously a FTM ahahaha.
It is definitely possible that you won't need to pump. I work from home and in my son's first year, only pumped when I was going away for a business trip. And also at 6 months, I pumped a little so we could add breast milk to Cream of Wheat and stuff, to help him adjust to "solids." I was dead set on no bottles before 6 months, so we only breastfed until then. (FWIW I won't be that uptight this time around.)
I bought a Medela hand pump. I kept a couple bags of milk in the freezer so I could go out occasionally with DH, after 6 months. But DS was a year old before we left him overnight. And by then, he could just drink cow milk - didn't need pumped milk.
@kat0607 you could skip pumping entirely. This time I'm a sahm and don't plan on picking up the pump, unless we have a latch issue. A couple of my mom friends exclusively pumped for reasons like latch or one of them had low supply and worried about it. Also I wasn't able to pump and have enough supply to feed my baby for the first maybe 6 weeks ish. So don't feel pushed to pump to get a stockpile if it is getting frustrating.
I had oversupply of milk last time, which took several weeks to figure out - so LO could keep his meals down and so I wouldn't get plugged ducts.
Any TTM+ have that with their first but not with their second? Will ask my Midwife about it, but just wondering if there's anecdotes someone could share. I guess I know what to do now if it's an issue again, but just trying to mentally prepare.
i had chronic clogged ducts that eventually led to me exclusively pumping for 9 months. I know I will not be able to do that with 2 little ones so I am praying something changes this time around. It was miserable.
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
@kat0607 I think two things will probably impact your decision (FTM so this is all in my head, but anyways). One: My husband is desperate and adamant about feeding the baby with bottles himself, so I'm pumping for him even though I don't want to work with the babies. Two: You probably can't leave the baby for more than a few hours unless you leave some milk or occasionally supplement with formula. A lot of insurance covers breast pumps, and if you aren't planning on doing it a lot, you won't need too many supplies like bottles, nipples, etc. etc.
EDIT: Because I forgot the third reason I'm going to pump until I read the post below
Reason Three: Once you establish the supply for your own baby, you can donate extra milk, which I really want to do because One: why not? and Two: If I can't breastfeed my baby I would really want donated milk over formula, so I feel like I'm giving back, even though I haven't used it yet. Actually, same thing with the cord blood banking. I'm not paying for the private one, but I want to donate mine, because if I was in a situation where I or my child needed it, I would want someone to have donated it so I can use it. To me, if I have the ability, and it's just there anyways, why not donate it? Of course, this from someone who has never donated blood in her life. That freaks me out. Go figure.
Hubby and Me Friends since 2008 Started dating: July 1st, 2013 Engaged: July 1st, 2014 Married: July 1st, 2016 R born: July 8th, 2017 N born: June 30th, 2019 Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022 (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
@virginiaunicorn11 With my first I exclusively pumped because she refused to nurse. I had a major over supply and was able to pump enough each day to fully feed her and another baby I donated to. With my second, I had an over supply for the first couple weeks, but since she nursed my supply regulated and she nursed for 18 months without issue.
@kat0607 you definitely don't need to pump but it's nice to have a small stash of BM on hand if you want/have to be away from baby during a feeding time. Some moms just use formula in that case but others prefer to feed only BM. It's a personal decision which way you go. I pumped a bit but I had a very low supply so didn't always have a BM stash and sometimes supplemented with formula which worked for us. I would say even if you don't plan to be away from baby that you should always have either a BM stash or some formula on hand just in case you are unexpectedly away from baby.
@kat0607 Ditto on what the others said above. I also used this when I first started out. Instead of leaking into a pad and losing all of that milk, I leaked into the milksaver and was able to put about 6 oz away per day just from leaking. It doesn't work as well once your let-down levels out a bit, but every little bit counts.
@kerils You can also build a donation supply by pumping on the "off" breast while LO nurses. You'll get a better let-down because baby is actually eating, and since babies are more efficient, they'll still be able to finish on that side after you've pumped.
We had a really hard time finding a milk-bank that would accept donations when we wanted to donate. I ended up finding a very sweet family via our local Eats on Feets chapter. Don't use Craigslist; in that way lies madness....and this guy:
I've got one- my DS refused to drink my breast milk that had been previously frozen. After a lot of research and attending a few LLL meetings, I discovered that he didn't like it because of the excess of lipase in my milk. The frozen stuff definitely had a different taste to it. My question is, anyone else have this issue? And if you did, did it happen with your other children (if you have more than one!)? I'm just curious if it is the infants preference, or if maybe I will have less lipase this time around?
@MamaRN13 Some kids just don't care as much. I think there's a process you can do to remove the excess lipase, but I haven't looked into it that much. I've seen folks on Eats on Feets and HM4HB doing freezer destashes because of lipase before. Fingers crossed that it goes away or that your new LO just won't care.
@Xath Omg, thanks for the heads up. I was planning on a bank, already found one actually, and I would never with Craigslist. But that photo really made me laugh.
Hubby and Me Friends since 2008 Started dating: July 1st, 2013 Engaged: July 1st, 2014 Married: July 1st, 2016 R born: July 8th, 2017 N born: June 30th, 2019 Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022 (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
@MamaRN13 Some kids just don't care as much. I think there's a process you can do to remove the excess lipase, but I haven't looked into it that much. I've seen folks on Eats on Feets and HM4HB doing freezer destashes because of lipase before. Fingers crossed that it goes away or that your new LO just won't care.
Thanks @Xath ! I sure hope this kiddo doesn't care. I wasted so much milk last time because I had no idea this could happen! I know you can scour the milk to try and help but that whole process was just too much and my son still would not go for it
So my dumb question of the day: I got a free sample of activated charcoal soap, and I hate doctor Google, so fellow mamas, is it safe to use during pregnancy, or should I just save it?
Hubby and Me Friends since 2008 Started dating: July 1st, 2013 Engaged: July 1st, 2014 Married: July 1st, 2016 R born: July 8th, 2017 N born: June 30th, 2019 Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022 (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
@Xath you reminded me of a question/concern I had with the milk savers. So I have these different brand and with ds when I used them I worried how long can I leave the milk in there, like leave it on my body so it would be warm for a while? And then looks like those have bags(?), mine don't, they're just a shell so what do I do with the warm milk since you're not suppose to add warm breastmilk to cold milk, like in the fridge? Does that make sense? I might buy this brand (still have the others) if they have bags because I also liked that they kept my clothing off my tender nipples.
For those interested in donating breastmilk, try the Human Milk for Human Babies (HM4HB) FB Group. You will have to find the group for your state. This is where you can request and donate breastmilk, and the groups are strictly monitored to keep the crazies out. I have done all my donating through that group and it has been an amazing experience.
@morgarita Mine's just a silicon shell; it doesn't have bags. What I do is I'll pour whatever I get into a bottle and put that bottle in the fridge. The next time, I'll put it in a 2nd bottle and put it in the fridge. Once they're both cold, I'll merge them together (within the same day). If the bottle already has 5oz and I'm adding 1, I'll sometimes mix the 1 warm oz with the 5 cold. The idea is that you don't want to lower the temperature of the refrigerated milk again, but my LC said that if you had significantly more cold milk it didn't matter.
I've got one- my DS refused to drink my breast milk that had been previously frozen. After a lot of research and attending a few LLL meetings, I discovered that he didn't like it because of the excess of lipase in my milk. The frozen stuff definitely had a different taste to it. My question is, anyone else have this issue? And if you did, did it happen with your other children (if you have more than one!)? I'm just curious if it is the infants preference, or if maybe I will have less lipase this time around?
@Xath you reminded me of a question/concern I had with the milk savers. So I have these different brand and with ds when I used them I worried how long can I leave the milk in there, like leave it on my body so it would be warm for a while? And then looks like those have bags(?), mine don't, they're just a shell so what do I do with the warm milk since you're not suppose to add warm breastmilk to cold milk, like in the fridge? Does that make sense? I might buy this brand (still have the others) if they have bags because I also liked that they kept my clothing off my tender nipples.
@Xath you reminded me of a question/concern I had with the milk savers. So I have these different brand and with ds when I used them I worried how long can I leave the milk in there, like leave it on my body so it would be warm for a while? And then looks like those have bags(?), mine don't, they're just a shell so what do I do with the warm milk since you're not suppose to add warm breastmilk to cold milk, like in the fridge? Does that make sense? I might buy this brand (still have the others) if they have bags because I also liked that they kept my clothing off my tender nipples.
you store the milk separately!
Yeah, I didn't do this. I get the reasoning behind why some people do it. (Maybe this is a FFFC?) If I pumped 6+ oz in a session, I'd immediately put 6 oz increments in bags for freezing. Leftover oz went in the fridge and then got mixed in (with refrigerated milk from the same day) when the total was 6 oz. The day's leftovers were the first daycare bottle for the next day. Everything else was 6 oz frozen bags. I didn't need to do math for milk of varying oz, or throw $$$$ into a ton of milk storage bags just holding 1 oz each.
When DS2 was in the NICU they mandated that each pump's milk be stored separately. I pumped over 800 oz in that 2 week period; all of the milk was in separate bottles by pumping session. It took an entire freezer to store something that would have taken 1/2 the space in 6oz bags.
Talk to your ped or LC, but mine were both fine with mixing.
I had VERY lackadaisical storing/reusing methods with breastmilk. You better believe I wasn't pouring that down the drain if she decided she didn't want the rest of her bottle. I always would reheat an additional time.
Also I would clean my pump parts once a day even while using them 6-8x. I would keep them in the fridge in a ziploc bag inbetween. This may sound disgusting to any FTM but I promise it's not unhygienic and will save your sanity.
I don't know, I consider BM to be a super liquid so I wasn't too concerned. Until she got to daycare she wasn't sick once so I wasn't feeding her spoiled milk.
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
I had VERY lackadaisical storing/reusing methods with breastmilk. You better believe I wasn't pouring that down the drain if she decided she didn't want the rest of her bottle. I always would reheat an additional time.
Also I would clean my pump parts once a day even while using them 6-8x. I would keep them in the fridge in a ziploc bag inbetween. This may sound disgusting to any FTM but I promise it's not unhygienic and will save your sanity.
I don't know, I consider BM to be a super liquid so I wasn't too concerned. Until she got to daycare she wasn't sick once so I wasn't feeding her spoiled milk.
THISSSSSSS is what saved my sanity while pumping at work. It cut at least 5 minutes off of every pumping session, and that adds up over the day.
I had VERY lackadaisical storing/reusing methods with breastmilk. You better believe I wasn't pouring that down the drain if she decided she didn't want the rest of her bottle. I always would reheat an additional time.
Also I would clean my pump parts once a day even while using them 6-8x. I would keep them in the fridge in a ziploc bag inbetween. This may sound disgusting to any FTM but I promise it's not unhygienic and will save your sanity.
I don't know, I consider BM to be a super liquid so I wasn't too concerned. Until she got to daycare she wasn't sick once so I wasn't feeding her spoiled milk
I did all of this. Formula got dumped, BM was saved for the next feeding. That stuff is gold and there was no chance it was going down the drain.
Also learning the pump parts in the fridge trick changed my life.
@kat0607 Another reason you might want/need to pump is to increase your supply. In the beginning the LC had me pump after each feeding to help increase my low supply. It was a pain in the butt but definitely worked and allowed DD to get more milk.
Does the general "don't worry about back-sleep until later" advice also go for exercises on your back? For example, am I ok to still do ab work on my back, or yoga bridge/supported bridge?
I'm curious about this one, too
This is a tricky one so I'm interested to see what others say. My yoga instructor has us modify the poses starting in second trimester depending on the pose. For example, we did modified planks for shortened durations. Ab work on your back was okay going through 2nd trimester up until you had any sort of discomfort (and depending on the move. They (midwife/OB) always just say don't start anything new and don't overdo it. Do you have any of the pregnancy workout videos? They normally go over specific modifications depending on the pose. I can post some video recommendations in the resources thread if you like.
My trainer does pretty much the same as @caribbeanmama 's yoga instructor. She basically modifies once your belly is big enough to notice.
@kat0607 Most people who pump a lot are doing it because they go to work. So, you don't really need to unless you are planning time away from baby. However, even if you're a SAHM, it might be nice to have some milk pumped so you can get a break now and then if (ahem *when*) you need one. It lasts several months in the freezer. Also, after lot of pumping using the double electric, I eventually realized that I could pump twice as fast using the hand pump. It might be worth getting a handheld just in case you need to make a bottle randomly.
I mentioned this a while back on another thread but we started giving DD a bottle of pumped milk every night at bedtime around 8 weeks. It was a lifesaver for us because DH could do bedtime and get his time with her, she was awesome taking a bottle from an early age, and she didn't associate nursing with bedtime so if we had a babysitter for the evening, she would drink milk from them with no issue. I would rest and watch tv while I pumped every evening and it was my quiet time.
Every baby is different but I have a ton of friends who rarely gave their breastfed baby a bottle and then after a few months or so, it was a huge struggle trying to get them to take a bottle so that mom could go out. Hopefully none of you struggle with this but if you do, consider pumping once a day no matter what and letting dad or someone else feed them!
@Xath you reminded me of a question/concern I had with the milk savers. So I have these different brand and with ds when I used them I worried how long can I leave the milk in there, like leave it on my body so it would be warm for a while? And then looks like those have bags(?), mine don't, they're just a shell so what do I do with the warm milk since you're not suppose to add warm breastmilk to cold milk, like in the fridge? Does that make sense? I might buy this brand (still have the others) if they have bags because I also liked that they kept my clothing off my tender nipples.
you store the milk separately!
Yeah, I didn't do this. I get the reasoning behind why some people do it. (Maybe this is a FFFC?) If I pumped 6+ oz in a session, I'd immediately put 6 oz increments in bags for freezing. Leftover oz went in the fridge and then got mixed in (with refrigerated milk from the same day) when the total was 6 oz. The day's leftovers were the first daycare bottle for the next day. Everything else was 6 oz frozen bags. I didn't need to do math for milk of varying oz, or throw $$$$ into a ton of milk storage bags just holding 1 oz each.
When DS2 was in the NICU they mandated that each pump's milk be stored separately. I pumped over 800 oz in that 2 week period; all of the milk was in separate bottles by pumping session. It took an entire freezer to store something that would have taken 1/2 the space in 6oz bags.
Talk to your ped or LC, but mine were both fine with mixing.
Oh yeah there's no way I would freeze in increments less than six ounces - I'd store in a cooler with an ice pack so it wasnt cold cold and married those together. I think I wouldnt mix fresh pumped bm with bm that definitely cold and in the fridge though.
I definitely only washed parts once a day and I never sterilized after a while.
For pumping mamas... I contacted our regional Milk bank and donated through them. I was pumping out 60oz a day while in the NICU and we donated everything she didn't get through her ng tube. Mamas on the go... have you seen this? https://www.willowpump.com/
Dumb breastfeeding question of the day: I haven't worn bras for 2-3 years, and I'm not looking forward to going back to them now. I don't want the shoulder pain back (and yes, if I had gone through the trouble of a properly fitted bra, I may not have that problem, but I've never found a comfortable bra, even from a fancy store, and I have boobzillas especially in comparison to my overall size as a person, and it isn't worth the frustration and money to me when my boobs can hold themselves up just fine). But I know I need something to hold the nursing pads/milk catchers in. So can I get away with a tight tank top/camisole, or am I going to at least have to get some soft bras? Any other suggestions?
Hubby and Me Friends since 2008 Started dating: July 1st, 2013 Engaged: July 1st, 2014 Married: July 1st, 2016 R born: July 8th, 2017 N born: June 30th, 2019 Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022 (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
Is it okay to shovel the driveway while pregnant? We have 3 persons coming to the house today to work for us and husband did not shovel before going to work arrrrgh!
Dumb breastfeeding question of the day: I haven't worn bras for 2-3 years, and I'm not looking forward to going back to them now. I don't want the shoulder pain back (and yes, if I had gone through the trouble of a properly fitted bra, I may not have that problem, but I've never found a comfortable bra, even from a fancy store, and I have boobzillas especially in comparison to my overall size as a person, and it isn't worth the frustration and money to me when my boobs can hold themselves up just fine). But I know I need something to hold the nursing pads/milk catchers in. So can I get away with a tight tank top/camisole, or am I going to at least have to get some soft bras? Any other suggestions?
Nursing tanks. I have worn one basically every day and night since my son was born.
Is it okay to shovel the driveway while pregnant? We have 3 persons coming to the house today to work for us and husband did not shovel before going to work arrrrgh!
If so, don't tell my husband!
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
@virginiaunicorn11 Would I get away with wearing those during pregnancy too? Is there belly room? Just hoping to only buy one set of tanks if I can avoid it.
Hubby and Me Friends since 2008 Started dating: July 1st, 2013 Engaged: July 1st, 2014 Married: July 1st, 2016 R born: July 8th, 2017 N born: June 30th, 2019 Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022 (maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
@kerils I never wore a bra right after ds was born. The disposable nursing pads have a sticky so if you wear a tight shirt you could probably stick them and I would think they would stay. I wore a lot of the shirts with built in bras and they stayed in place good. But I'm also not that big.
@caribbeanmama probably...it's really hard physical activity though so keep that in mind. In my first pregnancy I told my husband I couldn't lift more than 10lbs so I got away with a lot
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
@virginiaunicorn11 Would I get away with wearing those during pregnancy too? Is there belly room? Just hoping to only buy one set of tanks if I can avoid it.
Hm. Probably not, but depends on your bump. I could have worn them except months 8 and 9 last time. During those months, my belly was probably too big to wear the same ones that I wear now.
Also, I couldn't wear them my first 3 weeks post-partum because the elastic band caused clogged ducts. After that, though, I basically have rotated wearing one of my five every single day since then.
Re: A Big Thread for Dumb Questions
I bought a Medela hand pump. I kept a couple bags of milk in the freezer so I could go out occasionally with DH, after 6 months. But DS was a year old before we left him overnight. And by then, he could just drink cow milk - didn't need pumped milk.
Any TTM+ have that with their first but not with their second? Will ask my Midwife about it, but just wondering if there's anecdotes someone could share. I guess I know what to do now if it's an issue again, but just trying to mentally prepare.
i had chronic clogged ducts that eventually led to me exclusively pumping for 9 months. I know I will not be able to do that with 2 little ones so I am praying something changes this time around. It was miserable.
EDIT: Because I forgot the third reason I'm going to pump until I read the post below
Reason Three: Once you establish the supply for your own baby, you can donate extra milk, which I really want to do because One: why not? and Two: If I can't breastfeed my baby I would really want donated milk over formula, so I feel like I'm giving back, even though I haven't used it yet. Actually, same thing with the cord blood banking. I'm not paying for the private one, but I want to donate mine, because if I was in a situation where I or my child needed it, I would want someone to have donated it so I can use it. To me, if I have the ability, and it's just there anyways, why not donate it?
Of course, this from someone who has never donated blood in her life. That freaks me out. Go figure.
Friends since 2008
Started dating: July 1st, 2013
Engaged: July 1st, 2014
Married: July 1st, 2016
R born: July 8th, 2017
N born: June 30th, 2019
Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
(maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
@kerils You can also build a donation supply by pumping on the "off" breast while LO nurses. You'll get a better let-down because baby is actually eating, and since babies are more efficient, they'll still be able to finish on that side after you've pumped.
We had a really hard time finding a milk-bank that would accept donations when we wanted to donate. I ended up finding a very sweet family via our local Eats on Feets chapter. Don't use Craigslist; in that way lies madness....and this guy:
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
Friends since 2008
Started dating: July 1st, 2013
Engaged: July 1st, 2014
Married: July 1st, 2016
R born: July 8th, 2017
N born: June 30th, 2019
Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
(maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
Friends since 2008
Started dating: July 1st, 2013
Engaged: July 1st, 2014
Married: July 1st, 2016
R born: July 8th, 2017
N born: June 30th, 2019
Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
(maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
When DS2 was in the NICU they mandated that each pump's milk be stored separately. I pumped over 800 oz in that 2 week period; all of the milk was in separate bottles by pumping session. It took an entire freezer to store something that would have taken 1/2 the space in 6oz bags.
Talk to your ped or LC, but mine were both fine with mixing.
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
Also I would clean my pump parts once a day even while using them 6-8x. I would keep them in the fridge in a ziploc bag inbetween. This may sound disgusting to any FTM but I promise it's not unhygienic and will save your sanity.
I don't know, I consider BM to be a super liquid so I wasn't too concerned. Until she got to daycare she wasn't sick once so I wasn't feeding her spoiled milk.
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
Also learning the pump parts in the fridge trick changed my life.
Every baby is different but I have a ton of friends who rarely gave their breastfed baby a bottle and then after a few months or so, it was a huge struggle trying to get them to take a bottle so that mom could go out. Hopefully none of you struggle with this but if you do, consider pumping once a day no matter what and letting dad or someone else feed them!
I definitely only washed parts once a day and I never sterilized after a while.
Friends since 2008
Started dating: July 1st, 2013
Engaged: July 1st, 2014
Married: July 1st, 2016
R born: July 8th, 2017
N born: June 30th, 2019
Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
(maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
Highly monitored internet and no cell service in the office, so I'm postin' and ghostin' while I'm workin'
Friends since 2008
Started dating: July 1st, 2013
Engaged: July 1st, 2014
Married: July 1st, 2016
R born: July 8th, 2017
N born: June 30th, 2019
Baby #3 Due: July 7th, 2022
(maybe I only ovulate in October XD)
Also, I couldn't wear them my first 3 weeks post-partum because the elastic band caused clogged ducts. After that, though, I basically have rotated wearing one of my five every single day since then.