When I had my first two babies, I was a full-time student and I also worked part-time...and as I've mentioned before I was a single mom. I didn't have a breast pump for either of them, because even if my insurance would have covered it, no one pointed me in that direction, so I was none the wiser. I felt like I was in survival mode in those years, but I truly wanted to breast feed my kids, and I would have at least entertained the idea of a pumping schedule to make sure my kids had the best nutrition available. I was very young however, and at that point I didn't know what I know today. As they say...hind sight is 20/20! I nursed Keaton & Reese as long as I could before going back to classes or work full time which was about 3-4 months for both, and then they were supplemented with formula. When I became pregnant this time, I had planned and researched and prepared myself and my husband for certain things I wanted to make sure and do this time around! One of my top goals this time, is to breast feed baby Tri for his first year. Obviously he'll start on solid foods at some point during the year so it wouldn't be exclusively breast feeding for the ENTIRE year. Most insurance company's will cover the cost of a breast pump, which is huge, and when I called on our insurance to confirm it, that was a big win!
I read all kinds of pumping schedules and breast feeding schedules, but since I was returning to work after only 4 weeks of maternity leave...most of them didn't apply to my timeline. I spoke with my incredibly knowledgeable midwife and worked out an idea of when would be the best time to begin pumping, and working on a milk supply stockpile lol. Sarah suggested waiting until the 'engorgement phase'(when your milk first comes in) is over, because the body works on a supply & demand basis to produce milk, she said to let my body establish what kind of supply I'd need to feed Tri first. She said after the baby was about 10 days to 2 weeks old, that would be a good time to start using my breast pump. Now, obviously everyone is different, some women like to nurse on one side while they pump on the other, I prefer to nurse Tri first. I love that it is just our time together, to connect, and I talk or sing to him, and I know he'll be a big boy all too soon, so I just want to soak up every moment of him being a baby.
So, I nurse Tri first, and then pump. I first started pumping in the second week after he was born, and I began just by pumping after my initial morning feeding anywhere between 5:30-7:30 a.m. According to research, our bodies produce the most milk in those early morning hours, so you will get the most milk in that time frame compared to later in the day. I was pumping 2-3 times each day, with my morning session producing the most. I was just slowly working my way up to when I went back to work two weeks later. I started back to work 3 days a week at first, leaving two days at home. On my work days I would get up to nurse Tri, and then pump as usual following his first feeding. Then I had time set aside to pump once in the morning and once in the afternoon during my work day. On my days off I would pump after I'd nurse Tri first thing in the morning, and then just solely nurse him throughout the day. Sarah told me it's beneficial for baby and mom's milk supply to have days that you only nurse, that the skin to skin contact helps drive the milk supply. She also said that if at anytime mom feels like her milk supply is decreasing, to spend some skin to skin time with baby whether that's a nap together, or a few hours during the day where you're totally skin to skin because that helps stimulate milk supply as well.
So far I haven't had issues with milk supply, but I have noticed that if I don't drink enough water, or eat enough that the following day I don't have as much milk during my early morning pumping session. Making sure to get plenty of water, (I drink between 120-180 ounces everyday) and getting plenty of nutrient dense food & calories (I don't count but if I had to guess it's probably between 2,000-2,500 calories) each day, my milk is on point! If I work out that day I add both water and calories. Research suggests that breastfeeding mom's need an extra 500 calories each day for milk supply, so it's important to nourish your system especially when you begin workouts!
Now that I'm at work most days here's an example of my pumping/feeding schedule:
7:30 a.m. - wake Tri up, nurse him, and then pump for 15 mins.
10:00-10:30 a.m.- pump at work for 15-20 mins.
2:30-3:00 p.m. - pump at work for 15-20 mins
Then when I get home for the day, I nurse him until bed time pretty much on demand, but he usually only nurses twice before bed. On weekends, or days off, I still try to get that pumping session in after his initial feeding, but I've missed a day here and there, and as long as I hydrate and stick to my schedule the best I can, it hasn't caused any issues with my supply. I do feel like pumping is a labor of love, but it's very important to me to do what's best for my baby, and this is what I want for him.
I have found all kinds of good information from foods that are helpful for lactation, to ways to store breast milk mostly on Pinterest. I bought these freezer bags for milk storage, and I found a method on Pinterest where you freeze them lying flat. For storage you cut a slit in the side of a gift bag, and then stack your frozen milk so that you grab a bag from the bottom which would be the oldest milk first. So far I have 4.5 gift bags full of milk in our deep freeze. Breast milk stays good in the freezer for up to 6 months at a time, so I wanted to get a little bit ahead. Now that I'm back to work full time I'm hoping it leaves enough of a cushion to keep building!
There I'm done saying breast milk, breastfeeding, and pumping for this post :D
No comments:
Post a Comment