Pumping Isn't Easy

The idea for this post came from reading a post on Blacktating blog, one of my favorite & few blogs that I read (not even once a week!). However, now I cannot remember exactly what it was (it's now July when I'm actually writing this message!). I know I'm back at work a few weeks & I'm pumping 3 times a day, getting plenty of milk, at least 3 ounces each session, sometimes more, for a daily total usually of about 10-11 ounces, sometimes more (I started getting less some days by the end of May). The post was about how the author struggled to get much milk when she pumped & other women have similar struggle to express milk using a pump. There was a photo to illustrate how much the author got from pumping after 30 minutes - it looked like maybe 1 ounce. How frustrating that is for many reasons, 1 you know you need to feed your baby something tomorrow & 2 you need to empty to breasts in order to make more milk & the downward spiral (emotional & physical) created when you don't.

Luckily that has not been my issue, I usually get a decent amount of milk. Also when I didn't get enough at work (with Julia) I pumped extra sessions in am before work & pm before bed. Ironically with Jacqueline, I started pumping in late January & have a good freezer stash (over 120 ounces). My dilemma is using the freezer stash appropriately before it expires & protecting my current breast milk supply & communicating with Jai to make sure that happens correctly. I don't want Jacqueline to have less than she needs, but babies can overeat with bottle feeding. I also don't want to pump extra to make my daily total "right" when I have a freezer full of breast milk - seems so silly & complicated for the simple process of breastfeeding a baby. Yet when the pump enters the picture it's no longer a simple "feed on demand" - the pump is not natural & it creates a different dynamic with your body.

I am grateful to have been home on maternity leave for 13 weeks (1/2 paid, I wish all!) & only have to pump 7 weeks before summer break. Then I have 8 weeks at home to breastfeed Jacqueline, pump a little to store about 2 weeks before returning to work on July 24. Also she will be an older baby & maybe starting solid foods soon. I'll have 10 weeks of pumping before Fall Break & then about 8 more weeks to pump before Winter Break. After that 2 weeks vacation, we return to work on Jan. 7, 2013 & Jacqueline will be 1 on January 11. A year flies by & then I'll move on to feeding her at home only.

Lots of women pump for 10 months with no breaks like I have. If I have to go to the freezer stash more often & pump in the evening, I will. I want Jacqueline to have only breast milk so I'm willing to do the extra work. I just hope I won't! : )

What did you do on your birthday?

Julia had a pretty busy birthday (Dec 9th). The day started as most, food and a nap. After that nap I took Julia to the library to get her library card! Although, I don't expect to use it much for a couple of years, Julia is now an official Nashville Public Library patron.

Then came another milestone. We returned the rented breast pump (see blue box in photo). Tara pumped at work this entire semester as well as last May/June. She breastfed Julia (primary source of nutrition) for 1 full year! I am impressed by and proud of her.

Among some of the gifts Julia got for her birthday is this big ol' car seat. She was busting out of the old one, which is a surprise b/c she's still got a ways to go before she reaches the weight limit but she's long. Tara and I gave her safer passage as a birthday gift. She likes it b/c she is up higher and she isn't cramped.

There are more stories and pictures to come but I wanted to get at least one up.

Pumping Countdown

I have less than a month left!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!

2 full weeks of work, then 2 days of Thanksgiving Break week, then 2 days of Julia's birthday week.

I cannot wait to retire that pump!

Ironically the rental pump is due to be returned on December 9. So appropriate!!
The home pump is getting put away, too!
: )

Pumping - it can be a good thing

See "Free at Last" for early days

In late January we bought the Medela Pump in Style breast pump as recommended by the first lactation consultant. Kind of wish we'd rented a hospital grade pump first to see how it went. Oh, well, live & learn. It enabled me to get some breaks and keep Julia fed ... or so I thought!

Then the weight crisis happened & I used the pump EVERY DAY 6 times a day. Not so much a fan of the breast pump now.

However, it is very helpful to make sure you drain the breast and make more milk, especially needed to supplement the few weeks in February. It was nice to take a break in early March once Julia gained consistently.

Wish I could use it more for opportunities to be away from Julia (I love her, but I need a break sometimes) ... however, it is a double-edged sword. It gives milk to whomever is watching her so she's happy and the adult is happy (hopefully), but unless I have the pump with me, my window of freedom is short (2-3 hours max) as the breasts become full and engorged and uncomfortable. Just writing the word "engorged" seems uncomfortable.

Now I'm creating a stash as I prepare to return to work in a month - try to pump once or twice in the morning when the breasts usually have more milk. I've decided to go back, especially as it is for 4 weeks, it is the end of school year, hopefully a less stressful time. Thankfully my FMLA ends after TCAP testing is finished - YEAH! It has been a long time since I didn't have to deal with TCAP.

Hopefully though once I'm at work, I'll be able to produce enough milk to keep her fed the next day. We will see ...

Free at Last!

Yesterday I was having a hard time, nothing going right, lots of crying.

I wanted to work on pumping in order to give enough breast milk to Bonnie who was going to watch Julia while Jai and I saw a movie after church. On Friday I worked with a postpartum doula, Joni M., (thanks to a wonderful baby shower gift from a co-worker) on using the breast pump & successfully pumped 1 oz. from one breast in only 5 minutes. I naively thought it would be easy to produce more for Sunday's date yet didn't pump anymore that day. We thought Jai could feed Julia (a treat for him!) and see how she'd react to the bottle nipple. No problemo - Julia will get her food however necessary! Of course I had to provide part 2 of J's meal. : ) However, I didn't realize how precious that 1 oz. would be!

Anyway, having a hard time ... didn't know how to feed Julia while storing milk. When do you do it when the baby nurses often?! I don't want Julia to be hungry. She already has these skinny arms & legs that make me call her "baby Gollum."

We (Jai) go to the computer and search the World Wide Web. : )

Despite the helpful information, I only managed to pump 2 oz. in 2 different sessions. Also Julia was very fussy and wouldn't sleep more than 10-15 minutes so that means Tara didn't sleep! At some point I said to myself I need a break. I realized that I had not been ALONE in 30+ days - like completely alone, not just taking a shower or taking a nap, but away! When Jai got back from dog park & grocery store I was going somewhere, anywhere (even though it was nasty & raining outside) for ONE hour.

Jai got home at 4:15pm, I told him the plan, gave him some instructions about Julia's last feeding and diaper change and I left. I drove to Ugly Mugs coffee shop near our house, got a piece of banana bread (yum!) (ironic since I make it all the time!), sat and read my 2 week old copy of EW. Heaven!

When I returned home at 5:30pm, I discovered an empty bottle ... the 2 oz. of pumped breast milk was gone! Jai hadn't heard/listened to my instructions and Julia seemed hungry and he fed her - he was so proud of his accomplishment. I said to Jai "I guess we're taking her to the movie with us ..." Then I went to the bathroom and cried for about 20 minutes! : (

I was so sad - how was I going to produce enough breast milk? I'd read that you have more milk earlier in the day and I struggled to get those 2 oz. However, you know Tara, I'm determined, I want to see a movie!

Jai said he didn't know why I was pumping, didn't remember the connection with the movie date and Bonnie. After talking with Jai about communication : ) and eating some dinner, I tried again & got 1 oz. out of me. This morning I woke early and got another 1.5 oz. before we left for church. Bonnie wanted 6 oz. - yeah, right! She almost got 1/2 of that!

I fed Julia at church and at Bonnie's house before Jai got there. We left at 1:20pm, show time is 1:40pm at Green Hills theater, got there to a long line. However, I had our seats at 1:39pm and saw previews as people continued to stroll into the theater and search frantically for seats. We saw "Slumdog Millionaire" which I think is the best picture of the year. It is awesome! It was fascinating to see scenes of India - almost 15 years since I traveled there though I didn't go to Mumbai (or Bombay as it was known then). However, the stories of poverty haven't changed.

We called Bonnie at 3:50pm. Julia was sound asleep. She'd already eaten the 2.5 oz. - Bonnie paced her : ) - though no need to rush. Actually we got there and visited with Bonnie & LJ, Julia was still asleep and didn't wake until we got home. HUGE success! : )

Bonnie and I have a DATE on Tuesday to see a sneak preview of "Revolutionary Road" (thanks to my Nashville Film Festival membership!). Jai will have the opportunity to watch Julia alone for a few hours ... hopefully I'll be successful at providing him with 6 oz. : )