So this post is really only going to appeal to a small group but those that it does reach will hopefully take away at least one tip or trick to help you through what can sometimes be a very frustrating time.
One of the most amazing and frustrating parts of raising a baby is breastfeeding. I breastfed E for 9 months before my supply couldn’t keep up with his demands and I started supplementing. I did a lot more actual breastfeeding than pumping with E than I’m doing for MiniE and it’s not secret that I’m not a fan of pumping but it’s necessary.
Having a toddler and trying to breastfeed is proving to be much more challenging than I could’ve imagined but I’m committed to it for at least 6 months so every challenge that comes up, I’m willing to push through. Here are a list of the challenges I’ve overcome or are trying to overcome.
- Make sure you have a battery pack that will power your pump ready to go. You might need it if you’re going to be on a long flight. Tell the flight attendants what you’re doing. We don’t want anyone getting suspicious when you walk into the bathroom with a black bag.
- When you’re in the Airport, look for a family bathroom. They have outlets and you can lock the door for privacy. That’s the best place I have found to pump in an airport.
- You can ship milk home or check it. I used a cooler that I got from a mail order medication and shipped it back frozen but checking it is just as easy.
- Make nice with the hotel staff. They had a fridge in their break room where they kept my milk frozen for me. I would drop it off every morning. At the end of the trip, I took them Starbucks which they appreciated.
3. Pumping and Working: This is probably the easiest problem to manage since my work is so accommodating to new moms. We have a “new moms” room which you can schedule for half hour at a time. I schedule time on my calendar. I pump at 9:00 or 9:30, 12:30 and 3:30. I usually have fed MiniE by 7:00 that morning. Few Tips:-
Make time and stick to it. Just like a workout routine. You have to make it a priority. No one else will.
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If you don’t have a new mom’s room, find an empty office.
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To sterilize pump parts, use a product like the one pictured to sterilize in the microwave. Most workplaces have one of those. 🙂
2. Low Supply: This is my current challenge. I think there is a lot contributing to this..I’m not getting a ton of sleep, I’m exercising almost daily, I’m not getting enough water (which I just corrected today). During the day, I was only able to pump about 12 ounces for every 8 hours but today has been a test which has been successful.
Today I challenged myself to drink 32 oz of water for every time I pumped. So far I’ve pumped twice, drank 64 ounces but have produced 16 ounces so far! That’s a record for me. I guess you will know you’re drinking enough water when it feels like you’re pregnant again, running to the bathroom everytime you move.
So from now on I’m going to use this as my ratio: 32 ounces of water for every 4-6 ounces produced. That’s like 160 ounces a day!! At this point, you can just call me camel!
3. Sensitive Baby Stomach: This was a big one for both kids not to the point where they needed prescribed medications but I’ve done a lot of other things to make sure that they were comfortable. With MiniE, I started noticing that she would get really fussy in the evenings when she was about 3 weeks old. After talking to my doctor, they recommended that I take out certain foods to see if that was the problem.
So for a week I ate BLAND foods..lots of granola, turkey, baked chips. I took out Dairy, Caffeine, Leafy Greens, Broccoli, and Garlic which is primarily my entire diet and sure enough after about 4 days, she started showing signs of relief. Then I started adding things back..
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Leafy Greens and Broccoli first…2 days and MiniE was still comfortable.
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Garlic…2 more days…still comfortable
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Caffeine…2 more days…some fussiness but not like it use to be. (Item #1 that was bothering her)
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Dairy…2 more days…BINGO! She went back to true discomfort. You could feel her stomach was hard,etc.
You are doing GREAT!!! I pumped for two full school years (one for each kid) so I definitely feel your pain. Both of my kids were sensitive to dairy and from what I’ve heard that is VERY common. They both grew out of it by 5-6 months if I remember right. Praise God because by then they were nursing a ton and I needed some calories. LOL Your kids are very lucky to have such a devoted mom!!
You’re doing awesome! Keep it up!!
Awesome job! With me, it was the water and the calories in that I had to watch to keep my supply up. Also eating oatmeal every day helped. I made it my goal to drink my 1L hospital water bottle at least 4x a day to make sure I was drinking enough water. We will see how it goes this time around bc pumping could play a much bigger role if I am in grad school.
Keep it up mama – you are doing great. Especially when you have to travel!
I pumped for a year with my older two without issue, but I am slightly concerned this time around because E is such an eater. I’ve only been back a week and I think he’s comfort eating – hopefully it levels off soon! One thing I do recommend for increasing supply is pumping after the first morning feed. It’s when your body has the most milk. I don’t just do it during the week, but the weekend too so I can add a few extra ounces to my stash.
Oh, and I’m not sure which pump you have, but does it have the letdown feature (the Pump in Style and Freestyle have it)? I find that after pumping for about 7-8 minutes if I run the letdown feature I get about an ounce more than if I don’t. Weird, right? (of course, you might already do this!)
Thank you Thank you for this Katie! I need your number on speed dial! You were so helpful and I’m crossing my fingers Jada feels the relief after eliminating dairy (and some others)!
Great tips. Both my little ones have been sensitive, but at around the 8 week mark they seem to adjust and they were less gassy and fussy. Jack is now 9mo old and primarily on solids and nursing 3x daily. Sophia weaned herself when I went back to work and was done with the breast by 12 months. Now that I’m a SAHM I think I’m going to have to be more deliberate with weaning Jack. He loves to nurse. I’m running HTC with Nuun next month and wondering how that will go for me. I’ve never had supply issues and plan to pump before going to build a supply Jack can have while I’m gone and then pump while I’m gone. I probably won’t be sending the milk home thought. By then he will be 10mo so if I get home and he is no longer interested in nursing I’m fine with that.
Great tips! I breastfed both of my daughters through their first birthdays and had to take some LONG business trips when I went back to work. I’ll never forget my first international trip. I had to dump all of my milk – watching my liquid gold go down the drain was horrible! Thankfully I had a stockpile in the freezer at home, but it didn’t make it any easier. The family bathrooms in the airport are definitely the way to go. I had to pump in a handicapped stall once. So disgusting – I wasn’t as sad to dump that milk! I LOVE the microwave sterilizing bags. Essential for pumping moms!
Everyone needs to do what feels right for them. I was a stay-at-home mom with all my kids. I breastfed exclusively for the first 6 mos. None would take a bottle. I pumped but it was for no reason since the bottle was out. I was never a “career gal” so leaving my baby was never necessary…and I couldn’t fathom needing to do that. Also, for me, anything that seemed to interfere with successful nursing was discontinued. I stopped dairy without hesitation when that was put out there as an option (totally worked). Exercise? Stopped it whenever it seemed to present breastfeeding probs. They are only babies for such a short time was my rationale. I’m not a breastfeeding Nazi. I truly feel that whatever people need to do to make life work for THEM is what they need to do. I totally think the key to having a solid and lasting nursing relationship with your little one is to stay relaxed and enjoy the time with them. I know that’s hard when things seem to be going “wrong.” It always helps to have a good buddy with experience who can talk you down from a ledge when need be! Good luck to you!
I’ve had this in bloglovin’ for a few days and finally had a chance to reply, so sorry for the late reply!
I struggled with low supply with both of my kids and I found that combining fenugreek and shatavari really helped. I also ate a LOT of oatmeal, drank water like crazy, and ate lactation cookies. http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/lactation-cookies-recipe-increasing.html
They sound weird, but they’re good, my husband even asks for them 🙂
I love posts like this as I always learn something new! I’m nursing for the second go around (have an 8 week old and 22 month old) and have the same fussiness/reflux issues. We try a lot of gas tricks, but I need to eliminate dairy and probably caffeine too…will be sad to not be able to drink coffee, but can try adding it back in. I’m going to check out the above cookie recipe too. Thanks for sharing!