BFing and working after being SAHM

[meiteoh]

I have a quick question - I might be going back to work. Although it's not really confirmed yet, I don't want to be caught without a backup plan.

Eva has been doing the whole latch on thing since Day 1, so she has never tried the bottles and I don't really pump save for those days when I had engorgement (now hardly). These days, she empties both boobs after every feed. I would really like to BF her until she's at least one and am on the lookout for a babysitter who is BF friendly (found one so far but need to iron out details and all).

So my question is this: What should I do prior to starting work? Because there is nothing left after each feed, I don't know how to go about pumping. (Am using a Avent Uno IQ.) Then there is the problem of introducing the bottle. Eva has started drinking from the straw cup - should I skip the bottle and put milk in her straw cup instead?

My plan is for the babysitter to feed EBM while I'm at work (last latch-on before I drop her off at the babysitter) and then when I pick her up till the next morning, she'll latch on to me directly. Is that feasible?

 

[diymummy]

Hi meiteoh,

You can try to substitute 1 feed with the bottle and while Eva is on the bottle for that feed, you can pump. So for now to get that 1 feed, you could maybe pump right after each latch to get the amt for that 1 feed at night. You can get your hubs to feed with the bottle for her to get accustomed to someone else, apart from you, giving her food.

What I did 2 weeks before going back to work is to pump after every latch and to either keep or make up the amt to feed at night. When I am really out, I feed FM. I'm using NAN series of milk which my paed said is one of the most similar to BM.

I also bought different bottles (1 of each) recommended to try. I have NUK, Avent, BFree and Pigeon. My boy liked Avent the best. I think now the other bottle that is "in" is Tommee Tipee.

You can just feed her with the straw if she is fine but you must make sure your caretaker cleans is properly after every feed because straws are harder to clean out and milk is "oily". The other way is to use a spout cup where the flow is faster.

The problem with teats is that the flow may seem too slow once your kid grows and can make do with a faster flow.

 

[camom]

I use cups after kiddy turned 5 mths old. He started with spout cup, then changed to straw cup before settling on open-mouth cups with a handle. For straw cups, yup, need a lot of time cleaning. I use the Pigeon straw brush to clean the inside of the straw. That plus frequent changes of the straw helps.

Yup, start by replacing 1 latch on feed with ebm.

 

[kohym]

hi, i also have the same prob of not having enuff to pump after baby drains from both side...
how can i schedule my pump such that i can gradually store until i get back to work in 3 weeks...?

 

[diymummy]

Just pump after every latch. At first there'll only be abit but it should increase after a few days.

 

[cmeilim]

that's right. pump after every latch. i also started pumping and saving only one month before returning to work. it can be done. =>

meiteoh, as for your pump-latch schedule, that's exactly what i do, except i leave my boy with my mum (who used to babysit other babies). =)

 

[woofy55]

Just pump after every latch. At first there'll only be abit but it should increase after a few days.

i'm also going back to work soon on 1 apr. i hv tried storing 1 feed supply now and then. ytd i defrost 1 pack which was pumped in Jan.. the milk tasted yucky. so i throw away. today i defrost 1 which was frozen 1 wk ago and it taste ok and louis also didn't really complain. So i guess, i'll only keep the frozen milk like 1-2wk. Do you think if I try to freeze 1 feed pack perday from now till end Mar - will it be enuff?

So if i do that - should i give louis the frozen milk or fresh milk now?

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

- Skip the bottle and consider going straight to open cup. More hygienic than straws, spouts and teats, replacement hardly needed, flow is up to baby, no need to wean off bottle
My boy uses Medela Cup Feeder and Combi Step 4 Mug (reviewed at cups |) Now, he can drink from any open cup or bowl with assistance, very convenient.

 

[diymummy]

i'm also going back to work soon on 1 apr. i have tried storing 1 feed supply now and then. ytd i defrost 1 pack which was pumped in Jan.. the milk tasted yucky. so i throw away. today i defrost 1 which was frozen 1 wk ago and it taste ok and louis also didn't really complain. So i guess, i'll only keep the frozen milk like 1-2wk. Do you think if I try to freeze 1 feed pack perday from now till end Mar - will it be enuff?

So if i do that - should i give louis the frozen milk or fresh milk now?

Hi woofy,

By right, frozen milk should be able to be stored for approx 3 mths in the normal fridge freezer and up to 6 mths in a chest freezer. I'm not sure how cold your freezer is and when in Jan your milk is expressed and how quickly it was stored so I can't comment on why the Jan milk tasted yucky. I suspect it could be that you open the freezer door very frequently. Try to put your milk to freeze right at the back of the freezer where it is not so affected by the opening and closing of the door.

1 feed per day till end of March means you'll only have 30 packs. Then it depends how often you can pump at work and stuff like that.

My supply didn't last out very long after I went back to work. From 6 feeds of EBM a day.. It dropped to 5 + 1 FM feed... Then to 4 and so on... I stopped feeding EBM when my son turned 7 mths because I was dry already.

 

[kohym]

- Skip the bottle and consider going straight to open cup. More hygienic than straws, spouts and teats, replacement hardly needed, flow is up to baby, no need to wean off bottle
My boy uses Medela Cup Feeder and Combi Step 4 Mug (reviewed at cups |) Now, he can drink from any open cup or bowl with assistance, very convenient.

how many mths can start bb on cups? is 3mths too small?

thks

 

[meiteoh]

Urm, it depends on baby. Eva was introed to the sippy at 5.5 mths but she didn't take so well to it so I intro the straw at around 6.5 to nearly 7 mths and she loved it. She sometimes drink from the cup as well so am thinking of getting her an infant cup to try out.

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

In fact, even newborns can drink from cup. The Medela Cup Feeders were given to me by the hospital when I delivered, purpose is to prevent nipple confusion, in case baby does not drink from breasts directly. I am so glad to deliver in such a pro-breastfeeding hospital.

Newborns have the instinct to drink from an open cup. Just try it and the baby will pick it up very fast.

 

[cmeilim]

Hi woofy,

By right, frozen milk should be able to be stored for approx 3 mths in the normal fridge freezer and up to 6 mths in a chest freezer. I'm not sure how cold your freezer is and when in Jan your milk is expressed and how quickly it was stored so I can't comment on why the Jan milk tasted yucky. I suspect it could be that you open the freezer door very frequently. Try to put your milk to freeze right at the back of the freezer where it is not so affected by the opening and closing of the door.

1 feed per day till end of March means you'll only have 30 packs. Then it depends how often you can pump at work and stuff like that.

My supply didn't last out very long after I went back to work. From 6 feeds of EBM a day.. It dropped to 5 + 1 FM feed... Then to 4 and so on... I stopped feeding EBM when my son turned 7 mths because I was dry already.

just to share that i only started pumping the month before i returned to office cos i want to maintain freshness and also didn't have much space to store. i accumulated abt 30 bottles (=30 feeds) before i started work again. they were enough. i am quite hard on myself, but it's also a form of self-discipline. i pump today for tmr's feeds. this way, i made sure i will definitely make time to pump in office, otherwise baby goes hungry the next day (although technically speaking, i can dig into reserves, which i did but that was only during my super-peak period at work). the option i never gave myself was FM. we never bought any tin on standby. i pump twice in office. direct latch other times and on weekends. i will wake up in the middle of the nite to pump even though my boy doesn't need to feed. this is to maintain the supply. my goal is min one year of TBF, but ideally for as long as possible and as long as he wants my BM, cos it's really good for his health and i really enjoy nursing him.

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

just to share that i only started pumping the month before i returned to office cos i want to maintain freshness and also didn't have much space to store. i accumulated about 30 bottles (=30 feeds) before i started work again. they were enough. i am quite hard on myself, but it's also a form of self-discipline. i pump today for tomorrow's feeds. this way, i made sure i will definitely make time to pump in office, otherwise baby goes hungry the next day (although technically speaking, i can dig into reserves, which i did but that was only during my super-peak period at work). the option i never gave myself was FM. we never bought any tin on standby. i pump twice in office. direct latch other times and on weekends. i will wake up in the middle of the nite to pump even though my boy doesn't need to feed. this is to maintain the supply. my goal is min one year of TBF, but ideally for as long as possible and as long as he wants my breast milk, cos it's really good for his health and i really enjoy nursing him.

Great effort and keep it up! I'm confident you'd make it to the one-year mark and more. I just reached it and it feels fantastic. The one year of breastfeeding is better than any other birthday present.

 

[woofy55]

(Meiteoh, sorry to use yr thread to ask my qns.. hehe)

Yes yes... sorry diymummy - i iddn't specify correctly. My frozen supply 1feed/day is for reserve. I'll still continue to pump today for tomorrow's feed - so the frozen supply is consider "extra" for now. So for yrself, pls advice how do you do it?

Cmeilim - so your frozen supplies are basically reserves? You still giving your baby fresh milk - everyday from yesterday's pump? So when did you utilise your frozen supply? I wanna keep supply for just in case, but didn't wanna keep too long. But i am not sure how i should go about doing it. Should I after freezing 7packs, give him 1 frozen supply per day and continue to freeze 1 new pack per day - so my supply in freezer is always maintained 7packs within 1wk? Does this makes sense? Or any suggestions?

Hi woofy,

By right, frozen milk should be able to be stored for approx 3 mths in the normal fridge freezer and up to 6 mths in a chest freezer. I'm not sure how cold your freezer is and when in Jan your milk is expressed and how quickly it was stored so I can't comment on why the Jan milk tasted yucky. I suspect it could be that you open the freezer door very frequently. Try to put your milk to freeze right at the back of the freezer where it is not so affected by the opening and closing of the door.

1 feed per day till end of March means you'll only have 30 packs. Then it depends how often you can pump at work and stuff like that.

My supply didn't last out very long after I went back to work. From 6 feeds of EBM a day.. It dropped to 5 + 1 FM feed... Then to 4 and so on... I stopped feeding EBM when my son turned 7 mths because I was dry already.

just to share that i only started pumping the month before i returned to office cos i want to maintain freshness and also didn't have much space to store. i accumulated about 30 bottles (=30 feeds) before i started work again. they were enough. i am quite hard on myself, but it's also a form of self-discipline. i pump today for tomorrow's feeds. this way, i made sure i will definitely make time to pump in office, otherwise baby goes hungry the next day (although technically speaking, i can dig into reserves, which i did but that was only during my super-peak period at work). the option i never gave myself was FM. we never bought any tin on standby. i pump twice in office. direct latch other times and on weekends. i will wake up in the middle of the nite to pump even though my boy doesn't need to feed. this is to maintain the supply. my goal is min one year of TBF, but ideally for as long as possible and as long as he wants my breast milk, cos it's really good for his health and i really enjoy nursing him.

 

[cmeilim]

Cmeilim - so your frozen supplies are basically reserves? You still giving your baby fresh milk - everyday from yesterday's pump? So when did you utilise your frozen supply? I wanna keep supply for just in case, but didn't wanna keep too long. But i am not sure how i should go about doing it. Should I after freezing 7packs, give him 1 frozen supply per day and continue to freeze 1 new pack per day - so my supply in freezer is always maintained 7packs within 1wk? Does this makes sense? Or any suggestions?[/quote]


i pump every day for the next day's feeds. but for friday's pumped EBM, I wll store into the freezer. Besides direct latch thru the weekend, i will usually be able to pump another 3-4 bots which i will also put into the freezer. come monday morning, i will take 5 bots which are stored the earliest and let baby drink those. in this way, i can ensure a relatively healthy turnover of EBM - usually the EBM will be stored for at most a month before consumption. hope this helps you. =>

 

[meiteoh]

cmeilim, actually that's what I'm planning to do - pump today for tomorrow - and only touch the reserves in emergencies. I'm thinking of pumping when it's confirmed that I do get a job so that my BM doesn't have to stay frozen for too long (if that makes sense). Now I just hope that when I do give Eva EBM, she won't be fuss about it...

 

[cmeilim]

cmeilim, actually that's what I'm planning to do - pump today for tomorrow - and only touch the reserves in emergencies. I'm thinking of pumping when it's confirmed that I do get a job so that my breast milk doesn't have to stay frozen for too long (if that makes sense). Now I just hope that when I do give Eva EBM, she won't be fuss about it...

hi meiteoh

eva will be fine. as long as the EBM is stored properly and not for too long a time, the taste should not alter from the freshly pumped EBM.

 

[woofy55]

cmeilim, actually that's what I'm planning to do - pump today for tomorrow - and only touch the reserves in emergencies. I'm thinking of pumping when it's confirmed that I do get a job so that my breast milk doesn't have to stay frozen for too long (if that makes sense). Now I just hope that when I do give Eva EBM, she won't be fuss about it...

Perhaps u shd now start pumping and feed her once a day and test test..

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

When I introduced bottled EBM to baby at about 8 weeks, I offered him once every 1-2 days until I got lazy and stopped. Just need to pump at about 20-30 minutes before feed time, and feed to baby through cup. I did this during cup-training and sat my boy in the highchair to feed him.

You may start now and see how she takes to EBM via cup. Would be good to let hubby feed her the EBM so that she gets used to the idea that someone else would be feeding her Mummy's milk.