How long before you returned to work did you start pumping to build your stash, and how much did you end up having stored?
It's more than likely that I'm not going to have the opportunity to leave my class to BF my son this year, so I want to be prepared.
I don't want to have so much, we won't be able to use it before it goes bad (If that's even possible the way this guys eats :giggle: ), but I don't want to have so little, I'll have to speand ALL my breaks pumping, kwim?
anyhoo this is my first time going to work with a little baby guy, so any input/advice would be great :thumbsup:
Thx!
Nikki_Nikk
07-11-2008, 05:18 PM
ok... not litte baby guy...hes a 20# baby giant, but compared to starting work with a 2 yr old ,he's little :p
JDT
07-11-2008, 06:31 PM
I didn't BF exclusively so it really wasn't such a big deal for me. But when I wasbuildinga freezer stash I would add 2-3 pumpings to my regular routine. I think I started about 2 weeks before I went back to work. I also had a boat load of formula as a back up so I knew that i'd be ok either way.
I don't recall if he ran out of b milk when I wasn't home. Sometimes I think that DH would just give him formula because it was less hassle to deal with.
Nikki_Nikk
07-11-2008, 07:06 PM
Thanks for the info! Yeah DS will be having some solids. I forgot to calculate that in. lol But he can't have ANY formula. regular/soy, he throws it all up! I actually have some soy similac in my car I picked up thinking they would be good for emergencies, but nope!
JDT
07-11-2008, 07:26 PM
wow! that's hard
Mommimi
07-11-2008, 08:29 PM
I started 2 wks b4 work and only had about 6 bags frozen (once or twice/day). They last 9 months in the freezer so I doubt they'd go bad b4 you use it. (3, 6, 9 - 3 hrs outside, 6 days in the fridge, 9 months in the freezer). I pump only 1 or twice at work but I always call home and ask how much baby ate and pumped the same amount or more.
lauralyn1
07-12-2008, 11:57 AM
I would start now. If you pump once in the AM and once in the afternoon, you should be good.And that way you won't feel like all you are doing before you have to go back, is pumping.
Deanner03
07-14-2008, 09:23 AM
I used to pump an hour after a feeding, and while lo was sleeping. Once she slept through the night, I pumped then, too. I had 264 oz when I went back to work!
doberbrat
07-14-2008, 11:56 AM
I started when dd was ~9w old and went back to work when she was 5mo.
you can never have too much imo. it really relieves alot of stress. you just rotate it through or donate it. In a deep freezer (not the fridge) it lasts well over a year.
joy7s
07-14-2008, 01:49 PM
I actually try to pump every day once a day while on mat leave.. so that'd be what I would recomend.. we never ran out.. (I froze it as I went a long) and it was SO helpful not to be stressed about my supply.
Nikki_Nikk
07-18-2008, 08:16 PM
Okie dokie! Thanks for all the great advice...I should go pump now! lol
patricianaps
07-23-2008, 02:31 PM
I would pump a few ounces before a feeding, and right before I went to bed, then right when I woke up. And since my girls co-slept, if I was up for a midnight cry fest, I would pump then too.
I am a firm believer in every ounce helping, so I found that really helped me keep my stash up. If worse came to worse, I would use my stash to sneak away for a while and let DH have baby duty.
I used an average of 3 6-oz bags a day for each of my girls. Oddly, that was with or without solids. I had some fast growers!
mamamandi
07-23-2008, 02:34 PM
I started back to work when DS was 6 weeks old. I pump at 8am before I leave the house and get about 6 ounces. Then pump at 11:30, and 2:30 at work. Then feed on demand at home at night. Especially now that he is eating solids I almost always get to freeze at least 5 ounces a day if we want or we just roll it over for the next day.
ETA: I started a good stash while I was still home on leave, but then got mastitis and my supply went down so I had to work really hard to build it back up. Starting with very little we now have stock to easily make it through a month or so if I were to suddenly stop lactating LOL!
Baby_Vol
08-01-2008, 08:27 AM
I started pumping once a day when DD was one week old. I went back to work when she was 11 weeks old and I had over 500 ounces stored in the deep freeze. I pump each morning about an hour after her morning feed (b/c that's when I'm fullest). I rotate it out as I go ...she eats 3 - 3 ounces bags while I'm at work right now (she's 12 weeks old).
She has never had formula and I would rather her not have it. I think I will be okay with that stash.
With DS, I only had 150 ounces stored when I went back to work at 11 weeks. We made it a year, but it was tough with trying to keep up after about 9 months. I didn't want that this time.
clb
08-01-2008, 10:16 AM
my situation was totally different. I had an oversupply issue due to hyper lactation and since your body makes enough milk to meet demand I couldn't really pump to "build up a supply" (because that would make my situation worse). I also had extremely forceful letdown. DS was constantly gagging and would cry at the breast, my nursing pads AND my shirt would be soaked and need to be changed at each and every feeding. Baby was fussy and gassy all day long due to foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. We were a mess.
I started pumping once a day one week before I went back to work just so we'd have a little freezer stash and at work I pump for each feeding I missed and then we use today's milk for tomorrow's feeding. I constantly worry about ds getting hungry and me missing a feeding. My boobs finally calmed down after 3 months, but I'm still afraid to pump too much because I remember how miserable my little guy was. I'm so glad we're past that point.
Anyway, everyone is different, but my only advice would be to make sure you pump one side entirely empty if you are going to pump (rather than, say, using a double electric pump and taking a few ounces off of each boob to combine). That way your baby gets a similiar feeding from freezer milk as they would from the breast (and doesn't end up with just the watery foremilk, which can upset a baby's belly).
I'm guessing this is all tmi...I'm just pak right now and it got me thinking...
zsusana
08-01-2008, 12:16 PM
I've been back to work for over 6 months and I didn't pump that much while on leave. I did about once a day, but it was for her to take that day in a bottle so she'd be used to it. I might have had 100 ounces or so in the freezer. Still, the idea of pumping on leave is good, because it will create a more bountiful supply than you would otherwise have, which will help if you ever get any hiccups in supply. I travel for work occasionally, so I needed at least enough for 2 days. Anyway, DD has never had formula and it's gone beautifully! Get a good pump, lots of BPA free storage bottles (I like Gerber clearview, because they are dirt cheap) and you'll be great!
