May Mamas 5/14

[swinega]

Dp

[magdalynaa]

Daphne has been cluster feeding all afternoon. It's tiring, but her latch has been much better after some tips from the MW's yesterday. She was having these 4-5 hour spells every other day of wanting to nurse constantly but not latching, getting frustrated, crying, etc. It made me cry! I just held her and cried for like half an hour one night because she was so miserable, and I couldn't do anything to make her better. She's been such a generally good baby that I can't complain, though. She slept through a 4-hour (roundtrip) car ride yesterday with only a few minutes of crying because she was hungry.

I'm a little blue. I don't want DH to go back to work Tuesday. I'm afraid I'll be so lonely with no one else in the house, and I'm still unsure that I can handle her on my own. I'm nervous about my milk supply. I'm pumping 6-8 oz a day in addition to BFing all her meals except 2 nighttime feedings (DH is a night owl, so he feeds her and lets me sleep). I'm so worried that I won't be able to pump enough when I go back to work. I'm taking More Milk and drinking tons of water.

*sigh*

I had my placenta encapsulated and hope the capsules perk me up. I'm a bit overwhelmed. FTM stuff, I guess. It's very overwhelming to suddenly be totally responsible for another person... even a super-cute one.

[tygr2410]

Magdalena-you NEED to be nursing at night. It's the most important time as that's when the body releases the hormones to make more milk..I forget the actual terms and such, but that's the basis of it. Not nursing at night can cause your supply to tank.

Caroline-Molly is on the same schedule for the most part. Bed at 11 after an hour or so feed, then up at 2-2:30, up at 5, and up at 8ish...BUT sometimes she'll go to 6-6:30 and will go back to sleep so I just get up and start the day. It's early, but it's nice to have some alone time when nobody NEEDS me..

AFM-I'm sick, again. Sore throat and fever hovering right at 100.0 for the second day in a row. Its just high enough to make the body hurt. If you recall, I was for 5 days week before last also just after delivery. This.is.getting.old...fast.

[babylove921]

Levi 1 week old.

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[me_just_me]

magdalynaa - like Tina said, you REALLY need to be nursing at night. It is hard to wake up and miss out on the sleep, but your body makes the most milk at night. The least you should do is get up and pump in the middle of the night if you aren't going to nurse. But with going back to work, and needing your supply to stay high, you really should consider nursing at night.

AFM: We all went to my parents today for dinner. It was my first time out of the house for fun. We had been to church, tons of doctor appointments etc, but this was the first time to just go somewhere and enjoy being with people. It was really nice. My mom so enjoyed just getting to sit and hold Ashlyn while she slept. She even changed her diaper without me asking! I think she just wanted to!

[magdalynaa]

I nurse at 9 pm and again at 2-3 am. I'm up for every feeding after that. Is that enough? There is usually only 4-5 hours at night that I don't nurse. If she's totally zonked out, I pump.

[tygr2410]

Originally Posted by magdalynaa I nurse at 9 pm and again at 2-3 am. I'm up for every feeding after that. Is that enough? There is usually only 4-5 hours at night that I don't nurse. If she's totally zonked out, I pump.

When does your DH give her the two feedings then? It's really rec. if you are having any supply issues to get up and pump at night even if your baby is sleeping. (eta-I'm not criticizing your choices, just trying to be helpful since you said you were concerned about your supply when returning to work)

[magdalynaa]

Originally Posted by tygr2410 When does your DH give her the two feedings then? It's really rec. if you are having any supply issues to get up and pump at night even if your baby is sleeping.

He gives her one big feeding (2 oz) usually around 11 pm or midnight. Sometimes she's "snacky" and eats another oz right before he puts her down. If she isn't awake at 2 am or so when I get up... or if she's just eaten an hour or so before then... I just pump.

She feeds constantly off my right breast but doesn't nurse as much off the left one, so I pump the left one more. She seems to be getting plenty of hindmilk off the right one based on her poop color. She makes PLENTY of wet and poopy diapers too. She gained 9 oz her first week!

So I guess with supply, I'm more worried about not being able to pump enough to build a stash and then pump 8 hours of meals for her when I go back to work versus not making enough milk to feed her generally. Does that make sense? Like my supply concerns are related to building a fridge/freezer stash.

She usually wakes up between 4-5 am to nurse, and then again around 7-8 am. So this period at night is the only time she isn't BFing on demand. The rest of the day, she is eating every 2 hours. Sometimes every 20 mins. She's a snacker.

Ugh. This is so much harder than I thought it would be.

[247mom]

Magdalynaa,
Just want to encourage you that you are doing a GREAT job!! I know it is tough right now, but believe me, it gets easier!! Newborns are so cuddly and sweet, but they are a lot of work!!! From being a former La Leche League leader, it sounds to me like you have a great supply!! It would be best for you to feed baby at the breast for all feedings, but getting rest is also important to having a good supply. So, maybe this is what you need to do (have husband feed a couple times) to get through the difficult newborn pd. (where there is so much lack of good sleep). But the time of the day when your hormones are the highest for making milk is the early, early morning hours (when you are nursing her).
It is really common for FTMs to be concerned about having enough milk for returning to work, but just remember that you're going to be pumping at work (I hope- if you can pump every 3 hrs that would be best, while at work!) so every day you will be bringing home more milk to add to your "milk bank". You may even find that you can pump in one day MORE than what she takes in one day. It can help when you pump to visualize your baby, or look at a picture of her while pumping, as it helps your milk let down. There are a lot of resources out there that can help you! But, you are doing GREAT!! And it DOES get easier!!

[magdalynaa]

Thanks so much. I really needed to hear that.