Hellobee Boards

Haha! Glad the boobs are working! and glad you didn't give up!

Yay!! It's so easy to just throw in the towel, but I'm glad you were able to stick with it!

@Nskillet: I nurse while working full time. I can give ya some tips there. And you're right. I had no intention of BFing before Liv was born. I told the nurses I didnt want to, my decision was made. Aaaand then the second she was born, I became a mom and this instinct kicked in and I knew I NEEDED to try it. I had alot of trouble at first too, and I was so frustrated that it wasnt coming natural, but I kept at it. And like you, I supplemented for the first few weeks (6 or 8) until she moved to EBF. That little bit of supplementing, along with pumping so DH could give her a bottle, was a huge HUGE help. Liv is 10 months old and still nursing.

@Nskillet: The baby is much more effective at emptying the breast than your pump is. I can pump until NOTHING more comes out, then Liv can nurse and be gulping. If you are getting 2oz per breast, that is a normal amount for right now in the early days. But definitely get checked for flange sizes. The correct size can really help.

I have a freezer stash and I also actively pump. I didnt start building my freezer supply until Liv was about a month old and on more of a "schedule" (aka not latched on like 17 hours a day.) I started freezing in 2-4oz increments just to get it started. Its nice to have a freezer stash, but what I do is pump at work for the next day. On fridays, I scald (I have excess lipase) and freeze that milk, and on Monday use some of the older frozen milk so it gets rotated. Your body adjusts your milk for the calories and fats your baby needs right then, so my pedi told me to always use what I pump for the next day and slowly cycle through the frozen stuff.

I came back to work at 3 months. I pump just about every 2 hours to maintain my supply. Its taken a little bit of a hit now, but I think thats bc Liv is 10 months old and only really nursing 3-4 times a day max. The breaks arent bad for me, and now Im in a groove where start to finish it takes less than 15 minutes. I watch videos of her on my phone to speed up letdown, and I dont was the pump parts between each session. I empty the bottles into a larger storage bottle, then refrigerate it all until the next pumping session and repeat. After my last session, I wash them out and use the medela sterilizer bag.

Pumping at work is a LOT of work. And there are days Im SO over it, but I know Im not over BFing yet so I keep on going.