D will be 4 weeks on Thursday. I plan to return to work at 11 weeks (took a week off before he was born). I am hoping to continue bf'ing when I go back, so obviously this means I have to pump. Right now, I'm pumping first thing in the morning, before D wakes up, using whatever boob I didn't use for the last feeding (so I can use that at the next feeding). I get anywhere from 3-5oz. I've been freezing it so that I can have a bit of a stash (I'm going home for a long weekend in 2 weeks, and will be away from him a couple of times, so he'll need a few bottles). Hubs started giving him a bottle in the evenings so that a) I get a break and b) D gets used to taking a bottle. So I think I will pump then, too. Right now I probably have about 18oz in the freezer (will need probably 9 for the trip home), and hope to continue to add to that by adding the evening pumping session. Should I be doing more, or wait to do daytime pumping when I return to work? I'm having a hard time finding information about how to go about getting this started and building a stash!
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I have no freezer stash so I thought I would point you to the pumping series on the blog!
http://www.hellobee.com/hellobee-series-increasing-milk-supply/GL!
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I think the schedule you have going is great!
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Sounds like a good plan. At the LLL meeting I attend they said you only need to have pumped what you need for the next day. I have never had a very big freezer stash but started pumping at random times while on maternity leave to help build some. It sounds like you respond well to the pump so you may be able to continue adding to your stash after you return to work.
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Just keep doing what you are doing and pumping when you can to build it up slowly. I think the biggest benefit of having a freezer stash is that it allows you to relax when pumping because you are not so stressed about the amount of milk you get. This in turn usually leads to you getting more milk and it all works out.
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Starting a freezer stash is definitely a good thing, it will make pumping less stressful once you go back to work. I would add another session in the evenings. This will help keep your supply up, and it will be good to have an increased supply because it often dips a bit when you go back to work.
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Following
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Thanks to @regberadaisy: reminding me of the BF series! After reading Mrs. Wagon's post about building up a freezer stash, I realized that maybe I should think about adding another session before I go to bed. Last night he slept for 7 hours, and I woke up completely engorged and soaked in breastmilk that leaked - ugh!
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@littlebug: I think starting in march I am going to throw in a night pump too!
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My LO eats every 2 hrs. Should I pump between? Is that not enough time?
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@jedeve: That's why I don't pump during the day. I feel like I would not have nearly enough milk to pump AND feed him. Plus, I would donothing but sit around with my boobs hanging out! Talk about unproductive!
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I'm so happy I built up a freezer stash before I went back to work (I did this by starting to bottle feed at LO's one middle of the night wake up- daddy gave him a bottle while I pumped, 3 am = 10-12 oz for me!). Once I went back to work, I have only been able to pump 10 of the 18 oz I need to get my LO through the day, so since he sleeps through the night, I still get up to pump in the middle of the night so that I have enough. So, between pumping 2 x a day at work, once in the middle of the night, and my freezer stash, I'm doing ok.
I don't think a huge stash is necessary, but it's "nice to have". -
@jedeve: J block feeds so I just pump the opposite side. Not sure how to handle otherwise though bc he is eating every 2 hrs as well. ????
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@littlebug: I started pumping at 1 week pp because DD had to be admitted to the NICU and it was too stressful for me to rush from the hotel to the hospital at all hours of the night. At that time I would wake up in the middle of the night and pump for 10 min. just to keep my supply up. After a couple weeks I realized that I didn't need the middle of the night so, I happily dropped that.. For me the easiest way to build a stash was:
(1) Pump first thing in the morning and have DH give DD a bottle. I'm always engorged in the morning and my milk sprays everywhere, so DD would choke several times and I'm sure that I would lose at least an ounce of milk just from what sprayed on her face..
(2) Pump right before I went to sleep so that I would feel "empty" and comfortable enough to sleep.
Unfortunately due to DD's severe reflux I've been exclusively pumping for 3 months now.. I pump about 5 times a day and have 400+ oz. in my freezer stash. Pumping is a pain, but it sure is nice to have such a large "insurance policy".
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