the following post may not be suitable for all. please read at your own discretion.
-A. i think that's the size of my boobs now. i haven't pumped in almost 2 weeks now, and and my girls have shriveled up to a NEGATIVE A cup. back when i was pregnant and then onto being a dairy queen, i was a full B cup. for the first time i had real legit girls; i even had cleavage! but once i stopped pumping, my girls completely shrunk. they look like little flaps of skin. gross.
have you experienced this shrinkage? i feel like i'm a 12 year-old again, and i need to look into training bras!
one of my friends told me they will fill out again, maybe not to where they were, but they won't stay as just flaps. i'm starting to worry that they WILL stay as flaps. is this the trade-off i get for pumping out 40oz a day?
i don't mind being small, but i want SOMETHING there. there needs to be a presence of some sort!
next time you see me in person, don't be looking at my girls because i will know what you are thinking!
;)
Showing posts with label pumping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumping. Show all posts
9.27.2012
8.16.2012
to be free : by jean
it's been about a month since i went back to working everyday, and i decreased my pumping times to only twice a day. it's been GREAT only having to pump in the morning and at night. now i'm thinking of trying to decrease it even more to only ONE pump a day. freedom is right around the corner, i can just taste it!
i know i'm so fortunate for being a dairy queen and being able to easily pump out 40 oz a day. even now with 2 pumps, i get about 10-12oz per pumping session, so total, about 20-24 oz a day. because i still have a good amount in the freezer, miles has plenty to drink from even if i stop pumping soon.
we are planning to go on a trip to Korea in october and i want to be selfish and not bring a pump and avoid dealing with all that there. is that awful of me? if we didn't have that trip planned, i may have been more open to pumping until miles was ready to transition into cow's milk. i want to give him breastmilk until he starts drinking cow's milk, but i want to be free from the pump. i've been exclusively pumping for almost 7 months and i just want to be done. i'm so tired of getting my girls squeezed every single day, wearing a nursing pad in this heat and dealing with boob sweat! gosh that sounds so awful, especially when you write it out like that! my doctor says it's really up to me if i want to stop pumping and start giving him formula. miles had breastmilk exclusively for almost 7 months and now that he's started to eat solids, soon his milk intake will decrease. so i'm wondering if i just start pumping once a day for the next few weeks to slowly wean myself off and then once my frozen supply runs out, start him on formula. he'll only be on formula for a few months before transitioning into cow's milk.
on top of that, am i gonna gain weight? i sound so shallow, but i lost an extra 8 pounds on top of my pregnancy weight. i would LOVE to stay where i'm at. my friend told me that producing 1 oz of breastmilk burns about 26 calories. that means every time i pumped out 40 oz a day, my girls helped me burn 1,040 calories!! if i stop pumping, does this mean i'll actually have to work out to keep the weight off??
on a sidenote, did you know that to help reduce milk production, you can drink shik hae (Korean sweet rice drink)?
sikhye (also spelled shikhye or shikeh; also occasionally termed dansul or gamju) is a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage, usually served as a dessert. In addition to its liquid ingredients, sikhye contains grains of cooked rice and in some cases pine nuts. (wikipedia)
mama lee (my mom) told me this and it seems to be a known fact among older Korean moms. i told amy about it when she was weaning, so she drank one can a day and also put cabbage leaves on her girls (amy: I went to bed with a cabbage bar in my boobs!). it seemed to work. right amy? (amy: Yup, it did! Weaning took overall 1-2 weeks and wasn't all too painful. Thank you, Sikhye!).
so i want to start drinking shik hae soon. just to be clear...do i think formula is bad? absolutely not. do i think breastmilk is better? absolutely yes! i'm not one to think that formula is in any way bad for babies. plenty of kids grow up only drinking formula. if there were no pumps, miles may only have been fed formula since he never latched on.
clearly i'm a bit torn. i know what i WANT to do, but i sort of feel guilty wanting to stop when i'm blessed with so much liquid gold.
when did you stop pumping or breastfeeding? what are some methods you used to wean?
on weaning, did you know that if you stop too suddenly, that you can fall into depression? i read about it in a cup of jo...one of my favorite blogs!
i know i'm so fortunate for being a dairy queen and being able to easily pump out 40 oz a day. even now with 2 pumps, i get about 10-12oz per pumping session, so total, about 20-24 oz a day. because i still have a good amount in the freezer, miles has plenty to drink from even if i stop pumping soon.
we are planning to go on a trip to Korea in october and i want to be selfish and not bring a pump and avoid dealing with all that there. is that awful of me? if we didn't have that trip planned, i may have been more open to pumping until miles was ready to transition into cow's milk. i want to give him breastmilk until he starts drinking cow's milk, but i want to be free from the pump. i've been exclusively pumping for almost 7 months and i just want to be done. i'm so tired of getting my girls squeezed every single day, wearing a nursing pad in this heat and dealing with boob sweat! gosh that sounds so awful, especially when you write it out like that! my doctor says it's really up to me if i want to stop pumping and start giving him formula. miles had breastmilk exclusively for almost 7 months and now that he's started to eat solids, soon his milk intake will decrease. so i'm wondering if i just start pumping once a day for the next few weeks to slowly wean myself off and then once my frozen supply runs out, start him on formula. he'll only be on formula for a few months before transitioning into cow's milk.
on top of that, am i gonna gain weight? i sound so shallow, but i lost an extra 8 pounds on top of my pregnancy weight. i would LOVE to stay where i'm at. my friend told me that producing 1 oz of breastmilk burns about 26 calories. that means every time i pumped out 40 oz a day, my girls helped me burn 1,040 calories!! if i stop pumping, does this mean i'll actually have to work out to keep the weight off??
on a sidenote, did you know that to help reduce milk production, you can drink shik hae (Korean sweet rice drink)?
sikhye (also spelled shikhye or shikeh; also occasionally termed dansul or gamju) is a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage, usually served as a dessert. In addition to its liquid ingredients, sikhye contains grains of cooked rice and in some cases pine nuts. (wikipedia)
mama lee (my mom) told me this and it seems to be a known fact among older Korean moms. i told amy about it when she was weaning, so she drank one can a day and also put cabbage leaves on her girls (amy: I went to bed with a cabbage bar in my boobs!). it seemed to work. right amy? (amy: Yup, it did! Weaning took overall 1-2 weeks and wasn't all too painful. Thank you, Sikhye!).
so i want to start drinking shik hae soon. just to be clear...do i think formula is bad? absolutely not. do i think breastmilk is better? absolutely yes! i'm not one to think that formula is in any way bad for babies. plenty of kids grow up only drinking formula. if there were no pumps, miles may only have been fed formula since he never latched on.
clearly i'm a bit torn. i know what i WANT to do, but i sort of feel guilty wanting to stop when i'm blessed with so much liquid gold.
when did you stop pumping or breastfeeding? what are some methods you used to wean?
on weaning, did you know that if you stop too suddenly, that you can fall into depression? i read about it in a cup of jo...one of my favorite blogs!
8.06.2012
Mayor Bloomberg is saying "no" to formula: by amy
I first want to say that today is Sunday, August 5, 2012, and my son walked his first real steps by himself! The smile on his face said it all-- he looked so happy and proud of himself as he walked into my arms. It also must be (hopefully) coincidental that today his behavior is just completely OFF. We learned he has a temper (must come from his father, heh), is chock full of energy and right now, as I write this, is screaming in his crib. Husband and I already went in twice, and we drew the line. It's now CIO time. I forgot how awful this felt. Also not looking forward to cleaning the dried snot off of his face tomorrow morning...10 minutes and counting...
OK so what am I really writing about tonight? This article.
Mayor Bloomberg is implementing a program in NYC hospitals (which is voluntary, btw) whereby hospitals keep formula out of sight from new mothers to help encourage them to breastfeed. If mothers insist on formula, the nurses need to 1) sign out the locked up formula, and 2) give a speech to the new mom about why breast is best. Kinda like when you're at Bloomingdales and the lady asks if you'd like a free cup of Nespresso coffee, and you have to stand there and listen to her schpeel about why Nespresso kicks Keurig's ass (this is jean, it really does!). Imagine that, but add raging post-labor hormones, exhaustion, frustration and perhaps humiliation to the picture. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?
[btw, 15 minutes, and the baby is finally sleeping. *PHEW*]
I gotta give it to Mayor Bloomberg-- he's just looking out for the greater welfare of his fellow New Yorkers. First, he targeted the obese New Yorkers by cutting down the soda in-take, and now (of all people), he's targeting new mothers and NYC's newborns.
As many of you ummas know, when you go to the pediatrician, your OBGYN and the hospital, they all offer free gift bags, often in forms of baby-stuff-organizers which also include coupons and free samples of formula. Free baby food? Sure! Yes, all of my doctors, nurses (and my mom, who is a labor and delivery nurse), the posters on the walls of the offices and hospitals, my instructor in my childbirthing class, and all hundreds of books and online articles that I read reminded me that "breast is best." I had full intention to breastfeed, but I also heard about how difficult it could be and how some women had little to zero supply, so I managed my expectations. It took some time for my milk to come in, and hence, took some time for Logan to latch on. During our 2nd night at the hospital, Logan was SCREAMING while hardly anything came out of my breast-- just a few precious drops of colostrum. He was also tearing up my girls (literally) so he would cry out of frustration and I would cry out of pain. Poor husband felt so helpless watching the two of us. That night, we asked the nurse to give him just a little bit of formula since nothing seemed to appease him. I was so scared he would get nipple confusion but after just a few sucks of formula, he was happily dozing off, and we felt it was the best decision at the time. As we were discharged, the nurse offered us a big pack of formula which we accepted, and we were on our way home.
Conveniently, Hurricane Irene hit during our first night home with Logan. I breastfed Logan in the dark with candles. We woke up to feed him about every 2 hours. I didn't dread coming to him when he cried/woke up-- I dreaded his mouth attempting to latch on to my already torn up girls. My milk clearly hadn't come in yet, he wasn't latching on, and my girls were torn up and bleeding. So, I decided to attempt to nurse him for as long as I could take it (and he could drink the colostrum which was the good stuff), and then the husband would "top him off" with a few CCs of formula via a plastic syringe (given to us by the pediatrician at the hospital) to avoid nipple confusion. While the husband fed him, I pumped to try to stimulate my milk production. At the next feeding, I would attempt to nurse, then we would feed him whatever I pumped from the last feeding and a few CCs of formula. At one point, my girls were REALLY torn and needed a break in between feedings to heal, so then I would just pump, and the husband would just feed whatever I pumped. Once my milk came in and Logan properly latched on (no more torn girls!), my mom realized it was still a pretty low supply (I was no dairy queen like Jean!), so she encouraged me to supplement just a little with formula. Then at one point, I exclusively nursed for awhile, alternating sides. As Logan got bigger, I started supplementing again b/c I would nurse for a total of 90-120 minutes per session before he seemed to really stop. I felt like my body never had time to fully replenish the supply. I took lots of supplement to try to boost my supply, but in the end, I was just thankful that I was able to offer Logan some breast milk on a daily basis.
Logan's pediatrician encouraged me to exclusively breastfeed but was totally OK (and encouraging) when I decided to stick with supplementing. I think Mayor Bloomberg's proposal is great. NYU Langone Medical Center, which has already restricted access to formula, has seen its breast-feeding rate increase from 39% to 68% by doing so. But, while every mom is different and needs encouragement along the way, no mom should feel guilty if she chooses to give formula to her baby. Circumstances will arise when formula is a necessity, and I don't think hospitals should give moms a hard time if they request formula. I wonder what the lecture sounds like. Probably something like, "Breast feeding is great b/c of XYZ and provides XYZ for your baby. Are you sure you want you and your child to miss out on this? Please sign here indicating that you DON'T want to give your baby what's best for her. Don't say we didn't tell you so..."
I'm sure they phrase it a little bit better. :)
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this program?
OK so what am I really writing about tonight? This article.
[btw, 15 minutes, and the baby is finally sleeping. *PHEW*]
I gotta give it to Mayor Bloomberg-- he's just looking out for the greater welfare of his fellow New Yorkers. First, he targeted the obese New Yorkers by cutting down the soda in-take, and now (of all people), he's targeting new mothers and NYC's newborns.
As many of you ummas know, when you go to the pediatrician, your OBGYN and the hospital, they all offer free gift bags, often in forms of baby-stuff-organizers which also include coupons and free samples of formula. Free baby food? Sure! Yes, all of my doctors, nurses (and my mom, who is a labor and delivery nurse), the posters on the walls of the offices and hospitals, my instructor in my childbirthing class, and all hundreds of books and online articles that I read reminded me that "breast is best." I had full intention to breastfeed, but I also heard about how difficult it could be and how some women had little to zero supply, so I managed my expectations. It took some time for my milk to come in, and hence, took some time for Logan to latch on. During our 2nd night at the hospital, Logan was SCREAMING while hardly anything came out of my breast-- just a few precious drops of colostrum. He was also tearing up my girls (literally) so he would cry out of frustration and I would cry out of pain. Poor husband felt so helpless watching the two of us. That night, we asked the nurse to give him just a little bit of formula since nothing seemed to appease him. I was so scared he would get nipple confusion but after just a few sucks of formula, he was happily dozing off, and we felt it was the best decision at the time. As we were discharged, the nurse offered us a big pack of formula which we accepted, and we were on our way home.
Conveniently, Hurricane Irene hit during our first night home with Logan. I breastfed Logan in the dark with candles. We woke up to feed him about every 2 hours. I didn't dread coming to him when he cried/woke up-- I dreaded his mouth attempting to latch on to my already torn up girls. My milk clearly hadn't come in yet, he wasn't latching on, and my girls were torn up and bleeding. So, I decided to attempt to nurse him for as long as I could take it (and he could drink the colostrum which was the good stuff), and then the husband would "top him off" with a few CCs of formula via a plastic syringe (given to us by the pediatrician at the hospital) to avoid nipple confusion. While the husband fed him, I pumped to try to stimulate my milk production. At the next feeding, I would attempt to nurse, then we would feed him whatever I pumped from the last feeding and a few CCs of formula. At one point, my girls were REALLY torn and needed a break in between feedings to heal, so then I would just pump, and the husband would just feed whatever I pumped. Once my milk came in and Logan properly latched on (no more torn girls!), my mom realized it was still a pretty low supply (I was no dairy queen like Jean!), so she encouraged me to supplement just a little with formula. Then at one point, I exclusively nursed for awhile, alternating sides. As Logan got bigger, I started supplementing again b/c I would nurse for a total of 90-120 minutes per session before he seemed to really stop. I felt like my body never had time to fully replenish the supply. I took lots of supplement to try to boost my supply, but in the end, I was just thankful that I was able to offer Logan some breast milk on a daily basis.
Logan's pediatrician encouraged me to exclusively breastfeed but was totally OK (and encouraging) when I decided to stick with supplementing. I think Mayor Bloomberg's proposal is great. NYU Langone Medical Center, which has already restricted access to formula, has seen its breast-feeding rate increase from 39% to 68% by doing so. But, while every mom is different and needs encouragement along the way, no mom should feel guilty if she chooses to give formula to her baby. Circumstances will arise when formula is a necessity, and I don't think hospitals should give moms a hard time if they request formula. I wonder what the lecture sounds like. Probably something like, "Breast feeding is great b/c of XYZ and provides XYZ for your baby. Are you sure you want you and your child to miss out on this? Please sign here indicating that you DON'T want to give your baby what's best for her. Don't say we didn't tell you so..."
I'm sure they phrase it a little bit better. :)
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this program?
7.12.2012
sleep, baby, sleep! (part II): by jean
i wasn't a very diligent new mom. i had skimmed through pregnancy books but not much on what to do when the baby was born. a part of me was lazier since i knew amy was reading up on a lot of stuff...so i figure i would just ask her and get the cliffnote's version! (read about how amy sleep trained logan here!)
i love sleep. i was worried for myself of how little sleep i would get. miles slept in the bassinet right next to our bed up until he was around 6 weeks old. we never thought about putting him in our bed since i tend to move around, so i was too nervous that i would squish him.
around 8 weeks he was waking up about 2 times a night:
- go to sleep at 9 pm
- wake up 1 or 2 am, eat, change diaper, fall asleep
- wake up 4 or 5am, eat, change diaper, fall asleep
- wake up 7 or 8 am
at his 2 month check up, i told his doctor what his pattern was like, and she said to start feeding him less when he woke up at night. at that point, he didn't really need to eat-- he just wanted to be soothed.
because miles didn't latch on very well, i was mainly pumping (i'm a diary queen) and knew he was drinking about 4 oz per feeding so we started to give him 3 oz, than 2 oz, etc. the first week was brutal. normally, he pass out once he was almost finished with the bottle, burp while half asleep, and go straight to sleep. now that we were giving him less, he would cry wanting more. in the beginning, we gave in and gave him his normal amount just so we could also sleep!
i was motivated to try again so i remember singing and rocking him for almost two hours one night, half asleep with my back feeling like it was going to break. at this point i had let him cry it out (CIO) to fall asleep on his own a few times but never in the middle of the night. CIO initially didn't work, and i wasn't ready. the longest i let him cry was 45 minutes and i felt horrible. but after about a week of giving him less and rocking him to sleep, he slowly dropped one of his feedings and slept almost 7 hours from 8pm until 3am. at 9 weeks he slept almost 9 hours straight, 8-4:45am. at 10 weeks, he slept from 8pm until 6:15am! 10 hours! hallelujah! i still remember me and my roommie (husband is roommate for life! i like the sound of it more than husband) waking up and both looking at each other as to who woke up in the middle of the night-- neither of us did b/c miles never woke up! we felt sooo refreshed being able to sleep through.
since then, miles goes down every night around 7:30pm and sleeps until 7am. he may wake up around 6 but he tends to play in his crib or fall back asleep so i get to sleep in until 7:30am, sometimes 7:45am! having him sleep through the night seemed like the best thing ever but having him fall asleep on his own was another hurdle. every time it was time for him to nap or go down for the night, i had to rock and feed him at the same time, praying that he'll pass out by the time he was done. he would burp while half asleep and i would gently put him down. if he was still awake by the time he finished his bottle, then i was in trouble. it was so tiring doing this EVERY time.
miles was now almost 4 months. i decided it was time to really let him CIO. amy was over during the day once and saw me struggling to get him to go to sleep. having amy with me made me feel a little more encouraged to try CIO again, so i did. even with her being around, 5 minutes felt like 50! but after she left i knew this had to change. the next day i started with his first nap. she had mentioned it would be the easiest to start. miles normally took his first nap around 8:45-9am. i put him down and walked away. he cried for about 20 minutes and fell asleep--i guess that wasn't too bad. he slept in the stroller for the rest of his naps that day. but that night, i told my roommie that we HAD to try this again. we made sure to give him a bath that night, closed the door and ate our dinner watching the monitor. we told ourselves, if he still cries after an hour, we will stop. thank goodness, after the longest 40 minutes ever, he passed out.
ever since then, miles falls asleep by himself for his naps without any crying. he may fuss a bit but as soon as i put him down, he'll go to his position, on his tummy with his 3rd and 4th fingers in his mouth, and pass out. night time sleep is another story: there are times when he's totally fine, but other times will cry for 15-20 minutes. i don't know why some days he's fine and others he's not. i thought maybe if he didn't nap well, that's why he was crying but even if he took all 3 naps and was good all day, it didn't matter. it'll always be a mystery why they cry so much at night. why can't they just tell us?? :p in any case, it's SO liberating being able to put him down and walk away because i know he'll be ok and wake up with a big smile.
i love sleep. i was worried for myself of how little sleep i would get. miles slept in the bassinet right next to our bed up until he was around 6 weeks old. we never thought about putting him in our bed since i tend to move around, so i was too nervous that i would squish him.
around 8 weeks he was waking up about 2 times a night:
- go to sleep at 9 pm
- wake up 1 or 2 am, eat, change diaper, fall asleep
- wake up 4 or 5am, eat, change diaper, fall asleep
- wake up 7 or 8 am
at his 2 month check up, i told his doctor what his pattern was like, and she said to start feeding him less when he woke up at night. at that point, he didn't really need to eat-- he just wanted to be soothed.
because miles didn't latch on very well, i was mainly pumping (i'm a diary queen) and knew he was drinking about 4 oz per feeding so we started to give him 3 oz, than 2 oz, etc. the first week was brutal. normally, he pass out once he was almost finished with the bottle, burp while half asleep, and go straight to sleep. now that we were giving him less, he would cry wanting more. in the beginning, we gave in and gave him his normal amount just so we could also sleep!
i was motivated to try again so i remember singing and rocking him for almost two hours one night, half asleep with my back feeling like it was going to break. at this point i had let him cry it out (CIO) to fall asleep on his own a few times but never in the middle of the night. CIO initially didn't work, and i wasn't ready. the longest i let him cry was 45 minutes and i felt horrible. but after about a week of giving him less and rocking him to sleep, he slowly dropped one of his feedings and slept almost 7 hours from 8pm until 3am. at 9 weeks he slept almost 9 hours straight, 8-4:45am. at 10 weeks, he slept from 8pm until 6:15am! 10 hours! hallelujah! i still remember me and my roommie (husband is roommate for life! i like the sound of it more than husband) waking up and both looking at each other as to who woke up in the middle of the night-- neither of us did b/c miles never woke up! we felt sooo refreshed being able to sleep through.
since then, miles goes down every night around 7:30pm and sleeps until 7am. he may wake up around 6 but he tends to play in his crib or fall back asleep so i get to sleep in until 7:30am, sometimes 7:45am! having him sleep through the night seemed like the best thing ever but having him fall asleep on his own was another hurdle. every time it was time for him to nap or go down for the night, i had to rock and feed him at the same time, praying that he'll pass out by the time he was done. he would burp while half asleep and i would gently put him down. if he was still awake by the time he finished his bottle, then i was in trouble. it was so tiring doing this EVERY time.
miles was now almost 4 months. i decided it was time to really let him CIO. amy was over during the day once and saw me struggling to get him to go to sleep. having amy with me made me feel a little more encouraged to try CIO again, so i did. even with her being around, 5 minutes felt like 50! but after she left i knew this had to change. the next day i started with his first nap. she had mentioned it would be the easiest to start. miles normally took his first nap around 8:45-9am. i put him down and walked away. he cried for about 20 minutes and fell asleep--i guess that wasn't too bad. he slept in the stroller for the rest of his naps that day. but that night, i told my roommie that we HAD to try this again. we made sure to give him a bath that night, closed the door and ate our dinner watching the monitor. we told ourselves, if he still cries after an hour, we will stop. thank goodness, after the longest 40 minutes ever, he passed out.
ever since then, miles falls asleep by himself for his naps without any crying. he may fuss a bit but as soon as i put him down, he'll go to his position, on his tummy with his 3rd and 4th fingers in his mouth, and pass out. night time sleep is another story: there are times when he's totally fine, but other times will cry for 15-20 minutes. i don't know why some days he's fine and others he's not. i thought maybe if he didn't nap well, that's why he was crying but even if he took all 3 naps and was good all day, it didn't matter. it'll always be a mystery why they cry so much at night. why can't they just tell us?? :p in any case, it's SO liberating being able to put him down and walk away because i know he'll be ok and wake up with a big smile.
 |
| miles awake with a big smile! |
7.05.2012
the life of a dairy queen : by jean
my mom told me when i got pregnant that i would not have to worry about having enough milk, but that i would most likely have too much. it must be genetic because she was right. i had so much milk from early on! however, miles never latched on well so his doctor encouraged me to bottle feed him since he needed to gain weight his first weeks at home.
i was a bit bummed. i wanted to be able to nurse him like how most moms do. why wouldn't he take my boob! i tried going to a lactation consultant, used nipple shields...in the end he just ate so well with the bottle that i didn't want to irritate him.
so began the life of a dairy queen. at first, i was pumping as much as miles was feeding. 6-8 pumps a day for about 20 minutes each. it was tiring but that's what i was told, that i had to pump as if i was nursing so my milk would come in and regulate. i tried to pass time by either texting with amy, playing games on my phone, or going on kellymom.com to get ALL the information about breastfeeding etc.
this is how my pump life as evolved.
month 1: 6-8 pumps/day; ~4oz/pump; total ~32oz 20 minutes
month 2: 5-6pumps/day; ~8oz/pump; total ~40oz 20 minutes
month 3: 4 pumps/day; ~9oz/pump; total ~40+oz 15 minutes
month 4: 3 pumps/day; ~12oz/pump; total ~36+oz 15 minutes
my average after the 1st month has been about 40oz/day. this is why amy started calling me a dairy queen. you would think, once you pump less your amount decreases right? that's what they say...but not me! my total amount either stayed the same or i had more! the most i ever pumped out that i have written out is 46oz a day, the most i ever pumped out in one pump session was 16.5oz. i had to change out the bottles that i was pumping into because it started to overflow. oye.
a few times when i was switching to lesser pumps a day, i got clogged ducts. how do you know? there is a tender spot that hurts when you touch and its rock hard. i found the best way to relieve these clogged ducts was to massage really well when you are taking a hot shower, as well as massaging as your are pumping.
pumping only 3 times a day has given me so much more freedom. the first few months when i was pumping more frequently, it was so hard to go anywhere! even if i was going out for a walk with miles, i think about what time i would need to be back, and once i'm back if i can distract miles for 15 minutes or if he would have to be fed or be taking a nap. soo many things to figure out!
i feel incredibly blessed that i am able to give miles breastmilk even though he never really latched on. back in the day, they didn't have pumps or any milk storage system so all this liquid gold would go to waste! but not now!
since i produce more than how much miles consumes each day, my freezer is packed with frozen breastmilk. early on, i realized that i needed to start cycling out my frozen milk since it was starting to take over my freezer. so everyday, i put in the freezer 2-3 6oz milk bags and take out the oldest 2 frozen bags each day to mix into miles's bottles. below are pictures of my freezer. each ziploc bag contains about 14-6oz bags. on the bottom near where the ice cubes are my oldest bags that i take out each day. on the side door are the ones i'm currently freezing. i really like the lansinoh milk storage bags. they are very space efficient. currently there's about 8 bags in there with another bag about to form on the side door plus about 10 that i took out of the bags that i currently use. that's roughly about 130 milk bags, that's about 780 oz of breastmilk! that kind of sounds gross and amazing. it all came out of me! ah!
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| 14-6oz bags per ziploc bag. currently about 8 bags in there. |
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| newest milk that i freeze on the side and then eventually put in ziploc bags |
don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to show off...ok maybe a little. only because its just ridiculous how much comes out! but even though i've had tons of milk, i never got to have that joy with nursing. nursing was such a traumatizing experience for the both of us. i really wanted to nurse. it would make it so much easier than constantly pumping, making bottles, cleaning parts etc etc. i even went to a lactation specialist at his doctor's office. she said miles was a "lazy sucker" (lol)! in order to get him to latch on properly, it would take some work...but that he CAN do it. she suggested trying the nipple shield. the nipple shield worked sometimes, but other times because so much milk was coming out miles would literally choke since he couldn't control the flow. so he's freaking out, breastmilk is spilling everywhere...it was not fun.
so there i was, just milking away like a human cow. on the days when miles wasn't having a particularly good day, or the weather wasn't good and we've been stuck at home, pumping made me feel very defeated. i wasn't depressed, but very much defeated. here i was using a machine to squeeze out breastmilk because my son wouldn't take my boob. what would i do if pumps weren't around?! i felt like a robot, constantly having to plug myself onto it.
i've been doing this for so long now that i'm immune to it all. i have embraced being a diary queen. i still don't like doing it, but these are the sacrifices we all have to make. right?
the big question now is...when do i stop? i seem to have about a month's supply of frozen milk. a part of me is thinking maybe end of this month when miles is 6 months? maybe a birthday present to myself? stay tuned!
so there i was, just milking away like a human cow. on the days when miles wasn't having a particularly good day, or the weather wasn't good and we've been stuck at home, pumping made me feel very defeated. i wasn't depressed, but very much defeated. here i was using a machine to squeeze out breastmilk because my son wouldn't take my boob. what would i do if pumps weren't around?! i felt like a robot, constantly having to plug myself onto it.
i've been doing this for so long now that i'm immune to it all. i have embraced being a diary queen. i still don't like doing it, but these are the sacrifices we all have to make. right?
the big question now is...when do i stop? i seem to have about a month's supply of frozen milk. a part of me is thinking maybe end of this month when miles is 6 months? maybe a birthday present to myself? stay tuned!
6.14.2012
boob sweat: by jean
yes, i said it. boob sweat.
i've never really had this problem until now.
the past few days have been a bit humid here on the east coast, and i'm scared of what's to come this summer. at home, i stay away from wearing those lovely nursing pads as much as possible but in public, i stuff my bra with them because i know i will leak at some point. it will soon get way too hot to wear pads under a bra, so for now i found a decent solution: get a lace bra with no padding (no, i'm not trying to be sexy). i have one from the Gap, something similar to this below:
i put my lansinoh nursing pad in the bra since this doesn't have any padding. that way, there's at least a little less fabric! it makes me feel lighter than wearing my regular bra or a nursing bra and stuffing the nursing pads on top of that.
i've had this since my pre-pregnancy days. it's almost like wearing a thin tank/bra. since its thin and not too tight, it expands with you as you "fill up" on breast milk without making you feel too suffocated. if you are in need of more support, this is probably not the best solution but it will definitely be a lot cooler and lighter, which means minimal boob sweat!
for all the nursing/pumping ummas out there: how do YOU stay cool during the summer?
i've never really had this problem until now.
the past few days have been a bit humid here on the east coast, and i'm scared of what's to come this summer. at home, i stay away from wearing those lovely nursing pads as much as possible but in public, i stuff my bra with them because i know i will leak at some point. it will soon get way too hot to wear pads under a bra, so for now i found a decent solution: get a lace bra with no padding (no, i'm not trying to be sexy). i have one from the Gap, something similar to this below:
 |
i also love my american apparel's interlock bra.
 |
| American Apparel interlock bra $10.00 |
for all the nursing/pumping ummas out there: how do YOU stay cool during the summer?
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