2 More Weeks

and then I think I'm calling it quits on pumping. Most days I only get about 1 oz per session. On a good day I'll get 4 ozs per session, but that's with me massaging my breasts, going back and forth between the expression and let down phases AND leaning over to let gravity do its work. Today I only got 1 oz and that was from two 20 minute sessions. Are you kidding me, what the heck is going on with my supply?!?!

Maybe it has something to do with the time I forgot to pack valves, membranes and shields; or the next day when I had meetings and presentations offsite but left my pump at Headquarters; or was it the day that I packed valves and membranes but forgot shields? That being said, I was still able to manually express, which honestly seems to be more efficient than using my pump anyway. Maybe if I pump more than 2 times a day, resume taking Fenugreek supplements and drinking Mother's Milk Tea my supply would increase.

With cold and flu season just around the corner I'm sure any amount of breast milk would be good for Nathan. But is 2 ozs daily enough; is it even worth it? This is where I'm torn and feel guilty about quitting. Although I'd still nurse when I get home from work and when/if he wakes at night.

But let me know your thoughts. If you breastfed and pumped, when did you know it was time to stop nursing?

To pump or not to pump...that is the question

I always knew I wanted to breastfeed but never had a set time frame in mind for how long I would nurse. I figured I'd play it by ear and see how long I could keep it up. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for about the first 6 months of life. Nathan was exclusively breastfeed for the first 3 months. But when I went back to work I wasn't able to keep up with his healthy appetite so we started supplementing with formula. Now, as his appetite has increased yet again I'm faced with a dilemma: do I switch to formula or do I continue pumping and give him what I can.

I don't think there's any mom that enjoys pumping. Especially when you're dealing with supply issues. It's depressing when you spend 15-20 minutes two times a day to get only 2 ozs each session when your child is drinking 6 ozs per bottle. And let's face it, even if your supply is great, who wants to tote around a breast pump, purse, laptop and lunch pail back and forth to work each day. Sometimes it's frustrating when you're the sole source of food for your child. As much as I enjoy my quality bonding time with Nathan there definitely are times when I wish Carl had the "equipment" to also feed Nathan. Of course he can always give him a bottle but when you're breastfeeding you don't get a break because you still have to pump. But I continue on because I realize that any amount of breast milk is good for Nathan.

So last week I started taking Fenugreek and drinking Mother's Milk tea to help increase my supply. Many women see an improvement within 24-48 hours while others take up to a week. We'll see if this works and help me continue nursing longer.

No Longer a Milk Cow

So I stopped pumping a couple of weeks ago. After Justin came home it got to be too much feeding him from a bottle and still pumping. I felt guilty but at the time I stopped only 2 out of his 8 feedings were breast milk and I was barely making enough for those feeds. When he was readmitted to the hospital they started him on full breast milk feedings so I tried to get my supply back up but it was too late and my milk had already dried up.

I had already accepted the fact that I would probably never get to breastfeed. From discussions with the lactation consultant and research of my own I knew it was easier for Justin to bottle feed than breastfeed. The times I put him to breast in the hospital he was able to latch on and suck but he was never able to get any milk. And the few times I tried to put him to breast after he came home he never latched on and would give me this look like “Are you serious”. Fortunately I had been freezing my milk from the day he was born so I have a good amount of milk on hand and hopefully it’ll last a couple more months.