We've got another question from a pumping mom - can you help? If you've had experience pumping on a plane, or want to add to the tips our Pumping Moms offered, share your advice in the comments, or email us at pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com
Here's the situation:
Hi there! I will be traveling by plane next week with my husband and 5 month old son. Just wondering if any of your EPing mamas have any suggestions/tips/advice for me? I have been EPing since the beginning, but have not traveled thus far. Our flight will be about 3.5 hours long and I will definitely HAVE to pump sometime during the time frame of us being at the airport and before we get off the plane. I am on a 4x/day pumping schedule, mainly because I nanny for another 5 month old baby, so I have to make sure I only pump 1x during the hours that I have 2 babies, for obvious reasons--so I would like to try to keep this schedule so my supply is not affected (and so I am not leaking all over the place, which seems to happen when I screw with my schedule).
Also, we will be gone for 5 nights/6 days and I am not sure how many bottles I should bring. We are bringing our bottle-cleaning supplies, but I just don't want to have to pack everything, ya know? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Response from Kristen:
I have not traveled on a plane however I have to travel by car often & I am constantly pumping in the car, so I have become a pro... IMO...
I personally think that pumping on the plane would be easier & probably more private if you can believe it. Do you have a hands free set? If not you can easily make one out of a sports bra. Also your pump needs to be battery operated....wear your hands free set, I do it over my bra so when I am done I can take off if I want.Sit in the window seat & have your husband sit on aisle(assuming it is 2 seat only) I would wait until you have taken off (oh as a side note... You should feed baby on take off & landing.. It will help with pressure in the ears & less fussy) I would have hubby hold up baby blanket so you can lift shirt & get hooked up.. I put the horns & bottles under my shirt then I would lay baby blanket over me & I would just pump.... When done I would unhook & then maybe go in bathroom to take off hands free bra & get more comfortable :) Your milk will stay good until you can get in refrigerator since your flight is only 3.5 hrs. I don't know how long you pump for but I would time the pump session so maybe you only have an hour or less left when you finish pumping, that way you can get to where you are going without wasting milk. Good Luck!
Response from Heather:
I haven't traveled via plane while pumping, but we did take several road trips. One suggestion is to make sure you take a pack of freezer bags, they take up less room than bottles, and if you "run out" of bottles (like if baby eats less due to all the activity and all of your bottles are full of pumped milk) you can transfehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr milk to the freezer bags to free up bottles to pump into. For most of my pumping time, I was producing more than my little one ate, so I usually had to bring home more milk than I brought on the trip...extra storage was a must!
My daughter was off the charts in that she took 42 oz of milk a day from 1-6 months. She's not even very big! But when you EP, you really know how much they are eating, and she was consistent. I always took at least a day and a half of milk with me, because I'm a worrier and wanted to be sure if I missed a session or something she'd still have plenty. Clearly you don't have to do that. If you are pretty consistent, think about how long you will be "gone" each day, like will you be at a theme park for 8 hours? 12? Bring enough that you can travel comfortably.
When traveling with frozen milk, one tip I heard and tried was to NOT put it on ice - the frozen milk itself is colder than ice cubes, so the best thing (and what they do when shipping breastmilk) is to just pack the packets of frozen milk close together in an insulated cooler, and use the outside ones first. I tried this for a wedding and after 2 days some of the center milk was still frozen solid, it worked GREAT! I was a little worried since you have a shorter time to work with defrosted milk (should use it up within 24 hours, vs. over a week for "fresh" milk) but it was easier than dealing with ice and refilling coolers for sure.
One final tip - 50% of the time when I had an in room refrigerator, it didn't work properly, so I did keep my "fresh" milk on ice instead - no big deal since hotels usually have ice machines and I already had it in a cooler. Make sure you test the refrigerator if you will be relying on it.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Pumping Challenges - Entertaining the Baby - Heather
While EPing has has a lot of benefits, the main drawback for many pumping moms is trying to juggle pumping time with caring for your infant. For me, this was clearly the biggest pumping frustration. If you are struggling with the question "How on earth do I pump while my baby is awake?!?!" take heart...it does get better!
When The Cupcake was new, she would only sleep in our arms. She definitely wouldn't tolerate the bassinet or the crib, and it never worked to get her to sleep and then try and move her, she always woke up (still does!). This made even going to the bathroom or getting a snack a huge challenge, let alone trying to pump every 3 hours.
Tip #1: GET A HANDS FREE BRA.
I didn't know these existed until a month after TC was born and I had been stressing myself to the hilt trying to pump, keep her occupied, and deal with everything else that came my way, all without the use of my hands. The traditional method of pumping with a PISA is to hold the breastshields to your skin using both of your hands. If you are coordinated you can use one arm - wrapping your forearm around one and your hand on the other, leaving one hand free. I'm not exceptionally coordinated, and after a few spills (spilling breast milk is TOTALLY worth crying over), I was desperate. The day that the phone was ringing, TC was crying, the dog was barking, and I got a bloody nose all at the same time I was trying to pump - that was the end of the line. When I finished crying, and dripping, and trying not to spill the milk I was pumping, I finally did some googling and ordered the Simple Wishes bustier off of amazon. Best $30 I spent on TC so far.
You can't really pump holding a baby to your chest. If you have great arm muscles and a hands free bra you can hold your baby out over the flanges, and I was occasionally able to prop her way up on my shoulder for an emergency burp or to move her somewhere, but in general, holding is out. So my #2 tip is to have a good place to put your little one down that is within arms reach. This could be next to you on a bed or couch if it is secure enough, or in an infant chair, lounger, or Boppy-type pillow.
The latter was my choice. Even though I never breastfed, I used the heck out of my Boppy pillow for the first 3 months. We'd wrap TC up like a little burrito and prop her in the donut-shaped pillow, it was one of the few places outside of our arms she would sleep in the beginning. It was also a good place for feeding - and here we take a little side trip - while some people are strictly against bottle propping, it was a way of life for our family, and I don't regret it. I was in NO WAY worried that she would be isolated or fail to bond, since as I mentioned she spent most of her time in our arms being held and loved around the clock. I was close enough to listen for choking, and to keep an eye out for any smothering/suffication dangers, so I felt confident that safety wouldn't be a problem. The final concern about bottle propping deals with drainage and ear infections. I'll be honest, I don't completely understand this one or why it would be more likely with a propped bottle than a held one (maybe we can get a medical professional to weigh in?), and though I worried about it some, ultimately the convenience of bottle propping won out. And she never did have an ear infection, so all was well there.
This is all a long way of saying "feeding the baby is a good way to entertain him/her while you pump". i.e., tip #3.
My #4 tip for keeping baby happy while pumping is to have everything else you might need at your fingertips as well. I had a couple of pumping "stations" in my house that I rotated between. Before I hooked up, I made sure that in addition to my pumping supplies I had my cell phone, home phone, kleenex, a full bottle in case TC woke up or got crabby, and ideally a snack and beverage for myself. She has reflux so I always kept a lot of burp cloths around too. Taking a few extra moments to get set up really paid off in the long run as I wasn't stressing about or trying to reach a ringing telephone across the room, or interrupting a session to go get a bottle or toy (or sitting in puke till I finished). Anything you can do to lower stress will help with your letdown and production.
#5 is one I STILL am not good at - realizing that sometimes babies cry, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it. It's not your fault, and as long as your baby is safe, clean, fed, burped - there might not be a thing you can do to comfort them. If I keep saying it enough, maybe it'll get easier? My husband and I tried the "Cry it out" method ONCE and made it 3 minutes before we both gave in. But in the long run, if you can keep your sanity and finish a pumping session, you may be saving more tears in the long run by keeping on schedule and keeping up production.
#6 accept help. Another area I started off pretty sucky in, but I'm learning fast! I was neurotic about people being in my house when it wasn't clean...well, it's pretty clear that my house will never be clean again, so I wish I had just come to terms with it earlier and accepted all the early offers of help. Especially from other moms. And when I did have guests over, I felt compelled to sit and chat with them, when really guests who want to hold and love your baby are a GREAT way to entertain little ones while you pump! Whether you pump in front of everyone or excuse yourself to enjoy a quiet moment, take advantage of those helpers.
#7 dance like no one is watching. Figuratively, of course, as the tubing doesn't give you much room to twirl. But don't be afraid to just get silly to entertain your kiddo. You might not be able to hold them, but you can definitely put on a show. Sing loud nonsensical songs. Make fart noises and siren wails and mash together Lady GaGa and Dolly Parton if you only know a few words of each. Find a go-to song that you DO know the words to and sing it over and over - for us it is "Tomorrow" from Annie, and my little one STILL smiles whenever I start in, despite my being completely tone deaf. TC loves it when I drape a blanket over her face and slowly pull it off and when I blow lightly on her lips - babies are new to the sensation of touch, just tracing lines on their arms can sometimes be soothing. Try it. Try everything. You will eventually find a few "go to" tricks that work, and they will carry you through - but you never know until you try!
When The Cupcake was new, she would only sleep in our arms. She definitely wouldn't tolerate the bassinet or the crib, and it never worked to get her to sleep and then try and move her, she always woke up (still does!). This made even going to the bathroom or getting a snack a huge challenge, let alone trying to pump every 3 hours.
Tip #1: GET A HANDS FREE BRA.
I didn't know these existed until a month after TC was born and I had been stressing myself to the hilt trying to pump, keep her occupied, and deal with everything else that came my way, all without the use of my hands. The traditional method of pumping with a PISA is to hold the breastshields to your skin using both of your hands. If you are coordinated you can use one arm - wrapping your forearm around one and your hand on the other, leaving one hand free. I'm not exceptionally coordinated, and after a few spills (spilling breast milk is TOTALLY worth crying over), I was desperate. The day that the phone was ringing, TC was crying, the dog was barking, and I got a bloody nose all at the same time I was trying to pump - that was the end of the line. When I finished crying, and dripping, and trying not to spill the milk I was pumping, I finally did some googling and ordered the Simple Wishes bustier off of amazon. Best $30 I spent on TC so far.
You can't really pump holding a baby to your chest. If you have great arm muscles and a hands free bra you can hold your baby out over the flanges, and I was occasionally able to prop her way up on my shoulder for an emergency burp or to move her somewhere, but in general, holding is out. So my #2 tip is to have a good place to put your little one down that is within arms reach. This could be next to you on a bed or couch if it is secure enough, or in an infant chair, lounger, or Boppy-type pillow.
The latter was my choice. Even though I never breastfed, I used the heck out of my Boppy pillow for the first 3 months. We'd wrap TC up like a little burrito and prop her in the donut-shaped pillow, it was one of the few places outside of our arms she would sleep in the beginning. It was also a good place for feeding - and here we take a little side trip - while some people are strictly against bottle propping, it was a way of life for our family, and I don't regret it. I was in NO WAY worried that she would be isolated or fail to bond, since as I mentioned she spent most of her time in our arms being held and loved around the clock. I was close enough to listen for choking, and to keep an eye out for any smothering/suffication dangers, so I felt confident that safety wouldn't be a problem. The final concern about bottle propping deals with drainage and ear infections. I'll be honest, I don't completely understand this one or why it would be more likely with a propped bottle than a held one (maybe we can get a medical professional to weigh in?), and though I worried about it some, ultimately the convenience of bottle propping won out. And she never did have an ear infection, so all was well there.
This is all a long way of saying "feeding the baby is a good way to entertain him/her while you pump". i.e., tip #3.
My #4 tip for keeping baby happy while pumping is to have everything else you might need at your fingertips as well. I had a couple of pumping "stations" in my house that I rotated between. Before I hooked up, I made sure that in addition to my pumping supplies I had my cell phone, home phone, kleenex, a full bottle in case TC woke up or got crabby, and ideally a snack and beverage for myself. She has reflux so I always kept a lot of burp cloths around too. Taking a few extra moments to get set up really paid off in the long run as I wasn't stressing about or trying to reach a ringing telephone across the room, or interrupting a session to go get a bottle or toy (or sitting in puke till I finished). Anything you can do to lower stress will help with your letdown and production.
#5 is one I STILL am not good at - realizing that sometimes babies cry, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it. It's not your fault, and as long as your baby is safe, clean, fed, burped - there might not be a thing you can do to comfort them. If I keep saying it enough, maybe it'll get easier? My husband and I tried the "Cry it out" method ONCE and made it 3 minutes before we both gave in. But in the long run, if you can keep your sanity and finish a pumping session, you may be saving more tears in the long run by keeping on schedule and keeping up production.
#6 accept help. Another area I started off pretty sucky in, but I'm learning fast! I was neurotic about people being in my house when it wasn't clean...well, it's pretty clear that my house will never be clean again, so I wish I had just come to terms with it earlier and accepted all the early offers of help. Especially from other moms. And when I did have guests over, I felt compelled to sit and chat with them, when really guests who want to hold and love your baby are a GREAT way to entertain little ones while you pump! Whether you pump in front of everyone or excuse yourself to enjoy a quiet moment, take advantage of those helpers.
#7 dance like no one is watching. Figuratively, of course, as the tubing doesn't give you much room to twirl. But don't be afraid to just get silly to entertain your kiddo. You might not be able to hold them, but you can definitely put on a show. Sing loud nonsensical songs. Make fart noises and siren wails and mash together Lady GaGa and Dolly Parton if you only know a few words of each. Find a go-to song that you DO know the words to and sing it over and over - for us it is "Tomorrow" from Annie, and my little one STILL smiles whenever I start in, despite my being completely tone deaf. TC loves it when I drape a blanket over her face and slowly pull it off and when I blow lightly on her lips - babies are new to the sensation of touch, just tracing lines on their arms can sometimes be soothing. Try it. Try everything. You will eventually find a few "go to" tricks that work, and they will carry you through - but you never know until you try!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Places We've Pumped - Janna
The strangest place I've pumped is in the car while I was driving. My sister and I wanted to go shopping and it was time for me to pump, so I put on my nursing cover, hooked up the pump and started driving. It was a little strange, but it worked! I became a pretty experienced car pumper when I needed to pump every 2 hours. Once I was in the back seat with my husband driving and I actually fell asleep. It was great! When I woke up the pump had turned off and I was done. Too bad it was time to pump again :-( The scariest place I have had to pump is at work. I just never felt comfortable pumping at work. I shared an office with another woman and she didn't mind if I pumped at my desk with a cover on. One time we forgot to lock the door and a guy that we worked with walked in. Akward!! From that point on I always double checked to make sure the door was locked.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Places We've Pumped - Heather
I am a home body. I was actually really glad to have my daughter in the winter, because I never felt any obligation to take her out - it was just too much work when I could barely get through a day with all of my "amenities" at arm's reach.
But, eventually, life goes on, and we had to emerge from our safe little cocoon.
Whenever I went anywhere more than just a quick trip to the store, I always brought my pump. I never knew what "hazards" could delay me, and I didn't want to be stuck somewhere and worry about missing a session or getting uncomfortable. I bought so many extra sets of pump parts that I always threw a clean set in my bag whenever I was done, and that meant I could just scoop up the whole thing and take off at a moment's notice (ha ha, we all know that's not true - it still took forever to pack up The Cupcake and all her accouterments, but at least the pump was quick!)
I'm lucky to have my family living just a half hour away, and very near a lot of shopping and entertainment options, so whenever we were out running errands that way it was easy to stop there for a pump break. Recent empty nesters, my mother even set up a special area in my sister's old bedroom with a power strip, pillows, and magazines if I ever needed to pump at her house. It was very comfortable.
On the flipside, the least comfortable place I've pumped was on the floor under a co-worker's desk. When I first went back to work, it took a few days to come up with a good place to pump. I work in the reception area of a public building, with no privacy. I refused to pump in the bathroom (mostly I'm too cheap to use up that much in batteries, but I was also way annoyed when I was pregnant and someone else pumped in there for hours a day. Not to mention...eew.). While my bosses were negotiating with other departments for a better option, I made due using various private offices when their owners were out. I soon learned to carry an extension cord when the only outlet I could access meant sitting on the floor and under a desk for 20 minutes...and I was glad I had my nursing cover, as most of the offices still had small windows.
At about 6 weeks we had to take a trip as a family to a funeral out of town. I was terrified (and tired, and not eating well, and otherwise just in poor mental and physical health) but actually things went really well. The Cupcake slept most of the 4 hour drive up, and when she was awake I could just pop a bottle in her mouth to feed her, so we didn't have to stop and lose time for that. Hubby and his grandfather sat in the front seat, baby and I were in the back, and I don't think anyone even noticed when I hooked up and pumped twice on that journey. My Medela PISA was pretty quiet, the battery pack worked effectively, and I used a nursing cover for modesty. It really helped that my daughter was sawing logs next to me :)
The strangest place I've pumped is probably in the bathtub. I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not (don't sue me if you get electrocuted!), but I used the battery pack and nothing got wet. I was able to multi task and make the most of my husband entertaining TC, and baths were a rare luxury for a while there.
The biggest lesson I've learned about pumping on the go (beyond BRING ALL YOUR PARTS! AND EXTRA PARTS! AND MORE PARTS!) is that it never hurts to ask. Once I needed to pump after an eye exam, and figured I'd just end up doing it in the car. But as I was on my way out of the clinic, I asked at the desk if there was anyplace where I could pump. The staff was so accommodating, they welcomed me into an unused exam room with a locking door, outlet, nice chair and even magazines. Not to mention heat (it was cold outside!). It never hurts to ask, and sometimes it can really help!
But, eventually, life goes on, and we had to emerge from our safe little cocoon.
Whenever I went anywhere more than just a quick trip to the store, I always brought my pump. I never knew what "hazards" could delay me, and I didn't want to be stuck somewhere and worry about missing a session or getting uncomfortable. I bought so many extra sets of pump parts that I always threw a clean set in my bag whenever I was done, and that meant I could just scoop up the whole thing and take off at a moment's notice (ha ha, we all know that's not true - it still took forever to pack up The Cupcake and all her accouterments, but at least the pump was quick!)
I'm lucky to have my family living just a half hour away, and very near a lot of shopping and entertainment options, so whenever we were out running errands that way it was easy to stop there for a pump break. Recent empty nesters, my mother even set up a special area in my sister's old bedroom with a power strip, pillows, and magazines if I ever needed to pump at her house. It was very comfortable.
On the flipside, the least comfortable place I've pumped was on the floor under a co-worker's desk. When I first went back to work, it took a few days to come up with a good place to pump. I work in the reception area of a public building, with no privacy. I refused to pump in the bathroom (mostly I'm too cheap to use up that much in batteries, but I was also way annoyed when I was pregnant and someone else pumped in there for hours a day. Not to mention...eew.). While my bosses were negotiating with other departments for a better option, I made due using various private offices when their owners were out. I soon learned to carry an extension cord when the only outlet I could access meant sitting on the floor and under a desk for 20 minutes...and I was glad I had my nursing cover, as most of the offices still had small windows.
At about 6 weeks we had to take a trip as a family to a funeral out of town. I was terrified (and tired, and not eating well, and otherwise just in poor mental and physical health) but actually things went really well. The Cupcake slept most of the 4 hour drive up, and when she was awake I could just pop a bottle in her mouth to feed her, so we didn't have to stop and lose time for that. Hubby and his grandfather sat in the front seat, baby and I were in the back, and I don't think anyone even noticed when I hooked up and pumped twice on that journey. My Medela PISA was pretty quiet, the battery pack worked effectively, and I used a nursing cover for modesty. It really helped that my daughter was sawing logs next to me :)
The strangest place I've pumped is probably in the bathtub. I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not (don't sue me if you get electrocuted!), but I used the battery pack and nothing got wet. I was able to multi task and make the most of my husband entertaining TC, and baths were a rare luxury for a while there.
The biggest lesson I've learned about pumping on the go (beyond BRING ALL YOUR PARTS! AND EXTRA PARTS! AND MORE PARTS!) is that it never hurts to ask. Once I needed to pump after an eye exam, and figured I'd just end up doing it in the car. But as I was on my way out of the clinic, I asked at the desk if there was anyplace where I could pump. The staff was so accommodating, they welcomed me into an unused exam room with a locking door, outlet, nice chair and even magazines. Not to mention heat (it was cold outside!). It never hurts to ask, and sometimes it can really help!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Costs of EPing - Janna
We've asked several of our pumping moms to add up their expenses and explain how much they've spent EPing. You can read all of the cost breakdowns posted to date by searching the cost label. Here's Janna's breakdown:
Cost of EPing
1.) Hospital Grade Rental Pump - $8 per month
2.) Lactation Consultant Fees (included pump instruction) - $200 per visit x 2
3.) Medela Freestyle - ~$380
5.) Medela Symphony Kit - ~$20
6.) Bottles - ~$100
7.) Breast Milk Storage Bags - $30
8.) Time: 2-6 hours per day pumping - priceless!
9.) Hands Free Bra - ~$30
10.) Bottle Brush - $5
11.) Nursing Pads - ~$20
12.) Deep Freezer for breast milk storage (used) - $100
13.) Medela Spare Parts - $12
14.) Medela Membranes - $8
15.) Lanolin (several tubes) - ~$20
I think that's it!! I probably spent more than necessary, but again, we didn't expect to be EPing and had no plan so we just did everything trial by error which ended up being very expensive.
Cost of EPing
1.) Hospital Grade Rental Pump - $8 per month
2.) Lactation Consultant Fees (included pump instruction) - $200 per visit x 2
3.) Medela Freestyle - ~$380
5.) Medela Symphony Kit - ~$20
6.) Bottles - ~$100
7.) Breast Milk Storage Bags - $30
8.) Time: 2-6 hours per day pumping - priceless!
9.) Hands Free Bra - ~$30
10.) Bottle Brush - $5
11.) Nursing Pads - ~$20
12.) Deep Freezer for breast milk storage (used) - $100
13.) Medela Spare Parts - $12
14.) Medela Membranes - $8
15.) Lanolin (several tubes) - ~$20
I think that's it!! I probably spent more than necessary, but again, we didn't expect to be EPing and had no plan so we just did everything trial by error which ended up being very expensive.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Mail Call: Your Questions
Thank you so much to everyone who visits Pumping Moms, I hope you find it worth your while. Recently we received this plea for help via email from a struggling new pumper:
Hello! I am new to Eping, and being a mom! I have a 10 day old baby, and started 6 days ago. So far, so good. My only problem is I keep getting clogged ducts. First, the right side now the left. I was able to clear the right side pretty quickly with warm compressing and massage. But- here I am again, with another problem now on the left (not as bad as the right side was). I have been massaging each side during pumping since I started. I am to pump about 8-9 times a day, and about 2-2.5 hours between, and I have been getting away with one pump at night, about 4 hours after the last session. Am I doing something wrong? Can I avoid this? Is the 4 hour stretch the cause for the issues?
Help!
Thanks in advance... I really love your blog, its keeping me sane!
I posed this question to some of our wonderful pumping moms, and we got a lot of great replies. Here is what experienced EPers have to offer:
From Kristen:
I think that part of the problem is the 4 Hr stretch... It is a little early to be going that long but I understand needing the sleep. So my suggestion is to use a heating pad on your chest while you pump. Also web you take a shower try to let hot water hit your breasts for like 5-10 minutes. This will also help keep things moving. You don't have to keep the heating pad on the whole time I usually put on until letdown & then again for last 5 minutes of pump( when you still have milk) & then for the 5 minutes you continue to pump after no more milk is coming.
What kind of bra are you wearing? What any at night?
From Jennifer:
My two cents...
I totally feel your pain. I had recurrent clogs the entire first month that I pumped, especially on my right side (which has always been my super-producer vs. my left side). After working with several lactation consultants, one of them finally recommended a supplement called lecithin. To this day, I call it my "miracle drug." It is safe to take several times a day. I started by taking 2 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I now just take 1 per day and it seems to still be effective.
You mentioned that you are only 10 days into this adventure. Do you have an oversupply? The lactation consultant figured that was one of the major causes of my clogs. The pump is just not as effective as a baby at taking out the milk.
I also tried the warm compresses, as well as massaging. To this day (4 months later), I still massage the entire time I pump. I find that I can do this more efficiently by using a hands-free bra. I love the Simple Wishes bras that I purchased off of Amazon.
The LC also said that you can try epsom salt. It never worked for me, but she claimed it worked for other moms. Basically, fill a giant bowl with warm water (as hot as you can stand) and dump in a handful of the salt. Submerge your breast into the mixture and keep in until you feel a release. Like I said, it never worked for me, but I was in enough pain to give it a try!
I always tried to increase my pumping when I had a clog. I would pump, rest for an hour, and then pump again. My longest clog lasted about 24 hours. You'll be amazed how wonderful you feel once it releases!!!!
From Janna:
It sounds like she is doing everything right. The only thing that I can think of is that pumping is just not as good at removing milk from the breast as nursing, so it's important to perform "hands on" pumping if your EPing. Stanford university has a good video on how to do it HERE. Also, make sure that you're fully emptying your breasts during your pumping session; you might need to pump a bit longer to fully drain them. I used a heat pack while I was pumping and that seemed to help.
From Jana:
Start taking 1200 mg if lectithan 4 times a day.
Making sure you do compresses as you pump
Drink plenty of water thru out the day.
From Ixelle:
I'm sorry you are dealing with clogged ducts (ouch!), you sound like you are doing everything right and you are doing such a great thing for your baby! Here are my suggestions:
Firstly, make sure you have the right size flanges - that makes a big difference. Medela has diagrams in their little breastfeeding booklets and here.
Secondly, make sure your pump suction is good, I got my milk blister from low suction (I needed to replace the membranes on the pump, since you have only been pumping for a few days this is probably not the problem but it might be another issue with the pump). Since your baby is so young, I very strongly urge you to rent a hospital grade pump if you don't already have one, at least for a month. There's nothing better for a pumping mom when you are initially building your supply and they're not expensive to rent.
Thirdly, make sure you are pumping for long enough (15-20 mins) each session and don't stop pumping in the middle of a letdown (sometimes I would get a letdown just as the timer hit 20 minutes), go the extra 1-2 minutes if you have to since you don't want to leave milk in the breast when you are this new to pumping and when you are dealing with blockages.
Lastly, if nothing else works, try completely soaking the breast in a warm vinegar solution bath (heard about this from a lactation consultant but never actually tried it) along with the massage and warm compresses you are using, and do it right before pumping. Apparently the vinegar helps with any milk blocking the duct openings.
All the best wishes to you, clogged ducts are no fun at all but hopefully you can fix the problem and move on with your life.
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To see other posts these Pumping Moms have written, click on their hyperlinked names. Do you have a question about Exclusive Pumping that you could use advice on? Send it to us at PumpingMomsBlog@gmail.com
Hello! I am new to Eping, and being a mom! I have a 10 day old baby, and started 6 days ago. So far, so good. My only problem is I keep getting clogged ducts. First, the right side now the left. I was able to clear the right side pretty quickly with warm compressing and massage. But- here I am again, with another problem now on the left (not as bad as the right side was). I have been massaging each side during pumping since I started. I am to pump about 8-9 times a day, and about 2-2.5 hours between, and I have been getting away with one pump at night, about 4 hours after the last session. Am I doing something wrong? Can I avoid this? Is the 4 hour stretch the cause for the issues?
Help!
Thanks in advance... I really love your blog, its keeping me sane!
I posed this question to some of our wonderful pumping moms, and we got a lot of great replies. Here is what experienced EPers have to offer:
From Kristen:
I think that part of the problem is the 4 Hr stretch... It is a little early to be going that long but I understand needing the sleep. So my suggestion is to use a heating pad on your chest while you pump. Also web you take a shower try to let hot water hit your breasts for like 5-10 minutes. This will also help keep things moving. You don't have to keep the heating pad on the whole time I usually put on until letdown & then again for last 5 minutes of pump( when you still have milk) & then for the 5 minutes you continue to pump after no more milk is coming.
What kind of bra are you wearing? What any at night?
From Jennifer:
My two cents...
I totally feel your pain. I had recurrent clogs the entire first month that I pumped, especially on my right side (which has always been my super-producer vs. my left side). After working with several lactation consultants, one of them finally recommended a supplement called lecithin. To this day, I call it my "miracle drug." It is safe to take several times a day. I started by taking 2 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I now just take 1 per day and it seems to still be effective.
You mentioned that you are only 10 days into this adventure. Do you have an oversupply? The lactation consultant figured that was one of the major causes of my clogs. The pump is just not as effective as a baby at taking out the milk.
I also tried the warm compresses, as well as massaging. To this day (4 months later), I still massage the entire time I pump. I find that I can do this more efficiently by using a hands-free bra. I love the Simple Wishes bras that I purchased off of Amazon.
The LC also said that you can try epsom salt. It never worked for me, but she claimed it worked for other moms. Basically, fill a giant bowl with warm water (as hot as you can stand) and dump in a handful of the salt. Submerge your breast into the mixture and keep in until you feel a release. Like I said, it never worked for me, but I was in enough pain to give it a try!
I always tried to increase my pumping when I had a clog. I would pump, rest for an hour, and then pump again. My longest clog lasted about 24 hours. You'll be amazed how wonderful you feel once it releases!!!!
From Janna:
It sounds like she is doing everything right. The only thing that I can think of is that pumping is just not as good at removing milk from the breast as nursing, so it's important to perform "hands on" pumping if your EPing. Stanford university has a good video on how to do it HERE. Also, make sure that you're fully emptying your breasts during your pumping session; you might need to pump a bit longer to fully drain them. I used a heat pack while I was pumping and that seemed to help.
From Jana:
Start taking 1200 mg if lectithan 4 times a day.
Making sure you do compresses as you pump
Drink plenty of water thru out the day.
From Ixelle:
I'm sorry you are dealing with clogged ducts (ouch!), you sound like you are doing everything right and you are doing such a great thing for your baby! Here are my suggestions:
Firstly, make sure you have the right size flanges - that makes a big difference. Medela has diagrams in their little breastfeeding booklets and here.
Secondly, make sure your pump suction is good, I got my milk blister from low suction (I needed to replace the membranes on the pump, since you have only been pumping for a few days this is probably not the problem but it might be another issue with the pump). Since your baby is so young, I very strongly urge you to rent a hospital grade pump if you don't already have one, at least for a month. There's nothing better for a pumping mom when you are initially building your supply and they're not expensive to rent.
Thirdly, make sure you are pumping for long enough (15-20 mins) each session and don't stop pumping in the middle of a letdown (sometimes I would get a letdown just as the timer hit 20 minutes), go the extra 1-2 minutes if you have to since you don't want to leave milk in the breast when you are this new to pumping and when you are dealing with blockages.
Lastly, if nothing else works, try completely soaking the breast in a warm vinegar solution bath (heard about this from a lactation consultant but never actually tried it) along with the massage and warm compresses you are using, and do it right before pumping. Apparently the vinegar helps with any milk blocking the duct openings.
All the best wishes to you, clogged ducts are no fun at all but hopefully you can fix the problem and move on with your life.
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To see other posts these Pumping Moms have written, click on their hyperlinked names. Do you have a question about Exclusive Pumping that you could use advice on? Send it to us at PumpingMomsBlog@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Pumping Woes - Rachel
I have said from the beginning that pumping just works for us. It never seemed like that much of a nuisance, until now. Since I went back to work, I am not responding to the pump as well as I used to. Previously, I would hook myself up and then just tune out for about 20 minutes. I now have to continuously do compressions and it takes me more like 30 minutes. This has become problematic because I don't have 30 minute + breaks at work to pump. I do the best I can, but sometimes that means pumping almost half of what I usually do.
Luckily, I have been able to maintain my supply, trying my hardest to get in good sessions while I am at home. However, my late morning pump session on my days off are also getting more difficult. Hannah seems to want my attention most at this time. I usually put her in the Jumperoo and sit in front of it so I can talk to her, but she usually won't last the 30 minutes it takes me. She doesn't understand why I can't hold her or pick her up. It breaks my heart, so I just stop early to comfort and play with my baby.
I don't have any intention of stopping, I am determined to get her to a year on breastmilk. Hopefully my supply will keep up so my freezer stash will get me there without me having to actually pump for a year. I really can't imagine doing this for 8 more months. So for now, I take it one day at a time...
Luckily, I have been able to maintain my supply, trying my hardest to get in good sessions while I am at home. However, my late morning pump session on my days off are also getting more difficult. Hannah seems to want my attention most at this time. I usually put her in the Jumperoo and sit in front of it so I can talk to her, but she usually won't last the 30 minutes it takes me. She doesn't understand why I can't hold her or pick her up. It breaks my heart, so I just stop early to comfort and play with my baby.
I don't have any intention of stopping, I am determined to get her to a year on breastmilk. Hopefully my supply will keep up so my freezer stash will get me there without me having to actually pump for a year. I really can't imagine doing this for 8 more months. So for now, I take it one day at a time...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Which bottles and nipples? - Janna
We went through a lot of different types of bottles before we found the right one. When I first started pumping, I was still trying to nurse, so we picked bottles that were supposed to be compatible with nursing. We first used the Medela bottles with the wide base nipples. We actually used the small 2.5 oz Medela storage tubes with the nipple attached at first. These worked great when our daughter was only eating ~2 oz per feeding and her stuck wasn't that strong. I always hoped that we would be able to transition to nursing, so we put up with these bottles for quite a while even as she started taking a lot more milk. While the bottles were convenient because I could pump directly into them, the nipple always collapsed and our daughter was having a lot of spit-up and gas.
Some other bottles that we tried in the mean time were The First Years Breastflow bottles and Adiri Natural Nurser. I did not like the Breastflow bottles because we seemed to lose a lot of milk in the nipple parts which was incredibly disappointing when I wasn't pumping very much in the beginning. Our daughter was never able to latch onto the Adiri Natural Nurser; I think it was too much like a breast and by the time we had tried this bottle she had developed a pretty severe aversion.
When my daughter was about 2 months old it was pretty evident that nursing was not going to work out and that I would be EPing to provide her with breast milk. At that point, we decided to switch to a bottle that we thought would minimize spit-up and gas regardless of whether it was "compatible with nursing" or not. We ended up purchasing Dr. Brown's bottles because our neighbor had used them and swore by them. Although there are a lot of part to wash, I have to admit that I really like these bottles. Our daughter was able to eat a whole extra ounce at each feeding immediately after switching to these bottles. I think it was because she wasn't filling up on air!! Additionally, she had a lot less spit-up, burping, and gas.
These bottles were also great because I could pump directly into them. I have head that the Advent bottles are good and a bit cheaper, but I was swayed by the ability to pump directly into the Dr. Browns bottles.
Some other bottles that we tried in the mean time were The First Years Breastflow bottles and Adiri Natural Nurser. I did not like the Breastflow bottles because we seemed to lose a lot of milk in the nipple parts which was incredibly disappointing when I wasn't pumping very much in the beginning. Our daughter was never able to latch onto the Adiri Natural Nurser; I think it was too much like a breast and by the time we had tried this bottle she had developed a pretty severe aversion.
When my daughter was about 2 months old it was pretty evident that nursing was not going to work out and that I would be EPing to provide her with breast milk. At that point, we decided to switch to a bottle that we thought would minimize spit-up and gas regardless of whether it was "compatible with nursing" or not. We ended up purchasing Dr. Brown's bottles because our neighbor had used them and swore by them. Although there are a lot of part to wash, I have to admit that I really like these bottles. Our daughter was able to eat a whole extra ounce at each feeding immediately after switching to these bottles. I think it was because she wasn't filling up on air!! Additionally, she had a lot less spit-up, burping, and gas.
These bottles were also great because I could pump directly into them. I have head that the Advent bottles are good and a bit cheaper, but I was swayed by the ability to pump directly into the Dr. Browns bottles.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Jennifer & Georgia - An Introduction
Hi, my name is Jennifer and my daughter is Georgia. We’ve had quite the adventure so far that has led to my being an exclusive pumper for her.
I had a relatively easy pregnancy until week 26 when my fundal height was measuring large all of a sudden. After a repeated growth ultrasound, they diagnosed my daughter with duodenal atresia. Basically, she had a blockage in her intestine that would require surgery after birth. It was never seen on any other previous ultrasounds. I was also diagnosed with polyhydramnios because of the amount of amniotic fluid I was carrying around. The main concern was that I was at higher risk for pre-term labor because she was not able to swallow and process the amniotic fluid properly. The other major concern was that duodenal atresia is highly associated with Downs Syndrome. They did an amnio that day and we waited for several days for the results. Thankfully we received word several days later that all her chromosomes came back normal.
The following week, after just moving into our brand new home, I was upstairs in our bedroom when I swore I peed myself. I was livid! All I could think was that I had so much fluid, it was now pressing on my bladder. Turns out, my water was starting to leak. I was 27 weeks pregnant. The next day I was admitted to the high risk pregnancy unit at the hospital and diagnosed with PROM (premature rupture of membranes). Within 24 hours, I went from being considered polyhydramnios (too much fluid) to oligohydramnios (too little fluid). I was at high risk for infection, so I was confined to my bed in the hospital. They immediately started me on the steroids shots and mag sulfate. I had daily monitoring and ultrasounds to monitor my fluid levels. It just kept dropping until there was virtually no amniotic fluid left. However, my daughter was still doing well on the monitor, so the goal was to try and keep her in there until 34 weeks.
Seventeen days later on April 29th and with virtually no fluid left, Georgia’s heart rate showed signs of decelerations during a monitoring session. The next thing we know, I was moved to Labor & Delivery and was being wheeled into the OR for a c-section (she was also breech!). My daughter was born at 29 weeks and 5 days gestation. She weighed 3lbs, 3oz.
Overall, Georgia did great from the start for being a preemie. She was labeled “feisty” by every nurse in the NICU. She was on CPAP for only a few hours before being upgraded to a nasal cannula. She was not allowed to eat/drink anything from the start because of the blockage. She received all of her nutrition from an IV. Originally, the surgeons told us they would wait to operate until she was stronger and gained weight. However, on day four she was transferred to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC and had surgery that very night. It was horrible – I had just been discharged home and was not at the hospital when they decided to proceed. Thankfully my husband was there that night and remained by her side the entire time.
Her surgery was a success, but she was not allowed to drink anything until her digestive system “woke up” and started working, which was estimated to take at least 2-3 weeks. Hence, I became a pumping machine! I spent 12-14 hours per day at the NICU at my daughter’s bedside. During the day, I used the Medela Symphony in the pumping room and we rented another for our home at night. I had a massive oversupply from the beginning and worked with the lactation consultants to help battle recurrent clogged ducts. I was lucky I never got mastitis. However, all the pumping on the hospital grade pump destroyed my poor nipples. No one was ever sure if it was thrush or just irritation from the pump, but my nipples turned purple and I got horrible “burns” around them. I was a medical mystery to the entire NICU! I was their lab rat and tried every cream (over the counter and prescription), ointment, and old wive’s tale cure that the NICU staff could come recommend.
It took 25 days for Georgia’s digestive system to start working. We never knew we would pray for poop as hard as we did. “Team Poop” was our family’s motto. Once she pooped, she was started on extremely small amounts (about a teaspoon) of breastmilk through the NG tube in her nose. She didn’t tolerate her feeds well and often puked everything up. It was devastating to watch. My husband and I finally requested that they remove the NG tube and try her on regular feeds by mouth. I argued with the Nurse Practitioners and I think they finally caved because I am a Speech Language Pathologist and knew just as much about suck/swallow coordination as they did. She always took the pacifier like a champ and I was convinced she could take a bottle without an issue. It was the best argument we ever made. Once we started giving her breast milk by bottle, she never looked back! They increased her amounts slowly everyday to make sure she could tolerate it and before we knew it, she was drinking 2oz every 3 hours.
We tried her several times on the breast, but she never was successful. My nipples were just too sore and she was too inpatient. We nicknamed her the “hippo” after the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game. If she didn’t get milk right away, she would scream and cry. I would clench the chairs of the arm in horrible pain as she gnawed at my nipples. Every woman in the room sympathized with me.
Georgia was discharged home after 48 days in the NICU in mid-June. My husband had to roll in our huge tailgating cooler to empty the NICU’s freezers of my pumped milk. Even with a second freezer at home, we were swamped with breast milk. I had close to 1500oz already frozen at home. With the help of the hospital LCs, I donated almost 500oz to the Mother’s Milk Bank. I was so proud to help other babies who needed the milk.
I never intended to be an exclusive pumper, but it works for us. At one point, I was only pumping 4x/day. However, after returning the hospital grade pump and getting my first period since giving birth, my supply definitely took a hit (aka – down to 30oz/day from 50oz/day). So, I’m now back to pumping 6x/day on the Medela Freestyle. I’ve started to rotate through the freezer stash to use some of the older milk from early May. I’m usually able to defrost one bag from the freezer each morning and then replace it with a bag of new milk at the end of the day.
I’ve pumped for almost 15 weeks now. I intend to keep her on breast milk until she is at least 6 months old at the recommendations of the neonatologists and pediatricians. At six months, I’ll re-assess. My next goal after that would be to make it until she is 6 months adjusted, so around 9 months total. We take it day by day around here. Maybe we’ll make it a year – who knows?!?!
My biggest concern is going back to work in November. I took an extended leave to stay home with her since the doctors didn’t want her in daycare until she is at least 6 months old due to her compromised immune system because of being a preemie. I’m not sure how I’ll manage pumping during my crazy work days, but I intend to do my best. She’s worth it!!
Our full story (and it keeps going!)is available on my blog Thanks for the support!!!
I had a relatively easy pregnancy until week 26 when my fundal height was measuring large all of a sudden. After a repeated growth ultrasound, they diagnosed my daughter with duodenal atresia. Basically, she had a blockage in her intestine that would require surgery after birth. It was never seen on any other previous ultrasounds. I was also diagnosed with polyhydramnios because of the amount of amniotic fluid I was carrying around. The main concern was that I was at higher risk for pre-term labor because she was not able to swallow and process the amniotic fluid properly. The other major concern was that duodenal atresia is highly associated with Downs Syndrome. They did an amnio that day and we waited for several days for the results. Thankfully we received word several days later that all her chromosomes came back normal.
The following week, after just moving into our brand new home, I was upstairs in our bedroom when I swore I peed myself. I was livid! All I could think was that I had so much fluid, it was now pressing on my bladder. Turns out, my water was starting to leak. I was 27 weeks pregnant. The next day I was admitted to the high risk pregnancy unit at the hospital and diagnosed with PROM (premature rupture of membranes). Within 24 hours, I went from being considered polyhydramnios (too much fluid) to oligohydramnios (too little fluid). I was at high risk for infection, so I was confined to my bed in the hospital. They immediately started me on the steroids shots and mag sulfate. I had daily monitoring and ultrasounds to monitor my fluid levels. It just kept dropping until there was virtually no amniotic fluid left. However, my daughter was still doing well on the monitor, so the goal was to try and keep her in there until 34 weeks.
Seventeen days later on April 29th and with virtually no fluid left, Georgia’s heart rate showed signs of decelerations during a monitoring session. The next thing we know, I was moved to Labor & Delivery and was being wheeled into the OR for a c-section (she was also breech!). My daughter was born at 29 weeks and 5 days gestation. She weighed 3lbs, 3oz.
Overall, Georgia did great from the start for being a preemie. She was labeled “feisty” by every nurse in the NICU. She was on CPAP for only a few hours before being upgraded to a nasal cannula. She was not allowed to eat/drink anything from the start because of the blockage. She received all of her nutrition from an IV. Originally, the surgeons told us they would wait to operate until she was stronger and gained weight. However, on day four she was transferred to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC and had surgery that very night. It was horrible – I had just been discharged home and was not at the hospital when they decided to proceed. Thankfully my husband was there that night and remained by her side the entire time.
Her surgery was a success, but she was not allowed to drink anything until her digestive system “woke up” and started working, which was estimated to take at least 2-3 weeks. Hence, I became a pumping machine! I spent 12-14 hours per day at the NICU at my daughter’s bedside. During the day, I used the Medela Symphony in the pumping room and we rented another for our home at night. I had a massive oversupply from the beginning and worked with the lactation consultants to help battle recurrent clogged ducts. I was lucky I never got mastitis. However, all the pumping on the hospital grade pump destroyed my poor nipples. No one was ever sure if it was thrush or just irritation from the pump, but my nipples turned purple and I got horrible “burns” around them. I was a medical mystery to the entire NICU! I was their lab rat and tried every cream (over the counter and prescription), ointment, and old wive’s tale cure that the NICU staff could come recommend.
It took 25 days for Georgia’s digestive system to start working. We never knew we would pray for poop as hard as we did. “Team Poop” was our family’s motto. Once she pooped, she was started on extremely small amounts (about a teaspoon) of breastmilk through the NG tube in her nose. She didn’t tolerate her feeds well and often puked everything up. It was devastating to watch. My husband and I finally requested that they remove the NG tube and try her on regular feeds by mouth. I argued with the Nurse Practitioners and I think they finally caved because I am a Speech Language Pathologist and knew just as much about suck/swallow coordination as they did. She always took the pacifier like a champ and I was convinced she could take a bottle without an issue. It was the best argument we ever made. Once we started giving her breast milk by bottle, she never looked back! They increased her amounts slowly everyday to make sure she could tolerate it and before we knew it, she was drinking 2oz every 3 hours.
We tried her several times on the breast, but she never was successful. My nipples were just too sore and she was too inpatient. We nicknamed her the “hippo” after the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game. If she didn’t get milk right away, she would scream and cry. I would clench the chairs of the arm in horrible pain as she gnawed at my nipples. Every woman in the room sympathized with me.
Georgia was discharged home after 48 days in the NICU in mid-June. My husband had to roll in our huge tailgating cooler to empty the NICU’s freezers of my pumped milk. Even with a second freezer at home, we were swamped with breast milk. I had close to 1500oz already frozen at home. With the help of the hospital LCs, I donated almost 500oz to the Mother’s Milk Bank. I was so proud to help other babies who needed the milk.
I never intended to be an exclusive pumper, but it works for us. At one point, I was only pumping 4x/day. However, after returning the hospital grade pump and getting my first period since giving birth, my supply definitely took a hit (aka – down to 30oz/day from 50oz/day). So, I’m now back to pumping 6x/day on the Medela Freestyle. I’ve started to rotate through the freezer stash to use some of the older milk from early May. I’m usually able to defrost one bag from the freezer each morning and then replace it with a bag of new milk at the end of the day.
I’ve pumped for almost 15 weeks now. I intend to keep her on breast milk until she is at least 6 months old at the recommendations of the neonatologists and pediatricians. At six months, I’ll re-assess. My next goal after that would be to make it until she is 6 months adjusted, so around 9 months total. We take it day by day around here. Maybe we’ll make it a year – who knows?!?!
My biggest concern is going back to work in November. I took an extended leave to stay home with her since the doctors didn’t want her in daycare until she is at least 6 months old due to her compromised immune system because of being a preemie. I’m not sure how I’ll manage pumping during my crazy work days, but I intend to do my best. She’s worth it!!
Our full story (and it keeps going!)is available on my blog Thanks for the support!!!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Life after Pumping - My Weaning Experience - Heather
Hello Pumping Moms! I'm speaking to you from the "other side" tonight, and it feels WONDERFUL!
When we last left off The Cupcake was just about 6 months old, I was pumping 3X a day (every 8 hours) and I had just used up the last of my excess "fresh" milk in the refrigerator (I originally had 4 days of fresh at all times, and a huge freezer stash). I was getting ready to break out the frozen milk for the first time, and I was terrified.
What if she doesn't take it? What if it's all bad for some reason and has to be thrown out? What if formula is a big stinky hassle? What if all the other mommybloggers say mean things because I didn't do breastmilk only until she was 7 years old?
Some of my fears were valid, some might have been hormonal...and all were quickly resolved. It doesn't really matter why I decided on 6 months of EPing, so I'll focus on what happened instead.
At TC's 6 month doctor appointment I was congratulated for making it to 6 months, reassured that she would now be producing some of her own immunities, and rewarded with 4 big "sample" cans of formula (so glad I asked! That junk is expensive!)to help start my new life post pumping. I cut out another session, so I was pumping twice a day, in the morning and evening. I generally pumped right when I got up, and when I had a spare moment sometime between dinner and bed. I did that for about a week. Then for a couple days, I just pumped in the morning.
Then one morning, I just didn't pump. And I was okay.
I was not comfortable by any means, but I was not engorged. I had a lot of soreness and some hard patches, but nothing anywhere near as painful as a clogged duct had been while I was pumping. Sleeping was a big challenge as I am a tummy sleeper (amazing how fast that comes back post-baby!), and though I had never leaked or even been able to hand express while pumping, suddenly I could spray milk across the room and couldn't leave the house without breastpads.
Lesson learned: don't throw out the breastpads when you are convinced you aren't a leaker. Things change, and weaning is a whole new ballgame.
I cobbled together my own weaning plan...by which I mean I did some google searches and occasionally picked random pieces of advice to follow. I can't really say whether it worked or not, but I took pseudoephedrine (generic Sudafed, the "real" kind from behind the counter that they make meth from) on the advice that it can help reduce milk production by up to 24%. I just took the recommended dosage on the package.
I also tried cabbage leaves when I was at my most uncomfortable. Supposedly there is a documented but not yet understood phenomenon that green cabbage leaves help to draw out the moisture and aid in drying up breastmilk. Again, I can't say whether or not that was true, but the cabbage leaves were extremely soothing. They are cold and smooth and basically wrap perfectly around your breasts, and they didn't even smell as bad as I anticipated (they get worse as they get warmer - change often and appreciate the cold leaves).
I continued to wear my Bravada nursing tanks from Target, I tried "real" bras a few times but they were way too uncomfortable, the tanks gave some support without any resistance or "edges".
I avoided warm baths and warm showers even though they sounded really soothing - warm water can stimulate production and let down, and I didn't want to do ANYTHING to tell my body to produce more milk. I had gotten a set of Nuk warm and cool breast relief pads early on when I was having a lot of pain, and I was glad I held on to them. I chilled them in the freezer and wore them around the house similar to the cabbage.
For 3 weeks I felt pretty rough. I tossed and turned at night (remember, tummy sleeper), I cringed when I held my little one to my chest, and I cried once when I got elbowed by accident. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't okay.
And then, all of a sudden...
it was fine. It IS fine. I feel good. And that is HUGE!
This morning I got out of the shower and realized that today, 3 weeks and one day since I last pumped, I feel fine. No pain. No hard spots. No torn up nipples, like the first 6 weeks of this "adventure" when I looked and felt like hamburger.
We're still working through the frozen milk, alternating every other bottle now with formula. That hasn't been nearly as bad as I had worried it would be, in fact, it's going well. TC is a "happy spitter", meaning she has reflux but it doesn't bother her, so we just do a lot of laundry and don't medicate. It's kind of a pain as far as laundry, and now with formula (and solids!) that spit up sometimes stains, but we're working through it.
No more hours hooked up to the pump. No more hauling it around everywhere I go, or planning my life around pumping times.
No more Barbie Doll rack. No more porn star melons.
And I couldn't be happier.
When we last left off The Cupcake was just about 6 months old, I was pumping 3X a day (every 8 hours) and I had just used up the last of my excess "fresh" milk in the refrigerator (I originally had 4 days of fresh at all times, and a huge freezer stash). I was getting ready to break out the frozen milk for the first time, and I was terrified.
What if she doesn't take it? What if it's all bad for some reason and has to be thrown out? What if formula is a big stinky hassle? What if all the other mommybloggers say mean things because I didn't do breastmilk only until she was 7 years old?
Some of my fears were valid, some might have been hormonal...and all were quickly resolved. It doesn't really matter why I decided on 6 months of EPing, so I'll focus on what happened instead.
At TC's 6 month doctor appointment I was congratulated for making it to 6 months, reassured that she would now be producing some of her own immunities, and rewarded with 4 big "sample" cans of formula (so glad I asked! That junk is expensive!)to help start my new life post pumping. I cut out another session, so I was pumping twice a day, in the morning and evening. I generally pumped right when I got up, and when I had a spare moment sometime between dinner and bed. I did that for about a week. Then for a couple days, I just pumped in the morning.
Then one morning, I just didn't pump. And I was okay.
I was not comfortable by any means, but I was not engorged. I had a lot of soreness and some hard patches, but nothing anywhere near as painful as a clogged duct had been while I was pumping. Sleeping was a big challenge as I am a tummy sleeper (amazing how fast that comes back post-baby!), and though I had never leaked or even been able to hand express while pumping, suddenly I could spray milk across the room and couldn't leave the house without breastpads.
Lesson learned: don't throw out the breastpads when you are convinced you aren't a leaker. Things change, and weaning is a whole new ballgame.
I cobbled together my own weaning plan...by which I mean I did some google searches and occasionally picked random pieces of advice to follow. I can't really say whether it worked or not, but I took pseudoephedrine (generic Sudafed, the "real" kind from behind the counter that they make meth from) on the advice that it can help reduce milk production by up to 24%. I just took the recommended dosage on the package.
I also tried cabbage leaves when I was at my most uncomfortable. Supposedly there is a documented but not yet understood phenomenon that green cabbage leaves help to draw out the moisture and aid in drying up breastmilk. Again, I can't say whether or not that was true, but the cabbage leaves were extremely soothing. They are cold and smooth and basically wrap perfectly around your breasts, and they didn't even smell as bad as I anticipated (they get worse as they get warmer - change often and appreciate the cold leaves).
I continued to wear my Bravada nursing tanks from Target, I tried "real" bras a few times but they were way too uncomfortable, the tanks gave some support without any resistance or "edges".
I avoided warm baths and warm showers even though they sounded really soothing - warm water can stimulate production and let down, and I didn't want to do ANYTHING to tell my body to produce more milk. I had gotten a set of Nuk warm and cool breast relief pads early on when I was having a lot of pain, and I was glad I held on to them. I chilled them in the freezer and wore them around the house similar to the cabbage.
For 3 weeks I felt pretty rough. I tossed and turned at night (remember, tummy sleeper), I cringed when I held my little one to my chest, and I cried once when I got elbowed by accident. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't okay.
And then, all of a sudden...
it was fine. It IS fine. I feel good. And that is HUGE!
This morning I got out of the shower and realized that today, 3 weeks and one day since I last pumped, I feel fine. No pain. No hard spots. No torn up nipples, like the first 6 weeks of this "adventure" when I looked and felt like hamburger.
We're still working through the frozen milk, alternating every other bottle now with formula. That hasn't been nearly as bad as I had worried it would be, in fact, it's going well. TC is a "happy spitter", meaning she has reflux but it doesn't bother her, so we just do a lot of laundry and don't medicate. It's kind of a pain as far as laundry, and now with formula (and solids!) that spit up sometimes stains, but we're working through it.
No more hours hooked up to the pump. No more hauling it around everywhere I go, or planning my life around pumping times.
No more Barbie Doll rack. No more porn star melons.
And I couldn't be happier.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Costs of EPing - Kylee
We've asked several of our pumping moms to add up their expenses and explain how much they've spent EPing. You can read all of the cost breakdowns posted to date by searching the cost label. Here's Kylee's breakdown:
Medela PISA - $100 - I was lucky enough to score my pump from a friend that only used it for 1 week
Medela Accessory Kit - $25
Extra Bottles - $10 - Gerber First Essentials (1) 3-pack 5 oz, (2) 3-pack 9 oz
Extra Membranes $7
Milk Bags - $150 - I use an average of 1 box of qty 50 bags per week
Breast Pads - $25 - I use on average 1 box of qty 60 per month
Total: $317
How much did you spend on EPing? Submit your breakdown and explanation to pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com
Medela PISA - $100 - I was lucky enough to score my pump from a friend that only used it for 1 week
Medela Accessory Kit - $25
Extra Bottles - $10 - Gerber First Essentials (1) 3-pack 5 oz, (2) 3-pack 9 oz
Extra Membranes $7
Milk Bags - $150 - I use an average of 1 box of qty 50 bags per week
Breast Pads - $25 - I use on average 1 box of qty 60 per month
Total: $317
How much did you spend on EPing? Submit your breakdown and explanation to pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com
Monday, August 8, 2011
The Costs of EPing - Heather
It's pretty easy to calculate the costs of formula feeding, and there are very few costs that go into exclusively breast feeding. So where does pumping fall on the spectrum? We've asked several of our pumping moms to add up their expenses and explain - here's Heather's breakdown:
I'm not rich, but I spent pretty freely in order to make things easy on myself (second pump & bustier for work, lots of extra bottles & breastshields), and I never regretted it. Here's an estimate of what I spent for 6 months of EPing:
New PISA: $220 (used my target registry completer coupon (10%), $20 off coupon, & Redcard discount, and bought it on sale)
Starter kit of tubing, breastshields, valves, membranes, and bottles - free when they started me pumping in the hospital (I'm sure they charged my insurance, and at that point I had great insurance. Now...not so much). Since I used a Medela Symphony in the hospital, all the parts were compatible with my PISA when I got home.
Used PISA: $70 included lots of bottles and breastshields - bought at around 3 months for use at work
Extra set of membranes : $10
Replacement tubes for 2nd hand pump, plus extra set "just in case": $10
2X Simple Wishes bustier: $60
500 storage bags (started with medela, then went to lanisoh): $120
4x breast pump accessory kit - $100 (4 x 4 oz bottles + 2 sets of pump parts in each)
3X 12pk of 2.5 oz bottles (we still mainly use these) - $45
3X 3pkg of 8oz bottles (needed to pump into these when I was at my top production) - $60
2 pkgs of breast pads - $20
lanolin (I could have gotten by with just the samples from the hospital, oh well) - $10
I was gifted a nursing cover, and a Medela feeding accessory kit that had a couple sizes of bottles.
Total: $725
I could have definitely gotten away with much less, but it was worth it to not have to do dishes all the time or lug a 2nd pump back & forth to work. And I plan to keep all the bottles and parts if we have another kid. I still have an unopened set of tubes, an almost full lanolin, and a lot of breastpads too (though I'm using way more of them now that I'm weaning than when I was EPing). We're using the same bottles as we introduce formula.
If I had to do it over again, I would have bought off brand bottles for the bigger sizes. I love the 2.5 oz Medela "tubes", and they were the cornerstone of my breastmilk organizational system (I will hopefully post on that eventually), but for the 4 oz and 8 oz I hear the Gerber bottles attach to the Medela pumps just as well, and they are a fraction of the cost. Also, I was offered a second hand Medela while I was pregnant and turned my nose up at it, having read too many mommyblogs I think...while it is true that the PISA is not a closed system pump, I decided after watching my "new" pump closely for three months that the chances of milk getting into the motor in the first place were slim, the chances of that milk containing a virus or bacteria was slimmer, and the chance of it living outside the body then somehow getting back out into my milk was minute. Not everyone would agree, and I am NOT a scientist or giving you advice (DON'T SUE ME! I HAVE NOTHING OF VALUE ANYWAYS!)but I would be/was fine with a second hand pump in the end...and funny enough, it was my NEW pump that had a problem (though Medela overnighted me a replacement away, their customer service was WONDERFUL), but it was GREAT to have a back up in the meantime.
A savings you might not think about - formula & formula spit up stains, breast milk doesn't. In the couple weeks we've started moving to formula, we've already ruined 2 outfits for her, and who knows what else for us (I might be a bit behind on my own laundry...) So the longer you EP the longer you prevent that problem too :)
Items are hyperlinked for your convenience only, I receive no benefit from Amazon, Target, or the manufacturers of items listed above. I'm merely telling you what I used, and what I spent so you can make your own decisions.
I'm not rich, but I spent pretty freely in order to make things easy on myself (second pump & bustier for work, lots of extra bottles & breastshields), and I never regretted it. Here's an estimate of what I spent for 6 months of EPing:
New PISA: $220 (used my target registry completer coupon (10%), $20 off coupon, & Redcard discount, and bought it on sale)
Starter kit of tubing, breastshields, valves, membranes, and bottles - free when they started me pumping in the hospital (I'm sure they charged my insurance, and at that point I had great insurance. Now...not so much). Since I used a Medela Symphony in the hospital, all the parts were compatible with my PISA when I got home.
Used PISA: $70 included lots of bottles and breastshields - bought at around 3 months for use at work
Extra set of membranes : $10
Replacement tubes for 2nd hand pump, plus extra set "just in case": $10
2X Simple Wishes bustier: $60
500 storage bags (started with medela, then went to lanisoh): $120
4x breast pump accessory kit - $100 (4 x 4 oz bottles + 2 sets of pump parts in each)
3X 12pk of 2.5 oz bottles (we still mainly use these) - $45
3X 3pkg of 8oz bottles (needed to pump into these when I was at my top production) - $60
2 pkgs of breast pads - $20
lanolin (I could have gotten by with just the samples from the hospital, oh well) - $10
I was gifted a nursing cover, and a Medela feeding accessory kit that had a couple sizes of bottles.
Total: $725
I could have definitely gotten away with much less, but it was worth it to not have to do dishes all the time or lug a 2nd pump back & forth to work. And I plan to keep all the bottles and parts if we have another kid. I still have an unopened set of tubes, an almost full lanolin, and a lot of breastpads too (though I'm using way more of them now that I'm weaning than when I was EPing). We're using the same bottles as we introduce formula.
If I had to do it over again, I would have bought off brand bottles for the bigger sizes. I love the 2.5 oz Medela "tubes", and they were the cornerstone of my breastmilk organizational system (I will hopefully post on that eventually), but for the 4 oz and 8 oz I hear the Gerber bottles attach to the Medela pumps just as well, and they are a fraction of the cost. Also, I was offered a second hand Medela while I was pregnant and turned my nose up at it, having read too many mommyblogs I think...while it is true that the PISA is not a closed system pump, I decided after watching my "new" pump closely for three months that the chances of milk getting into the motor in the first place were slim, the chances of that milk containing a virus or bacteria was slimmer, and the chance of it living outside the body then somehow getting back out into my milk was minute. Not everyone would agree, and I am NOT a scientist or giving you advice (DON'T SUE ME! I HAVE NOTHING OF VALUE ANYWAYS!)but I would be/was fine with a second hand pump in the end...and funny enough, it was my NEW pump that had a problem (though Medela overnighted me a replacement away, their customer service was WONDERFUL), but it was GREAT to have a back up in the meantime.
A savings you might not think about - formula & formula spit up stains, breast milk doesn't. In the couple weeks we've started moving to formula, we've already ruined 2 outfits for her, and who knows what else for us (I might be a bit behind on my own laundry...) So the longer you EP the longer you prevent that problem too :)
Items are hyperlinked for your convenience only, I receive no benefit from Amazon, Target, or the manufacturers of items listed above. I'm merely telling you what I used, and what I spent so you can make your own decisions.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tips: It's in the bag #2 - extension cord
If you ever pump on the go, adaptation is the name of the game. Sometimes you get lucky and people will bend over backwards to accomodate your situation - once after an eye appointment the clinic staff let me use an exam room for over half an hour, so I had a closed door, a nice chair, magazines to read (did I mention my daughter was with the babysitter?)...ahhhh, that was the life!
...And other times you end up in a bathroom stall, or your car, or a storage closet, or worse.
It's not always idea, but pumping moms perservere. Another tip to make it easier on yourself: carry an extension cord in your pump bag. Even a 6' cord could make the difference between sitting on the floor under a desk (i.e. my first time pumping at work) or reclining in a nice office chair (the rest of my days, after I threw a Dollar Store extension cord in my bag!).
I am too cheap to run on batteries when I don't need to, and I've always felt I got better suction plugged in (and almost too much with the car adaptor, but that's a different story). A short indoor extension cord doesn't take up much room or add much weight, and comes in very handy when pumping in new environments.
Read all of our "In the Bag" tips here - and feel free to share yours via pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com
...And other times you end up in a bathroom stall, or your car, or a storage closet, or worse.
It's not always idea, but pumping moms perservere. Another tip to make it easier on yourself: carry an extension cord in your pump bag. Even a 6' cord could make the difference between sitting on the floor under a desk (i.e. my first time pumping at work) or reclining in a nice office chair (the rest of my days, after I threw a Dollar Store extension cord in my bag!).
I am too cheap to run on batteries when I don't need to, and I've always felt I got better suction plugged in (and almost too much with the car adaptor, but that's a different story). A short indoor extension cord doesn't take up much room or add much weight, and comes in very handy when pumping in new environments.
Read all of our "In the Bag" tips here - and feel free to share yours via pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Freezer Storage - Giftbag Method
Here's a handy video that has been floating around for a while, if you haven't seen it yet, it's a cheap and easy way to freeze your milk that creates a storage box AND DISPENSER out of recycled gift bags:
You don't have to be crafty, or have a lot of time - the mom who put up the video even has her baby right by her side :)
Do you have a unique or helpful way of organizing your freezer stash? Share your story! Send it to pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com and become a contributor today.
You don't have to be crafty, or have a lot of time - the mom who put up the video even has her baby right by her side :)
Do you have a unique or helpful way of organizing your freezer stash? Share your story! Send it to pumpingmomsblog@gmail.com and become a contributor today.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Tip - It's in the bag
Most EP moms get pretty used to schlepping around our pumps, be it to work or out on the town. But even the most practiced pumper among us has probably forgotten a part once or twice and cursed themselves when they realized - which was probably when we needed to or had already begun pumping!
One part that is often forgotten: bottle caps! I know I've done it at least twice...usually on Monday mornings.
My solution (besides throwing a couple of extra caps into my bag) is to always keep a pack of freezer bags in the side pocket of my pump bag. They don't take up much space, and they're a LOT cheaper than buying emergency bottles if you find yourself in a bind. They come in handy if you find yourself without caps, or if you end up needing to pump again into a single set of bottles they can be used for additional storage. And since there are many bags in a package, even if you forget a few times you're still covered :)
What's in your pump bag?
One part that is often forgotten: bottle caps! I know I've done it at least twice...usually on Monday mornings.
My solution (besides throwing a couple of extra caps into my bag) is to always keep a pack of freezer bags in the side pocket of my pump bag. They don't take up much space, and they're a LOT cheaper than buying emergency bottles if you find yourself in a bind. They come in handy if you find yourself without caps, or if you end up needing to pump again into a single set of bottles they can be used for additional storage. And since there are many bags in a package, even if you forget a few times you're still covered :)
What's in your pump bag?
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