Calling working momma's and 2nd time momma's

[todmommy4568]

So I have two questions...

First question is for my 2nd time momma's. Last night when I took my bra off my boobs were so heavy, it was very painful, so then I felt them and it reminded me of when my breasts were full when I was breastfeeding DS. I don't remember having that feeling when I was pregnant with DS but maybe that was because I didn't have anything to compare it to Just wondering if any 2nd time moms had this feeling and what you did for relief. I thought maybe those gel packs they make for breastfeeding moms? Any thoughts? I don't want to have this "engorged" feeling for the next 18 weeks haha

Second question is for my working momma's. How many bottles did you buy? I stayed home with DS and I had a healthy stock of storage bottles but only kept a couple of his brand of bottles on hand as he only got 2-4 bottles a week. With this LO I am planning to return to work after 6-8 weeks and then she will be at daycare full days so I am unsure of how many bottles I should get as far as storage bottles and the bottles we will use. I don't want to go overboard but I also don't want to feel like all I do is clean bottles.

Thanks for your help ladies!!

 

[Megandelv88]

I have 4 medela bottles and 2 spectra bottles that came with my pump which I only use with the pump. Im back to work part time, im gone for 5 hours a day, and only 1 bottle gets used when Im gone. However, im not sure what you mean by storage bottles? I'm a little ahead with pumping so I store in freezer bags in 3 ounce increments. I take them down the night before and they are still partially frozen when I head out for work. I used to fill a bottle with what I pumped and leave in the fridge until I had enough to freeze until I got nervous about high lipase at one point (not even sure that's what happened but i threw away almost 12 ounces because it all smelt funny). Id say if your babe eats 2 meals at daycare, send 2 bottles. And then keep 2 home for whatever else. If you're storing milk in the fridge, just keep in mind the guidelines regarding storing. It only keeps in the fridge for 3-8 days. I try to freeze asap. Wasting breastmilk is so upsetting. And itll help get your stock started. I still feel like all im doing is cleaning bottles and pump parts. Steaming them after cleaning is a great idea too. My medela bottles seemed to have an odd smell to them so I started steaming more often in steam bags they sell.

Good luck!

 

[BellaRosa8302]

So I have two questions...

First question is for my 2nd time momma's. Last night when I took my bra off my boobs were so heavy, it was very painful, so then I felt them and it reminded me of when my breasts were full when I was breastfeeding DS. I don't remember having that feeling when I was pregnant with DS but maybe that was because I didn't have anything to compare it to Just wondering if any 2nd time moms had this feeling and what you did for relief. I thought maybe those gel packs they make for breastfeeding moms? Any thoughts? I don't want to have this "engorged" feeling for the next 18 weeks haha

Second question is for my working momma's. How many bottles did you buy? I stayed home with DS and I had a healthy stock of storage bottles but only kept a couple of his brand of bottles on hand as he only got 2-4 bottles a week. With this LO I am planning to return to work after 6-8 weeks and then she will be at daycare full days so I am unsure of how many bottles I should get as far as storage bottles and the bottles we will use. I don't want to go overboard but I also don't want to feel like all I do is clean bottles.

Thanks for your help ladies!!

I breastfed through my second pregnancy, so I can't really help with your first question, but I can help with the second in regard to bottles.

My suggestion is, don't get any yet. With my first, I picked out the bottle I wanted to use for expressed milk and she never had an issue with it (when I returned to work). I assumed I'd use the same type of bottle with my son, but he ended up being a challenge to switch to a bottle. We went through a few different kinds before we found one that he liked - Adiri. The nipple is known to be soft like a breast, but it tends to be leaky, which sucks. We kept it because it was the only one he would take. In the end, I ended up with 4 bottles. He would take 3 per day, and I had one extra as a "just in case." I washed pump parts and bottles every night. But, if you don't want to HAVE to wash pump parts and bottles every night, maybe I'd go with 2 sets - so if my son was having 3 bottles per day, I'd get 6 bottles and switch off.

Hope that's helpful! )

 

[todmommy4568]

Megandelv - by storage bottles I just meant bottles to pump into, I feel like I had a ton when I had my son but it has been so long that I can't really remember haha. Thank you for your input!

BellaRose - I ended up getting a bunch of bottles to pump into because I found a 12 pack of medela bottles with the storage caps for a good price so I can go a day without washing if I feel super lazy. I'm worried now though I got 6 of the bottles that I had used for my son, he took a bottle really well so like you thought I would just get the same ones. Now if she doesn't like these bottles I am going to feel like I definitely wasted some money haha. Hopefully she will take them! Thank you for your input!!

 

[Lirpa11]

Hi! I am a mommy here expecting # 2. I breastfed DS until December 2016 when he was 16 months old. I went back to work after 4.5 months, and I worked full time with DS in daycare FT.

I pumped 3 times a day, and I brought 3 'storage bottles' to work each day. I would then use the bottles I pumped that day for the next day. (Pump Monday and use for Tuesday etc, Pump Friday - FREEZE - rotate frozen milk for the Monday as I had several ounces frozen to rotate through). I only had 6 daycare bottles. I bought the Tommy Tippee bottles that were for BF babies so they can go back and forth between the breast and bottle.

I stored my milk in bags of 3 - 5 oz. DS had 3 bottles at daycare. We started off with 3 oz, and gradually he took up to 4.5-5 oz max at a time. If I could pump extra I did so I could store it.

I sent an extra bottle in case he had a hungry day so he had extra if he still wanted some. He only used the extra bottle when having growth spurts.