FEBRUARY HEARTS Due in February 2015 , open group all welcome!

[ttc126]

Izzie I think there are a few ways to do it but I'll tell you how I power pump.

The basic idea is to simulate a growth spurt. I pump for 15 minutes then wait 15 minutes (I apply warm compresses during the wait). Then I pump for 10 minutes. then I rest again for 15 minutes with the compresses. Then I hand express each side for a couple of minutes and massage. Then pump again for 10 minutes. It takes 3 nights of doing it to see a difference but it really works!

 

[EMYJC]

I seem tobe the only one not pumping. I dont have to pump do I???

 

[Izzie74]

I seem tobe the only one not pumping. I dont have to pump do I???

Wish I didn't have to, but I'm trying to get a stash of milk in the freezer for when I go back to work.

 

[MiniBump]

Surprise, what on earth do you mean by your milk being deficient?! I hope you only mean in amount!

I'm not pumping Emma, I haven't needed to. I may start doing a bit soon just so my DD can get involved in feeding sometimes because she's being terribly left out It's not necessary to do it if you don't need to or you don't want a stash of milk so don't worry that you're missing something!

Izzie, as ttc says, power pumping is just pumping a lot over a short time to mimic a growth spurt. You could try eating lots of oats and taking fenugreek too to boost your supply. If nothing seems to work (it should) then ask your GP for Domperidone - it's a stomach med but has a side effect of increasing milk production.

 

[ttc126]

Emy you definitely don't have to pump! I had to pump to keep up by supply at first because Jude wasn't nursing effectively. Then when we got the hang of things I had some oversupply. So now I pump to donate to a milk bank that provides mother's milk to preemie babies whose moms can't produce

 

[SurpriseBub]

Emy- I hate pumping! It is very much a LABOR of love... If you don't need to, then that is great!

I power pumped for 50 minutes:
-pump 10
-rest 10
-pump 10
-rest 10
-pump 10
I did 6 days I think and now get much more milk when I pump before bed (I did the power pumping that same time of day: 9.00-9.50pm).

I did indeed mean in case I was deficient in anything... I know I have low vitamin d levels and probably iron. So, I like the idea of fortified formula as a supplement.

I have had a very fussy afternoon culminating in baby refusing the breast. I then pumped and she refused the fresh ebm. I mixed in formula (so it was 50% formula, 50% breast milk) and she then took that. Any ideas on why she would refuse breast milk but not formula??? I'm stumped and I can't find anything about that on the Internet to explain it, either! Not sure if that means there is something off in my milk? Or does she just prefer things from the similac kitchen?!

 

[Captain]

Beautiful pictures, captain. And I thought my daughter has a lot of hair!!! Good luck building your stash! I am working on mine and we are supplementing some formula. Our stash is a bit of a fall back if I can't breastfeed at any point. If you were ok with adding in formula now and again you might be able to stash quite a bit of breastmilk in case you were away for longer etc... But that is if you are ok with formula. I made peace with that a while ago!

I haven't been on in a couple of days... Seems everyone is pumping! I do 20 minutes, occasionally longer if there is still decent milk coming. I did a week of power pumping before bed, and it made a huge difference- now I get more than double what I was getting during that night session. With those two pumping sessions and bf throughout the day, she could be on just breast milk... But I kind of like the idea of formula in case my milk is deficient in any way etc. so, we are freezing a couple of bottles worth per day as a rainy day policy.

is anyone else still having fussy issues? Some days she just seems so anxious and unsettled

Surprise, that's the exact same reason I'm pumping. It started by just wanting DH to be able to do one or two feeds a day to feel involved, then I started to feel really good about having a 'fall back' in the freezer. When DH was home he ended up using the whole stash and I've felt stressed about it since!

I'm slowly starting to make peace with formula! DH gave her some a couple of times while I was sleeping in after our stash had gone. She doesn't mind it at all so I should use it to get ahead a bit more.

It's so silly how we stress over these things. I'm only 25 and the amount of grey hairs I have is embarrassing, I'll be completely grey by her first birthday at this rate

 

[SurpriseBub]

Awww, you lost your stash, captain! I can imagine how tough that is. I read one lady on here lost hundreds of ounces when power to her freezer was cut... ugh. At least yours was drunk

Breastfeeding is certainly a journey... whenever I think I have it sorted, some new issue comes up! Luckily we have been able to work through it until now.

 

[MrsKChicago]

Surprise, you can get vitamin D drops for babies, Carlson's is just one drop on your nipple or in a bottle before feeding, if your doctor thinks it's necessary where you live.

Did your milk smell soapy? The number one reason I've heard for babies rejecting pumped milk is high lipase milk. Maybe look it up and see if it sounds familiar? If that is the issue, it's something you can work around.

 

[MellyH]

My two are on vitamin drops - A, C and D.

It's gotten realty hot here this week - what are people sleeping their kids in these days? Mine still want their arms wrapped but it's so hot when they're swaddled.

 

[MiniBump]

It's recommended for breastfeeding mums to take a vitamin D supplement anyway. I still take my pregnancy vits.

For your milk to be deficient in something you would have to be very ill and/or malnourished (mums in the third world still breastfeed unless the formula manufacturer-employed 'nurses' have convinced them formula is better!), otherwise it's only iron stores that start to deplete after 6 months but will likely be replaced by solids.

 

[SurpriseBub]

Thanks Mrs k! The milk was fresh, which apparently means lipase wasn't possibly the issue. She nursed later, so hopefully it was just a one off and more about her being fussy than the milk...

did your dr recommend supplements, melly? Or did you just feel it was right? Where do you get yours/what brand are you using?

Thanks, minibump! Maybe it is my way of accepting the formula. In my mind a bit of diversity is good!

 

[Izzie74]

Thanks Mrs k! The milk was fresh, which apparently means lipase wasn't possibly the issue. She nursed later, so hopefully it was just a one off and more about her being fussy than the milk...

did your dr recommend supplements, melly? Or did you just feel it was right? Where do you get yours/what brand are you using?

Thanks, minibump! Maybe it is my way of accepting the formula. In my mind a bit of diversity is good!

I'm using pregnacare breastfeeding supplements. Hv said I don't ha e to give lo drops if I take them. They are little expensive, but I found a three for two offer and had a voucher, so it worked out ok and I figure it's only a short term thing.

 

[Captain]

My two are on vitamin drops - A, C and D.

It's gotten realty hot here this week - what are people sleeping their kids in these days? Mine still want their arms wrapped but it's so hot when they're swaddled.

I put Catelyn in a sleeper and then swaddle her in a muslin blanket, but it's not that warm here yet. When summer hits I think I'll just leave her in a diaper and the muslin blanket, have you tried this with them?

 

[MellyH]

Yeah last night we just did diaper and muslin and they eventually went to sleep, Clara not until 11:30pm or so though!

My paed recommended the drops for breastfed babies. The brand is TriViSol. They get 1ml/day.

 

[dcm_mw12]

I think my LO may be teething but isn't it to early? But she's showing all the symptoms of it. Drooling puddles and puddles (lol literally though), crying a lot, sucking her hands, nibbling at my clothes, sometimes she doesn't want to eat either. Is anyone else LO's showing these signs?

 

[Izzie74]

I think my LO may be teething but isn't it to early? But she's showing all the symptoms of it. Drooling puddles and puddles (lol literally though), crying a lot, sucking her hands, nibbling at my clothes, sometimes she doesn't want to eat either. Is anyone else LO's showing these signs?

Mine is also doing this. Google dribbling baby. It's another developmental phase. I've started putting bibs on in the house so I don't have to keep changing her clothes!

 

[Feronia]

As Izzie said, it's developmental, not teething related at this stage. DS is doing it now around 2 months and DD did it then, too and as first time parents we thought she was teething. She didn't get her first tooth in until 9 months though!

 

[Captain]

Yep we have that here too! I thought it was the build up to teething, nice to know I wont have to worry about that for a little while!

 

[Izzie74]

When lo was 12 weeks, I got two stretch marks on my belly, today I have two more. I didn't get any during pregnancy and haven't lost any weight since getting back to my pre pregnancy weight some weeks earlier. What is going on?!