Due in Feb...BFing questions for you ladies:)

[brittone2]

Hi everyone,
I post on the BB boards fairly regularly but am new to this board. I'm due in Feb. with our first baby (a boy) and am planning to be a SAHM and BF. I recently went to my first LLL meeting and I'm trying to read/earn what I can in advance. I have a few questions I was wondering if anyone could help me with since this is all new to me.
I'm definitely going to try and avoid any bottles/pacifiers to avoid the nipple confusion issues hopefully early on. Eventually I would like to be able to pump an occasional bottle so that DH and I can leave the baby longer than 2 or 3 hours for a night out, etc.
As of right now, I'll probably only end up BFing about 5-6 months. I'd like to go longer, and will still be staying at home. The reason I'm anticipating stopping early is that we went through IF treatment (injectables) to conceive this baby, and DH is leaving his job (with great insurance including IF coverage) most likely around May of 2004 to pursue his PhD full time. So, I'd like to try and begin ttc #2 hopefully when baby #1 is about 6-9 months (while we'd still have our same insurance coverage for another 7-9 months or so), and I can't do injectables obviously while BFing, and I also need to leave time for weaning, which by the way, I have noooooo idea how to go about!! (that's another story!)
I've thought about pumping a bunch of extra milk if possible in those last months of BFing to see if we can bottle feed DS for some extra time w/ EBM. How long can we use the EBM? I know it keeps a while frozen but will it still be okay nutritionally for an other 1-3 months after I stop BFIng?? I know some babies just won't take EBM from a bottle but I figure it is worth a try. I think I'd probably just get an electric pump so that I can "stock up" on EBM hopefully. What do I pump into in that case (I'd probably get the PIS)? For bottles, I'm going to buy some Advent and some Dr. Brown's and hope that the baby likes one of those two. Which of those 2 bottles (or any others) seems more compatible w/ BFing? SHould I just store the EBM into the Lasinoh kind of bags, or pump into a bottle? Do I then switch it to another bottle?

Thanks everyone. Sorry for bombarding you w/ all those questions, but they all kind of overlap. Any help you can give me w/ any part of all that babbling is appreciated.

Beth

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I can answer some of your questions.

Breastmilk will keep 6 months in a deep freeze, like a chest freezer or upright. It keeps 3 months in your regular freezer. (although that depends on how often you open the door, it could be longer.

For the amount you want to try to store, you would be best to use the bags. Gerber or Lansinoh brands are good. I put about 10 of them into a ziploc freezer bag, just as an extra protection.

You can start building up a stash early, once things are going well. I started pumping at 5 weeks, and pumped every morning to put milk in the freezer. By the time I went back to work at 4 months, I had a nice stash.

I think it is a great idea to build a stash so that you can keep giving breastmilk longer.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[votre_ami03]

Beth, Congrat's on your IF baby! I too went through lots to conceive Nolan (Repronex & 5 iui's finally did it!).

The lactation consultant I saw in the hospital referred to it as the rule of 5, 5 hours (left out), 5 days (fridge) & 5 months (freezer). Although I have seen diffrent variations.

DS had a paci @ 2 weeks & he was BF until I went back to work 3 weeks ago. He had the occasional bottle (Avent) & a paci (also Avent) from 2 weeks on. We never had any nipple confusion. Although, he seems overly addicted to BF, IMO. :)

I pump into bottles & freeze. Although, if you are planning to store a few months worth, that could get expensive. I used Gerber bags & think they are okay. I have had a few leaks w/them though.

Good luck on conceiving baby #2!

Christy & baby Nolan 7/22/03

[brittone2]

Thanks Karen!! That was helpful! I definitely want to build a stash early if I can. We had an upright freezer which we just had to get rid of and we are probably going to purchase a new chest freezer, so we'd have somewhere to keep it for a long time hopefully.
Thanks for the tips on storing in the bag. When you pump, does the EBM go into a bottle first as part of the process? Where do you empty the milk into as you are pumping? I haven't ever looked at, used, or known anyone who has pumped (I'm the first of my friends to be having a baby and planning to BF) so I'm an idiot about this!
I'm also worried about supply, as I have polcystic ovarian syndrome. My understanding is most women w/ pcos do okay in terms of supply but some (a study was out recently I believe that said about 1/3) have supply issues. To build my supply up if I'm worried, would I just BF on demand, and then try and pump a little extra each time after we are done BF? Just trying to figure out the best way to build a supply (and I want to build a stash anyway!) because I'm paranoid. I realize most new moms to be are worried about supply (usually without any reason to be) but the pcos kind of complicates things.
Thank you so much for your help:) I appreciate it. I have so many questions. I'm reading the "womanly art of Bfing" right now so hopefully I'll figure out some answers as I go.

Beth

[votre_ami03]

>When you pump, does the EBM go into a bottle first as part of the process? Where do you empty the milk into as you are pumping?

I use the Avent Isis pump (hand pump) & Avent bottles. I lined the bottles with a Gerber bag & screwed the pump onto the bottle (over the bag, like a disposable bottle). That way, all I had to do was release the air & pull the bag out & seal it. No mess in the bottle. As a back up though, I double bagged, just in case. After all the work you do to get that milk, I don't like to waste a drop.

Christy & baby Nolan 7/22/03

[kaitlinsmommy]

Hi Beth,

Congratulations! I read The Womanly Art of BF too but would also like to recommend the Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins. I thought it was really good.

[LucyG]

Another good bf book to read is "So That's What They're For," by Janet Tamaro. It offers lots of practical, light-hearted info. on bf. Good luck to you!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

There are lots of things you can do to help build your supply. The book you are reading will tell you some of it. A good website to poke around on is http://www.kellymom.com

I also suggest you attend a La Leche League meeting while you are still pregnant. They can be a great help to you once baby is here.

You want to nurse as much as possible the first 3 or 4 months. During that time, your body is producing milk because of the hormones in your body after the birth. After that, it "remembers" how much to make, so if you lay down a good supply during that time, it will carry you through later. Nurse on demand, which means to nurse as soon as the baby is hungry no matter how long it has been since the baby ate last.

At about 5 weeks, I noticed that Logan would wake up to eat at about 6:30 or 7:00 every morning. So I started getting up at 5:30 and pumping before she ate. That is when prolactin levels are the highest, early morning, and when I seemed to have the most milk to pump. After pumping, Logan would eat and get plenty of milk because the breasts keep making milk as long as a baby is suckling. I basically tricked my breasts into thinking that a set of twins come over for breakfast every day. :) I would also pump on one side while she ate on the other when I was first practicing pumping, so that my breasts would get used to letting down for the pump. (baby suckling on the other side would stimulate the letdown)

I was able to build up a stash of 350-400 ounces before I went back to work at 4 months. I pumped every morning, weekends included. Now that I am back at work, I only pump on the three days I go to the office. I have enough for 3 months for her to eat while I am at work those three days a week, but if I were to stop nursing and just feed her from the stash, it would only last about 15 days or so. (when I went on a business trip for two and a half days, she ate 60 ounces while I was away)

I almost forgot to answer your questions, I got to rambling there! When I used the bags, I pumped into a bottle and poured it into the bag. That way I could measure how much I was putting in each bag. The bags are marked, but you can't really tell how much is in it. Now that I use the Pumpmate system, I just pump directly into the bags. (it's not really a bag, it is like the drop in liners with a lid)

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Momof3Labs]

Just an FYI - I had over 350oz in my freezer stash at its peak, all in Gerber Seal n Go bags, and didn't lose an ounce to leaking or freezer burn. I highly recommend these bags!

I've heard that EBM keeps in the regular freezer for 3-6 months. We've used 4-4.5 month old frozen EBM with no problems.

I pump into bottles also so that I know exactly how much I pumped, then mark the date and amount on the bags, and pour the EBM into the bags. Then I lay them flat in the freezer. When they are frozen, I transfer them to Ziploc freezer bags just to keep things organized. I label the freezer bags with the month and then always use the oldest EBM first. It's good to freeze in smaller increments - 2-4 oz per bag. When Colin was consuming larger bottles (before he started solids), I usually froze 4oz bags and the occasional smaller bag so that it would be easy to thaw exactly what was needed for his bottle.

After thawing, EBM is only good for 24 hours, so it is important to plan your storage!

[brittone2]

Thanks for all the help everyone!! At least I'm starting to figure a few things out w/ all of your help;)

Has anyone used the Medela collection/storage/freezer bags? Are they any good? Just wondering...I worked on my registry some today at BRU and saw the Medela ones and was curious if they were good or not.

Thanks for the book suggestions. I've heard of a few of them and have been planning to check them out...thanks for the reminder:) I just went to my first LLL meeting a week ago and found it helpful. Everyone seemed happy to see a pregnant mom there...I guess many of their members only start once they are having issues and baby is already here.

Thanks again!

Beth

[Momof3Labs]

Ugh - Medela CSF bags are horrible. They are so hard to seal and keep tight, and so expensive to boot! Skip 'em and go for the cheaper but better ones - Gerber (Lansinoh are popular, too).

[hez]

Thanks for posting the tip about storage amounts. I haven't quite gotten my act together on too much research for working/pumping/bf'ing, but I was planning to start pumping this weekend to build my stash. I go back to work in January, so wanted to get 2 months of Karen's pump in the morning trick in. Thank you, Karen, also!

[jojo2324]

Hi Beth!! Congratulations on your little boy!!

I went back to work when DS was 2 months old, so had to do a lot of pumping to keep him on BM exclusively. I used the PIS; sometimes I would double pump, or I would have him nurse on one side while pumping the other. I pumped into bottles, then poured the EBM into bags. (Lori gave you a good tip, always in small amounts!)

When I was having supply issues (due to an increase of hours at work), I would pump after nursing him, to help bring my supply up. I definitely was able to pump a lot of milk in the AM. Also, once he stopped waking so frequently at night, I would wake up engorged and pump then.

We tried Avent and Dr Brown's, but eventually he took the Gerber New Traditions. I thought their nipples most resembled that of a breast. And I have heard 6 months in a freezer is fine, but only 24 hours once out. Good luck with everything!!