Newbie questions.

[Mal85]

Okay, I just posted these question in my DDC, but they probably belong here more than there.

My daughter is 2 1/2 weeks old and I feel like I have a new list of questions about breastfeeding everyday! So, here are the questions I have today...

1. I've been pumping once a day to build a freezer stash. I have to go back to school when she's 4 weeks old, so she'll be taking a bottle while I'm gone 3 days a week. On Mondays I'll be gone from 9 am until about 5:30 pm. Wednesdays I'll be gone from 9 am until about 4:30 pm. Fridays it'll be from 9 am until about 1:30 pm. I only have time to pump once, about midday, while I'm at school. It's my only break between classes. Will this mess with my supply and what can I do to help that? Should I add another pumping session, maybe in the evening?

2. If she's feeding on both sides right now, do I give her two packages of breastmilk for a bottle feeding?? Since one package comes from one side. I feel like we should start trying a bottle soon, I have to be gone for about 4 hours this Monday to give a presentation in my class and I don't want her first bottle to be while I'm away.

3. When is it okay for her to feed on one side per feeding? I feel like she could be done after one side right now. She latches onto the other side, but most of the time she just suckles at it for a minute and falls asleep... she doesn't really feed. When she does feed on both sides, she ends up spitting up a good portion of what she ate... like she ate too much.

TIA for the advice!

[nataliekat]

Here's my $.02

1. Maybe you could try to find two more times to pump during the day. Can you get a car adapter for your pump and pump in the car right before your first class? Then on your mid-day break, and then again in the car before you leave?

2. It's usually trial and error as to how much she'll take for a bottle feeding. Common wisdom is to send small packages of breastmilk, like 2 oz. each, and keep giving her more if she's hungry, until caregiver figures out about how much she wants at each feeding.

3. It's totally fine for her to take only one side at a feeding, any time. Sounds like that's how she wants to do it.

HTH!!

[jecombs]

I would try to pump more often when at school. For me, once a day was never enough to keep-up with DD's demand. Can you just tell your profs that you have a medical condition that you have to treat every couple of hours? That should keep them from being too nosey and hopefully they will understand. PP also had a great idea about pumping in the car. I have even heard of ladies who pump while they drive!

Here is a calculator to help you estimate how much expressed milk your baby might need. My DD never took more than 3 oz at a time from a bottle, so make sure you leave only small amounts. A good rule-of-thumb is that a baby needs 1 oz of BM per hour you will be separated.

It is okay to feed just on one side, if that is all LO wants to eat. I always offered the 2nd side, but if DD fell asleep or started playing around I knew she didn't want it. Just offer the 2nd side 1st at the next feeding. That way you'll keep both breasts stimulated and have pretty even supply between the two of them.