going back to school...lo with a sitter....pumping questions!

[JBasel27]

hey ladies, i have a few pumping questions:

i am returning to school next monday and will go every day for 5 hours. when my lo was first born i was a pumping maniac so that i would have enough milk for when school started. well as the summer progressed i let pumping fall by the way-side, i was traveling all over, had company, having fun, etc. i have quite a bit of milk still frozen although i have used some. my lo is 5 1/2 months right now.

1. i am planning on pumping at school and my schedule this semester has worked out that i will have a break every day at 12:30pm-ish. is my supply going to be ok if this is not the time that my lo takes a bottle at the sitter? this is the time that i have to pump, or i can't pump at all.

2. once she uses my freezer stash, should i continue freezing what i pump every day at school, or leave that with her to use fresh the next day? fresh seems better to me so i was thinking of trying to balance a small freezer stash and pump enough to give the sitter.

3. we are just beginning solids so i am worried about adding in all of this, sending my lo to a sitter, and managing school! i would really appreciate any advice on making the transition go smoothly.

4. should i be a pumping maniac this week to increase supply to have enough? obviously i don't want to use formula at all (even though everyone but my hubby is pushing me to do so). my supply has never been an issue and my lo and i have been happily nursing along since day 1. ok, maybe since day 31 (the first month is rough )

thanks in advance, sorry for writing a novel, if you make it this far you are a trooper

[Inspired007]

No need to even be thinking about formula until you’ve exhausted ALL of your options. You can do this!!

Your supply will even out once you’re back in school and have a regular schedule pinned down.

I would suggest pumping now as much as you can to store. This is what I did before I returned back to work with dd. I went back when she was about 16 weeks old. I had about 150-200 ounces of milk stored since I pumped from about the first week she was born. Some may advise against it, but it worked for me. I made sooo much milk that I was able to feed her and have some stored as well.

Now, what I will say is that you may want to take a small manual pump around with you in addition to any larger/electric pump you’ll be carrying. Sometimes you’ll get engorged and won’t have the space or the time for a big pumping session, but still need the relief. I bought a Medela Harmony for this purpose and it was great. You can stop by the ladies room and knock off an ounce or two right before class. The larger pumping sessions can last anywhere from 20-45 minutes including time to clean your parts. The smaller pump may help with the quickie 10 minute break you have between class. Believe me, if the breast needs to be relieved, you’ll be in trouble if you don’t listen.
It doesn’t really matter when your lo takes a bottle with the sitter, your supply will even out for your new schedule. The major thing is to know how much your output with the pump is and how much she’s taking in everyday.

For example, if your stash is 50 ounces, and Day 1 your lo drinks 15 ounces and you only pump 5 ounces then you know that the difference of 10 ounces is coming from your stash and you have reason to worry. At that rate your stash will be depleted in 5 days.

But, you can make up for this by adding pumping sessions while you’re home and lo has gone to bed. This will increase your milk supply some but it’s worth it to avoid formula, IMO.

I pumped whenever I had the chance so I could store milk and always had a hand pump around in case I got engorged and lo wasn’t hungry or wasn’t around.

Oh and fresh is better, but try to always pump enough to leave something in the freezer for that rainy day.

Good luck!

[JBasel27]

thanks inspired! i am going to follow my school schedule this week so i can try to work everything out. i am also going to figure out how many ounces i currently have, etc.