Almost no maternity leave & freaking out about pumping... - Page 2

[EnchantedMamma]

I'm in my first week postpartum now. Just wanted to say: because my babe is doing her part to get my milk supply going, my guess is that you might be able to pump quite a bit of volume.

If you think about it, engorgement is a common problem in the very beginning. Use that to your advantage! Pump whenever you are full and pump after your DC eats. This should keep your supply up and give you plenty to pump when at work. Plus you can build a stash.

You may want to taste test your milk early on. I found out that I had soapy tasting milk (an excess of lipase, I believe). I was never sure if my DS minded or not, but I wound up dumping my early stash. After that I began scalding everything. So you might scald, or test first to see if your milk tastes funny/soapy after a few days. You'd hate to lose any stash you accumulate.

Good luck! You will either get all the milk you need (and then some), or you will at least get SOME milk. And I think that some has some advantages as well. I worked and pumped and had to supplement with organic formula at 9 months, but baby nursed well when I was home. (Don't forget that part! If you keep up your supply your babe will likely nurse all night with you and in the mornings if you have time, plus all weekend as well.)

Reduce stress all you can. Keep hydrated and keep your calories up. I had a difficult time with supply whenever I wasn't eating well.

[hakeber]

US social healthcare and maternity standards are frickin' abyssmal!  How is it not illegal for a company to knowingly hire a woman of child bearing age and then deny her appropriate medical leave for the birth of her children?  Family values, my patooky!  Even in the developing world women get a minimum of three months leave and that doesn't include any normally given vacation time!  AND you get six months of nursing leave (given one to two hours free in the schedule paid to nurse or pump) and up to another six months nursing leave unpaid.  and if there are more than ten mothers with children under the age of one in the company some countries even insist on a onsite nursery for the infants....that's Latin America, in The DEVELOPING WORLD!  And the richest nation in the world is sending women back to work before they've even had a chance to stop bleeding. WTF?!

Okay, rant over.

So, yes.  It IS possible.  I second the idea of bringing baby to work and pumping every two hours.  Get a good quality pump, WIC in some states does offer pump loans, I hear.  Make sure you eat well, get enough rest and just let that baby latch as much as possible.

I hope the job is amazing! 

[la mamita]

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who replied!! I just got a chance to read through all of the responses and I am taking notes. I also have an appointment scheduled with a local lactation consultant who specializes in helping moms go back to work and pump successfully--she does a one on one class about how to prepare and how to keep things going smoothly.

I have stopped freaking out about pumping and decided to just approach this as I'm going to get a really good plan together and give it my best shot and hope that it works out for the best. Supplementing wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but I don't think I need to do anything drastic in the beginning like not even try to BF...I was feeling very overwhelmed about the whole thing at first, but I am trying to take it in small pieces and make it manageable.

So, here are some ways I'm thinking to make it work:
-I have confirmed with my job that we have a lactation room, so things are good there, and I get a morning & afternoon break, plus lunch to pump...
-For the first week or two, my partner is going to bring the baby to the city I work in and meet up with me on my breaks and lunch, I think that will help ease the transition to work.
-I definitely want to try to get a system going where I can pump while commuting--that seems like an ideal time.
-I want to get an electric double pump, best on the market, and get a hands-free, car-adaptable pumping situation worked out. I found out that I JUST barely don't qualify for WIC after the baby is born, my income is like a few hundred a year too much, so I'll have to make that investment on my own.
-I can't bring the baby into work with me--I work with families in crisis, so it is not safe to have a baby around while dealing with clients who might be hostile, high on drugs, in the middle of a domestic violence situation, etc...
-To avoid PPD and help ease the recovery, I am upping my iron levels before birth and after going to do placenta encapsulation.
-I agree with someone who said that the first few weeks are going to be the tipping point--getting my milk supply established and making sure I am pumping frequently enough to do that. Realistically, pumping every hour at work is not going to happen. Every two or three hours is doable, but will that be enough? I am hoping so but I think this is a wait and see situation...
-Avoiding nipple confusion in the first few weeks--I'm going to talk with the LC about how to best do this, either with eyedroppers or finger feeding or some other solution...and picking the right kind of bottles after we switch to those.
-Pumping a lot in the first few days after my milk comes in and before I am back at work to be able to have a stash.
-Keeping supply up by eating and drinking a lot, using mother's milk tea/fenugreek, eating oatmeal, etc.

[lunarlady]

It sounds like things are coming together in your plan, and that is great! Every two hours or so should be enough to establish a good milk supply. After a couple months, depending on how you respond to the pump, you should be able to cut the pumping back to about once every four hours and be okay. At eight months in, I can get plenty pumping during my commutes and at lunch, so three times a day.

The pump will be expensive, but it is the most important part of the equation. You can see if your OB will write you a script for one, which may help if your insurance has coverage for medical devices. And I know what they say about most pumps being single user only, but now that I have used one and know how they work, I would feel fine buying and using a lightly used one off eBay or craigslist. And get a general hands free system, not brand specific, like an easy expressions one or pump ease one. That way if you need to change brands you won't have to replace your hands free system too.

As for bottles, we use the breastflow bottles by first years and they are great. I really wanted to switch to glass, but all the bottles I tried had much faster flows than the breastflow bottles. I think my letdown is faster than those bottles, which is perfect for establishing a preference for the breast over the bottle. So in your quest for the perfect bottle, keep those in mind. Also, a supplemental nursing system ( SNS) can make finger feeding a lot easier for your DP. Maybe ask your LC about it. Good luck and remember that every ounce you pump is one less ounce of formula you have to buy.

I'm trying to get a pumping moms tribe going in the tribal section. Hopefully that will take off. Drop by there if you have any questions once things get rolling.

[texmati]

i know i'm coming late to the party, but i just want to say that lta with Lunar lady. Also, i would have been ready for a desk job at 1 week pp with this most recent birth, but not with my son's birth. It really depends, and there is no reason not to give it a shot.

[craft_media_hero]

 Yay! Update as it unfolds and let us know how it goes--we are here to support you!! Your plan sounds solid; if it can work then your plan will make it work. I think having the babe come to you at work to feed for the first few weeks is going to really help a lot. What pp said abt establishing breast preference--ITA. Slow flow bottle baby will have to work at, hopefully your baby will prefer the fast let down from the breast.

[sosurreal09]

Hope you are managing alright OP

[la mamita]

thanks! i will try to post an update after the baby is born and let everyone know how things turned out...that may or may not happen because i have a feeling i am going to be quite busy though! right now i am doing well, i feel great physically and i am getting everything ready for the birth and the baby and getting settled into my new job. everything else is out of my hands, so i can accept that.