New Exclusive Pumping Tribe! - Page 4

[Jessimaca]

Yes, also at the 4 month mark.  Had such a depressing day yesterday-- the 4 month mark is hitting me hard.  I just can't believe she isn't nursing!  It seems so impossible now.  I can't believe how much time and effort I've put into helping others and trainings...  and my baby won't latch.  Its so ironic and so depressing.

On a happier note, I'm glad I've made it this far.  I just dropped a pumping so I'm watching my supply closely.  I am at 7 pumpings a day now and I plan to stay at that until she is eating solids then I may experiment with dropping another.   to all of us for making it thus far.

[clairebear3]

Hi Jessi

I'm so sorry you had such a bad day!  I can't imagine how it must be for you in your situation.  Are you still trying to get her to latch?  What kind of things have you tried?

Just remember that you are doing the absolute best for your babe.  So many other people would of given up or not even attempted it.  What a lucky babe to have you as a mama!

Isn't it strange how free you feel when you have dropped a pump   Feels like you're back in the real world a bit!

We are having some serious night time issues here, not sure whether it's teething, growth spurt of the dreaded 4 month sleep regression but it's all gone to hell a bit!

Does your LO get interested in the breast if you offer it while she's sleepy?

Hope you have a better day today...

[HappyHappyMommy]

Originally Posted by clairebear3 
It sounds like a good system you had, how long does it actually take to stop producing milk?

Generally, I think it was a week or so for me, though I still occasionally leak more than a year later!

Originally Posted by Jessimaca 

Yes, also at the 4 month mark. ... On a happier note, I'm glad I've made it this far. 

Congratulations Jessimaca! That is a huge milestone!

Originally Posted by Jessimaca 

Had such a depressing day yesterday-- the 4 month mark is hitting me hard.  I just can't believe she isn't nursing!  It seems so impossible now.  I can't believe how much time and effort I've put into helping others and trainings...  and my baby won't latch.  Its so ironic and so depressing.

I'm sending lots of support your way. Although it's not related to breastfeeding and pumping, I have worked with others on something I struggle with personally and sometimes my struggle is even more painful because of my knowledge and effort in that area. Extra big hugs coming your way.

[Masel]

Hi all, My little guy is almost 4 months old and we are still EPing. He has a cleft in his soft palate so there is no "why don't you just nurse him". That said, no one told my little guy he couldn't nurse so we do a bit of comfort nursing before sleep. Occasionally he'll have a bit of milk in his mouth when we do this. My hope is that he'll be able to nurse after the cleft is repaired at 10 months.

Recently my supply took a nosedive. I think it was a perfect storm of a stress, sleeplessness, caffeine, and timing. We seem to be back on track. I had a good stash in my feezer. Two bags were damaged and leaked out when defrosting. I have Laniosh bags. Is there something that works better? The bags are in a plastic box and are not bounced around much.

I seem to do okay with 4 pumps a day. Don't kill me! For years I had fertility problems and the one measurable thing they could see wrong was too much prolactin. I guess this primed the pump. I try to keep 5 bottles worth of milk in the fridge. Because of the cleft we need to use Dr Brown bottles and a special valve. The Dr Brown bottle are a pain to wash. I wish I had some extras to pump into but I'm not going to buy more when I don't need any extras of the inner workings. It is no use for me to have more innards than I have valves. So I pump into some stray Medela bottles. To get the cream off the sides when I pour the milk into the Dr Brown bottles I'll put the medelas in to warm water very briefly. Sometimes I'll pour most of the milk into the new bottle and then violently shake the last little bit to get the cream off. Yeah yeah, I know you are not supposed to shake breast milk. I'm a rebel. I find that the refrigerated bottles don't need to be warmed up. My kiddo seems to like them cool. The cream dissolves just by the warmth of my hand by the time bottle is finished.

My bottle cue is probably crazily complicated if I actually wrote it down. One thing I will mention is that if I have a fresh squeezed bottle right when he's hungry I'll bump that to the front of the cue. Empty bottles get put back in the fridge so I can wash them in one group. This keeps me from having a bottle hang around too long or accidently getting bumped too many times. 

[HappyHappyMommy]

Originally Posted by Masel 

Hi all, My little guy is almost 4 months old and we are still EPing.

Congratulations on this milestone, Masel!

Originally Posted by Masel 
Two bags were damaged and leaked out when defrosting. I have Laniosh bags. Is there something that works better? The bags are in a plastic box and are not bounced around much.

Losing milk is so frustrating! I primarily used the Lasinoh bags. They were far better, IME, than the Medela (which leaked almost every time). I put the several bags in a zip-locked bag, so that if there was a leak, I could try to salvage the milk. Hope that helps!

[MadelinesMama]

I have had really good luck with the Gerber bags.  I stopped using Lansinoh because I got a box where almost every single bag leaked.  I defrost inside of a big tupperware container with a lid. 
 

[MadelinesMama]

10 months Ep'ing!  It's getting old and I feel the need to make a big deal out of every month.  Only 8 months left until I meet my pumping goal!
 

[clairebear3]

Originally Posted by MadelinesMama 

10 months Ep'ing!  It's getting old and I feel the need to make a big deal out of every month.  Only 8 months left until I meet my pumping goal!
 

That is amazing!  I can believe it's getting old but it's un-real that you have been able to keep going this long!

I had to pour away about 250ml of milk this morning, grrrr.  I had left it out of the fridge to long and when I warmed it up I tested it on my arm and it immediatly smelt odd.  When I smelt the bottle it smelt like eggs so I poured it away, oh well, another bottle of formula.

Even when the milk is just pumped and I pour it into a bottle it has a kind of chemical smell sometimes, weird huh?

[MadelinesMama]

My son was born at 27 weeks.. so I feel like I owe it to him to pump for as long as I can stand it.  He needs the immune boosts.

Chemical as in soapy?  Maybe excess lipase?  Although I would think it would take a bit longer for the smell to start. 
 

[HappyHappyMommy]

Originally Posted by MadelinesMama 

10 months Ep'ing!  It's getting old and I feel the need to make a big deal out of every month.  Only 8 months left until I meet my pumping goal!
 

Congratulations on your 10-month milestone MadelinesMama!

Originally Posted by clairebear3 
Even when the milk is just pumped and I pour it into a bottle it has a kind of chemical smell sometimes, weird huh?

clairebear3, have you only recently noticed the chemical smell or has it been something that you've noticed since you first started pumping?

[clairebear3]

Originally Posted by MadelinesMama 

Chemical as in soapy?  Maybe excess lipase?  Although I would think it would take a bit longer for the smell to start. 
 

I had never heard of lipase but I guess that could be it.  I am still taking my pregnancy vitamins which include a fish oil tablet, could that be it?

I'm not in the habit of smelling the freshly expressed milk because I know it can't of gone off but I think it used to smell sweeter...

[clairebear3]

I have just sniffed another batch that hasn't been in the fridge yet and it's def soapy to me...

[MadelinesMama]

Are you leaving your milk out before you refrigerate it after pumping?
 

[clairebear3]

Sometimes, sometimes I think she will use it up and then I see it will be left over until the next day so I put it in the fridge.
 

[MadelinesMama]

So how long is it unrefrigerated before the soapy smell?
 

[Jessimaca]

MadelinesMama~  You are amazing!  You should definitely be celebrating every month!

Claire~  My milk sometimes has different smells and I always smell it (it's a habit I guess :-)  Anyway, sometimes it smells metalicy (sp?) and I sometimes smell the soapy smell too but usually after I've frozen and thawed it.  And I have smelled rotten milk that has sat in a bottle too long.  I would get used to how your milk smells fresh and thawed so you know whats normal for you. I

I have tried and continue to try every way possible to get her to nurse, but I only do it once every few days now versus daily.  She never responds well-- on a good day she will lick a little on a bad day she will get really mad :-( 

Masel~  Welcome and congrats for making it 4 months!  I sure hope your baby will nurse after surgery!  Wouldn't that be wonderful-- that can be a motivator to keep pumping.

Happymommy~  Yeah my feelings are so intense and hard to explain.  I tried explaining it to my friend who is a social worker at a nursing home-- I said imagine your mother had to be moved in to your nursing home that you really believed in and thought was a great place.  Only you find out later that she has been treated very badly right under your nose.  Its like that kind of...  I don't know its just so hard and has me lost as to what my future endeavors will be as I thought I would be a full-time lactation consultant.

[Masel]

I'll try to be more careful with the bags. 

I though I was back on track with supply. My breasts were a little achy from increased pumping but what I didn't realize was that there was a sore on the right one. I had to waste a couple oz on that side because it was bright pink. It doesn't help that everything I read about this includes how to correct latch.  Grrrrrrr. I've been trying to keep it clean, pump on the lowest setting, and use lots of lanolin. 

I don't think I need bigger shields.  (I have 27mm ones) The nipples don't touch the edge if everything is positioned correctly. The areola is pulled into the tube. I'm afraid that if I used bigger ones I'll block the valve. The sore is on the fold right where the nipple meets the breast. It is where the skin flexes with each pump. I don't know what I can do to relieve stress on that spot.  After a couple of days of TLC it feels better but I'm falling behind again.

[clairebear3]

Originally Posted by Masel 
 My breasts were a little achy from increased pumping but what I didn't realize was that there was a sore on the right one. I had to waste a couple oz on that side because it was bright pink. It doesn't help that everything I read about this includes how to correct latch.  Grrrrrrr. I've been trying to keep it clean, pump on the lowest setting, and use lots of lanolin. 

I had a small blister actually on my nipple, I think from friction of me just sticking them on and not really checking where my nipple was   It did get better but it took a while and I just made sure that that side was as far away from the plastic as possibble/  Hope it gets better soon!

I don't know its just so hard and has me lost as to what my future endeavors will be as I thought I would be a full-time lactation consultant.

I know it's not much consolation now but you've BEEN there.  When I had visits from lactation consultants I was kind of left with the feeling that it was very easy for them to dish out advice when they don't know what it's like.  You really can't know how hard it is unless you've BTDT.  I'm sure it will help all those future mommas that you can be so empathetic and really understand what their going through?  How long where you planning on EPing for?  I think there's still hope for you!  Just don't take the advice that I did about upping her bottles too soon, she was very quickly drinking more in one sitting than I could pump and that's a slippery slope...

My milk smells really good and sweet when it's warmed up and so far I have lost one batch that went bad and you could easily recognise it!
 

[HappyHappyMommy]

Originally Posted by Jessimaca Happymommy~  Yeah my feelings are so intense and hard to explain.  I tried explaining it to my friend who is a social worker at a nursing home-- I said imagine your mother had to be moved in to your nursing home that you really believed in and thought was a great place.  Only you find out later that she has been treated very badly right under your nose.  Its like that kind of...  I don't know its just so hard and has me lost as to what my future endeavors will be as I thought I would be a full-time lactation consultant.

Jessimaca. It was hard for me to accept EPing. And I've had other situations of what I thought my future endeavors would be and then felt losts and that was so hard. I am just imagining putting those together and empathizing so much with you. I do agree with clairebear that if you decide to continue on your path to being a full-time LC, I think you'll be a great one especially for new mamas that are struggling with breastfeeding challenges. I also think that if you choose a different path, you will find something else where you will be able to give your compassion and talents. You don't have to decide now. I know that probably doesn't make things easier in the short term, so for now, I offer you lots of support and many hugs.

Originally Posted by Masel 
I don't think I need bigger shields.  (I have 27mm ones) The nipples don't touch the edge if everything is positioned correctly. The areola is pulled into the tube. I'm afraid that if I used bigger ones I'll block the valve. The sore is on the fold right where the nipple meets the breast. It is where the skin flexes with each pump. I don't know what I can do to relieve stress on that spot.  After a couple of days of TLC it feels better but I'm falling behind again.

Ouch Masel! I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. It sounds like a tough few days. In case it's helpful to you or anyone else in the future, olive oil helped me a lot when I had cracks or sores; I would put some directly on the sore and a bit on the part of the shield that would or might come into contact into with it.

As for sizing, I thought I needed a larger size and tried it, but it actually made it worse. My LC recommended a smaller shield size (so that only the nipple was being pulled into the tube) and it made an immense difference. If you've been pumping comfortably, the size you have is probably fine, but if you have smaller shields, you might want to give them a try.

Originally Posted by clairebear3 
My milk smells really good and sweet when it's warmed up and so far I have lost one batch that went bad and you could easily recognise it!

Sorry about the lost batch; I know how hard you work for every batch! But glad to hear that the milk smell issue is resolved.

[Jessimaca]

Quick check in.  So hard to find time to get on here.  Not just because of the pumping and the craziness it entails, but also because I have one high needs/fussy little girl :-(  In fact, she is crying now so off I go!