Last night we left J-money with a babysitter for the first time (outside of the time my MIL sat with her so Mike and I could go out for sushi in town). We went to a concert downtown, so we were gone for a bit over 5 hours. Overall, it went well. I didn't feel much in the way of mommy guilt (probably because I hired a real babysitter / nanny with all sorts of certifications who took care of my friend's 3 children). It was great! Not something I would want to do often (from both a missing my baby and a cost standpoint), but something worth doing.
However, I did learn a really hard lesson. My baby eats a LOT. She went through about 12 ounces of breast milk while I was gone. I have no idea how much she eats typically, since I nurse her and my boobs have not been fitted with level sensors and flow meters. But I basically let her go for as long as she wants. I put out 6 ounces, because I fed her shortly before I left and planned to feed her when I got home, and I only planned to be gone 5-6 hours. Well, an hour and a half after I left she evidently started to beg for food, so the sitter fed her all those 6 ounces plus another 3 more she got from the freezer. Then around 10:30 Jocelyn started begging for more food, so she got another 4 ounces from the freezer. So in the 5 hours I was gone, Jocelyn needed to eat 13 ounces.
This concerns me. I am going back to work in 3 weeks. It is hard for me to pump during the week to build up my freezer supply, because she doesn't go to sleep right after a feeding, and I don't have enough spare milk in the evenings. I can do extra pumping in the mornings because Mike can take her after her morning feeding, but I am often so tired that I prefer to go back to sleep.
Going back to the whole, 'she eats as long as she wants' is also potentially a problem for when I go back to work. Sometimes she will go 25 minutes per side. And of course she is way more efficient than a pump. I won't be able to pump for long periods of time. I will get a quick break in the morning, one in the afternoon and will be able to pump at lunch. No more coffee breaks or social lunches for mama!
So I am concerned about two things:
1. Having enough back up supply for my first day back at work
2. Being able to pump enough during the work day to feed Jocelyn enough the next day
I spoke with the pediatrician. She said to make sure to drink enough water and said that taking funugreek and milk thistle might help (it can't hurt). She also gave me permission to add the occasional serving of formula is what I pumped the day before doesn't quite cut it. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. That peace of mind will hopefully help me stay relaxed to pump enough.
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3 comments:
Fenugreek really worked for me when I was having problems with supply in the beginning, then I didn't need it anymore. Good luck - it's a tough, tough thing, but the body works in mysterious ways. Yay science!
Wow. 13 ounces in that time period is a stunning amount of milk! Your baby is either 25 some pounds, or she probably doesn't typically eat quite that much (which is a good thing for you) :-)
She may not eat as much at daycare. Often people over feed breastfed babies because they use formula clues to determine if the baby wants more. Breastfed babies don't stop sucking when they are full.
I never had good luck with pumping. At your wedding I pumped about 12 ounces totall (about an ounce an hour) but Davey at 25.
One good way to get a lot of milk is to pump one side while she eats on the other. It's a pain but it's very effective. Also play with your pump settings. Different people respond differently.
Finally remember it will be a lot easier once you are actually at work. You said they have hospital grade pumps which will work a lot better then your home pump. Also obviously you will get better results when you aren't actually feeding her during the day.
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