Mommy took her first 16-hour call at the hospital on 10/1/09 after coming back from maternity leave. This means that I saw Mommy at 4 AM for my night feeding and didn’t see Mommy again until 9 AM the next day. For the most part, I probably didn’t notice too much that she was gone for so long, but judging by how she hugged and kissed me when she saw me first thing in the morning, I can see how much she missed me. Mommy said that she would feed me in the morning even though the nanny was already here and ready to feed me. Mommy cannot believe that she actually missed me this much. Hehe…the innate powers I have! I see that I am starting to wind Mommy around my little fingers. Mommy will soon join the ranks of Daddy whom I’ve already wound up well and good since I was conceived!
Truth be told. Mommy had anxiety over how the whole breast pumping issue would be during her call at the hospital, but thank goodness it went better than expected. It was a busy call and somehow between delivery six patient (2 c-sections and 4 vaginal deliveries), she managed to pump 3 times and froze about 20 ounces of breast milk in the process. Thank goodness for Kaiser call rooms with a door lock and convenient bathrooms which make pumping and cleaning the supplies easier.
Mommy has also realized that she has a new outlook on her patients and the babies she delivers. She really does sympathize with the mommies more instead of going through the motions of trying to sympathize with them. She also looks at the babies differently. They really are pretty darn cute and she tries to tell every new mommy to cherish, cherish, cherish the first month even though it’s a damn hard month. Babies grow SO quickly and even though Mommy definitely made a conscious effort to cherish every moment with me, she still thinks the time went far too quickly and I grew way too quickly. Whenever possible, Mommy even sneaks a baby at the hospital to cradle in her arms just to remember how it felt to hold me when I was just 7 pounds at birth. I will never be that little again.
Mommy also sees herself as a new proponent of encouraging new moms not give up on breastfeeding. Far too quickly, new moms get discouraged from lack of milk supply and stop putting babies to the breast. Mommy tells her own struggles to her patients, letting them know that I was supplemented during the first month, but then Mommy’s milk came in full supply and I have not been supplemented since then. Usually, this is not the case. Most often, once supplementation starts, less time is spent breastfeeding and/or pumping, milk supply decreases and ultimately, stops. Far too often, Mommy thinks new moms fall into this trap without knowing, so for those wanting to seriously feed their babies breastmilk, here are some tips that helped Mommy:
– In the words of A-ma (Mommy’s mommy), “Never give up [on breastfeeding].” A-ma told Mommy this from Day 1. At first Mommy thought it would be impossible to build up enough milk supply and rolled her eyes at A-ma’s comment, but Mommy always kept these words in mind and ultimately, it worked.
– Understand that milk supply very slowly builds up. For some reason, even Mommy didn’t quite understand just how slowly this process occurs. This was certainly not taught in medical school. She sees patients in her office at 6 weeks postpartum and those who are breastfeeding seem to have endless supplies of milk. She sees engorgement, spontaneous milk flow out of the nipples, and pumps that fill within minutes. So, it was a rude awakening to know that this process just doesn’t happen overnight after delivery. It really does take 4-6 weeks. Mommy remembers that she would be so upset to get only 1-2 ounces from BOTH breasts every 3 hours after pumping for 20 minutes. Now, she gets about 6-8 ounces pumping every 4-5 hours. Just remember, it’s a very, very slow process. (Thanks to Auntie Shilpa for the teaching Mommy all about this slow process and encouraging her to continue.)
– Pump after putting the baby to the breast. This is a painfully long process, but after the baby feeds for 20-30 minutes, pump for about 15 minutes to make sure that both breasts are completely empty. When all is said and done, each feeding ends up taking about 1 hour, including set up and cleaning of the supplies, but it is well worth it. This “fools” the brain to increase milk production because the exisiting supply has been completely exhausted. If any milk is left in the breast, the brain thinks that the supply is more than adequate and supply increase is halted. Mommy did this for about 1 month before the milk supply was sufficient. (Thanks to Auntie Janifer for this tip.)
– It’s possible to only pump! A good pump will stimulate the nipple as well as the baby’s suck in producing adequate milk supply. All the books will tell you that nothing produces milk better than a baby’s suck, but Mommy thinks that there are lots of caveats to this: how well your baby sucks, how long your baby is willing to suck, and how good your pump is. If you have a good pump (double simultaneous, electronic, like the Medela Freestyle), the nipple stimulation is superb and arguably better than a baby’s suck. I could never suck for more than 10 minutes at a time either because I didn’t have the patience or because it was just too exhausting. Mommy hasn’t put me to the breast in 2 months now and so far, the supply is keeping up with the demand. One question Mommy doesn’t know the answer to: Is it possible to only pump from Day 1 and never put the baby to the breast?
– Eat a lot and drink a lot. It’s true that breastfeeding/pumping will utilize 500 extra calories per day. This is amazing because for most people, this is probably about 1 hour of exercise everyday. However, to keep up with the supply, eating and drinking enough are extremely important. It makes senses since milk is largely composed of water and all the micronutrients we consume. Mommy definitely eats and drinks more than usual, but continue to see the decrease in her weight. Rapid weight loss is the sweet bonus reward for breastfeeding/pumping.
– Drink a concoction of red dates, goji berries, applies, and huang-qi (herb). PoPo came across this recipe to help vegetarians produce enough breast milk. (The traditional Chinese non-vegetarian concoction would comprise of pig’s feet and peanuts. Uuh…no thanks). Certainly Mommy drank the vegetarian concoction everyday during her confinement month, but still continues to drink this now. Since Mommy isn’t well-versed in Chinese herbal medicine, she’s not sure how the concoction really helps with milk supply, but she ultimately sees it as a nutritious source of hydration. And remember, hydration is key.
– The jury is out about Reglan. Reglan is an anti-emetic medication, but has some pro-lactational benefits. Mommy took Reglan during her first month to try to increase her milk supply, but did not see any noticeable difference. On the other hand, Auntie Janifer says that it truly worked for her. Mommy stopped taking it after Auntie Shilpa told Mommy that long-term use can cause depression. Bottom line is: It doesn’t hurt to try it, but only for 10 days.
Addendum written on 5/8/2010:
I have now been fed breastmilk for 10 months. Although Mommy still occasionally stores extra bags of milk, it is obvious that her body is changing and the supply has decreased. There is enough for me to drink, but there probably won’t be too many additional bags of frozen milk. This is okay, since Mommy already has probably 300+ bags of stored milk. Some are in YiMa’s freezer and Mommy had to toss some away because they defrosted when the freezer wasn’t working properly. I still have plenty and hopefully, will be use most of it after Mommy stops pumping fresh milk.
Just for fun, Mommy put me on her breast a couple of days ago for the first time since I was 3 months-old. I had no clue what I was supposed to do with the nipple. After a few seconds, Mommy stopped torturing me and let me resume my playing.
Since Mommy has less than 2 months left before completing her goal of breastfeeding me for 12 months, she has some additional tips to keept the milk supply comin’.
– Buy new breast shields for the pump if it looks like the suction on the shield is getting worse. Mommy had to buy a replacement shield and it seemed to do wonders. Mommy has also purchased the Medela “Replacement Kit” which includes the membrane and adapter. It may not be necessary, but since it’s a hard item to find (Mommy only found it online and at Babies R Us), Mommy thought it would be prudent to buy an extra one in case there is another baby in the future.
– Examine and clean the nipples well prior to pumping. No matter how meticulous you are about cleanliness, inevitably, there is residual milk in the milk ducts which may solidify over time and can block the duct. Mommy has seen a duct get blocked and then after removal of the solid milk residue, milk will essentially shoot out of the duct becauase of the all the pressure built up inside.
– Squeeze the breasts as you pump to increase the amount that is pumped out. Sometimes, Mommy develops hard lumps in the breasts where ducts may be blocked. It helps to massage and squeeze on these areas to get the milk to come out. Hot showers also help to release these lumps. Once the milk is out, the lump resolves.
– Pump at closer intervals if the milk supply seems to be lagging. Mommy now pumps every 6 hours and will likely continue this trend until the 12 months are over. If you pump now and then pump 2-3 hours later, you will likely see increase in supply for the short duration.
Addendum written 6/21/2010:
So, Mommy finally completed her goal of breastfeeding me for one year. It took her about 4 days to get over the engorgement and pain of the breasts and now, the breasts are finally feeling somewhat normal again. Mommy is elated to be wearing her normal bras again and not the thin nursing bras.
Here are some final thoughts about breastpumping:
– During the last month, Mommy pumped 3 times per day to try to wean her breast milk supply.
– Take Martek’s Life’s DHA during pregnancy and during breastfeeding to increase DHA/omega-3 intake.
– Cold packs help to decrease engorgement when stopping cold turkey.
– Stopping cold turkey is the best way to stop breast milk supply even though it will be a painful 3-4 days.
– Nipple pads are a complete waste of money. Mommy never found that she needed them. During time of engorgement, Mommy simply used folded Kleenex tissues and they seem to work just fine.