@ Nursing and Pumping Schedule

[pixy0stix]

Aug 8, 2012 10:25:15 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

So did anyone use a nursing bra that held the shields in place for hands free pumping?

I used a regular bra while I was a work and changed when I got home.

[gbck]

The bras that hold 'em are great for that purpose--and that purpose only. Don't try to use them as bras. really.
Not that I was stupid enough to try that. One very long day at work..

[meg]

I used a hands free bra. Made it really easy to play on my phone or read magazines while pumping. I certainly did not wear it for anything but pumping (but left my nursing bra on to pump with the flaps open to save a dressing/undressing step).

Plus you need a regular bra to hold up the pads so you don't leak through, right SBP?

[Deleted]

In related news, why the fuck don't those bras come with the pump? what jackass thought to invent and sell a double pump that when properly applied to the breasts, renders the user unable to turn the pump on? Appalling.

[gbck]

Aug 8, 2012 20:12:06 GMT -5 @missusbee said:

In related news, why the fuck don't those bras come with the pump? what jackass thought to invent and sell a double pump that when properly applied to the breasts, renders the user unable to turn the pump on? Appalling.

Yes,...and people give you these clever solutions tht involve things like rubber bands and holes in sports bras (http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/hands-free-pumping/). They may work for some people, but the tears over the spilt milk make it not worth the risk. And they did cause me to spill milk.

(I will stand up and advocate for pumping while driving still though. I spilt more milk at my desk than I did while driving

[eddy]

Man I suck at pumping....

I would kill to get 6 oz a session. I think I need bigger shields.

[mabillon]

You are making a ton of milk and I am totally jealous.

Make sure that your DCP is NOT emptying/rinsing out the bottles for you. It will actually be helpful for you to see how much is left in each bottle at the end of the day. I've just started back but am noticing that there's a half to one ounce left in DD's 3 3.5oz bottles each day. Now I just need to figure out which feeding they're coming from and I'll put a half ounce less into that one (for now). It may be helpful for you to do a weighted feeding to see how much your baby takes in. In my area, breastfeeding support groups have baby scales available for that purpose during meetings. We even have several working moms groups around in the evenings (I'm in Northern VA).

Also, when i increased to 3.5 ounce bottles (from prior weighed feedings, DD had always taken 2.5 oz per feeding...though I realized later she ate more frequently from me), I asked DCP to pay special attention to how quickly she finished her bottle. They have two hours after starting it to finish but I wanted to know whether she sucked it down or not. Plus, DCP uses the paced bottle feeding technique which is really good for BF babies. And lastly, we use strictly slow-flow/level 1 nipples from Playtex Ventaire and Dr. Brown's. My LC says those two brands and their standard nipples (not the wide) were recently studied and shown to have a flow that most closely mimics the breast.

And lastly, I don't have an oversupply like you but have heard advice in my support group. I think pumping before feeding may be a good idea for you (though perhaps not as much as you're doing). Save some extra milk for baby but if you pump off some of the foremilk early, baby can get more full off the hindmilk. I'm pretty sure that's the advice I've heard a LC give before.

[pamela]

Ditto what the pp said about more but smaller bottles. Also, some DCs will let you keep frozen bags there as well for a backup. BM typically digests faster than formula so many BF babies are hungry sooner, but that doesn't mean they need more milk at a time. Plus, their volume doesn't go up as much as a formula fed baby does because formula nutritional density doesn't change as they age but BM does.

I would try to work in another pumping session at work if your schedule allows. I tried for every 3 hours to more closely match when baby was eating. A hands free bra and a computer meant I could still be productive by answering emails during that time. None of the other methods of holding the horns up worked near well enough for me to feel comfortable that they wouldn't fall off and spill milk everywhere. The $15-20 I spent on the handsfree was very much worth it. Just pull down nursing bra, velcro handsfree on and go.

My coworker who is pumping now will occasionally call me from the room to discuss things and I can hear the pump in the background so I wouldn't recommend making phone calls then to anyone who you might be embarassed if they heard.

[londoncalling]

Aug 8, 2012 9:41:08 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

And no BF thread is complete without a link to this video from Stanford. I used this technique for pumping with both PTS and K and I'm telling you, it makes an enormous difference.

newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/MaxProduction.html

Thank you! It made a 2.5 oz difference this morning, which is huge for me! I wish I would have seen this when I pumped for DD1.