I've been back at work for about three and a half months now since my maternity leave. When I went back to work, I really wanted to continue breastfeeding...which means pumping at work. 3 times a day, most days.
Every 3ish hours, I shut my door and lock it. A couple of my co-workers who have pumped at work told me that they made that mistake exactly once. It only takes one time of a co-working walking in on you with your shirt pulled up, your boobs hanging out and this weird contraption hanging off your chest to make you always remember to lock the damned door. I'm opting to learn from their mistake. Still, at least once a day I'm sitting there pumping away and have a moment of panic where I spin around then breathe a sigh of relief to see the door shut. Then, I put my phone on Do Not Disturb mode and hang the strange contraption off my chest and pump away. Sometimes I'll see my phone message light blinking or get an email...."Ummm, it seems that your phone is on DND, but..." Yeah, I know, thanks. It's probably because I don't want to be disturbed. And let's be honest, you don't really want to talk to me at that moment either.
3 and a half months of this 3 times a day and I still haven't really gotten over the awkwardness of it. The actual act of pumping is fine. It's more the fact that the walls at work are paper thin and I'm sure everyone in and out of my office area can hear the strange rhythmic whirring sound coming from behind my door. Slinking out of my office, past the two guys I share a suite with, I go down the hall to the bathroom to wash out the breast shields. Some day I'm going to forget to snap my bra back up or pull my shirt down or something. Now THAT will be awkward.
Still, as awkward as it is, I consider myself lucky. California is pretty accepting of breastfeeding and has laws in place to provide the time and place at work to pump. I don't work in a cubicle farm with no privacy and I generally have a pretty flexible schedule, the occasional day with meetings up to my eyeballs (read: only 2 pumping session days) notwithstanding. I've also been lucky not to have supply issues so far (knock on wood). Kellymom is a great resource if you do have supply issues and workandpump.com was also helpful when preparing to go back to work.
It's all worth it though to make sure my kid gets the good stuff.
Showing posts with label breastfeeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breastfeeding. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Bottle Time
I was talking to my husband last night and we realized that I've probably breastfed the kiddo more than 700 times at this point. A mere 10 weeks ago, I don't think I could imagine it not being a dreadful and painful process. Now, breastfeeding is a part of who I am. But, I'm going back to work soon and it's time to introduce the bottle...
I finally broke out the pump about a week ago, but I'd been putting off and putting off giving him a bottle. I was afraid that my temperamental little guy would like it more than he'd like me and that it would negatively impact our breastfeeding relationship. It was also sort of an admission that I really was going to have to go back to work eventually...and that eventually was quickly going to become a now. Then I started to worry about whether or not he'd take a bottle since I waited too long. "They" say you should ideally introduce one by about 4-6 weeks and somehow 10 weeks had flown by already. Sigh.
Yesterday, I finally relented. It was bottle day. My patient husband listened carefully as I rambled on and on about how to do it just so and things to remember and tips and tricks and a bunch of other probably unnecessary information and then I left the house. Feeding time came and just over 5 minutes later it went. That was it. All those weeks of agonizing if he'd take the bottle, if he wouldn't take the bottle and that was it. Then the next feeding came and went just like the approximately 700 before it.
Today, we skipped the bottle. It didn't really fit in to the day and I didn't really mind that. Not breastfeeding makes me feel like a little bit of me is missing. And today, I wanted to hold onto that piece. We'll try it again tomorrow.
I finally broke out the pump about a week ago, but I'd been putting off and putting off giving him a bottle. I was afraid that my temperamental little guy would like it more than he'd like me and that it would negatively impact our breastfeeding relationship. It was also sort of an admission that I really was going to have to go back to work eventually...and that eventually was quickly going to become a now. Then I started to worry about whether or not he'd take a bottle since I waited too long. "They" say you should ideally introduce one by about 4-6 weeks and somehow 10 weeks had flown by already. Sigh.
Yesterday, I finally relented. It was bottle day. My patient husband listened carefully as I rambled on and on about how to do it just so and things to remember and tips and tricks and a bunch of other probably unnecessary information and then I left the house. Feeding time came and just over 5 minutes later it went. That was it. All those weeks of agonizing if he'd take the bottle, if he wouldn't take the bottle and that was it. Then the next feeding came and went just like the approximately 700 before it.
Today, we skipped the bottle. It didn't really fit in to the day and I didn't really mind that. Not breastfeeding makes me feel like a little bit of me is missing. And today, I wanted to hold onto that piece. We'll try it again tomorrow.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Breastfeeding is Hard!
First of all I’m a huge proponent of breastfeeding. It’s not hard to find information online about why exclusively breastfeeding for at least 6 months and continuing to breastfeed for at least 1 year is beneficial to both mother and child (check out here for information on the benefits and additional resources on breastfeeding). That being said, one thing that you don’t readily hear from all of the “official” sources is that breastfeeding is hard! You think that women have been doing this since the dawn of time and they didn’t have any books or videos or websites or lactation consultants…how hard could it be? It’s supposed to be what God created us women folk to do, right? You also hear that if it shouldn’t hurt unless you’re doing something wrong. Wrong.
Having had a c-section, one benefit (there aren’t many, trust me) is that I spent 3 full days in the hospital. That provided plenty of time for plenty of nurses and a lactation consultant to observe breastfeeding. I kept asking, “Is it supposed to hurt this much? What am I doing wrong?” They kept saying, “The latch must be bad. You need to fix it. Let me take a look.” They’d look and inevitably say, “Hmm…the latch looks fine. Keep doing what you’re doing.” Fine my ass….tell that to my poor nipples.
Then there’s the matter of supply. Am I making enough? Is he going to starve to death? How do I know? F was 8lbs, 6oz at birth and 7lbs, 10oz at discharge. That was 1oz above the magical 10% drop from the birth weight. If the baby goes below that, then they get worried. I had a nurse tell me that I must not be breastfeeding right. Hello, slap in the face. As if I’m not insecure enough about this whole being responsible for another human being thing already. (Note: of all the nurses I encountered, the vast majority were wonderful, amazing people that got me through some tough moments…this one was just a tad insensitive to a raging hormonal new mom.) My doctor wasn’t concerned in the slightest and at F’s appointment 5 days after birth, he was 8lbs, 4oz and at his 2 week appointment he was 9lbs, 12oz. Let’s just say my kid is a tank and is gaining weight just fine, thank you very much.
In terms of the nipple pain, making sure the latch is good IS really important. No need to add insult to injury. (A detailed article can be found here giving a good explanation about breastfeeding positions and getting a good latch). Beyond that, I have one word: Lansinoh – medical grade lanolin. Use it early, use it often. I wish I’d have started using it at hour one instead of day 2 ½. I used it religiously for the first several weeks and the pain and scabbing subsided eventually. It gets better, I promise. (Note: pain other than nipple pain could be a sign of another problem. Common concerns can be found here.)
As for supply, that’s one of the most common concerns among new breastfeeding moms. Basically, if your baby is going through enough diapers and is gaining weight appropriately then you’re pretty much good to go (more detailed list of signs of successful breastfeeding can be found here). I’m trying to resist the urge to have him weighed daily, so I haven’t bought a baby scale or anything. As if I need to aid my neurotic obsession. His clothes are getting progressively tighter and I don’t think it’s from shrinking in the wash, so I’ll take that as a good sign for the time being until his next appointment.
I only want the best for my kiddo and I want him to be happy and healthy. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the sea of information overload that is the digital age. The prenatal class I took was critical for me so I had at least some semblance of a clue at to what was going on with breastfeeding before the birth. It didn’t really mean too much at the time, but there were definitely light bulb moments of “oh, THAT’S what they meant!” once he arrived. A good book from a reputable source can be really helpful too, although there are so many different parenting philosophies that can be contradictory and confusing. I read a range of stuff, tried not to get too pissed off at some of the wack jobs out there and am trying to forge my own path based on information and instinct. Ask 50 women about their philosophy on breastfeeding and you’ll likely get 50 different answers. Just go with the flow. Literally.
Having had a c-section, one benefit (there aren’t many, trust me) is that I spent 3 full days in the hospital. That provided plenty of time for plenty of nurses and a lactation consultant to observe breastfeeding. I kept asking, “Is it supposed to hurt this much? What am I doing wrong?” They kept saying, “The latch must be bad. You need to fix it. Let me take a look.” They’d look and inevitably say, “Hmm…the latch looks fine. Keep doing what you’re doing.” Fine my ass….tell that to my poor nipples.
Then there’s the matter of supply. Am I making enough? Is he going to starve to death? How do I know? F was 8lbs, 6oz at birth and 7lbs, 10oz at discharge. That was 1oz above the magical 10% drop from the birth weight. If the baby goes below that, then they get worried. I had a nurse tell me that I must not be breastfeeding right. Hello, slap in the face. As if I’m not insecure enough about this whole being responsible for another human being thing already. (Note: of all the nurses I encountered, the vast majority were wonderful, amazing people that got me through some tough moments…this one was just a tad insensitive to a raging hormonal new mom.) My doctor wasn’t concerned in the slightest and at F’s appointment 5 days after birth, he was 8lbs, 4oz and at his 2 week appointment he was 9lbs, 12oz. Let’s just say my kid is a tank and is gaining weight just fine, thank you very much.
In terms of the nipple pain, making sure the latch is good IS really important. No need to add insult to injury. (A detailed article can be found here giving a good explanation about breastfeeding positions and getting a good latch). Beyond that, I have one word: Lansinoh – medical grade lanolin. Use it early, use it often. I wish I’d have started using it at hour one instead of day 2 ½. I used it religiously for the first several weeks and the pain and scabbing subsided eventually. It gets better, I promise. (Note: pain other than nipple pain could be a sign of another problem. Common concerns can be found here.)
As for supply, that’s one of the most common concerns among new breastfeeding moms. Basically, if your baby is going through enough diapers and is gaining weight appropriately then you’re pretty much good to go (more detailed list of signs of successful breastfeeding can be found here). I’m trying to resist the urge to have him weighed daily, so I haven’t bought a baby scale or anything. As if I need to aid my neurotic obsession. His clothes are getting progressively tighter and I don’t think it’s from shrinking in the wash, so I’ll take that as a good sign for the time being until his next appointment.
I only want the best for my kiddo and I want him to be happy and healthy. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the sea of information overload that is the digital age. The prenatal class I took was critical for me so I had at least some semblance of a clue at to what was going on with breastfeeding before the birth. It didn’t really mean too much at the time, but there were definitely light bulb moments of “oh, THAT’S what they meant!” once he arrived. A good book from a reputable source can be really helpful too, although there are so many different parenting philosophies that can be contradictory and confusing. I read a range of stuff, tried not to get too pissed off at some of the wack jobs out there and am trying to forge my own path based on information and instinct. Ask 50 women about their philosophy on breastfeeding and you’ll likely get 50 different answers. Just go with the flow. Literally.
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