Breastfeeding & Pumping Breastmilk- The challenges of a working mom... part 2 (The plan that worked)

As i mentioned before, with less than a month before going back to work and milk in storage, i began panicking. Below is an account of how i managed to build my freezer stash of 500Oz of milk in less than a month. 

1) Firstly, I had to prepare my mind for the Big Challenge that I took up -"No Formula for my baby"... Yup i literally chanted it even in the middle of the night in my (deep) sleep & dreams... Alright, I was exaggerating a little bit there. We all know that New Mom's hardly get to sleep, let alone dream!

2) I researched night & day and after many trails & errors, found what worked for me. However this is an ongoing process.

Tips & Tricks for Increasing your Breastmilk Supply!

1) Invest in a good Pump. Preferably a good 'double electric one'. I have a "Madela, Pump in style Advanced double electric Breast pump".

2)Order your Breast-pump ahead of time- before your baby is born. Most insurances cover a free Breast pump( or a minimally charged one) and it can be ordered a month before your due date. Get familiar with it before your due date - the parts, working, accessories etc.

3) Start Pumping as early as possible after your baby's birth. (Thats a mistake i made and regret). Evenif you exclusively breastfeed, pump for a few mins after each feed or a few times between each feed, atleast for 5-7 mins. You can feed the extra pumped milk to your baby later in the night when you wanna catch up on your sleep & have hubby darling feed during those times.

4) Chances are that you may have an oversupply in the first few weeks after birth, keep draining the boobs completely if you can. i.e If the baby feeds only on one side per session, then pump out the other side or after baby feed on both the boobs, pump for 5 mins immediately even if you dont get anything. This tricks the body into believing that it needs to produce more milk for the hungry baby.

5) Eat well, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. Stay hydrated all the time. Its ok to exercise & sweat all you want, as long as you keep yourself hydrated enough. (I do intense Zumba & sweat like a waterfall but it did not interfere with my supply)

6) Lactation cookies. I did try to make some lactation cookies: the one with oatmeal, flax seeds, brewers yeast etc. Oh yes, those nasty bitter cookies. I still have some left in my Pantry but nope, i don't fancy eating it. But here is what i do everyday or everymorning: Soon agter i wake up, i have a glass of hot water with a half a teaspoon of 'brewers yeast' & honey, then i pump out all the milk, drink little more water and then dance(Zumba).

7)Last but not the least, Power pumping. Yet to try it out myslef. Ok i lied, i am actually trying out my first time power-pumping as am typing this. So will need to test this theory out and will let you know later. Basically, its pumping for 10 mins & taking a nreak for another 10mins....and then, you keep doing this for an hour.

8) People have mentioned supplements like 'Fenugreek' etc but I am only trying to do it the natural way. ie....nothing in a capsule, only what goes into my cooking is allowed. So this is something thats upto you. Its just not for me.

9) Pump as often as you can. Try not to skip a session. If you do, thats ok once in a while but NEVER consecutively.

10) I know its hard to pump in the middle of the night, but try once every night when your baby wakes up for his feed. You can have hubby feed him/her from the stored bottle milk while you can pump at the same time. 

11) Sleep as much as you can manage in between the pumps. I have noticed that every time i get a good sleep, however short it is, my supply seems to increase for that session.

12) BE Persistant.... Keep your hopes high, keep smiling & You can ACE this challenge. Dont worry, it only stresses you out & reduces your supply.  Be happy and enjoy your time with your kid.

13) Equip yourself well. Pumping is a lot of work, time consuming & not to mention the extra chore of washing/sterilizing the bottles and accessories each time. Don't stress over not getting enogh time with the baby as you spend so much time pumping. There is a solution for that too- "FREEMIE", the hands free pumping cups that allows you to pump and play with your kid at the same time or in my case, Pump & drive too!!! Well, i just received my order of Freemies today, so yet to try it out. I shall post a page on that once i test it out.

14) Once you start working, and if you have to exclusively pump, thats alright, but try to nurse directly from the breasts as much as you can during the weekends. Apparently, babies have a magical way of stimulating your boobies, that no painful pumping can do. Use it to your advantage.

So go ahead & Have fun building your own freezer stash! I shall keep updating this page as and when i find more info & also with experiences. Plus, if you are another mom like me, who is sailing in the same breastfeeding & pumping boat, I would love to hear from you too. Hope I can be of some help to someone out there lest they be as ignorant as I was when i started this whole crazy journey of motherhood!

Cheers-

A

Breastfeeding & Pumping Breastmilk- The challenges of a working mom... part 1

I have always wanted to start blogging from a long time ago but could never really get my lazy ass to pen down something on an ONLINE Psedue Diary- aka blog. Never in a million years would i have guessed that my first ever (unforgotten) blog page will be about "Breast....i mean breastfeeding & Pumping breastmilk"!!!

But again, that would just be one of the million other things that I would have never guessed myself doing....including the biggie today - Pumping breastmilk while driving! Oh yes, go ahead picture the funny scene all you want : the 2 yellow Madela bottles dangling near the steering wheel with the seat belt awkwardly passing between them, occasionally moving to one side & putting pressure on one of the funnels. Poor little me trying to hide it all with my black leather jacket, atleast from the sideways from the stares of fellow drivers especially the ones in those mammoth trucks, looking down on us- the little minion-like drivers. My mind flashed images of many embarrassing possibilities...including the one in which i had to explain to the trooper/highway patrol what in the world was i upto!?!

Anyways, that pretty much sums up the most fruitful part of my first day back to work after my 'not-so-long' maternity time off. But hey, I Did it! Yup yup yup. I managed to find time & space to pump amid-st the impossible work routine I have. Unlike most working Moms who have a 9 to 5 job and a comfy office space, I have the pleasure of running around frantically all day long from one hospital to another, many miles apart with a crazy unpredictable schedule that is different everyday. So basically,my car is my pseudo office space with a non-existent privacy compartment for pumping.

And the good news is that 'If I could do it, then so could any of you strong mommies out there out there can too. But of-course you will need a little bit of preparation and some major equipments to aid. Without futher ado, I shall share with you all that i researched in a "one page-all-info-page". Here we go:

(yawn yawn... too sleepy tonight....will  continue tomorrow)

This is an account of how I prepared for one of the biggest challenges I am facing as a busy working Mom. - providing breastmilk for my baby despite the crazy work schedule, not having any time at work or a comfortable private place to pump.

After (not so)Little Oswin was born, I was painfully bedridden for the first few weeks with a 4th degree tear that involved ~20 stitches over an inch into some of my muscles (yup the ones i never realized existed where they apparently did, until that day). As painful as those weeks were, it was still a luxury in terms of breastfeeding my baby exclusively. So I unintentionally and ignorantly failed to utilize the science of pumping excess breastmilk in those initial few days when my bosum was overflowing with the so-called 'Liquid gold'- yup I am talking about breastmilk! Oh yes,ask any new mommy & she would know what i mean, the rest of you....wait until you reach that stage. And having an Indian mom & Mother-in-law later under the same roof also didn't help as I keep giving them minor heart attacks, every time I mentioned freezing breastmilk. "The poor baby needs to be breastfed and don't you dare cheat the little guy with a bottle", "People do what? Store breastmilk in the fridge?!?! For how long?!? That would be stale milk! Wouldn't it be like food poison", my mom would say and I would just succumb to it with no energy to argue.

After my Mom went back to India and after I was left with just 3 or 4 weeks before I had to resume work, I started panicking! 'What will I do once i go back to work? And NO! My BABY is NOT going to get any FORMULA!!! He deserves The best & if Breastmilk is the best, that's what he is going to get....no matter what', I decided. And so began the my quest. I equipped myself with madela breastpump, lactation cookies recipes, multiple youtube videos on various topics like 'How to create your own freezer stash of breastmilk', 'how to increase your milk supply' etc. All this started on April 1st 2014 "0-ZERO" breastmilk packs in the freezer.

Today is 29th April 2014 and am back to work already. I have managed to fill 3/4th of my deep freezer with the " Magic liquid"- ~80+ packs of 5Oz each.

(to be continued)

You may ask why? Why go through the trouble if it is as painful & challenging as i have portrayed it here. The simple answer is "I WANT THE BEST FOR MY LITTLE ONE....no matter How hard it is. I at least need to know that I did my best and God can take care of the rest.