Totally Random Breastfeeding Post

It's been over a year since I've nursed a baby. There's no particular reason I'm posting this, except I feel like it :) Of my blog readers that I know of, none only a few of you are currently breastfeeding or contemplating breastfeeding in the near future. Sorry.

One of the greatest things about breastfeeding is that you don't have to have any stuff - you know, bottles and formula and formula holders and all that. But there's some stuff that's really great to have anyway. And if you're pumping you will need some things. With Sophia I had the luxury of never having to pump, although I did just to have some milk on hand for the babysitter or whatever. With Amelia, I went back to work full time (+) when she was seven weeks old and pumped until she was ten months old. After that she got formula during the day and I nursed her at night and that worked out just fine too.



Being a working mom and breastfeeding is hard, but it's totally doable, and I wanted to post this for anyone out there who might need advice or encouragement, or who might be thinking I wonder how I can blow a few hundred bucks on breastfeeding supplies.

So first of all, breast pumps. I had the Medela Pump In Style Advanced. When Amelia was in the hospital, I used the hospital-grade Medela, and I can tell you that the PIS Advanced is the exact same thing! The motor works the same way and I got the same results. Awesome pump. I also had this single pump. It was nice sometimes when I would nurse on one side and then pump on the other. I used it when we travelled - on one road trip I sat in the back of the truck with this pump plugged into the cigarettte lighter, pumping, and then giving Sophia the milk in her car seat so we didn't have to stop... at just four months old she totally gave me a what on earth are you doing?! look. I know she thought I was crazy.

This, of course, is the first thing you have to have if you're pumping.

Number two is the Easy Expressions Bustier.

Seriously, I totally refused to pump without it! This allows you to look at magazines, surf the internet, change the channel on the TV, etc. while you're pumping. Aside from just being nice, I noticed that my milk production was way better when I was wearing it, because I was able to relax. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I joke that sitting there holding bottles and staring at them waiting for your milk to let down is like trying really hard to concentrate on having an orgasm - it doesn't work! The pump-holder thingy (that's what I called it) let me shop for baby clothes online or catch up on email, which in turn increased my milk output and made pumping not as boring.

The worst part of pumping for me was washing all of the equipment and bottles! So I had lots of spare breast shields and valves and stuff. I found that they were cheapest at Kidsurplus.com. I had at least enough so that I didn't have to wash supplies at work. So when I was pumping three times a day, I had three sets of everything that I took to work with me. I had these wipes that I would use to wipe down everything during the day after I pumped. Then at home I would wash everything in hot soapy water and then sterilize with these in the microwave.

Also, if pumping is painful, you might need bigger breastshields or the soft kind - Medela makes different ones that all fit their pumps.

This converter was cool - I used it to pump directly into the Avent bottles that we used. That was for the milk that I pumped and just kept in the fridge for shorter periods of time.

Most of the milk I pumped went into the freezer. These are the best freezer bags - I never had a single one leak or spill. I would lay them flat in the freezer until they were frozen solid, then they would take up very little real estate in the freezer. I only froze 2 ounces per bag, so that none went to waste. If you run hot (not super hot, just warm/hot) water over the frozen bag, it only takes a minute or so to thaw the milk.

If you know you're going to be pumping, I would recommend taking advantage of those first few weeks when your body is making too much milk to build up your freezer stash. I had to have surgery when Amelia was four weeks old, and for 24 hours after the anesthesia I had to pump and dump my milk (that sucked - every time I pumped I would make Davis dump it out while I cried ha ha!). We went through a HUGE freezer stash in that 24 hours - it's amazing how fast it can get depleted.

By the way, that reminds me, don't overdo this. Although it was awesome to have a huge freezer stash at four weeks, it was kind of ridiculous. You see, when Amelia spent five days in the hospital, she was also under bili lights and I wasn't allowed to hold her. So there was nothing for me to do in that hospital room except pump and wash bottles. So I pumped. And the nurses would come whisk my milk away and stick it in the freezer. And would pump some more. And I never knew how much I was actually accumulating. Well, when we left the hospital they brought me a GIANT black trash bag FULL of my frozen milk! Ha ha! This was great, but the problem was when we got home... apparently my breasts thought that I had given birth to quadruplets, and they were making waaay too much milk. I didn't want to pump every thirty minutes when I got home, and I was SORE. I used cabbage leaves to decrease my milk supply - I would stick cold, washed cabbage leaves that I kept in the fridge into my bra until they wilted and then replaced them. It worked great, although Davis had a field day with the "salad in my bra" thing.

Oh and speaking of too much milk, these were my favorite nursing pads. I leaked a LOT with Sophia (and hardly at all with Amelia) and these were the only ones that never leaked and were not visible (let's just say I worked at a large almost all-male law firm and it was for the best) For those first few painful days of breastfeeding, and also one time when Sophia bit me, these were heavenly - they're expensive but last several days (long enough for my bite to heal).

Okay this is getting long, and I'm sure I'll blog about this again. I really miss breastfeeding (after three years of non-stop breastfeeding I totally thought I would never say that!!) I'll leave you with some good resources...

Kellymom.com is a good place to get answers to lots of questions.

I loved this book. It was funny and informative, and a good read while I was pregnant.

I would also recommend that you get the phone number of the lactation consultant at your hospital - they are great to call if you have questions or problems after you're discharged. I called mine months later about something, and they were more than happy to help out.

Also, if you have a question about whether you can take a certain drug while breastfeeding, you can call your poison control center, and they will be able to tell you.

Finally, as I've blogged about before, I feel strongly about encouraging breastfeeding moms without making them feel guilty or being pushy... so you can always email me or comment if you have a question or just need someone to talk to!