Saturday, October 10, 2009

Working Moms and Breast Feeding

I would be getting back to work and my 12 week old daughter would be at home with my mother in law. I plan to feed her expressed milk.

Would anyone pl give me tips on

1) How often to express while at work? I work from 8 to 5. Would 3 times be sufficient?
2) How much would I have to express (I dont exactly know how much she drinks.. probably arnd 450 - 500 ml (day + night altogether) )
3) What shd I do during the weekends.. feed her the expressed milk from friday and follow my expressing schedule or feed her directly and use the expressed milk for Monday?

(I would use a double breast electric pump)

Most of my qns might sound silly .. but then I have many such qns..

Anything else that I need to know or any other tips?

Response 1
I found this WIC link which gives points on the same- http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/breastfeeding/Documents/MO-SampleSchedule.pdf
Also it would be nice if you ask your Pediatrician to answer other questions related to this,they give really helpful points.Normally they would say to breastfeed directly on weekends and pump in between at least 2 ce to increase the supply.


Response 2
I went through the same situatiom as you. I used to express milk 3 times during the workday, aprroximately 4-6oz. each time. Try to get a little ahead of your child's intake. That way you don't have to express during the weekends.
Good luck! It's hard work, but doable. I went back to work full time 6 weeks after childbirth and my daughter took only breastmilk till she was 5 months.



These were her questions at the outset and she herself helps out others after a while.. that was really sweet of her..

Its been 2 1/2 months since I started working and as per the above tips, I've been able to manage feeding my 5 month old baby only expressed milk at her daycare. Just wanted to add this message to the thread to encourage any new moms who want to consider this option. It is DEFINITELY doable.

I just started feeding the baby solids from yesterday as per her doc's reco. Im still going to keep feeding her more breast milk and less solids for this month (till she's 6 mos old).. and then gradually increase her solid intake.

I just blindly followed the advice (pump thrice a day 10am, 1pm and 4:15pm) and the same amt (between 4-6 oz each session) and Im able to meet my daughters demands (she drinks around 11-13oz while in her daycare) Thanks so much!
New moms .. if you have the facility/time to try expressing at work, please give it a try.


i was so confused on expressing milk issue, just wondering whome to ask....n i came across this........
my daughter is 4 month now, n its been one month since is started wrkng again.......i opted for both formula milk and expressed milk for my baby.....it was not suggested by my doc instead of tht i opted for this.........i searchd for info on diff sites n did as suggested thr.......d doc said that ths sites r all based on US n UK so they give information according to their environment which is different from india.......in foreign contries the temp is so low tht storing milk thr is managable but its tooooooo hot in india so expressing n storing milk in india is not a gud idea, as it easily n very fast get contaminated.............is ths true?
still i ve many queries regarding this can anyone help me out
i m able to express milk (it just 5 oz.) b4 gong to office, my MIL feed her twice of tht, half just thn and half after abt 1-2 hr latter. thn c is on formula feed for rest of the day
Ques:
shld i express more, or is it ok d way it is?
wht is the correct way of storing the milk?
for how long we can keep exp milk outside on room temp (this hot delhi weather +40 degree)

please respond


Im still continuing to feed my (now 9 months old) baby only expressed milk. The weather these days goes upto 30 deg celcius. Any amt of expressed milk, dont leave it outside the fridge at all. Even at work, after expressing I store the milk in a fridge in an ice pack. My commute is 1 hr one way. The ice pack keeps the milk cool. As soon as I reach home, I refrigerate it again. If you have a bottle warmer, u can warm the milk just before feeding the baby. Otherwise u can heat water and keep the bottle in hot water (never on the stove or microwave) for a few mins to bring it back to room temp. Some people also prefer holding the bottle under hot running water (Just that a lot of water is wasted this way)

I can understand that its very hot there compared to here, so Im not sure how feasible it is to express at work and bring the milk back home.

But as long as u are at home, try to nurse the baby urself. The beneifts of breast feeding outweigh feeding the baby expressed milk. So if possible, dont express at home. Nurse instead.

For the qn of if you shd express more, do it as per your baby's needs and feasibility. If your baby does not nurse during the night, you would have a lot of milk as soon as you wake up. So at that time, you can nurse the baby and express the remaining for later use. Again ef expressing at work is not feasible, when you return from work, you would again have a lot of milk, so try nursing again and express the remaining for the next day.

Storing Expressed Breast Milk
an u suggest me as wht containers to use for storing milk like glass made, plastic made, steel or do v get anythng in the mrkt............i generally use feeding bottle only........

I use medela pump in style. It comes with 4 collection/storage containers. At work, I leave the milk in the same containers. Since I send in that milk for the next day, in the evening I transfer the milk to her bottles and refrigerate.
If the milk is going to stay longer than a day or 2, I transfer them to storage bags (I used medela again) and keep the packets in the freezer. To thaw, I move them back to the fridge 24 hours before use.

I havent used frozen milk beyond 3 weeks of freezing.


Courtesy: Yamini From Indian Parenting!!

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need urgent info...

koncham urgent ga info kavali. breast milk yela store chesthunaru? meeru use chese bottle/bags ye type yo koncham chepara. nenu hospital lo vunapudu naku something like this itcharu.

http://www.medela.com/ISBD/breastfeeding/products/colostrum_container.php
1) aa bottles lo milk collect chesi, freezer bag lo petti Refrigerator freezer compartment lo peduthana..naa question, aa freezer bag lo bottles tho patu ice pack kuda petala

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp55061_332828_sespider/gerber/seal_n_go_breast_milk_storage_bags.htm
The freezer bags look something like this....

Aa bags ni oka permanent marker use chesi date chesi and time kooda mark chesi..freezer lo venakaala ki pettali..When you are carrying the bags outside which are not thawed ..you have to put ice packs in the insulated bags. But if the bag is thawed and you are going to use the milk with in the next 4 hrs, (outside or 24 hrs in the refrigerato) you dont need to put the icepacks in the insulated bag.

2) also, nenu theliyaka oka mistake chesanu ,nenu few days back save chesi milk, container lo full ga nimpesanu..can I open that container and transfer some milk to a new container? ante, container lo 3/4th ye nimpandi, to allow expansion ani vundi...what should I do?

No problem at ...malli maarchakandi...just leave it...once frozen daanni bayata ki teesi thaw chesi malli re-freeze cheyakandi......

3) and labels yekada konali? the ones we use to stick on the bottles?

Bottles lo freeze cheyadam kastam..try using the milk storage bags as shown in the above link...its easier to mark them..using a marker....


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to thaw the milk

1. keep the frozen(from the freezer) milk in refrigerator overnight
2. and then bring the milk to room temperature by keeping it a bowl of warm water

which can be used to feed the baby but how about re-storing the milk and for how long???

You can take just the amount needed in one bottle and keep it stored in the fridge but do not store the baby sucked bottle again for a feed later on.store the thawed milk in the fridge again and use it maximum up to 24 hours. The thawed milk can be used only up to 24 hrs and should not be re-freezed. If the breast milk is spoiled by any chance, you can easily figure it out with consistency and smell.

For more details on pumping, storage, freezing, thawing and all check the link below...

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html
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Again back for the solution for feeding baby.I have 14 days old baby i am losing hopes of directly bf him due to latching problem..he is having milk when i keep nipple shield but i dont want to use shield regularly...so right now i am pumping milk daily and giving him...i was thinking to do the same in long term till i get milk. but i heard from my friend that completely depending on pumping without directly bf will decrease the milk production gradually..but i am pumping for very 2/3 hrs so i dont think that it will be down..pls let me know roju pumping cheste milk decrease avutunda

14 days baby kada...so paapam kodiga time ivvu. Also nipple shield long term use ki emm problem vundadu anukuntha..Couple of my friends used it and they were very comfortable as well as their babies.

Pumping long term....I dunnooo endhuku ela andaru antaru ani..even my doc told me that kaani naaku reverse ayindhi. Pumping vella I got over supply(my lactattion consultant warned that pumping would lead to over supply) and was pumping upto 40 ounces of milk a day. So dont worry....at the end of the day ur baby should drink milk and you should be happy :) so neeku edi conveinient tho adi chey...

Response 2

i am not sure about it... i have heard from mothers who started pumping from around 2-3 months that their milk production gradually reduced... maa office lo oka colleague is doing same from when baby is about 2 months old.. but she says it didn't reduce at all...

I think it depends on the person. Naaku pump chesinappudu milk production increase ayyindi.

neenu two days back pumping start chesanu....right side milk bagane pump chesthunanu kani left side asallu ravatam ledhu...naku milk raledhu ani alla ne vadilesanu....with in two days baga lumps form ayyayi.....mari bf start chesanu... adhi yento oka side pumping work avuthundhi oka side work avatam ledhu.......ee lumps form kakuda pumping yella cheyali gals?...or pump sariga pani cheyadam ledha? do i have to change my pump?....neenu medela advanced free style vaduthunanu.......

Initially..oka breast kante vunko breast lo ekkuva milk vuntaadi..But never ever stop pumping or feeding from one breast just coz milk ravatam ledhu ani...Manamu feed cheyanu cheyanu flow increase avtaadi...Monna my friend too complained of the same thing...oka breast kanthey vunko breastlo double or triple the quantity vastundhi ani...I too had the prob initially but in time...pump cheyaka cheyaka it got balanced.

Lumps form ayinappud the best and easiest way is to bf...Else..hot water bath ivvatam...I use to dab a nice hot towel and pump till the pump melts

Pumping Time
If u know..dsiregard it...u shd pump on each side..compulsary 20 mins. First 5 mins oka let down vastaadi..taravta kasepu aaginaaka oka 10 to 15 mins taravta vunko let down vastaadi...so 20 mins compulsary cheyali lekha pothey flow taggutaadi antaru...

Milk Dries Up Fast With Pumping???
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Yeah...anthey antaru but main culprit enti anthey pump chesthey twaraga badakam vachestadi...abbbaaa..enni roojulu ee sutti ani..and manam kuda long itnervals lo pump cheyatam start chestamu so automatic ga reduce aypotadi supply but breastfeed chesthey our body will continue to produce milk based on baby's demand. Andhukey breastfeeding is THE best if the baby is a good latcher! Less time sonsuming and more fulfilling kaani andhariki aa luck vundadu kada....Nenu breast feed chesedam ani ennoooo kalalu kana but I had to revert to pumping..hmmmm...

Naaku milk supply pumping start chesaka vipareethamga increase ayindhi..so as long as the baby drinks breast milk...no worries!!!

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