Breastfeeding and Pumping - Marietta,GA

I've not read the others, so forgive me if i'm repeating, but have you considered cutting the breast milk with whole cows milk? 12 months is when dr's recommend introducing milk. I didn't want to just slap a cup of something brand new on my son, so i did 1/2 and 1/2 for a little bit, then 3/4 milk and 1/4 mommy's milk. it worked fine. (Interestingly, he ended up showing signs of a milk sensitivity when he had just whole milk, but there were no symptoms at all when they were mixed).

You could start gradually switching her over to cow's milk soon so she'll be able to drink it while you are away. You could use goat's milk which is easily digested. My breastfed baby has taken to it just fine. Or you could contact a milk bank and try to get some breast milk from another mother for her. Good luck!

I didn't have time to read the other responses, but just wanted to say that what I always did was to start now pumping extra and put it in the freezer. I actually always kept a larger supply in the freezer and when I happen to travel I can rely on using that while I'm away. It's always worked well for us...

can you pump a few more times during the day to build up supply and freeze it??

At 12 months, I know that the health department (WIC) and most pediatricians tell you to switch over to whole milk. Maybe try that before you leave with 1 or 2 bottles/cups a day? This way you are able to monitor any changes in her (i.e. reaction to milk) and she can have both while you are gone and you'll be able to nurse longer (if that is what you are aiming for here). I remember mixing mine 1/2 whole and 1/2 breast. I kept a few baggies of breastmilk in the freezer for when/if my little guy got sick. Hope this info helps.
K.

Hi, B.. If your baby is 11 months now, your doctor may give you the ok to give her whole milk. I think that would be far better than formula. I'm not sure how long you want to breastfeed, but I would start mixing my milk now. You can mix whole milk and breastmilk (50/50 should be fine). When you decide to wean your baby off of the breast you just slowly diminish the amount of breast milk. Continue pumping and your milk will go twice as far. Don't stop pumping while you're away or your supply may lessen. In addition, it seems like you are having to pump alot to get your supply. Perhaps you could try a supplement like Inositol or Mother's milk so you can pump less and get more! Everything that I suggested I've done myself. Check it out with your doctor and good luck!! :)

Bless you B.,

Freeze the milk in a container ahead of your trip... breast milk will maintain it's nutritious value. Eat yogurt and milk with cereal to encourage a larger supply.

Good Luck and Best Wishes,
N. S.

What a GREAT mommy you are! I had the same lack of milk problem when my child was younger than yours. For my soliution I used half breastmilk and half goat milk. With your child being 12 months, I would get the powdered form and mix it according to the container. You can also start frezzing now if youd like! Goat milk is excellant and as close to mom as you can get! The powdered form has extra folic acid and vit D which goat milk lacks naturally so she wouldn't be lacking anything at all with a half and half bottle of each. I totally understand not wanting to do formula and you have no reason too. Please dont give her cows milk just yet! Goat is a much healthier alternitive. I would stay clear of soy too. If you ever do use it, only give 1 serving a day or it will lead to major female problems for her. Good luck on your trip. You baby will be just fine:) oh.. I used Meyenberg Goat milk http://www.meyenberg.com/?action=facts

When I ran into this problem, my daughter was 6 months. I mixed formula with the milk I had saved in the freezer. It was the only time she ever drank formula.

Your daughter is old enough to drink whole milk. You can mix the breast milk with the whole milk. You have to mix it because she isn't used to the taste of the whole milk. Since she is on solid food and juice, she'll be OK. She's a big girl now!

Enjoy your 5 days off!!!

I say just give her formula for 5 days--it's not that big of a deal. Or regular milk--she's almost old enough anyway. It's certainly not worth making yourself extrememly worried about it or going to great lengths to pump milk. I know a lot of brestfeeding moms would disagree, but before you jump on me for suggesting formula, know that I breastfed religiously for 9 months. During that time, I was horrified at the thought of formula, but it's really not a big deal. Once the breastfeeding hormones leave your body, your sanity comes back and you realize how crazy you were about stuff that just doesn't matter that much. At least, that's how I feel. Good luck!

Definately like the idea of slowly increasing your breast milk so you can freeze, but, another back up idea:

I would absolutely not start cow's milk while you are away (allergies, etc). You could begin mixing your breastmilk with rice or almond milk (with a tsp of cod liver oil for fat and vitamins - great for immunity boost) in order to "stretch" the supply longer and continue to mix it while you are away. Formula is not a necessary thing, especially at this age. This way when you return, you could continue to breastfeed (which is awesome you made it to 12 months - way to go, Mom!)
J.

can you start introducing cow's milk a little at a time and she can have that or half that when you're gone, since she'll by 12 months by then? at 11 months, i started giving my baby half breast and half cow's milk to get her used to it and then went to straight cow's milk at 12 months. we also weaned from nursing at the same time and she had no problems. (although i did give her some formula since i was weaning and didn't have enough frozen breast milk and didn't want to continue to pump, since i was weaning. i also mixed the formula half and half with cow's milk.) this worked for us. even if you plan to continue to breast feed after 12 months, you could still supplement with cow's milk, or soy milk. i was ready to stop when my baby was 12 months, but i also got pregnant again, so i really just wanted a break before the next baby.

I would pump and store on the weekends. You can also start switching some of those bottle feedings to water or juice, too. I wouldn't go with formula. By a year, she should be just fine with that, and she is going to need more food than breastmilk too by a year.

But DEFINITELY try to pump in the morning before leaving for work, night before bed, and on the weekends between now and your trip. You can even take some herbs and totally up your supply to pump extra, and even the pumping in addition to nursing should up the supply, too.

My 15 month old still nurses when we're together, but she no longer takes any breastmilk at daycare. Once she moved to the toddler room, she decided she didn't have time for a bottle anymore. (And I haven't pumped for the past 3 weeks at work, but she co-sleeps and sleep feeds to keep the supply she wants.)

You may know that if you increase pumping at closer intervals, you will up your production of milk. Breast milk can be frozen. My second child was put in intensive care at birth and I was asked to pump milk every 2 hours around the clock.(yes, through the night, too) I rented a dual pumop from Le leche so I could pump both breasts at once. I felt like Elsie the cow. However, the hospital nursery had enough milk in their freezer and in three months when he was discharged, I was able to nurse him.

You need to start pumping more often to produce enough milk to keep him supplied while you're gone. You're body will increase supply due to increased demand. You're only other option, as you said, is to supplement with formula, but start him on it before you leave so you can be sure there are no problems with the formula. Ask your pediatrician about what you should use. Also, this will help as you can supplement him now and save some of your milk so he will just be supplementing during your trip instead of all formula.

B.,
Could you maybe introduce water for the in between feedings when she is thirsty and then freeze some of the milk for when you are gone? If I remember correctly, at twelve months I was breastfeeding my daughter four times a day (morning, before morning nap, before afternoon nap, and before bedtime). I just always had a sippy cup of water available for our daughter and then she had milk only at nursing times.
I totally understand where you are coming from. My daughter is sixteen months old and had only had breastmilk and water until a few months ago, when she started to only nurse two times a day. She now will drink whole milk out of a sippy cup.
I think it is doable, you just may have to change things around a little bit!

I would contact a La Leche League leader. I bet she would have a good solution and advice.

I nursed both my daughters until they were 18 1/2 months old. The nursing experience was completely different with each one. With my first daughter, aka "the Grazer", I could barely pump even half a bottle in a day. There was no doubt that I made enough milk to feed her, my daughter was healthy and growing. My second daughter, aka "the Barracuda", I could pump/fill a bottle in no time. Both times I used the Medela (hospital grade) pump that I own.

You may be able to increase your milk supply before you leave at the end of October, if you try now pumping a couple extra times throughout the day. Freeze any extra milk that you produce.

BE SURE to take your pump with you on your trip, so you don't get engorged! Even if you "pump and dump", this will also prevent your milk supply from starting to dry up too.

L.

You could try taking fenugreek to up your milk production and getting up in the middle of the night to pump and freeze it. The other suggestions to cut it with something like cow's milk or soy milk would help also if you're comfortable with that.

I'm a breastfeeding mom too and my daughter is 14 weeks old. Since she is 12 months old and eating solids I would pump enough for 2-3 feedings a day while you are gone. Your husband can give one in the morning and one at night at bedtime, then one can be given at daycare. This way she is still getting the nutritional benefits and it will also be a comfort thing while you are away (hence the feeding when she wakes and goes to bed). My daughter loves to nurse anytime she wakes and when she goes to sleep. I have milk in the freezer in case I need to be away for any amount of time.

Good luck to you!

If your baby is going to be a year old, she will probably be fine with cows milk. My first boy started milk when he was 11 months old. I am also breastfeeding my second child and am now weening him from breastmilk to cows milk and he has handled it fine.

I too was away from my daughter for awhile when breastfeeding. At 12 months, I wouldn't worry a whole lot about it. My daughter drank juice and what milk I left behind and did fine. Be sure you pump while traveling so that your supply doesn't go down. I will also throw in this...You can travel with breast milk on the plane, but I had a TSA agent force me to throw out my gel pack to keep the milk cold. They said on their screening device that it looks like some explosive and is questionable. I've also had others let me bring it through, but be prepared that this could happen. I packed a collapsable cooler in my suitcase and put it in there to come home. That way the only milk I had on the plane was what I pumped in route. The hotels will usually give you a portable refrigerator free of charge if you tell them it is for breast milk. Put it in the freezer part and f reeze it before coming home. You'll do fine. Don't get too nervous or your supply will go down.

Hi B.!

Since your child is 12 months, she can start with whole milk. I know when I introduced whole milk with my children, I did 1/2 milk and 1/2 breastmilk in a bottle till they got use to the taste of whole milk. You have lots of good options from other Moms to try too. Blessings, J.

When I was weaning my daughter, I started her on a little goat's milk. Maybe you can supplement what you can pump ahead for the 5 days with a little goat's milk (it's very digestible and closer to mom's milk than any other I've heard of). You'd have to look online a little, but I remember seeing something about how much water to dilute it with to make it good for infants to drink.

Otherwise, you could start working now to wean her off of one or two normal feedings by the time you leave (cut out one a week or every other week until you leave). You could still pump the feedings you wean her from to leave extra for her while you're gone, and then when you leave she would be used to having the couple extra feedings out.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful for you, depending on your diet preferences and how long you want to wait before you wean at all.

Hi B.,

I don't know if you're ready to wean, but it certainly wouldn't hurt her any if you supplemented the breastmilk you are able to leave her with milk. I would do that as oppose to formula. If that's your plan, You should start now so that there are no problems when you are not around to help her. I actually used vanilla soy milk when I began weaning my son at 11 months. He took to it right away, no problems at all! He's 18 months now and still loves it. He's never had cow's milk. At 12 months, if she's eating 3 meals a day with a snack or 2, she really shouldn't need that much milk. Is she eating yogurt and cheese yet? That combined with the milk you are able to leave with her shouldn't be an issue. Hope you find a solution that works for you and your baby!

God Bless!
J.

I went out of town for 4 or 5 days when my baby was 9 months. What I did was pump like crazy for several weeks b4 I left. Try the technique where u nurse and pum at the same time.

Also, maybe cut down on her milk and increase her solids. When my daughtere was 12-15 months, my ped told me that she should only be getting 10-16 oz of milk, so that she'd have a bigger appetite for other foods.

Start pumping an extra time a day now so maybe you will build up your supply a little. You can also mix what breast milk you manage to save with formula so she is still getting some breast milk with each bottle. Honestly though, it's about time to wean her anyway. She has been breastfed through the most critical times. There's nothing wrong with continuing to breastfeed but it also isn't necessary.

Start pumping extra in the mornings and evenings. It will take a couple days but your body will catch up. Keep it up, your baby will be so much healthier with breastmilk. Also another thing you might consider is that she might not take formula if she is used to breatmilk? My oldest was breastfed and refused any formula. Good luck.

I too worked with my first child -- I found that I could pump a little extra sometimes and would use it to mix with the formula. The biggest problem with going to formula for you baby will be that it does not taste as sweet as breast milk.

Hi B.:

Since you have a month why don't you try pumping a little extra each day and freezing the breastmilk. Then you should have enough to get your daughter through those 5 days without you.

R.

I worked full-time and pumped when my first was little too. My pediatrician told me because my daughter had no allergies to foods we'd already tried, to give her whole milk at daycare starting at 10 months (normally you would wait until one year) and I could stop pumping. I continued to nurse when with my daughter and my milk supply stayed strong- we nursed until she was one and a half. Since your daughter is going to be a year you might want to ask your pediatrician about starting whole milk when she's not with you.

B.--While I understand your problem and the situation you find yourself in--you are making it very hard on yourself and that is not necessary.

First, let me tell you that I have breast fed all four of my kids and actually let them breast feed to go down for bed or a nap until they are about two. My youngest is 15 months old. The pediatrician, at my last visit, informed me that my youngest should no longer be breast feeding. I guess I do have quite an age difference between my kids-- I have 13, 11, 6, and 15 months. I will continue to do what worked the best for my family.

I took care of two babies of friends in between my last two boys. One was on formula, his mother needed to be on her own medication, and one was breast fed. The little breast fed darling girl would be SO hungry when she was at my house. Because there was not enough breast milk here. It would break my heart....frustrate her, and upset the other baby as well. Life was miserable because her momma would not give in and let her be well fed and happy. (Eventually she took FEVERFEW--I think--and then she could pump a gas station full of milk...if you have time you might try that)

Jump to my fourth child. He is a beautiful blessing. My ONLY cesarean, and the only child with whom I got mastitis. The mastitis was also a MRSA infection. Did I mention that this kid is a horse? Luckily for me he was the last, and I had the experience of a hungry baby in my house before. He has had formula. To supplement my milk, and to give me a chance to rest. He is just as happy and well adjusted as the rest. For the most part he was breastfed. And he still is. We no longer need the formula, but I would not avoid it.

I think that La Leche AND moms who do formula can all be too extreme. I think your answer is somewhere in the middle. You are only going to have her supplemented for a few days and it will be okay. She will be fine. Just do not let her be doubly miserable without her momma AND hungry too.

I know you've already gotten this answer so I'll back it up by saying the same thing. Start to transition her to whole milk. You can mix it with the breat milk to help with the adjustment as well. 2oz milk/6oz breast milk (if she drinks and 8oz bottle) for example. As long as she is tollerating it then up it to 4 oz milk and cut back on the breast milk and keep that up for a couple of weeks if your time allows. Unfortunatly, it will probably also ween her from you but you can always pump while you are gone to keep your supply up and see if she wants to take back to the breat when you come home then you can continue to feed her that way as well.

Good luck!
S.

At 12 months of age you should be starting regular milk so there is the solution.

Breastmilk is on a 72 hour demand schedule. If you start by adding an extra pumping now within a few days your milk supply will increase to accomodate and you should have a little more to pump. If you can add more pumping or nursing than that should help with your supply to be able to get extra to cover the extra bottles. Read some Breastfeeding books and they should help with the details. All I know is that I read that as long as you have some milk you can recreate your supply to make any hungry baby happy.. Good Luck.

B.,

I agree with the person who said to just pump extra now and store it. If you did one extra bottle a day (I know, as if you don't have anything else to do, right?), but anyway, one extra bottle a day between now and then you should have 20-30 bottles depending on when you leave.

Also, normally daycares want children on cup only by the time they are a year old. So, during now and then they could start phasing out one of the bottles a day, and then take it down to maybe two bottles a day while you are gone. That way she could have more of the extra bottles you have pumped for the evenings and nights when you will still be wanting to nurse her.

I nursed my first son for the first year, and hated the idea of giving him formula, but I did home day care on a military post when he was 1, so I had to use a cup during the day (they had strict guidelines). I decided that until I thought he was ready it would be better to use a little good formula than to go right to cows milk from breast milk. Also, I mixed a small amount of formula with breast milk I had pumped. It made it easier for him to get used to and digest. That would also extend the amount of breast milk you have. I will also say that I was unable to continue nursing my youngest after 6 weeks. I was somewhat devastated, but he is thriving on formula-- contrary to what I thought. ;-)

Good luck and happy traveling!

I am in a similar situation. I breastfeed my 8-month-old daughter, work part-time (and pump while at work), and am preparing to be gone 2 1/2 days at the begining of October. I have some frozen breastmilk stored up and am trying to pump more between now and then, but like you, will not have enough to cover my time away. What I've decided to do is have my husband give her a combination of formula and breastmilk together when he feeds her. I've been told that the enzymes in the breastmilk will help her digest the formula better. My preference has also been to give her only breastmilk, but formula is not bad(just not as good as breastmilk), and if I have to be gone, it is more important to me that she be well-nourished than that I be the one providing all of her nourishment (especially since she gets some nourishment from solids now, anyway). I had trouble breastfeeding at first and really worked to make it happen, so this was not an easy position to come to, but the more important thing for me now is to make sure I pump enough while I am gone for her to be able to continue to breastfeed when I return. If you are doing the same, just think how much milk you will bring back to her, which will keep this from being a problem in the future! : ) By the way, if you are flying, I have it from the TSA itself that you can bring as much breastmilk as you like on the plane, whether or not your baby is with you. Just declare it to the security people and the ticket person before you board. Hope it goes well!

Hi B.. Nice job for feeding your baby the best she can get! I admire your determination to stick to what's best for your little one. You probably already know that WHO recommends breastmilk at least through the first two years, so I think it's wonderful that you're planning ahead for your trip.

Try to throw in some extra pumping sessions whenever you can; you could even pump on one side after your daughter is done, and while she's on the other side. That should increase your supply enough to store enough away while you're gone. Also, try eating extra oatmeal...I hear that helps increase supply.

I didn't give any cow's milk to my first until she was over 18 months, and my second has never had cow's milk. There's no need at all for cow's milk; once she's weaned, she should be fine on table food like the rest of us. Take a look at www.askdrsears.com for other tips! Have a great trip!

Hi, B.. I have two children, a three year old and a 13 month old. My daughter breastfed until she was two, even though I stopped pumping just after a year. With my son, he is still happily nursing four times a day or so when we are together, and I just weaned from the pump about three weeks ago. Neither ever had formula; I transitioned to whole milk in their cups over a period of about six weeks.

Since your daughter will be a year when you go, I would suggest pumping and freezing extra until your trip. Then, within the next couple of weeks, start introducing whole milk (just mixing a little in with her breastmilk, gradually increasing the ratio) so that she will be used to it when you go and you can stretch your breastmilk with it. Consider switching to a cup, too. That way, she can associate the whole milk mix with the cup and the "good" stuff with mama and will be ready to return to the breast when you get home!

Good luck!

I don't know if your baby girl has any allergies, but I would start her on milk. I exclusively breastfed both of my babies and started them both on milk around 11-11 1/2 months. If you do try this route, I would also recommend giving her the milk in a sippy cup. I have heard that it is easier this way when it comes to weaning off of the bottle.

Hope this helps.

B.,
At 12 months, she is able to handle regular cow milk. How about giving her a mixture of pumped milk and cow's milk? I started my boys on regular milk at 11 months, just at one feeding at first, then at another at 12 months. You could start giving her a little bit of reg milk with pumped milk at about 11 months, then increase the ratio every 3 days or so. Keep pumping as normal, and I think you should have enough to stretch through the days you will be gone. Also, when you're away, see if you can continue pumping and store the milk on dry ice or something. Then you'll still have a good supply when you get back, and weaning (if you choose at the time) will continue to be a gradual increasing of reg milk with the breast milk. Good luck!
M.