Breastfeeding Questions - Euless,TX

I know it sounds like a tough thing to do, but I wouldn't let her sleep through the nite at this stage (unless your defining sleeping through the nite to be from midnite to 5am). To ensure I had an adequate milk supply for my second son, I would only let him sleep for 4 hours at nite and then I would nurse him. He was often in bed for the nite before 8pm. So, I would wake up at around midnite and nurse and then nurse again at 4am. He was usually up by 6 and then we were on the every 2-3 hours schedule during the day. They really don't need to wake up too much to nurse and it was harder for me than him, but it did ensure that by 4 weeks he had gained almost 4 pounds.

You can google and find that smoking/nicotine does interfere with breastfeeding by both impacting the milk supply and the letdown. Here's an example:
http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/10103.htm
It mentions that the nicotine also impacts the level of fat in the milk, which means your baby may not gain weight well. It does say, however, that if you smoke, you should only do so right after you nurse and that it's out of your system in 2-3 hours. But, if your baby is nursing every 1-2 hours, then she is getting some nicotine, which could contribute to her fussiness. So, if you really need a cigarette, it's likely best to keep your smoking till after she's in bed for the nite.

You're doing good by wanting to continue with the BF once she gets into daycare/homecare as you will be really helping her immune system.

You need to have a supply of breastmilk built up. Pump as much as you can because soon your body will only produce as much milk as your baby eats. If you pump and store the milk you'll build up a supply in case you're not able to pump one day at work. Also, even the best hospital grade pumps are not as efficient as a baby so you need to be telling your body that you need more, more, more, so you'll have plenty available to pump when you're at work. One of my friends rarely pumped until she went back to work and by then it was too late :-( If you start pumping now you'll build up a great supply for your baby. Good luck with quitting smoking!!

Don't give up! It sounds like you have the desire to keep at it, and you can definitely get help to overcome frustrations! You should keep anything that you're pumping now for her to use at day care. Also, when you are working and she's not with you to eat, you will have to pump to maintain your milk supply. There's more milk to send to day care. I believe the more comfortable you get pumping, the more milk you will be able to pump. Also, if you massage your breast (use 2 fingers in a circular motion, starting at the top/outside and moving toward the areola) you can increase letdown by 10%. Keep drinking a lot of water and milk, taking your vitamins, and really try to quit smoking (or at least cut back). It does affect milk production and quality, and also factors into keeping you and your baby healthy! Try to relax as much as you can, the stress of worrying about this is the worst thing for you! There are so many people to encourage you through this!

Hang in there. It does get easier. I was ready to give up after 3 weeks. But I ended up breast feeding my daughter for a year. I was told to start pumping about 2 weeks before going back to work. Pump after your baby has been fed and get what you can. It stores in the freezer just fine. Once you get back to work, if you can, continue the same schedule as if your baby was with you. You'll find that you will have enough milk for the next day.

It won't take long to get into a routine and you'll know how much you need and you'll be able to work it in around your work. I laugh as I say this because I was SO worried and stressed about this when my daughter was your age. (Does that make me the pot or the kettle? ha ha)

I also suggest that you consider waking your baby in the middle of the night for a feeding. You won't wake up engorged.

As for your baby being gassy, you might also want to keep a close watch on what you eat. Brocolli and milk were the top two things I found I could not eat without my daughter getting really gassy.

Good luck. You can do it.

I was not able to breast feed my babies for very long. My first was a preemie at 30 weeks and had medical complications. I pumped in the hospital and for another 2 months so that the NICU could feed her breast milk so she could receive my antibodies, etc. They bottle fed her in intermediate care. I tried to get her to breast feed before she came home and although she did latch on okay, her suck was just too weak to draw very much milk. The lactation nurse assured me that she did receive some of my antibodies in the NICU and that I should not feel guilty and she would be fine. And, in fact she has hardly been sick since she was born, even when she was in a daycare setting.

I was only able to breast feed my second daughter for her first 6 weeks. My breasts were in so much pain, cracked and bleeding. When I contacted a lactation consultant by phone she insisted that the baby must not be latched on correctly and that was why it was hurting so much. However, when she came to my home to help me out, she looked and said that the baby was in fact latched on correctly. She could not explain the pain and nothing she suggested helped. The pain and stress caused my milk production to slow down so much that I had to supplement with formula. I contacted my previous lactation nurse at the hospital and she was very reassuring. She said, "You know, the first 6 weeks is the most critical for breast milk. If you can just make it to 6 weeks then don't feel guilty about having to supplement. Every body is different and it's not worth stressing yourself or your baby over it. The important thing is the baby gets what she needs and you feel good about it". I'm inclined to agree and this baby hasn't been sick a day since she was born, just a mild cold, and she's now 5 years old.

You need to do what's right for you and your baby, not what's right for someone else. Try to make it through the first 6 weeks and then see where you both are after that. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, that was also a problem for me...and eating well.

Good luck to you.

my response is kinda short and simple, but do not overwhelm yourself in thinking you need to build up this huge stock of breastmilk before you go back to work. What I did was the weeks leading up to going back to work, nurse your child as usual, and then after that immediately pump until they are empty. You will get a feeding here, a feeding there, stored up in your freezer. Then you will have enough for your first days or so of work. While you are at work, you pump for the next day or so of work of work. I got overwhelmed in trying to plan out how to prepare for going back to work, and just like everything else in parenting, you give things a try, and then you figure out what will work for you and your family. Good luck!