Anyway, so here we go. We'll start with pumping! YAY for pumps and the ability to make our lives easier. I'll start with a funny little anecdote on why you will appreciate your pump.
When my youngest daughter was roughly 11 months old I decided that it was time to return to work and help out with the bills. I had been exclusively breastfeeding since day one, and never had any issues keeping up with the hungry little monster. Because I had been staying at home and not pumping I didn't have any milk stored up, but wasn't too concerned because our pediatrician told us we could start supplementing whole milk in place of breast milk. Awesome! I could return to work worry free. I planned that I would feed her before I left, and when I got home. Well, even as a second time mom I let my "planning" get in the way of reality. I forgot that just because I planned on it being easy for her, didn't mean it was going to be easy for me. It didn't happen right away, but it happened soon enough. I went into work one night glad to be out of the house, and still enjoying that I was back at work. There I was working away when I felt it. I knew it was going to happen before it did, which was lucky. I felt the let down. Now even for a mom who had been nursing for almost a year, there is only so long you can ignore the let down of your milk before it starts to leak all over the front of your shirt. At this stage, I had about ten minutes. I rushed back to the office where my managers were sitting and very awkwardly had to explain that I needed to take a few minutes in the bathroom. No questions were really asked, until I grabbed a bowl. Yes, I grabbed a bowl and started off. I made it about three steps before I was stopped and asked what in God's green earth could I need a bowl for in the bathroom. "Well, I have to go manually pump milk, and I can't very well have my breast hanging out over the sink in our public bathroom...." Needless to say the questions stopped there. But I did spend the next 15 minutes in the bathroom, squeezing milk out of my boob into a bowl BY HAND. It was not pleasant. In fact, expressing milk by hand for more than a minute or two is always uncomfortable.
This, my adoring readers, is why a pump can be your breast's best friend. Find one that works for you and your needs. Some women are ok with a single manual pump, others go all out and feel more comfortable with the double electric pump. I have used both and all will work essentially the same way.
I've learned the best time to pump is when you are nursing or just finished nursing your baby because you've already gone through the let down process and your milk is flowing!
Anyway, one of the questions I was asked was about milk storage. So I'm going to do this in a Q&A format, asking and answering my own questions. Now, because I don't remember everything off the top of my head and want to give you precise answers, I will be researching this as I write. I urge you to also do this with any questions you have in case I miss something vitally important for you! I just spent fifteen minutes looking for my favorite breastfeeding website, Kelly Mom.
Q: Can you combine milk from multiple pumping sessions?
A: Even though some say that yes you can if the sessions are close enough together, I don't. I put each pumping session into it's own bag, labeled it with the date and time, and a little L or R to even keep track of which side it came from. This may be unnecessary but my reasoning is this. Even the milk we get from a gallon jug is labeled this way. We know exactly when it was made and when it expires. I prefer this system for my breast milk storage as well.
Q: How long can my milk be stored?
A: When you store your milk in the freezer or even the refrigerator keep your milk as far back on the shelf as you can. This will ensure that it stays at the temperature it's supposed to be at at all times. Opening and shutting the doors affects the temperature by the front of the shelf. Anyway. Here's a link to the Chart on Kelly Mom.
Q: What kind of container do you store milk in after pumping?
A: There are actually a few different ways to store your milk. Each pump that you can get will come with a "storage bottle". However, unless you have quite a few of these bottles, you probably don't want to freeze your milk in them. Each time you pump, you will pump into the bottle that connects to the pump, and then pour your milk into a different pre-labeled container. I've always used the Lanisoh milk storage bags because they are easy to label. However, in a pinch you can use ANY container that seals completely. I kept masking tape in my kitchen drawer with a sharpie so that no matter what I used, I could label it. There is also the option of special milk trays. Similar to an ice tray (except it seals up) you can pour your milk into the tray where each compartment is 1 oz. This way when you are making a bottle you can just grab as many frozen cubes as you need to thaw out into an exact amount. This is convenient for getting an exact amount, but has never been my preference because it is hard to label when each cube was placed.
Q: What is the point of labeling the milk?
A: This one was something I wondered when I first started out, because milk is milk right? Well, that is true to an extent. Frozen breast milk can be stored for approximately 6 months, but you want to know what order to use them in. There will be a visible difference in the milk you've frozen. While all of it will have a slight yellowish tint (even our 2 % freezes that way), you will know which milk is from the beginning of your nursing journey, and which are more recent. The first couple of weeks that you are storing milk the yellow tint will be darker due to the thick colostrum that you produce in the beginning. Some people argue that this is the most vital part of breastfeeding. Here's the Wiki Link to explain why! Notice the picture showing the difference in the milk. Now, because that is the milk you produce first it's also the milk you want to use first. I noticed with my girls that when they got so far into breastfeeding that they were no longer getting the colostrum in their milk, they tended to reject those bottles when I used my frozen stash. The taste apparently changes dramatically, so of course, it will be harder to get your baby to divert from what they are used to once they are drinking full on milk. However, if you do not use those bottles and feel like you won't, please please consider donating your breast milk to your local hospital! It is commonly used to help develop the immune systems for babies in the NICU whose mothers are unable to breastfeed just yet, especially if their baby is premature or sick. Breast milk donation is quite obviously a very kind and generous act, and should be done because you genuinely want to. If you want your own child to be exclusively breastfed even after you return to work, this may not be the route to go, because you will want your supply to be hefty! It's hard work, but it's worth it!
These are just some of the top questions I've been able to think of, but please feel free to leave a comment if you need anything else answered. I am more than happy to answer your questions or point you in the right direction!
Thanks for reading!
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