Pumping

I've been back at work for a little over two months and have had to pump every day. Before I went back to work I started pumping to build a freezer stash. I've been asked a couple times my method of pumping and breastfeeding.

Let me preface this by saying I asked a ton of people for advice, read countless blogs and websites but I had to figure out what worked best for me. 

I'd also like to say that I hate pumping. I'd much rather breastfeed, even when Riley makes it difficult sometimes. I want Riley to have all the benefits of breastmilk, so even though I hate pumping, I'm going to keep doing it until I wean Riley. 

How I started pumping:

At about two weeks I started pumping right after Riley's middle of the night feeding(normally around 2-3). I pumped for about 15-20 minutes each time. I have a double electric breast pump so I would pump both sides. Every once in awhile I would pump one side if I felt too full and knew Riley wouldn't be eating for a long period of time(like at night when I'd put her to bed). I only feed Riley one side per feeding so sometimes I'll get a little uncomfortable. After I'd pump I'd either put the bottle directly in the fridge to be frozen later(that's what I did in the middle of the night because I wanted my sleep), or I'd transfer it directly into a freezer bag and lay it flat in the freezer. My sister uses glass jars to store hers which I think it a great idea. I label each bag with the date and how many ounces are in each bag. I started freezing in 3-4 oz portions. Now I freeze 4-6 oz portions with the occasional 3 oz portion. 

I did this middle of the night pumping until Riley started sleeping through the night and I went back to work at 6 weeks. By then I had a really good freezer stash(about 80 oz). 

Pumping at work:

Before I went back to work I spoke to my manager and talked about how I was going to be pumping everyday when I started back. We figured out a place for me to pump and I figured out my schedule so that I'd still get a full 8 hours in working with taking breaks. My typical schedule is 8am-5pm with 3 breaks. The first month or so I would pump and use the Medela quick wipes in between pumpings. After a month I learned that there was a kitchen with a sink and fridge-blessing! After each pumping I put my backpack/pump in the corner with a nursing cover over it so that it's out of the way incase anyone uses the room. Then I take the horns to my pump into the kitchen, rinse them out and stick them in the fridge in a black bag until my next pumping. 

Typical day:

-In the morning I'll attach a bottle to each of my horns and put it in a bag with a rag. Then I'll put 4 additional bottles and their lids in a cooler with an ice pack and put it in my pump bag. Then I have another smaller cooler bag that I put and ice pack in because the other one only holds 4 bottles. 

-nurse Riley as late as I can before leaving for work.

-pull out the bottles and milk(that I put in the fridge from the freezer the night before) and put them in the diaper bag(unless tony is staying home with her, then I omit this step)

- drop Riley off and head to work. Get there at 8 am

-9:30 is my first break. I pump for about 15 minutes and then go rinse out the horns and put them in the fridge before going back to work 

-12ish another pumping break

-3ish my last pumping break. Instead of putting the horns back in the fridge I stick them in my pump bag and put them in the closet by my desk

-leave work at 5 pm and either come straight home or pick Riley up from whoever is watching her. 

-as soon as I get home I'll feed her

-I wait to do bottles and everything til after she's asleep so I'll just stick the coolers in the fridge

-between 7-8 I'll get Riley in the bath, spend a few minutes rubbing her down with coconut oil and giving her a little massage and then feed her for the last time

-I'll put Riley down(while she's still awake) and she's normally out until about 6:45 am, but occassionally she'll wake up once during the night

-after Riley is down I'll pour all the milk into 4-7 oz portions in freezer bags. Then I'll lay them flat in the freezer and put the cooler ice packs back in the freezer

-I get out whatever milk Riley will eat the next day and put it in the fridge(the two places Riley goes while I'm at work each have quite a bit of milk frozen incase Riley eats more) normally I get out about 15 oz

-we just moved into an apartment with a dishwasher so this step has been drastically shortened. Now I just put all the bottles, lids, nipples and pump parts in the dishwasher on a sanitize cycle. 

-in our old apartment without a dishwasher I would wash each bottle, lid, nipple and pump part by hand with a baby dish soap. Then I'd put them all on a bottle rack. About once a week I used the Medela microwave bags to sanitize all the parts. 

-every few days I would also reorganize the milk bags so there was more room

This is what my old freezer looked like(I just use random boxes that will fit the milk and then rotate the milk through them) 

My new freezer has a bit more space so it looks more organized.

Introducing a bottle:

I wanted to wait to introduce a bottle later than I did, but I had to go back to work at 6 weeks postpartum and I worried there will be issues getting her to take a bottle and still nurse. At three weeks we gave Riley her first bottle. I pumped at the same time she ate so that I wouldn't get messed up on our schedule. We gave her one bottle every couple days just to get her used to it. We went to San Diego the weekend before I went back to work and I gave Riley bottles only on our way down and back. She never had issues going back and forth between bottles and nursing. She does prefer to nurse though. We use two kinds of bottles: the comotomo(my favorite) and the tommee tippee bottles. I prefer the comotomo bottles because Riley has a better latch after she's used those. We only have two though because they're more expensive. The tommee tippee bottles are more affordable.

Hope this helps someone as they're trying to figure out what works for them in pumping and working!!

Things I've Learned Thus Far

So although I started this blog for my friends and family to be able to stay caught up and see pictures of our family, this blog is really for me. For me to keep a record so I can remember things going on in my pregnancy, postpartum and life as a mom. And so I will be able to have a place I can refer to in future pregnancies that may be able to answer some of my questions. So sorry if some things seem boring or too much information, but they're important to me.
Since Riley was born I've been making a list on my phone whenever I experience something that I didn't know about recovering from labor and about babies, so that next time around I will be more prepared and know what to expect. Most of these things I didn't know ahead of time, so maybe they'll help more moms as they are recovering and trying to figure out the whole "mom" thing.

-Get an epidural(this is more of a personal choice). I chose to get one and it was a great decision for me. I was so much happier throughout my labor. I've spoken to many people and they said they could never get one because it was so empowering to know you delivered all natural. For those who may be debating on that issue....I still felt just as empowered! I just had delivered a baby that I grew for 40 weeks and 6 days!! What is more empowering than that?!?
-Set expectations upfront with those who will be coming to the hospital about your goal to breastfeed do skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible. I had this idea of how I wanted to spend the first bit of time with my new family. I wanted it to be just Tony and me spending time with our baby girl for awhile. I wanted skin to skin contact and I wanted to breastfeed right away. It didn't work out like that. Some of Tony's family had been in the waiting room and came in as soon as the dr was done stitching me up. As great as it was to have them visit, and I'm so grateful for all the support that we received, I wish I would have had the nerve to say no for awhile. You have the right to bond with your baby the way YOU want. That is the main regret I have from when Riley was born.
-Eat something fairly bland as your first meal post labor. I don't know if it was because I hadn't eaten anything really good since breakfast but I got vegetable soup that had way too many herbs in it for me. Tony said it was pretty bland, but it didn't seem like it to me.
-Have tucks wipes available at home prior to going into labor
-Have water bottles handy
-Have nipple cream and breast shields available. I didn't use nipple shields but when I was struggling with nursing the first little while I hated having anything rub up against me for the first little while....breast shields were the best because it protected me from having clothes rub up against me.
-Aden and Anais swaddle blankets are a must! I love them
-Take the stool softener
-Be careful about where you spray the dermoplast(numbing spray that they give you at the hospital. You can get it at Walmart if they don't give it to you). If you have a tear on your urethra like I did and you spray it there then the nerves that signal when you have to pee will be numbed....no one wants that!
-Your ankles and feet may swell a lot a few days post partum. I looked like an elephant and could barely even put on my flip flops without them being super tight. It will go away normally within a week
-Bleeding from the umbilical cord is normal. So long as it's not actively bleeding(where you wipe it away and it automatically reappears) you should be okay. If you're worried call the dr.
-When the umbilical cord falls off it will look like a yellowish white sore that will continue to dry out and fall off until it's all healed. I didn't know what to expect and it looked  a little gross at first.
-Make sure while you're nursing you pull the babies lower lip down if it's not splayed out.
-Your nipples may bruise
-Breast feeding is very draining and is a huge time devotion at first. I didn't realize before starting to nurse that it would be an all day job for the first while. It got way better
-You may be very emotional and cry for no real reason, just because you're tired
-At the hospital they told me to just use the peri bottle and to pat dry with toilet paper every time I go to the bathroom until I'm completely healed. Well I'm sorry, but you don't get completely clean if you do that, and no one wants to be dirty when you're bleeding and recovering. My suggestion is to use a baby wipe or feminine wipe and gently clean each time. You'll feel WAY better
-Try to make sure you have a day just you and your new family where no one stops by. I don't think Tony and I had a day with just the three of us for a few weeks. I know everyone wanted to see Riley and help out, but I needed time to be with my family and bond with the three of us.
-It's okay to say no!!!!!!!!!!!
-Even though every book you read will say you shouldn't hurt while breastfeeding, if it hurts you're doing it wrong. FALSE! You go from not being sucked on to being sucked on constantly.....you will get raw! Make sure you have a correct latch, but everyone I talked to said the same thing.
-I didn't want to use a pacified at all, especially not during the first month. But I'm happy I had one on hand at about 1 1/2 weeks
-get the jumbo pads and smaller pads as well
-Get underwear a size bigger to accommodate the giant pad
-Nursing tanks are the best! I still prefer to wear one of those over a nursing bra
-See if your insurance will cover a breast pump. It's nice to have even if you plan to nurse exclusively incase you get engorged or you need to go out and leave your little one for any length of time
-Invest in hand soap and sanitizer
-Get up and go for even a short walk as soon as possible after delivery
-at 2-3 weeks LO goes through a growth spurt. They may want to eat even more often than before(if you even thought it was possible!) Think every hour to hour and half. Riley would eat for only about 10 minutes each time though
-Even if you're in pain, remember that it will get better! It took me a week and a half before I could nurse without feeling like I was going to cry. I dreaded nursing, mainly on one side. What ended up helping was being able to do the football hold on the side she was struggling latching onto. Then I'd have to pull her chin and lower lip down to make sure it was a correct latch. I was so gentle with her at first that it didn't help at first. Once I wasn't afraid she was so frail I was able to really help her to latch correctly
-after the first couple weeks a lot of breast fed babies will decrease the amount of times they poop. Riley decreased to going about every 2-3 days but she'd have major gas. Riley's dr said it was normal for them to go even just once a week, so long as they're still peeing adequate amount of times during the day and that their poop is loose. Now Riley only goes once maybe twice a week
-If you get an IUD put in as a method of birth control you may bleed for at least a few weeks. I think I bled off and on for about 6 weeks....talk about mood killer!
-You should not have any foul smell in your vaginal area at all. I thought because I'd been bleeding so long that it was just from that and from still recovering. I'm glad I went to get tested for a UTI because the day after I started taking an antibiotic I was back to my normal self, wish I would have gone a lot sooner.
-Even after 10 weeks and LO having a great latch, you may still have tender nipples. Especially after the shower or if something rubs up against them. It may have been worse for me because I have to pump at work everyday too(which I'll write a separate post coming up about my routine for pumping and storing)
-If baby gets cradle cap, put coconut oil on scalp for about 5-10 minutes before the bath. Wash it out and then with a soft brush, brush in a circular motion. It will look like there is a lot of dandruff for a couple days but it's getting it off the scalp without hurting the baby. I did this tow or three nights and it was gone. I also use a little coconut oil behind each ear after every bath and it help to make sure no gunk gets stuck there.
-Coconut oil is a great substitute for lotion. Riley has sensitive skin so we use shampoo maybe once a week, no soap and I use coconut oil on her every night(yes I give Riley a bath with just water every night. It calms her and it makes for a nice routine)
-If your little one gets a cold there isn't a whole lot you can really do. You can give them drops of a saline mixture and use a bulb syringe. When we do this I normally put a drop or two in Riley's nose on each side as I'm changing her and let it loosen things up for a few minutes, then I use the suction. Riley got a bad cold the other night and she'd wake up screaming from being on her back because she couldn't breathe well enough. We ended up moving her into her rock n play that is elevated and she slept like a rock! The next day I went to the health food store and got eucalyptus oil which is supposed to help clear them out. I dilute it with coconut oil and put it on the bottoms of her feet and put socks on. I also put a couple drops in her humidifier. It seems to have helped a bit
-I haven't tried this yet, but I have it just for the future. If you use peppermint oil diluted with coconut oil(or olive oil) on the bottoms of their feet and put socks on it will help babies that may be constipated. (**you only need one tiny little drop diluted)

I don't think someone can warn you how much you're going to love your little baby. It's amazing how entirely you can love them. I thought I loved Tony more than I thought possible, and up until that point it was true. But now, I love him and Riley even more than at that point. I am so grateful for them in my life! I thank Heavenly Father every day for the blessing they are to me!