I've been coming to terms that it's time to quit breastfeeding, but it's been a difficult decision to make. I've loved the bonding experience with Charlotte, and have been so proud of myself for sticking with it this long.
I thought I'd write out my experience, starting from birth, and go through 6 months of age. This is was second short term goal- my first was making it through my 12 week maternity leave. Here goes....
When Charlotte was born, I was excited to try and have her latch. She latched immediately, but the "is she getting anything?" question was always in the back of my mind. The lactation consultant and the pediatricians at the hospital reassured me that she was doing just fine, and now looking back, I'm realizing they used her weight as a reference of her "getting enough". We nursed every 2-3 hours at the hospital, and did the same when we got home.
The Friday after she was born (which was a Monday), we went in for her first weigh in at our pediatricians. I now know this is standard for all breastfed babies. Charlotte was the same weight as when we left the hospital, 6 lbs, 3 oz, and since my milk had just come in the night before, they asked us to come back on Monday. Over the weekend, she gained 9 oz, and weighed in at 6 lbs, 12 oz.
I continued to nurse, sometimes 10-12 times a day in the beginning, and once she started sleeping longer durations at night, I'd pump one side after her first nursing session of the day. Instead of using these bottles throughout the day, I started building my freezer supply. This was super helpful for when I returned to work, although it quickly depleted once my supply went down.
Fast forward to the end of July and I was heading back to work. Charlotte would take 4, 4 ounce bottles to day care, and would nurse 2-3 times in addition to that. Come September/October, I started sending 4, 6 ounce bottles, and again would still nurse about 2 times a day on top of that.
If Charlotte was still sleeping prior to me leaving for work, I would pump both sides. I would pump at work 3 times a day (9:00, noon and 3:00), and again after bedtime if she only nursed on one side. This would allow me to have enough milk for the 24 ounces needed for day care bottles. Side note: I would typically express the most milk during my first 3 sessions throughout the day.
Once Charlotte started eating solids at 6 months, I noticed a dip in my supply. She obviously began eating more and drinking less, which is a normal progression of things. I started taking Fenugreek supplements at this point, and noticed that it did help increase my supply, along with eating more and drinking a crap ton of water.
Altogether the first 6 months of nursing and pumping were quite easy for us. The hardest period of time for me was when Charlotte went through her 1 week growth spurt, and was up every hour, on the hour, to eat. She would wake up, eat, go back to sleep, and before I knew it, was up again to eat once more. I was a walking zombie-cow, and felt like I would never get to sleep again.
Breastfeeding/Pumping Notes:
Pump: Medela Pump In Style Advance with Tote
-I purchased additional flanges & bottles so I wouldn't have to clean parts at work
-I actually ended up borrowing my neighbors pump at 6 months because I felt mine was losing suction (Medela wouldn't replace it)
- Using the Medela Steam bags were helpful at first, but I realized it wasn't necessary to sterilize parts every day
- Using the ice pack in the pump bag allowed for me to keep the bottles of expressed milk with me, as opposed to the in office fridge
- Pumping in the car is doable, however I would suggest buying the car adaptor as the battery pack sucks up AA batteries after 1 or 2 sessions
- Reference website Kellymom.com was a complete lifesaver; seriously check it out!
Fun fact: Nursing burns about 20 calories for every ounce of milk produced. Doing the math, this means at Charlotte's peak, I burned about 640 calories a day.
More to come on Part 2...
