We made it to 6 months of exclusively breastfeeding!
I’m going to share my an ‘alternative view’ on breastfeeding since I took the unconventional path and still managed to successfully fully breast-fed my girl for 6 months (and counting!). People always say that exclusively pumping is tough, but it has been a pretty smooth journey, though still hard work. Before starting on my breastfeeding journey, I have actually done lots of reading over the past few years and joined many support groups. I have been fascinated by how amazing breastmilk is, and how amazing the human body is. I don't think humans have fully uncovered how our body works. Currently, I'm still making almost double of her intake and donating regularly to children with muscle atrophy and a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy among others. Through my breastmilk donations and reading up out of curiosity, I'm in awe of what breastmilk can do given live cells present, antibodies and easy absorption by the human body.
[Disclaimer] Of course, breastfeeding is a personal choice (like almost everything in life is duhz!), but I wonder if people would make different choices if they had more knowledge about the benefits of breastmilk or had more support and accurate information. It’s only through education and knowledge that more people can reap the benefits of breastmilk. Without any judgement, but as a factual statement supported by research, breastmilk is still the best for baby. Fed is best, but as a matter of fact, feeding breastmilk is definitely better than processed cow milk powder.
I have been exclusively pumping, not by choice but by circumstances of her birth. First few days were dark, but being able to provide for my girl became the focus and the beacon of light that I walked towards. Initial days, I spent almost an hour ‘hand-expressing’ into a syringe and rested for 2 hours, repeated the cycle till my milk came in. I was so tired and in pain, but also very determined. It was painful at first, but it got exponentially better and the journey has been smooth ever since milk came in. There’s no secret to get the milk in, it’s simply supply and demand, and giving your body enough fuel to make milk – from sufficient rest, water and food.
No, it’s not possible to want more milk without sacrificing your sleep to latch/pump at least 8 times a day during the initial days. It’s a choice you have to make, a choice that might be easier knowing how amazing breastmilk was. Some people have milk coming in later, some make more milk than others, it’s all normal and we can only keep going.
- Pump/latch as often as possible at least 8x a day
- Drink enough water, at least 3L and more if possible.
- Eat enough nutritious food, soups, vegetables, proteins, carbs.
- Have enough sleep and rest (as much as possible anyway)
- Do not stress, do not think and just keep going.
It’s important to do these and latch/pump religiously during the first days. Those are the days that truly make a difference, and it’s a lot easier to establish milk supply in the first weeks and month. It’s possible to increase supply after, but it becomes an (even tougher) uphill climb.
From an exclusively pumping mum perspective, I feel that there’s a lot more things to learn and handle with latching. Basically, what I did was simply to get a good pump and flanges that fit and kept pumping to a schedule. Milk came in, baby drank from bottle and can be fed by anyone, and I didn’t have to worry about getting a right latch, different feeding positions, choosing sides to feed, managing let-downs, nipple confusion nor bottle rejection nor the logistics after going back to work. Many struggle and stress about going back to work as baby is used to latching.
My pumping schedule over the past 6 months:
First weeks: 9pm 12am 3am 6am 9am 12pm 3pm 6pm
Week 3-4: 9pm 12am 5am 8am 12pm 3pm 6pm
1 month: 12am 5am 8am 12pm 4pm 8pm
2 months: 1am 7am 11am 3pm 8pm
2.5 months: 12am 7am 2pm 8pm
3 months onwards: 10pm 7am 3pm
I started with 8 pumps a day, then dragged my night pump till I’m awakened by either baby or my boobs, but still pumped every 3 hours in the day during confinement. I further dropped pumps as I have no help after confinement and had to take care of baby myself. Every individual is different when trying to drop pumps, but it’s important to massage and empty the boobs after every pump to prevent blockage – I spend at least 15minutes massaging the boobs as I pump. And with dragging pumps, I lengthened my pump sessions from initial 15 minutes to 30 minutes (or more as needed) each session now. I also take Sunflower Lecithin from iherb for maintenance to prevent blocks, spend more time massaging and increase intake of lecithin when I feel that breast wasn’t emptied. It's usually better to drag pump intervals slowly and monitor supply closely while ensuring that breast does not become blocked.
For sustainable breastfeeding, I don’t think it’s possible to do 8ppd long-term, especially when looking after baby yourself and after going back to work. Ideally, maintaining 4-5ppd schedule (perhaps with a power pump session at night if needed) or maximum 6ppd could be sustainable in the long-run. I realized that most breastfeeding groups advocate pumping 8 times a day to maintain supply, but that stems from traditional breastfeeding to mimic baby’s feeding every 3 hours. I don’t think there’s enough experience or knowledge-sharing about exclusively pumping, and it’s just not realistic to pump 8 times a day for most mummies! Asking mummies to pump 8x a day 'to maintain supply' is almost asking them to accomplish mission impossible and many become discouraged and eventually give up breastfeeding. My supply peaked after 2mpp, it slowly increased despite dropping pumps and maintained even when I slowly dropped to 3ppd. My supply did however dropped 30% after I went back to work (while maintaining the same schedule), and eventually stabilized at 4mpp. Supply doesn't always drop when you drop pumps, but there's a threshold for each individual and you can only trial and error, lengthen pump intervals slowly and monitor output, adjust accordingly. Boobs capacity would also increase slightly over time. I used to wake up with hard painful and leaking boobs every morning after an 8 hour interval, but over-time, the pain and leaks went away despite pumping almost the same amount out in the morning.
Here's from my opinion as an exclusively pumping mum.
Pros of exclusively pumping:
Cons of exclusively pumping:
Given my experience, I would think that I will still pump for the next baby, so I can free-up more time. I don't quite agree when people say that exclusively pumping is more difficult, because having to spend hours feeding and not able to do anything else sounds more difficult to me. But that's me, shaped by my personal experience. Things like washing can be easily delegated, but not if baby requires hours of feeding at the breast. Latching on the go doesn't seem easier too, having to handle nursing covers and getting breastfeeding friendly clothes or finding a nursing room. We usually time it well and feed her before we go out, so we've 3 hours and can have a good meal without having to feed or change her.
The husband asked if I would breastfeed from the breast or pump like now if we've another baby. I told him that I would like to experience latching and latch at least for the first few days before milk comes in but would probably pump mostly too. Time and delegation would be important with the second child. The husband thinks that pumping is better, since we can know how much baby drinks and will know that baby is not hungry or did not have enough milk when they fuss (can rule out one reason). He also insist that bonding is not an issue since he's bonding so well with Jaime by bottle-feeding. Hah, I'm sure it's different latching!
People ask me how long do I intend to breastfeed. Honestly, my initial goal was 6 months and anything more is a bonus. But now, I'm hoping to go at least 12 months till she can take fresh milk, and see how things go from there, maybe 18 months would be great till she finishes infant care. It has become a very manageable routine now as I pump 3x a day and my office has an awesome lactation room. It's still a good 2-3 hours a day that I can earn back if I stop breastfeeding though.
For mums who are breastfeeding, I really encourage them to do whatever they can - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Feed whatever you can, do whatever works for you. Pump, latch, squeeze, whatever! If you can't fully breastfeed or fit in enough number of pumps a day, work on a schedule that is bearable and sustainable over a longer period of time. Seek help from lactation consultants when needed, read up, ask fellow mummies and accept help from people around you. Any amount of breastmilk is good for baby!
I have come to the realization that motherhood is a marathon, not a sprint. It's a long journey and it's important to recharge on the way so that we have the stamina to run on.
Sustainability is a big word in motherhood.
I’m going to share my an ‘alternative view’ on breastfeeding since I took the unconventional path and still managed to successfully fully breast-fed my girl for 6 months (and counting!). People always say that exclusively pumping is tough, but it has been a pretty smooth journey, though still hard work. Before starting on my breastfeeding journey, I have actually done lots of reading over the past few years and joined many support groups. I have been fascinated by how amazing breastmilk is, and how amazing the human body is. I don't think humans have fully uncovered how our body works. Currently, I'm still making almost double of her intake and donating regularly to children with muscle atrophy and a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy among others. Through my breastmilk donations and reading up out of curiosity, I'm in awe of what breastmilk can do given live cells present, antibodies and easy absorption by the human body.
[Disclaimer] Of course, breastfeeding is a personal choice (like almost everything in life is duhz!), but I wonder if people would make different choices if they had more knowledge about the benefits of breastmilk or had more support and accurate information. It’s only through education and knowledge that more people can reap the benefits of breastmilk. Without any judgement, but as a factual statement supported by research, breastmilk is still the best for baby. Fed is best, but as a matter of fact, feeding breastmilk is definitely better than processed cow milk powder.
I have been exclusively pumping, not by choice but by circumstances of her birth. First few days were dark, but being able to provide for my girl became the focus and the beacon of light that I walked towards. Initial days, I spent almost an hour ‘hand-expressing’ into a syringe and rested for 2 hours, repeated the cycle till my milk came in. I was so tired and in pain, but also very determined. It was painful at first, but it got exponentially better and the journey has been smooth ever since milk came in. There’s no secret to get the milk in, it’s simply supply and demand, and giving your body enough fuel to make milk – from sufficient rest, water and food.
No, it’s not possible to want more milk without sacrificing your sleep to latch/pump at least 8 times a day during the initial days. It’s a choice you have to make, a choice that might be easier knowing how amazing breastmilk was. Some people have milk coming in later, some make more milk than others, it’s all normal and we can only keep going.
- Pump/latch as often as possible at least 8x a day
- Drink enough water, at least 3L and more if possible.
- Eat enough nutritious food, soups, vegetables, proteins, carbs.
- Have enough sleep and rest (as much as possible anyway)
- Do not stress, do not think and just keep going.
It’s important to do these and latch/pump religiously during the first days. Those are the days that truly make a difference, and it’s a lot easier to establish milk supply in the first weeks and month. It’s possible to increase supply after, but it becomes an (even tougher) uphill climb.
From an exclusively pumping mum perspective, I feel that there’s a lot more things to learn and handle with latching. Basically, what I did was simply to get a good pump and flanges that fit and kept pumping to a schedule. Milk came in, baby drank from bottle and can be fed by anyone, and I didn’t have to worry about getting a right latch, different feeding positions, choosing sides to feed, managing let-downs, nipple confusion nor bottle rejection nor the logistics after going back to work. Many struggle and stress about going back to work as baby is used to latching.
My pumping schedule over the past 6 months:
First weeks: 9pm 12am 3am 6am 9am 12pm 3pm 6pm
Week 3-4: 9pm 12am 5am 8am 12pm 3pm 6pm
1 month: 12am 5am 8am 12pm 4pm 8pm
2 months: 1am 7am 11am 3pm 8pm
2.5 months: 12am 7am 2pm 8pm
3 months onwards: 10pm 7am 3pm
I started with 8 pumps a day, then dragged my night pump till I’m awakened by either baby or my boobs, but still pumped every 3 hours in the day during confinement. I further dropped pumps as I have no help after confinement and had to take care of baby myself. Every individual is different when trying to drop pumps, but it’s important to massage and empty the boobs after every pump to prevent blockage – I spend at least 15minutes massaging the boobs as I pump. And with dragging pumps, I lengthened my pump sessions from initial 15 minutes to 30 minutes (or more as needed) each session now. I also take Sunflower Lecithin from iherb for maintenance to prevent blocks, spend more time massaging and increase intake of lecithin when I feel that breast wasn’t emptied. It's usually better to drag pump intervals slowly and monitor supply closely while ensuring that breast does not become blocked.
For sustainable breastfeeding, I don’t think it’s possible to do 8ppd long-term, especially when looking after baby yourself and after going back to work. Ideally, maintaining 4-5ppd schedule (perhaps with a power pump session at night if needed) or maximum 6ppd could be sustainable in the long-run. I realized that most breastfeeding groups advocate pumping 8 times a day to maintain supply, but that stems from traditional breastfeeding to mimic baby’s feeding every 3 hours. I don’t think there’s enough experience or knowledge-sharing about exclusively pumping, and it’s just not realistic to pump 8 times a day for most mummies! Asking mummies to pump 8x a day 'to maintain supply' is almost asking them to accomplish mission impossible and many become discouraged and eventually give up breastfeeding. My supply peaked after 2mpp, it slowly increased despite dropping pumps and maintained even when I slowly dropped to 3ppd. My supply did however dropped 30% after I went back to work (while maintaining the same schedule), and eventually stabilized at 4mpp. Supply doesn't always drop when you drop pumps, but there's a threshold for each individual and you can only trial and error, lengthen pump intervals slowly and monitor output, adjust accordingly. Boobs capacity would also increase slightly over time. I used to wake up with hard painful and leaking boobs every morning after an 8 hour interval, but over-time, the pain and leaks went away despite pumping almost the same amount out in the morning.
Here's from my opinion as an exclusively pumping mum.
Pros of exclusively pumping:
- Being able to delegate feeding and focus on pumping and resting. This is a huge plus for me, for all I focused on was to pump every 3 hours during the initial days. I took the night shift and take over after her 9/10pm feed till daybreak. I wanted to make sure that she gets what she needs and feel secure, worried that other caretakers may fall asleep and do not respond quickly. It's important to let baby feel secure! I fed her and pumped around midnight, then set an alarm to pump at 3am and 6am (and feed her). By the second week I did not set an alarm after the midnight session, and waited for her to wake up naturally before I pumped. By 3rd week, she slept from midnight till 5am (STTN! Yay!) and slowly dragged till around 7am by the 4th week. I usually pump while the husband feeds, and I get weekend mornings off to the gym or massage!
- Less painful nipples. With a good hospital grade pump, the correct flange size and suction strength, pumping should not be painful. This may be easier to control than establishing a good latch every feed. Poor latch is painful, and when baby grows older, they'll start turning and pulling or even biting. Ask mums who are bitten or have babies turning around with a nipple in their mouth. Pumping for 30 minutes is not painful, less sore than latching for hours on end anyway.
- No such thing as bottle rejection. Bottle-fed babies adapt very well and usually have no issues with other caretakers. Bottle rejection can be a big problem for some as babies only want to be latched and refused all bottles. It can be difficult when Mums have to go back to work (hello, most need to earn the dough nowadays!). Some mums tell me that their babies mostly sleep during the day and latch throughout the night, it's unimaginable for me for we've been sleeping through the night ever since her first weeks.
- Less time spent feeding, no comfort latch. Bottle-feeding is faster and easier, that’s why some babies refuse to latch and suck after being bottle-fed. Bottle-feeding takes 15-20mins during early days and 10mins or so now. Total time spent feeding a day is an hour or two, plus another 30 minutes spent washing. This can make a big difference if you've other babies to look after. Babies who are latched directly usually spend more time feeding or sucking on the breast for comfort, then wants to be cuddled to sleep. At some point, some babies spend hours latching everyday and render the mum confined to the bed. Bonding, of course, but well, many mums seem to complain about this. We usually bottle feed, then burp, and put her down right after, so she's used to falling asleep by herself.
- Babies sleep better, I believe so. From what I've heard from fellow cleft-mummies and read in sleep training groups. This seem to be the case, though it's not absolute (obviously!). It's easy to be full and go to sleep with bottle-feeding. Babies who latch may fall asleep before they are full (takes more effort to latch) and end up waking up to be latched again, and again. Cleft mummies who used to breastfeed directly and then exclusively pump shared that their cleft babies slept through the night much earlier compared to their direct latch babies. I think the crucial part is trying to put baby down when they're drowsy (and full) after feeding instead of cuddling till they fall asleep and it's just easier to do that with bottle-feeding. Fed babies who have their needs fulfilled would be secure and happy.
- Easier transition for working mothers, which is another big fat plus. Most of us will eventually go back to work and would need to pump, while babies need to take bottles and be taken care by others. SAHM especially without another child to look after would probably prefer direct latching all the way, since there's zero washing and all you need to do is lie in bed and latch as much as baby demands. For other mums, eventually, you'll need to schedule pumps between latching and managing your milk supply. No change for exclusively pumping mums like me, since we're just used to this whole pumping, scheduling, storage and feeding thing.
Cons of exclusively pumping:
- One big fat minus is being deprived of the bonding experience that breastfeeding gives. I have never experienced this but have read and heard enough to imagine how special this can be, and it’s only the mum who could ever experience this.
- A lot to wash and sterilize. This is inevitable, but I bought MANY bottles and 3 pump sets with a UV sterilizer so that I only need to wash like twice a day. I wash everything after my first pump in the morning, so I start the day with 3 pump sets when I was on maternity leave. I leave everything in a tub of soapy water and the husband washes them when he gets back from work.
- Breastmilk changes less to baby's needs. Breastmilk's composition changes when baby latches through saliva, and that is the most direct feedback. While breastmilk also evolves for exclusively pumping mothers through daily contact, the feedback is less direct and research seem to find evidence that the composition doesn't change as much. However, it still does evolve based on baby's age and from skin-to-skin like kissing etc.
Given my experience, I would think that I will still pump for the next baby, so I can free-up more time. I don't quite agree when people say that exclusively pumping is more difficult, because having to spend hours feeding and not able to do anything else sounds more difficult to me. But that's me, shaped by my personal experience. Things like washing can be easily delegated, but not if baby requires hours of feeding at the breast. Latching on the go doesn't seem easier too, having to handle nursing covers and getting breastfeeding friendly clothes or finding a nursing room. We usually time it well and feed her before we go out, so we've 3 hours and can have a good meal without having to feed or change her.
The husband asked if I would breastfeed from the breast or pump like now if we've another baby. I told him that I would like to experience latching and latch at least for the first few days before milk comes in but would probably pump mostly too. Time and delegation would be important with the second child. The husband thinks that pumping is better, since we can know how much baby drinks and will know that baby is not hungry or did not have enough milk when they fuss (can rule out one reason). He also insist that bonding is not an issue since he's bonding so well with Jaime by bottle-feeding. Hah, I'm sure it's different latching!
People ask me how long do I intend to breastfeed. Honestly, my initial goal was 6 months and anything more is a bonus. But now, I'm hoping to go at least 12 months till she can take fresh milk, and see how things go from there, maybe 18 months would be great till she finishes infant care. It has become a very manageable routine now as I pump 3x a day and my office has an awesome lactation room. It's still a good 2-3 hours a day that I can earn back if I stop breastfeeding though.
For mums who are breastfeeding, I really encourage them to do whatever they can - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Feed whatever you can, do whatever works for you. Pump, latch, squeeze, whatever! If you can't fully breastfeed or fit in enough number of pumps a day, work on a schedule that is bearable and sustainable over a longer period of time. Seek help from lactation consultants when needed, read up, ask fellow mummies and accept help from people around you. Any amount of breastmilk is good for baby!
I have come to the realization that motherhood is a marathon, not a sprint. It's a long journey and it's important to recharge on the way so that we have the stamina to run on.
Sustainability is a big word in motherhood.
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