topsy turvy

Nobody likes moving- me least of all. The packing and carrying and heaving and hauling and losing things. Then the carrying and heaving and hauling and unpacking and organizing and all that.. so much time and effort! Add two needy children to the mix and it is all-consuming.

Plus, to make matters worse, we are not even moving into a permanent place. We are moving from our apartment to my sister's house (who has moved out of state for the next few months), where we will stay until April before moving yet again into a permanent place. So we have to bring the things that we need with us, and store everything else.

Luckily, I don't need to pack up my breasts and breast milk- they are a part of my package! No misplacing a breast along the way! Hee hee. But I am having an issue with our pump and bottle storage system.

supply issues- again!

Ugh. Here we are again. 

Those of you that follow Breastfed on Facebook already know this- I've been having some supply issues. Issues so bad that on Monday I had to drive home in the middle of work to drop milk off at home (I only work 6 hours a day!!!) and on Tuesday I had to skip my after work yoga class to go straight home. I was not happy about this- my yoga class is my one "me-time" activity of the week!

What happened? My theories:

• I had stopped eating breakfast, and was maybe eating a little less all the way around.
• Stress- my life has felt a little out of control with so many things to do lately, and these supply issues just created even more stress.
• Vacation- Last week I had three days off of work. Yay, I thought, no need to pump! That might have been a huge mistake.
• Pump problems- One of my flanges seems to have a little crack in it. Is the motor in my pump going as well?
• Baby S seems to be having a growth spurt and eating even more over the past couple of weeks. Maybe there is less pumped milk because she is eating it all before I can pump it?

supply issues

I have supply issues. 

I think when most people say this, they are referring to one thing: that they don't have enough milk. This, however, is not my issue. I'm not worried about whether Baby S is getting enough to eat. I know that if she doesn't get enough in one feeding, she'll feed again every half an hour or so until she feels satisfied (sometimes this goes on all night!).

My issue is the constant fluctuation of my pumped breast milk supply. Some days when I pump at work I get a full five ounces. Other days I am lucky to get two. Same at home- some days a bunch, other days none. It's frustrating. I never know what I'm going to get. Will I have to spend all evening pumping for the next day? Will I be able to go to bed early if I want to and not worry about having to wake up at the crack of dawn to pump? Day to day, I'm hoping, guessing, and waiting to see.

the pumping sagas

I am writing this as I pump- in my office! This is the first time in two babies that this has happened.

Our office is crazy. I share it with a co-worker. Add our assistant, our youth workers, and the million teachers and students that come in and out.. obviously not an ideal place to pump. We have a bathroom, but it is so small that I would be almost sitting on the toilet. And as we all know, pumping in the bathroom should be avoided at all costs!

But today is lovely. Our assistant is out of town, and my co-worker took a well-deserved afternoon off. I covered the windows in the door with some purple paper, locked it, turned the lights low, and here I am- sitting at my desk with my top off, pumping away!

It feels great not to infringe on someone else and take their space in order to pump, no matter how generous they may be with it. I wish that I could do this every day- but I'll still be happy doing it just this once!

pumping sagas

What I would rather be doing.

School started today, ushering in a new period of my pumping saga.

Since I share an office, pumping there is out of the question. You would think, working in a school with a ton of other women that have had babies that we would have a dedicated pumping spot. Unfortunately, since schools are overcrowded and space is at a premium, we do not.

Fortunately, I work with an administrator who is sympathetic to the issue of pumping. Last year she allowed me to use the conference room space. This year, however, the head secretary has moved into that space. What to do now?

Again, I am lucky. When I spoke to my administrator about finding a new space, she emphatically stated that under no circumstances was I to use a bathroom. She offered her own office until we found a spot. She also said that she would make it a priority to find me a spot- which she did! She actually sought me out today (!!!!) to let me know that the head secretary offered to let me continue to use the room that she moved into to pump.

hygeia breast pump

Another great nursing deal from Zulily!

The Hygeia Chocolate Brown EnJoye LBI Double Electric Breast Pump went on sale at Zulily today at a $100 reduction from the normal price.

Details (from Zulily):

Winner of the prestigious 2011 PTPA Media Award, the EnJoye LBI breast pump is a must-have for busy breast-feeding moms. With a built-in rechargeable battery, this professional-grade, double electric pump is specifically designed for long-term and frequent pumping needs, and all parts that come into contact with breast milk are BPA and DEHP-free.

my lactation consultant is an amazonian goddess

Our lactation consultant is an Amazonian goddess.

We met Joanne in the eighth month of my first pregnancy. I insisted on making an appointment with her because I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed because of an inverted left nipple. We were told that we were lucky, because she had just been hired and the hospital had not had a proper consultant for over a year.

We went to her office, located in some obscure corner of the hospital. We knocked on her door and opened it. There she stood, some 6 feet plus tall (was it any surprise when she told us that all of her children had played NCAA basketball?), grandma-aged, flaming red hair, no-nonsense appearance and tone.

the pumping sagas

Today was one of those "focus on the positive" days.

For "field trip fridays" at work we took the kids to a chlorinated, chaotic swimming pond way out in the suburbs. The temperature hit darn close to 100 degrees today, and the place was packed. Since my assistant was out today, I rode the school bus with the group, meaning that I would be forced to find a place to pump twice during the seven hours that we were there.

I figured that there had to be at least one family changing room or private bathroom that had a lock on the door and an electrical outlet. Right?

open system vs. closed system pumps

Thinking about buying a Medela pump?

If so, read this post from the blog Just West of Crunchy that outlines the problems with Medela.

I used a Medela Pump-in-Style Advanced pump with my first baby. The first one that I bought had motor problems after a month, but Medela sent me a replacement pump within two days. After that it worked great for the remainder of the time that I used it (and I was pumping nine times a day!)

Other problems: the membranes ripped after about a month, so I had to continually replace them. Most disturbing: the tubing started to grow mold in it, and there was no way to wash it out. Medela sent me one free pack of new tubing, but I found out later that they would only do this during the initial 3 month warranty.

It was only later that I read the above mentioned article and realized that the Medela pumps are "open system" pumps. Meaning:

washing the pump

How do you wash your pumping parts?

We have a little blue mixing bowl from Ikea. Everything goes in there to soak, with some hot water and Ecover dish soap- pump parts, bottles, nipples, bottle tops- everything. Soak for a while, and rinse.

Of course our bottle brush doesn't fit into the little parts and grooves of my pump flanges. When I have time and am feeling more detail-oriented, I use my fingers to get soap into all those little places. But when I'm in a rush (read: almost always), I just trust that the soaking got all the dirty stuff out, rinse and go.

Luckily, I have 2 sets of parts for my Ameda pump. When Baby S was in the hospital for jaundice, I requested to use their pump since she wasn't eating enough and my breasts felt like Pamela Anderson's. Since they use Ameda at the hospital, the pump pack they gave me was identical to the one I had at home. Score! Now I can have one soaking and one drying (or one dirty and one dry) so I can always have a clean set to throw in my bag as I am running late for work.

visiting

I got to breastfeed at work today!

We were on a field trip to the pool today. Earlier this week I had emailed the director of the pool to see if there was somewhere that I could pump- hopefully a room that was private and somewhat clean, with an electrical outlet. She was super helpful and was able to find two possible places, one being the employee bathroom and the other one a really nice family changing room. She had told another female employee, who was waiting to show me the places when we arrived.

forget it

Big day at work today. I was stressing about it all weekend. No sleep, due to the two in the morning worrying: Did I forget to do this? Can't forget to do this and that! And on and on...

Grandma comes to pick up the babies. My pump bag was already next to the door, packed and ready to go.

After a couple of hours of non-stop running around at work, I finally decided that I could spare twenty minutes to go pump. My breasts were starting to throb. After ten minutes of running around our new building trying to find a closet or private bathroom that actually had an electrical socket in it, I washed my hands and opened my bag.

No pump.

NO PUMP.

Are you kidding me?

Add insult to injury- I also forgot to put any diapers in the diaper bag as well.

Doh!

runnin'

Today looked to be one of those days.

Only 3 ounces of milk pumped in the fridge. Toddler B had a doctors appointment this morning, so I was looking forward to nursing Baby S during the appointment, then running home, eating-nursing-pumping in 15 minutes and rushing off to work, which today is a training that is about half an hour away. Runnin'!

Suprise! Partner agreed to take Toddler B to the doctors so I could nurse quietly and not rush before work.

Bigger surprise! Baby S ate, then fell into a beautiful nap. Alone. Score! Now I have lunch simmering on the stove, and a little time to myself. Got the pump going as we speak.

We can leave the runnin' for later.

pumpin' it

Ladies- can you live without your double electric breast pump? Neither can I.

My mother used a manual pump with me- electric pumps were just coming out on the market and were still too expensive. Even these days, pumps are expensive! Sometimes insurance will cover it, otherwise you can still get manual pumps from WIC.

Some non-electric pumps of yore:

Vintage 1830's pewter breast pump

pumping

Article: Some great advice on pumping from Jennifer Thorson- Doula. Did you know how the speed and suction strength knobs on your pump worked? Apparently, neither did I. According to Thorson, do this to get three let-downs per pumping session in less time:

"Get comfortable. Attach the pump and turn it on, making sure that the suction is not too strong for comfort. Set the speed relatively high. Try to relax. 


Once your milk has let-down, meaning you can see milk squirting into the pump, reduce the suction speed. Continue pumping at low speed until the amount of milk flowing into the pump decreases. This is one let-down.