Sqeeze Em Good! Week 4/5 Summary

The Importance of Emptying the Jugs!

Unfortunately, you can't just sit back and let the pump do all the work, you have got to massage those breasts until you know you got every drop out. See, emptying the milk ducts are super important, not just because every drop of Breast Milk is like liquid gold (and trust me it is) but also because emptying your breasts stimulates your body to make more milk. Prolactin (the hormone in charge of your milk supply) is stimulated by breast feeding, and the more you empty your breasts the more your body thinks "Oh my breasts are empty, time to produce more milk."


How do I ensure my breasts are empty?

Okay its pretty simple, especially if you have milked a cow, but for those of you not in 4H here is the skinny: squeeze those suckers from top to bottom continuously. Obviously you only have two hands so its not imperative to squeeze both at the same time. Massage each part of your breasts, when you see milk come out stay in that area until it stops, this ensures that you emptied that duct for the moment. It helps also to massage the breasts when you have a let down. It is important to massage areas that feel like hard, painful lumps as these can be blocked milk ducts. Warm compresses help open up your mild ducts. If you have a "lump" that doesn't seem to go away with massage or compress, see your care provider for further investigation.

Don't forget those hard to reach places?

The area around the nipple and aureole have milk ducts, so do not forget to massage them to collect as much milk as possible. Often times its hard to do so with the breast shields and the pump, I find I lose suction when I do this, therefore, I often hand express that area after I am done pumping. The downside? It is difficult to collect the milk that you hand express, often I do this into a towel and kiss that liquid gold goodbye.

How do I know I am empty?

They say that 5-10 minutes after your final let down you are finished pumping. For me, I have three let downs per pump, and I often consider myself done when I squeeze and squeeze and no milk comes out. That is when I detach from the pump and hand express those hard to reach places.

Week 4 and 5 Summary:

Due to the move, I decided to combine the last two weeks together as they have passed by in a blur. Ethan is now 9 weeks old, he weighs 12 lbs 3 oz and has grown 2 inches. All in all, my baby boy is doing great! He is getting proper nutrition and we seemed to have settled into a routine. I still cannot find time to increase to 6 pumps a day, so I have decided to accept the amount of milk I am making a day (20=23 oz) and enjoy this stage of Ethan's life as is (we still supplement with formula).

Moving was definitely a challenge, we flew and I have to pump at the airport. Our flight was at 6:30 am, so I pumped at 3 am before we left for the airport (we had to get there early to get through security with all our liquids) and then at 6 am before we boarded. I found an empty gate, faced the window and put on my hooter hider and pumped. It was uncomfortable but necessary. I wanted to pump during our layover but the airport was full of NCAA baseball teams and there was not private spot to pump. I considered pumping in the airplane but I couldn't do it. Therefore, I waited 15 hours between pumps, this is not recommended, but I had to do it. I leaked through tow breast pads and had to pump for 1 hour. But I still managed to pump 4 times that day.

For those who are planning on traveling, a longer layover might be helpful to ensure pumping time. Pumping on the plane could be tough especially if there is turbulence. Also, if you plan on traveling when your child eats often and you need to tote along breast milk, plan on a longer stop at security. FAA regulations state that formula or breast milk are not considered a liquid, therefore you can bring along as much as you like, but they are subject for search. Also, you can bring an ice pack to use as a cooling device.

We finally have Ethan sleeping better during the day. I found that in order to sleep train the kid, I had to let him CIO (Cry it out). It was so tough those first days but now I put him down in his crib and he falls asleep without too much fuss. Initially, we had to rock him for an hour and even then he only stayed asleep for 30 minutes. Now I put in the crib and he lays there, coos to his stuffed animal and falls asleep. At times he cries out and I have to fight every instinct to comfort him, but he usually settles down and falls asleep. Now he sleeps for an hour or even more. I don't ever let him get frantic, if it gets to that point I comfort him. Now that he has a better schedule I am able to relax and pump. I find that its a great time to journal, catch up on paperwork, or even rest. I have friends though who have the MEdela Free style pump that clips to their belt, that paired with a hands free bra and they do the laundry and get things done around the house. But don't forget to empty those breasts!

I feel like the pumping has gotten less burdensome, my friend even came over the other day and she too had to pump, so we had a pumping party! Remember though, you have to find what fits for you. Don't kill yourself because in the end a happy mom is a happy baby (I know I have said that but its important to remember.)

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