Pumping & Other Feeding Tidbits

In my last post about feeding I feel like I left out some of the most interesting tidbits and most helpful information for others going through the same thing. Stop here if reading anything about pumping or breast milk makes you uncomfortable!

Because Wyatt can't nurse I am pumping so he can still have the benefits of breast milk. I had a lot of concerns about how it would work to exclusively pump. The first concern was if my body would cooperate. Pumping is not the same thing as nursing and I just wasn't sure if my body would produce enough milk. I have been extremely lucky on this front as the freezer in our basement will show. I have strongly considered posting a picture of this but will refrain. I will however take a picture of it for myself to remember the time and effort it took and the pride I have in being able to do this for Wyatt. Not only does he have enough on a daily basis but I am pretty sure by the time I go back to work there will be at least 3 months worth of milk stored for him. I am able to pump anywhere from 2 to 3 times the amount of milk he needs. I will continue to try to pump when I go back to work but it is a comfort to know we have enough to last a while.

The second concern was with regard to the time commitment. IT IS NOT EASY! I won't be one of those to gloss over this fact. Yes, it is the best for him yada yada yada... we all know this but it is hard work. It takes so much time and effort and that combined with everything else we were dealing with with a newborn and the cleft... I was stressed and tired all the time. I often had to evaluate the benefits for Wyatt against my own and the rest of our family's needs. As we have all adjusted to our new schedule it has gotten easier. It is now more of a part of our routine but it has taken a long time to get here and there are times I still fantasize about getting all that time and freedom back. Freedom! You also give up a lot of freedom when you are pumping. You can't go anywhere or do anything without planning around it.

In a typical day we spend 12 hours on feeding and pumping alone!

In the beginning I pumped for 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours and now I pump every 3 to 4 hours. Sometimes I go a little longer at night or if we are out. The most I ever pumped in one session was 18 oz! In all, pumping takes about a half an hour every 2-3 hours if you include clean-up and storage. One thing that has helped with clean-up is I only wash my pumping supplies once a day. I put them in a bag in the fridge in between. We only had one bottle for the first month so we were washing it a lot. When we finally got a second bottle it helped so much. We are up to 4 bottles now and it is so nice to only have to wash bottles a couple times of day instead of after each feeding. 4 bottles has worked out well so we don't plan on buying any more right now.

It takes about a half hour to feed Wyatt. He also needs to be burped more often because he takes in more air with the cleft. We try to burp him every half oz or so. We then keep him upright for another 15 to 30 minutes to continue burping him and while he digests because he spits up a lot! This can be normal for any baby but the cleft can impact this too because he takes in more air. I also tried to adjust my diet to help with the spitting up by reducing dairy, pop, and chocolate at the suggestion of our pediatrician. I can't say I have been very good about this. I love milk and it has been so hard to give up. I wasn't drinking pop with caffeine anyway.... I am still not sure caffeine free pop impacts spitting up or not. Chocolate wasn't hard to give up. Anyway, so far it doesn't seem to have made a difference.

As you can imagine our 5 year old daughter has a lot of questions about feeding and pumping. I do pump in front of her because it would be just to hard not to. Shortly after Wyatt was born she brought home an anatomically correct picture of Mommy from school. I laughed and was a little embarrassed about what her teachers must have thought. She often comments on the fact that she was able to nurse but Wyatt can't because he has a hole in his lip. One time Mike told her, "Yep, you got your milk straight from the tap." Bella said excitedly, "Yeah, from the tap!"

I wouldn't have ever imagined I could write so much on this topic! There will definitely be more to come as we see what issues come up with how to feed Wyatt after surgery and --wait for it, feed him solid foods.