Good Morning Starshine

[dancerjodi]

I'll be getting up at 5:00 to prep for work, and I want to try and ease into things. Mina was up to eat and finished and was back to sleep right before 5:00 this morning, so I hopped in the shower, pumped and now am back in my PJs and on the first floor with time to myself (Brian and Mina are still sleeping but I'd guess she'll be up soon again.

Amazing! I got dishes, trash, pets fed, bunny cage cleaned and now have some quiet time. I think this is how I will end up doing it. I'm definitely more of a morning person anyway.

She slept for a 6 hour window last night! She was exhausted from the last couple of days so I'm too smart to know she'll maintain it, but whatever.

Pumping is taking me about (on average) a half hour to empty out. I bought a Medela Pump in Style, but someone suggested renting a Symphony instead for higher efficiency. The internet seems to think that it is more efficient, or it isn't (depends who comments). I get better as I get more experienced, but I'm waiting for some advice from some lactation consultants. It would be expensive to rent one after buying one, but if I could leave the rental at work (and get a faster speed) and my own one at home it would sure make things easier on me. There is no way I can afford the time for three 30 minute pumps at work. I have to use my lunch hour for this anyway and it is going to be tough with meetings all over the place to have a set time to do it. I'll figure it out.

Comments

[tigira.livejournal.com]

What worked for me, YMMV...

I had a Pump in Style. I had a band that held the cones in place, and I used the time to read. I would read anything that wasn't stressful. Being able to do that made pumping go faster because I wasn't focused on the milk production.

But that was me and my experience. I don't know if you'd be able to use that info.

[dancer.livejournal.com]

I have a hands free bra. I'll be working at my computer while I pump, but being hands on too (massage and compression) gets me more milk/empties faster. It will be an interesting adjustment!

[shnells.livejournal.com]

i rented the symphony and i like it although i've not had any to compare it with. lactation consultants told me not to pump for more than 20 mins. in terms of comercial pumps, my consultant recommended one that has soft cups instead of plastic horns and draws the milk out by massaging breast instead of tugging on nipples. i have to call her to get the name of it again as i've lost the slip with the name of it.

good luck at work tomorrow, i hope it goes smoothly!

[dancer.livejournal.com]

I did get that hands free bra - super helpful!

Good luck to you at work! I'm back next Tuesday, 4/10.

[dancer.livejournal.com]

Oh, you can buy softer flanges for the pumps - they just don't seem to sell in stores (order online), of so I gather.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

you can also get a sports bra and cut holes out to hold the cones in place. isis sells a hands free bustier that i bought. it helps a lot!

[nepenthedreams]

My favorite one for every day work was a bra that you wear like a regular bra, that doubled as a nursing bra and a pumping bra. It had a full opening for baby, and a cup with holes for pumping. that way I didn't have to get out of a regular bra and put on the bustier. I also often wore nursing tops to work so that I wouldn't have to take off my shirt to pump (because the room I had to use was cold). So there's some tips for both of you ladies.

I reviewed some of the bras on Amazon - I ended up getting most of my bras on Amazon.

[nepenthedreams]

I really loved the rental I got from Isis. It was the hospital grade medela and it worked wonders for me.

I used to pump twice a day - only at worst case would I do lunchtime only. I never made the full three they recommend! I had to be firm about meetings - people were understanding. It's a short time period in a woman's life when she has to do this. A company that stands by a woman's side while she takes care of her baby is a good company. Because only a short while later (a 6-9 months typically) - it's over and she's back to working and probably more loyal and grateful to the company for it.

Basically I would do before lunch around 10 or 11 and another one around 2-3. I usually ate lunch at my desk so that I wouldn't lose so much work time. I also sometimes took my laptop with me and worked while I pumped - BUT they say you don't get as much milk that way. Supposedly you are supposed to be looking at pictures of your baby and you get more milk. One of my co-workers recommended reading trashy magazines.