Life of a Pumpaholic

I've been wanting to write a post about my experience so far with breastfeeding pumping and bottle feeding the boys. I always had intentions of tandem breastfeeding, that was, until the boys were born and Wesley had to go into the NICU. I tried maybe 3 times to breastfeed Ethan but he was just too small (4 pounds 13 ounces) and my boob was just too big (roughly 800 pounds). I had to pump in order to get milk for Wesley in the NICU so that was when I decide to just become an exclusive pumper. It's what made sense for our situation. It made me SO mad (and still does, because people still bring it up) whenever someone would say "Why don't you try again with breastfeeding? It's the best thing for them." That's when I would get super frusturated because to me, breastmilk is breastmilk whether they get it directly from the breast or via a bottle. We are still able to bond and snuggle and make eye contact, just like if I had chosen to breastfeed.

 I could not imagine breastfeeding two babies and then pumping afterwards in order to get a freezer supply built up incase I ever wanted to go anywhere minus two little munchkins. I run the roads a lot. What if they got hungry in the middle of a roadtrip? Much more convenient to feed them via bottles in the car, while Paul drives, than to have to pull off and breastfeed in the car. Or when we went out to eat. What if they were both hungry at the same time? Can you imagine trying to tandem feed in a chair, at the table, while trying to eat my lunch! With me pumping, it means that if we are, say, at a family gathering, one of my aunts will take one baby and my mom (or another aunt) will take another baby, and I get to eat with BOTH hands!! It is much less stressful for me knowing that I don't have to be their only source of (immediate) food.

Here is how we go about our day: The boys wake up anywhere between 7 and 9 (depending on when they went to bed the night before and how many times they woke up during the night). They each drink a bottle-5 ounces. If Paul is home, he will feed a baby and I will feed the other one, but if he is at work, I prop them side by side on a pillow and feed them at the same time while I pump. They usually don't drink their morning bottle at the same time because they wake up at different times. Anyway, since I kill two birds with one stone and pump/feed at the same time, it only takes about 20-25 minutes from start to finish. I have two sets of pump parts so one is always on my bed stand and one on the dryer rack in the kitchen. Throughout the day I just continue to pump when they eat. I refrigerate whatever I get (usually about 10-12 ounces per session) but I keep the supper time pump production at room temperature (it is goof for 6-8 hours sitting out) so that I can feed them during the night without having to heat up a bottle.

Here are a few pumping/milk production tips that I have learned so far:
1) For the first three months I rented the hospital-grade pump, Medela Symphony, to help establish my supply. I was not only producing enough for both boys but also freezing an additional 20-30 ounces.
2) I have since switched to the Medela Pump in Style (which has a battery pack for on the go) and only there may have been a slight decrease in supply since switching, this is a great pump that I would highly recommend.
3) Make sure to get at least one pump session between the hours of midnight and 4 am. This is when prolactin levels are at its peak and I usually produces almost twice as much during this time!
4) Massage your breasts while pumping-sounds silly but it really works! I would say it increases production by about 10-15%.
5) Continue to pump a minute or two after you no longer see milk being produced, as you may get a second letdown.
6) In the beginning, to establish your supply, make sure to pump in between feedings. Breastmilk is all about supply and demand. You demand it, your body will supply it!!
7)I have just started taking Fenugreek supplements. I can't say if it has increased my supply yet, but it does make me smell like maple syrup!
8) I also made a batch of lactation cookies. Again, I don't think I've been eating them long enough to notice a difference yet, but I will enjoy their deliciousness in the meantime!
9) Freeze any extra you can! This will ensure "back-up" if you ever want to go out for an extended period of time, or if you get sick and production temporarily goes down, or any unforeseen situations like that.

Now don't get me wrong, pumping is SUPER annoying and hard, especially at 2 in the morning when all I want to do is go back to bed but I have to go downstairs and clean my pump parts and put any extra milk in the fridge. Here's how I look at it tho. I would be pretty selfish if I "just didn't feel like it" because it was too much of a hassle. If I know my body can do it, then I'm going to stick with it!! If I can give them what is best for them, then I definitely will!! (Plus, breastmilk is free-I would hate to see how much it costs to exclusively feed two babies formula!) I will only pump for a year, and in the grand scheme of things, that's not that long-especially since I'm almost half-way done (exciting but sad because that means my babies are 5 months
old!!)

Super excited to be able to deliver my first tube of milk to Wesley in the NICU!!

Lactation Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups of oats (steel cut if you can)
1 package of chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 1 cup but I love my chocolate!!)
5 heaping tablespoons of brewer's yeast (this is the key ingredient)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350
2) Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 5 minutes
3) Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.
4) Add eggs and mix well.
5) Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
6) Sift together flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, and salt.
7) Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
9) Scoop onto greased baking sheet
10) Bake for 10-12 minutes (my oven took 10 minutes)
11) Let sit for a couple of minutes and place on cooling rack.
* This recipe made 4 dozen cookies *