nervous about returning to school and pumping

So as of Feb 1st, I am back to school full time during the day and can no longer do my classes from home. The plan is to pump and Cody is going to be staying home with the kids during the day.
I don't really know what I'm supposed to do though. I'm extreeeeeemly nervous about my supply diminishing and really really nervous about nipple confusion. Since he's going to be about 3 months old, I hope bfing will be well enough established that he won't get nipple confusion.
Do I need to pump while I'm at school? I have no clue how much milk there should be left for Cody (I'm thinking I'm going have to build up a big supply and freez it before hand). Do I need to have a really high grade pump so my supply won't go down? I know nothing works as efficiently as a baby, which is why I'm so scared.

 

How long will you be gone for in the day?

 

i'm still not sure what my schedual is going to be...I know for sure at least from about 10 am till 2 pm, but there is still one class that isn't on our schedual yet that I'm registered for. I may have to either be there eariler in the morning or later in the afternoon, unless the class falls over lunch, in which case, it'll still be 10 till 2.

 

First off, I want to say, don't be nervous! Everything is going to work out fine. You won't be away from him all that much, and he'll make up for all the lost time. Your milk supply will not diminish. Just pump once or twice while you are away. And continue to breastfeed him on demand when you are home. If you do have to buy a high grade pump, think of how much money it will save you in the long run by pumping rather than giving him expensive and UNNATURAL formula....you can do this! I know you can! I found some good info on both these sites. Talk to your local LLL, they will also be able to give you lots of info and support.

Good info here

and here

 

Oh 4 hours should be fine... I had to work 40 hr a wk in 8-10hr shifts starting when my youngest was 4ish months old(prob what you and ur hubby are doing right? switching back and forth...). The hubby stayed home and fed her what I pumped and all was fine.

 

I pumped before work and once a day at work (16 oz each pumping, 8 from each breast per pumping). I did this for the first 6 months. I was working 8 hour shifts. Manny would drink between 16-24 oz during that 8 hour time. I froze the excess milk... always had about 10 jars in the freezer. After 6 months I quit pumping as much, as he wasn't drinking as much.

If you are planning to be gone for 4 hours, thats about 2 feedings you will miss. I would feed him before you leave, and have enough milk thawing in the fridge for 2-3 more feedings... better to have too much than not enough thawed!

I had a medula pump, actually, I had two of them so I could pump both breasts at the same time. I found the key with pumping is to relax, so I always brought a magazine or book to read... Parenting mags worked well as all those baby pictures and thinking about Manny stimulated the let down reflex.

No point worrying about it now! You have months until it will become an issue, so don't get worked up before you have to.

I would introduce a bottle a bit before hand to him though... just so you will know if he'll take it. Some kids need to be convinced to take a bottle. Manny didn't want to take it in the begining, we had to try for about a week before he would take it. Better to make sure than for Cody to be faced with a child who won't take the bottle and you being at school!

Manny also had no problems with nipple confusion. He knew what a breast was, and would rather have his milk right from the cow, so to speak... but also knew that if there was no breast to suckle he better just take the bottle!

You'll do fine! Don't worry honey!

 

are there nipples you can buy that are harder for him to get the milk out of? We used those gerber ones with lea lea and they really flowed, but since she was forumla fed, it wasn't a big deal. I thought if he still had to work to get the milk out, there would be less chance of confusion.
I was also thinking about using a dropper, but depending how much he's eating at a time that might take a while and make him frustrated... I dunno...
I have been looking at pumps... I need to check some more stores, but so far I have only found an electric medella single pump, a double first years pump, and a double lansonhil pump. medella seems to be the most reliable, so i really want to find a good one.
Iced tea, how long did it take to pump?

 

there are a TON of different nipples out there on the market. There are even nipples designed for primarily breast fed babies. There are whole bottle systems that are so good now that the milk flows pretty much exactly like it does from the breast, leading to less confusion on the babies end.

It would take me between 15-30 minutes to pump. 15 if I was relaxed, 30 if I was stressed out or thinking about other things.

I will do a quick internet search to find the names of those nipple/bottle systems.

 

Breastflow bottles

I've heard good things about these....

 

Avent makes a whole system designed for breastfeeders. Obviously you should get newborn nipples.. lol. My son Manny prefers 3 month old nipples even now that he is 15 months old. He likes to have to work for the milk as opposed to having in fall into his mouth, but its the sucking action he likes I think.

they also have a "slow flow" nipple.

here is a internet article about choosing the best bottle for your breastfed baby:
http://www.epinions.com/content_2282856580

 

thanks for the links! I just read the one about choosing the best nipple, and there was a link at the bottom that was for the best breast pump, too.
I also went searching on the net and found the double electric medella at sears for $350! YEY finally!
Where did u get urs icedtea, and how much did u pay for urs?

 

i was actually given 4 medella motors by my cousin/sister type thing. She used them after going back to work (she is a nurse) while nursing both of her kids. They were old, but they were free... and since it was just the motors I was able to get the parts that touch the breast and the milk from a medella agent. In the end, i think it cost me about $75.

 

oh, wow, lol, wish I had some connections like that lol
i don't mind shelling out the $350 for it, tho, since I would still like to have more kids after I'm done university and it would be used for a long time

 

Yeah, we will be buying a pump for the next one (thinking of starting to try again in February). The motors were old, so they all died on me...almost wish we would have just bought one the first time. But oh well. You will definetly get your money out of the $350 one!

 

With my son, my plan was go back to work full time and pump. But he had other plans. I started introducing a bottle at 3 weeks old, he would scream. I continued trying every day with every bottle and nipple on the market (even the one shaped like a boob) and he wouldn't take any of them. When he was 12 weeks, I returned to work. He was with my mom and she tried the bottle, but he just cried and cried until I got home. I ended up working from 7-10, go home and nurse, 11-2, go home and nurse, then from 3-5. It was awful. I did it for two months then quit my job. I know people swear up and down about nipple confusion, but I think babies are smarter than that and know exactly what they want. I don't know if it is a boy thing, but I stopped trying to give him a bottle at 5 months old. I swore that with my second, I'd introduce a bottle on day one. Of course, I didn't and she nursed exclusively for 10 months, but she was an easy baby that went back and forth between breast and bottle easily.

Good luck, I just wanted you to know that there is a such thing as just flat out refusing the bottle. This I did not know before I had the problem and just was not able to work. If you will only be gone 4 hours, he will probably be fine waiting for the boob.

 

i'm really hoping he won't refuse. my paycheck is the one that supports us...and as much as I love my husband, he's bad with not keeping a job. We have gotten into more debt than I would like because he either doesnt want to go to work or quits within a month or so. So I really have no choice, if you know what I mean. I am praying and praying he won't refuse it...I think I'm more afraid of that than then nipple confusion!