How many 9-5 mothers have exclusively breastfed your babies without supplementing;?

Question

and how were you able to do it? I'm a nurse and will be working 12 hour shifts but only for 3 days out of the week and I don't think I will have enough pumped milk to feed my baby while I'm away. Is it ok for me to supplement, I'd feel like a horrible mother if I do. Gosh I feel like this whole breastfeeding thing is very addicting. =/

Answer 1

I am commenting on a comment from the person at the bottom of this list. She said not to worry about this whole breastfeeding thing, that todays formula is just as good as breast milk. That answer is totally wrong, there are lots of things that formula cannot give the baby, like antibodies and nutrients to stimulate the brain to make it grow. She thinks she knows-it-all because she has been feeding her 5 month old baby formula from the start and she has not had any problems. (not yet, bottle fed babies get more ear infections, more rotted teeth, and are prone to obesity and have a higher risk of getting diabetes) I am a mother of 6, the last two are twins, 19 months old and I am still nursing them. I have over 8 years of nursing experience, which means that I am breast cancer free. You only need 7 years total (not consecative years) in your life of nursing your babies and you will be breast cancer free. Only 14% of U.S. women nurse their babies, and breast cancer and other women cancers are on the rise. Is there a connection? YES!!!! Getting back to your question......start pumping now, you can feed your baby on one breast and pump the other one at the same time. I did this in the beginning when my twins were first born, and because the baby stimulated my milk coming in, it made the pump bottle fill up fast with milk. You can store breast milk in the freezer too. Just be sure to label it with the date and reheat it correctly. No microwaving. Could it be possible for the person who is taking care of your baby while you are at work to bring your baby to you on your lunch break and you could nurse then? Or maybe you can make a pit stop at home if you were close enough? You can do it girlfriend!! Just because it's going to be tough, doesn't mean that it can't be done. You just need to plan this out good.

Answer 2

I exclusively breastfed my twins even though I worked full time for a few months. Here's a few thoughts:

1. Start pumping now so that you can start freezing a supply of milk. Milk lasts up to 6 months in the freezer. Start by pumping about 20 minutes every morning when most women have the "best supply".

2. Make sure you have a good quality electric pump. I used the Medela Pump In style. I highly recommend the car attachment no matter the type of pump. I used to use the "rubber band method" of handsfree pumping (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/hands-free-pumping.html) and would pump on the way to work and on the way home from work. It saved alot of time and made sure that I had enough milk to leave for the next day.

3. I have a friend who is a nurse and the mother of twins and she worked 3 twelve hours shifts each week and successfully breastfed/pumped. You can do this! :-)

4. You will not be a horrible mother if your baby ends up taking a bottle of formula here and there. I had a can of "emergency" formula that I left with my child care provider in the event that there wasn't enough milk available. There was a day where the babies must have been going through a growth spurt or we didn't pack as much milk as we were supposed to and they ended up taking a bottle of formula each. It didn't kill them and it didn't make me a horrible mother. You're awesome just for breastfeeding and working full time!!

Good luck and congrats on your baby!

Answer 3

I think my sister did -- she's an accountant who works long hours too. She got a breast pump, and she had *tons* of milk. The more you pump, the more you make. I think she had to throw away literally gallons that she had pumped and froze.

The important thing is to make sure you get regular breaks where you can pump, have a snack and a drink, and relax a little. You can do this!

And if you have to supplement, it's OK. I was very against supplementing my own kids, but from this perspective, I didn't have any scientific reason for opposing it. Breast is best, but some breast is better than no breast -- and supplementing is much better than letting your baby go hungry.

But I really don't think that will happen. The pump is amazing -- the human body is TOTALLY amazing! Give it a try. But if it doesn't work -- you are not a horrible mother! It's really OK! (-: But I really think it will work. Don't worry -- it's bad for your milk supply (-:.

Answer 4

When my first was born, I had to go back to work when he was 15 weeks. Thankfully, that was long enough that my supply was very well established.

Another really lucky thing was that he was always with family when we were separated. My hubby mostly worked days and I mostly worked nights and weekends. Hubby would meet me at work to pick up our son or I'd take him to Grandma or Aunt for a couple of hours until Dad could get him.

Anyway, most of the time I didn't work such long days. Typically, I worked 4-6 hours most of the time, but occasionally on the weekend it was 12 hour days. I pumped while I was at work and was always able to get enough that we never had to supplement. On the weekends, if I worked in the 8-12 hour range, my hubby would bring him to me at work on my break so we could nurse at least once. And I sometimes woke him up to nurse shortly after I got home so I wouldn't have to pump again.

Figure out where you'll be able to pump and hopefully those around you at work will be supportive. My SIL used to work as a L&D/NICU nurse. Her hubby also brought the baby to her to nurse at work sometimes if she had a long shift. She did end up weaning earlier than she wanted to because it was hard as a nurse with patients to care for to get her breaks at reliable times to pump often enough.

Good luck to you! I hope you can make it work out. Every single drop of breastmilk is such a huge benefit for your little one!

ETA:
There is no reason to give vitamin D drops if your child gets enough sunshine. Vitamin D supps are really only necessary if your child is very dark skinned or never sees the sun.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/vitamin-d.html

Answer 5

you should start pumping now to build up your supply and leave a fridge full of milk, maybe you could mix breas milk with some formula the first few weeks while you get enough milk stored up. check out this site www.kellymom.com its a great resource for breastfeeding moms... also wanted to say congs and great work on breastfeeding... not enough women get support... oh also depending on your state you should be allowed and in fact provided a space to pump while at work along with a place to store your pumped milk. good luck. wish i had more info to offer you.

Answer 6

Relax on the whole breast feeding thing ,yes it is the "best" for your baby but there really is nothing to worry about when it comes to formula it is all fortified with everything baby needs and you can bond by holding the baby while feeding and supplementing is great because both you and your baby get the best of both and maybe you wouldn't have to give Vitamin D drops because it would already be in the formula. You can even get gentle formulas easy to digest like carnation so that there is no tummy problems with the changes. My daughter is now five months and she has been on carnation from the beginning and she does not spit up she never has much gas ( no pains) and she burps and poops quite well similar to breast milk, I just couldn't breast feed I realize that now a days it is just not that nessessary, I have talk to a lot of older women and they say if they had babys now they wouldn't go through the whole thing again and breast feed! so you should pat your self on the back for still wanting to breast feed. I really hope this Helped. Good Luck!

Answer 7

HI!
I EXCLUSIVELY BREASTFED BOTH MY CHILDREN WHILE WORKING 13.5 HR SHIFTS 3 DAYS A WEEK! YOU DONT HAVE TO SUPPLEMENT, HOWEVER THAT IS PREFERENTIAL. PRIOR TO GOING BACK TO WORK, I PUMPED AND SAVED AWAY FROZEN MILK IN THE FREEZER IN THE RESEALABLE MILK BAGS (THEYRE LIKE ZIPLOCKS BY GERBER) AND LABELLED THEM WITH DATES. ITS S/B GOOD FOR AROUND 6MOS. HOWEVER YOU'LL PROBABLY USE EARLIER THAN THAT.
I PUMPED DURING MY 3 15MIN. BREAKS AND MY LUNCH BREAK (30MINS) THATS FOUR TIMES DURING MY SHIFT. I WAS ADAMANT ABOUT IT AND STUCK BY IT. BETWEEN MGMT AND I, WE DESIGNATED AN AREA WHERE I COULD DO THIS IN PRIVATE. THE MORE YOU PUMP, THE MORE YOU PRODUCE. IF YOU FEEL FULL IN BETWEEN FEEDINGS, PUMP! :) I LOVED BREASTFEEDING, AND THE BEST THING ABOUT PUMPING AT WORK, IS THAT IT WAS VERY RELAXING.........GOOD LUCK,

Answer 8

the medela pump in sort is a huge pump i've got heard, yet I lease one from the scientific institution. The scientific institution grade pumps are in simple terms like the terrific ones made. do no longer supply up, i comprehend it particularly is problematic, as I do pump solely, yet in simple terms think of approximately how great that's on your toddler. And btw, maximum states have regulations approximately bf mothers that they could supply you a minimum of a fifteen minute injury to pump.

Answer 9

I would either go home on my breaks or I would have who ever was sitting that day bring my daughter in to my work. I also pumped and stored if there was no way to get to her.