question about breastfeeding.?

Question

i'm a college student and i would really like to breastfeed my baby. I will probably only be taking 1-2 classes on campus after my baby is born and doing the others at home. it's not an option to do all at home i wish i could but the selection is very limited. anyways what are some tips so that i can keep breastfeeding my baby. i will probably have 6 weeks off to set up a schedule. the classes will be about an 1 a piece two times a week. will my baby be ok if i am gone for an hour? i plan on pumping but would prefer to breastfed. daddy will be taking care of our little boy while I'm gone. i plan on pumping and leave enough for bottles while I'm gone is this a good idea or should i just take baby with me to class? I really don't want to because he is due in January and it will be too cold outside for him.

i can take the baby with if i need to. the school generally allows it. most of the students are non-traditional. you just have to tell the professor before hand. i know when he is older i will probably end up taking him to a few classes.

Answer 1

He'll be fine with Dad. And that will give them the opportunity to bond. If you are gone for only an hour, I would plan my feedings around my school schedule. Feed him before you leave, and then he will be ready to eat agin after you get home. I did that with my lil one and it worked great. Making sure there is some milk at home is a good idea.

Answer 2

Pumping would be a good idea, and here is the trick I learned to make my life sooo much easier when I worked (8 hour days with baby at home with daddy)... pump one side while the baby nurses on the other.. whenever you can, whenever he/she eats and the situation permits, just let the milk that comes out of the other breast (because it WILL!!) when the baby is nursing go into storage... invest in some breastmilk storage bags and stock up the freezer. Have your Man thaw them in the fridge or in room temp to warm water. (not the micro!) This way, you will have a supply, and even if you feed before and after, and baby doean't eat while you are in class, you won't have to stress... Go to the library, get some HW done in peace.

Also, if you plan to be away for more than about 3 hours, it would be a good idea to bring a pump with you so you can avoid becomeing engorged. I took a Sat. morning class from 8-12 when my daugter was a 8 weeks, and I learned the hard way!! I could not concentrate, and I was leaking all over the place!!! LOL

Good luck, and don't give up!! breastfeeding is almost always easier (and ALWAYS CHEAPER and better for baby!) so you are doing the right thing.

Answer 3

My daughter was born in January as well...though it was cold, babies are easy to bundle up and keep covered, plus they have a lot of circulation and that fat to keep them warm too. I found that the younger the baby is the easier it is to take them places, especially to a class. She used to go to my college ballet class for two hours and they let me take breaks to nurse her and then she would just watch or be asleep, however a couple months later when I had a second session college class she was already more verbal and active even at that young stage. When my daughter was a newborn she ate every hour on the hour which is not that common, a lot of babies go anywhere from one and half to two or three hours. You could easily pump or express a little milk as a just in case, feed her right before you leave and not have any problems, I would say. Blessings!

Answer 4

Unless you top him off before you leave for school, pumping is your only other option. They usually dont allow babies in classes with you so that would be out of the question. You can pump after feedings and just start collecting milk for the times when you have to be away for a little longer and he gets hungrier more often. You wont be a bad mom for letting your baby drink breast milk out of a bottle every once in a while!

Answer 5

Leave him with the dad. It will be great for you to get a little break.

I breastfeed all 3 of my boys and honestly I recommend giving them bottles once a day. My husband always liked to feed the babies is how we got started with this. But it turned out to be the best thing we ever did. Alot of my friends could not leave their children for a year or more due to BF. But mine were perfectly happy with a bottle from their dad. Not that I left them all the time but going to the grocery is alot easier without a baby! Besides that, I think it was really great for my hubby and the boys bonding wise.

One more thing, I never had much luck pumping so the bottles were always formula. My kids would take bottle, breast, formula or breast milk.

Hope this helps. Best of luck to you and your family.

Answer 6

If you feed baby just before leaving, he will likely be fine until you return. However, if you will be gone for more than 2 hours, or if you find he doesn't nurse well before you leave, try pumping.

Just a note of precaution: not everyone can express milk well. It can take time for your body to adjust to the pump instead of baby, and although I have nursed 5 very well, I have never pumped more than 3 ounces at a time and I only did that once with my last little guy. I am a La Leche League member and have consulted with hospital lactation consultants, but for me pumping does not work.

SO, I carry my babies everywhere. If you get frustrated with pumping, carry your baby with you. All of my children love their father, but they spend 9-15 months with me before he ever keeps them alone. We both like it this way. He loves every moment they spend with him as older babies and children (oldest is 8), but he also thinks it is precious to watch our littles scramble for me (and my breasts) because of our "attachment". He's not jealous and he is not a bad father. Honestly, I think maybe that's the way God intended since moms are the ones with the milk that babies need. Of course that's just my opinion. :)

Answer 7

Schedule your feedings, so you breastfeed before you go and then the baby will be okay for 2-4 hours. Then come back and feed for the next meal.
You also have to concider that with the stress of school and baby, you may not produce enough of milk. Make sure you get rest, eat regularly and drink plenty of fluids. Make sure you pump, and there is something if the refrigerator for your baby, in case he gets hungry or you are held up.

Refer to the la leche league website for info on storage and handling of your pumped milk.
Good luck and congrats

Answer 8

pumping will be just fine, you are only going to be gone for a little while, a LOT of women go back to work afterwards and continues to breastfeed and pump, after your body adjusts to the class schedule you will see your milk production will go down while you are gone and then go back up when you two are together

pumping will ALSO be good for you because it will give you a BREAK and ALSO give DADDY a chance to do some MAJOR bonding too!

i tried VERY hard to breastfeed and ended up giving up because i couldn't do it right and no one would help me, but we had already decided that i would pump when i went back to work (didn't happen, I ended up getting thrush and while i tried to get rid of it, i dried up) and also pumping was going to help me to eat too, it seemed like everytime it was time for dinner my daughter would get hungry even if i fed her WHILE daddy was cooking, so i was eatting cold or reheated meals, when we switched to the bottle my fiance did all the bottle feeding during dinner. he had two kids she was his third (and my first) so he was already skilled in bottlefeeding and eatting a hot meal, lol!

now i am back to cold meals because even daddy goes "mommy I forgot my napkin" and as soon as i sit down our daughter (now two and a half) has to ask for the same question, don't ask me why i can't tell him to go get it himself, i just get it, lol


also you can't "schedule" breastfeeding, you feed on demand, with BOTTLE feeding you can make a schedule (even though we still fed on demand) because you can SEE how much he eats, when you breastfeed you don't KNOW how many ozs he just ate. With a bottle, you see he only drinks two ozs and normally drinks more he will probably get hungry again soon, or normally only drinks that then you know you have a little while with breastfeeding you CAN'T tell how many ozs he just drank

Answer 9

I too am a breastfeeding mother going to college! What I did was nurse my daughter right before and right after my classes. She never would take a bottle, and she was very good about waiting patiently up to two hours while I had to be away. It would be a good idea to leave dad with a bottle while you're away, dad's tend to panic with a crying baby, lol. Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 10

Your baby will be fine without you for a few hours as long as you have "pumped" enough milk for daddy.

Unless you absolutely have to, don't take your baby to class and subject your instructor and the rest of the class to watching you "nurture" your baby. Breast feeding may be a natural process for you; but, personally, I prefer not to see or hear someone "suckling".