Dont know how this isngoing to work

[@llli*shelly3578]

So i started back to work this week, pumping 3 times during the day and nursing when i go home. My 6 week old had a routine of basically nursing all day with little to no naps and sleeping at night with a couple feeds at night and back to sleep. I was afraid of how she would take all day with bottle and me coming home to nurse but she surprised me. That was great news. So saturday every time i nursed her she would sleep forma few hours (not usual for her) wake up nurse and go back to sleep. I had an idea that she would wake up alot in the night, and it was true. She woke up to nurse almost ever 1.5 hours and stayed up from 3-4:30 crying, pushing off at my breast, frustrated cos there wasnt much milk. Im assuming my supply wasnt up to par because shendoesnt usually wake up to feed much at night. I dont know i can do this on week night when i have to wake up at 6:30am!! :/

[@llli*mommal]

Sounds like your baby might be reverse cycling (see http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/reverse-cycling/). It often happens when mom is away at work, and baby spends the nighttime hours trying to reconnect with her. What fun!

How has your pump output at work been, and how many oz is baby taking at daycare?

[@llli*debbers]

So i started back to work this week, pumping 3 times during the day and nursing when i go home. My 6 week old had a routine of basically nursing all day with little to no naps and sleeping at night with a couple feeds at night and back to sleep. I was afraid of how she would take all day with bottle and me coming home to nurse but she surprised me. That was great news. So saturday every time i nursed her she would sleep forma few hours (not usual for her) wake up nurse and go back to sleep. I had an idea that she would wake up alot in the night, and it was true. She woke up to nurse almost ever 1.5 hours and stayed up from 3-4:30 crying, pushing off at my breast, frustrated cos there wasnt much milk. Im assuming my supply wasnt up to par because shendoesnt usually wake up to feed much at night. I dont know i can do this on week night when i have to wake up at 6:30am!! :/

While I can't tell you I feel refreshed and rested everyday at work, things do vary over time and there are things I do to get more rest. You may not like what I have to say as it's not exactly convenient to life.
1. Up until about 6 months old, when I got home from work, I nursed immediately. If possible I changed my clothes quickly, but if she was hungry I nursed. This often left me unable to do anything, including wash up for bed. I'd typically have to wait till she was good and full and pass her to DH so I could wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I was back to attending to her.
2. Not only do we co-sleep, I go to bed with her by 8:30PM. This is previously when she was younger as well as now when she's 9.5 months. I try to get her down earlier (by 7:30) and she sleeps on me - or DH. But I'm in that bed by 8:30. She nurses a lot through the night most nights and when we side lie, I often doze or sleep through it. I typically am awake by 5/5:30AM. If she will sleep with DH I work out at home. If she won't, I lay in bed till 6 or 6:30 letting her sleep and dream feed so she is well rested.

Obviously this takes a great partnership with DH - or if he's not around - great planning. Like I will have food divided up into containers in the fridge that I can just remove and heat and eat. I can't remember the last time I chewed my food. Even at work I have to remember to slow down when I eat.

Net net I pretty much sacrificed my evenings, mornings, whatever it took. If you spend enough time contemplating it and reading on this forum, you realize how special and precious this time is and that it's a for now thing, not forever. I can tell you I vividly remember being up in the middle of the night, sometimes all night, and wondering how I was going to make it through work. But it is SO much better and so much more fun now. For example sometimes when I come home she's not hungry yet. So we play in her nursery, go for a walk in the stroller or I put her in her high chair and I cook or do stuff in the kitchen (including prepping for the next day).

You're not alone and you will make it work. I even do a little celebration in my head every month over the achievement of EBF. Between being a mom to DD (and 3 dogs and 2 cats), a wife, a working woman and a breastfeeding mom to boot, I feel a lot of pride in keeping it all going.

[@llli*shelly3578]

Thanks debbers for those encouraging words. Its hard but well worth the health and bonding benefits. I bfd my son for little over 2 years. This newest edition is a little more difficult than the other! Lol
Im pumping around 11-14 oz for 8 hrs while im gone. Baby is taking 12 oz from bottle, but this is before any of this reverse cycling started. Maybe its just a coincedence. We shall see tonight....

[@llli*shelly3578]

Last night wasnt as bad...fewer times waking up to nurse. She didnt sleep much while imwas gone (3-4 hrs total). Took 11 ounces of ebm. I pumped the most ive ever pumped today (20 ounces). When i got home i nursed her, she took a little 30 minute nap, woke up to nurse and she sucked sucked sucked and hardly anything milk came out on both breasts. I tried for 45 minutes in between her crying, kicking and fussing until i gave her 2 oz bottle. She didnt seem satisfied with that until i nursed her to sleep just now. I should also note that my boyfriend told me she is fussing at the bottle, crying during the day..just started this today. I really want to up my supply for when i come home to her. Im worried to pump while she is sleeping to increase supply because she may wake up and she will wake up to "empty breasts"....maybe this will all level out soon. I hope so.

[@llli*maddieb]

You were able to pump 20 ounces in one day at work and you think you have low supply!??

woke up to nurse and she sucked sucked sucked and hardly anything milk came out on both breasts.

I don't believe it. It does not make sense. Not in the same day you were able to pump 20 ounces. A mom does not have a ton of milk all day and then NONE a few hours later. It's just not how milk production works.

Do you think it is possible your baby is having normal behavior changes/reactions due to developmental age (prime time for 'colic' aka, bouts of baby being difficult to console) plus the adjustment to you going back to work and being fed bottles part of the day? These are monumental changes in your life and the life of your baby, and for your boyfriend as well. It is going to take time for everyone to settle down and get used to it.

Your breasts are never empty. Fussiness at the breast has many causes, one of the most unlikely would be not enough milk in the breast. I strongly suggest to not give your baby any bottles when you are home. You want to (gently) encourage baby to nurse as often as possible when you are home.

Is your boyfriend baby's usual caregiver? These tips may help him. http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...astfedbaby.pdf
http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...ybabyideas.pdf

[@llli*korovamilkbar]

I've mentioned this a few times on this forum because it's so fresh in my head... the 6 week mark was absolute BFing hell for me and my LO. That growth spurt was such a challenge and I would have thought I wasn't producing enough milk if I hadn't known that it was a normal phase of BFing. DS nursed and fussed constantly and the fact that your LO is also fussing at the bottle could indicate that that's what's going on. I know a lot of mamas give up at 6 weeks because they think they aren't producing, but that simply isn't so. Your LO is phasing from newborn to infant and will probably grow seemingly overnight. I would resist the urge to give a bottle when you're home as this is a time that your baby is helping establish your infant supply.

When DS constantly fussed it often helped to take a breather - diaper change, hand off to daddy, walk around the house - for BOTH of our sanity. Then back to the breast he went.

[@llli*korovamilkbar]

Let me add that I also think DS nursed constantly during growth spurts for comfort as well as food. He just seemed uncomfortable and I'd wonder if his body felt sore from all the growth. Just a thought.

[@llli*debbers]

You were able to pump 20 ounces in one day at work and you think you have low supply!??
I don't believe it. It does not make sense. Not in the same day you were able to pump 20 ounces. A mom does not have a ton of milk all day and then NONE a few hours later. It's just not how milk production works.

Do you think it is possible your baby is having normal behavior changes/reactions due to developmental age (prime time for 'colic' aka, bouts of baby being difficult to console) plus the adjustment to you going back to work and being fed bottles part of the day? These are monumental changes in your life and the life of your baby, and for your boyfriend as well. It is going to take time for everyone to settle down and get used to it.

Your breasts are never empty. Fussiness at the breast has many causes, one of the most unlikely would be not enough milk in the breast. I strongly suggest to not give your baby any bottles when you are home. You want to (gently) encourage baby to nurse as often as possible when you are home.

Is your boyfriend baby's usual caregiver? These tips may help him. http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...astfedbaby.pdf
http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...ybabyideas.pdf

I know for me, every possibly fussy period, growth spurt etc you read about has been part of our live, sometimes lasting days, sometimes weeks. We always get through em and just wait for the next one.