Older babysitter, questioning my nursing

[@llli*amysmom]

Please keep in mind that if she isn't following your direction, you may need to replace her with a more BF friendly sitter. It's a slippery slope. Sadly in some situations, by the time the sitter has been educated, the damage to Mom and her confidence has been done. Just keep it in the back of your mind.

Take those articles the other ladies gave you to the sitter and ask her to read them. Then arrange for a meeting to discuss them. If she seems excited about them and is buying into them, then move forward. If she's arguing the point, her unwillingness may be a sign that she's not a good fit.

[@llli*jaa-08]

I'm definitely going to pump 3 times a day from now on, hopefully my supply will pick up and hopefully it's something that can't be undone

[@llli*jaa-08]

I hope she will understand, the older people I have talked to mostly don't agree, they have the mindset of "well that's how we used to do it" and I tell my mother-in-law that we just know more now, it's not that they did it wrong, they just didn't have the information. I'm going to take her the articles, we will see...I really hate confrontation but when it comes to this (and starting him on rice) I have been very good at standing my ground.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

I'm definitely going to pump 3 times a day from now on, hopefully my supply will pick up and hopefully it's something that can't be undone

Definitely not something that can't be undone. It's supply and demand. Demand less, supply goes down. Demand more, supply goes up!
Good luck talking to your MIL. This is important!

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

You're doing a great job mama! You'll start to feel more confident in your decisions as time goes on. I actually found that if I pumped right when I got to work, even though it had only been an hour maybe since the baby nursed, that that worked out for me. So I pumped at 7:30 or 8 am, then around 10:30 or 11, and then at 3:00. I would nurse when I got home at 5:45ish.

[@llli*jaa-08]

You're doing a great job mama! You'll start to feel more confident in your decisions as time goes on. I actually found that if I pumped right when I got to work, even though it had only been an hour maybe since the baby nursed, that that worked out for me. So I pumped at 7:30 or 8 am, then around 10:30 or 11, and then at 3:00. I would nurse when I got home at 5:45ish.

Thanks for the encouragement and tips!

[@llli*jaa-08]

Definitely not something that can't be undone. It's supply and demand. Demand less, supply goes down. Demand more, supply goes up!
Good luck talking to your MIL. This is important!

That's good to know! I've heard horror stories of people "drying up" so I didn't want that to happen to me!

[@llli*mommal]

I've heard horror stories of people "drying up" so I didn't want that to happen to me!

When someone dries up, there's always a reason for it. They don't nurse or pump enough. They get pregnant. They use a form of hormonal contraception that's contraindicated for breastfeeding. They supplement with formula.

[@llli*maddieb]

It sounds like you are doing really well with nursing and the adjustment with pumping and back to work, which is really challenging stuff! Be strong mama. No one else knows what is better for your baby than you do. You are the expert on your baby.

It sounds like you are giving your caregiver about 12 ounces a day for a 10 hour separation? So that is right in the middle of the "suggested" 1 ounce to 1.5 ounce per hour amount for separations. So perfect. If you want to give your caregiver a couple "emergency" one ounce bottles, ok. But you want baby getting enough but not too much when away from you.

As a pp points out, baby does not need more breastmilk per day as baby gets bigger! Also it is normal for a baby to want more one day and less the next. Just like everyone else, a baby's daily appetite varies a bit.

If you are pumping twice during a 10 hour separation yes you probably want to add a pumping session if possible.

It would be great if the sitter can avoid giving baby a bottle if you are arriving soon. It can help to have baby ready to nurse when you get there, (assuming you can nurse baby right there, or in the car, comfortably.)

Basically you want to keep baby eating & comforting at the breast as much as possible. It CAN be hard sometimes to maintain good production when back at work and baby nursing lots when with you will help.

Yes as mommal points out, low milk production after good milk production is caused by something, usually something in a moms control. Anything that reduces normal frequency of nursing is best avoided. Too add to mommal's list, Sleep training, putting baby on a ‘schedule,’ too early or too fast introduction of solids and un-needed supplementation all may harm milk production over time.

This is a nice thing about breastfeeding for grandmothers. http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...sbreastfed.pdf

[@llli*dame]

Keeping the bottles small as long as you can is very good for preserving your nursing relationship. I have heard the scenario of mothers feeling pressure to send bigger bottles and later having a hard time keeping up once they start sending bottles that look more like the ones the formula fed babies are getting. Sometimes the baby is fed so much during the day that they nurse less when the two are together and the mother's supply goes down. Then she has an even harder time making the large bottles.