Breastfeeding - I think its my new hobby.

Breastfeeding is a reality I never thought of while pregnant.  

I was too focused on keeping myself and the baby inside me healthy, giving birth, budgeting, picking a hospital etc etc..  I thought it would come naturally, didn’t think of how long I would breastfeed my baby and never knew that there are so many technicalities to it.  The proper hold, the proper latch, pumping, what to eat and vitamins to take and so on..

I’ve been back at work for about a month now and am proud to say my 2 month old baby is exclusively breastfed =)  Well, almost exclusively.  We give him 4 ounces of S26 Gold everyday just so he can still get whatever nutrients and extra formulated growth boosters formula may have.  This is at the insistence of my mother and hubby.  I was overruled.

Direct breastfeeding was no walk in the park for me, my nipples got sore. Feeding time was painful but necessary and I had to do it 8 to 12 times a day?!  Plus kiddo is impatient, and once frustrated that the milk takes so long to come out or he doesn’t get enough he would beat at my breast while suckling and crying.  It broke my heart to see him frustrated.  Of course, he probably got impatient because he got used to feeding from bottles and the milk comes out so much easier from those.  Doctors call this nipple confusion.  Kiddo was formula fed alternately for about a week after being born since my milk didn’t seem to be enough and I was exhausted from lack of sleep. 

As a compromise for my impatient little boy, sore nipples and determination to breast feed I started expressing my milk.  I read about all the benefits of breastfeeding and want my son to get all that for at least a year.  I also read up on pumping and figured that since I’d be going back to work soon I might as well start and get him used to breast milk out of a bottle.

This is the first pump we got:

Here's a First Years bottle after a pumping session:

Brand: The First Years – 1,399.00

Includes: 2 bottles with storage caps, 3 pieces disposable milk bags, and the pump itself.  No spare parts included.

Pros: Cheap at under 1,500.00 at Rustans, SM or Robinson’s.  It does the job and expresses milk efficiently and painlessly.

Cons:  Pump is not compatible with other bottles.  The rubber diaphragm thingy falls out if it gets wet, usually when I try to shake it to get the milk drops on the shells to drip into the bottle.  Also, since it’s a manual pump my fingers hurt after about a week of using this 8 times a day.  I figured I would get used to this though.

From conversations with work buddies I knew an electric pump was expensive.  My first search led me to sites selling Medela Pumps which I never even considered.  I’ve heard they’re very good but I just can’t bring myself to spend almost 20k  for well.. anything.  Talk about stingy right?  Anyway, my persistence paid off when I found babymama.ph.  I bought the cheapest double electric pump on her site for 4,200.00 after much research on reviews, pondering, presenting my case to hubby and computing that at the rate the little kiddie was consuming milk we’d recover the pump’s cost in 2 to 3 months.  Plus kiddie would be breastfed!

My electric pump:

 

Brand: Spectra – 6,200 (Includes shipping and I ordered a handsfree bra since it was discounted with the purchase of any pump.

Includes: From babymama.ph this included shipping, a handsfree bra, the electric pump, 2 breast shields, tubing, 2 sets of filters, an extra pair of rubber diaphragm thingies, 3 milk storage bags, a sample tea bag of Mother’s Milk Tea and a freezer pack.

Pros: I love this pump.  The price was reasonable.  It cuts my pumping time in half since it expresses milk from both breasts simultaneously and the suction’s intensity is adjustable so you can work on a lower setting to help let-down then move on up.  Its relatively quiet, you can hear it but its not bothersome.  Its small and pretty compact. I just love not having to use my finger to pump at night.  Its hard enough to stay awake.

Cons: I wanted to use this in the office as well as at home but it was just too cumbersome to lug it around with the breast shields (which I stored in a lock and lock food keeper hence increasing the bulk).  Also, since there are 2 breast shields for simultaneous pumping, it meant more parts to wash.

Here are all the stuff the pump came with:

 

The bra has holes in it for the breast shields and lets you do other things while pumping.  I compress my breasts to get the milk out though so my hands are still pretty busy.

Since it was such a hassle to tote around my electric pump, I started using my manual First Years pump at work.  I pump 6 times a day, 3 during the day and 3 at night.  My hands didn’t hurt anymore since I‘d pump manually for just 3 times but then.. 

I spotted the pump below at Landmark:

Brand: Helio – 1,495.00

Pros: Cheap! Very convenient to bring, it can be used with a power adapter or 2 AA batteries!  Its cute too.

Cons: Painful if you don’t know how to use it.  It only sucks and doesn’t release.  The user has to press on a release button periodically.  Once you get this down to pat though, its really convenient to use.  I also feel like it doesn’t express milk as well as the Spectra.  I prefer my manual pump over this.

It doesn’t end there.  Expressing the milk is just the first step, since I pump when at work too, I needed to figure out how to store and transport my milk without it going stale.  Breastmilk really is like liquid gold, I remember almost crying when a drop or two would spill.

I bought this for 1,450.00  from Groupon:

 

It’s a portable refrigerator!  Of course, given the size and cost its more of a cooler than a refrigerator.  It only cools 20 degrees lower than ambient temperature.  This is enough though until I can bring the milk home and put it in a real refrigerator.  It's not noticeable on my work desk either =)

I transport my milk in this:

I got this Biokips insulated lunch bag for about 500.00 on sale at Market Market.  It fits 6 regular 4 oz bottles or 4 of the First Years squatty bottles and a freezer pack.  Both the First Years pump and the Helio Pump fit into the bottom compartment.  Its light and keeps my milk cool on my 2 hour trip home.  I can even swing by the mall or get a manicure before going home without worrying about the milk.

My little kiddie consumes about 18 ounces of milk while I’m at work and another 8 ounces when I get home.  Milk I bring home from work gets refrigerated for consumption the following day while milk I express at night gets stocked in the freezer to add to the daytime stock as needed.   Maximum time my milk is frozen is just 3 days then its consumed and replaced by new milk.

Here’s my first tray:

I refrigerate my milk on this tray since it makes it easier for yaya to get milk as its arranged by the order it has to be consumed.

I’m happy to say my yield has increased steadily =)  I went from 20 ounces to about 30 ounces in 2 months.  I actually have a lot of excess milk stocked in the freezer so I’ve stopped trying to increase my yield by dropping 1 pumping session so I only do 5 a day.  I also cut back on taking Malunggay capsules from 3 capsules a day to 2 capsules.  So far my milk production has not decreased but remained at 30 ounces.  If it drops I might pick up on the Malunggay again.  Meanwhile, I’m thinking of donating milk if I produce even more than I do now despite the decreased pumping  and herb supplement.  Also my milk comes out easier now so I only pump for about 15 minutes now compared to the 20 to 25 minutes during my first month.