Breastfeeding Resources

In the weeks since my last post, I've had a lot to think about. Should I give up pumping during the day and introduce formula? Should I hang in there for six more weeks til my son's a year old and I can replace breast milk with cow's milk?

My child care provider, a stay-at-home-mom who was caring for Aaron Tuesdays and Thursdays, quit last week. Is finding new child care in a hurry the ultimate challenge of parenthood? It is slow going. Luckily, my neighbor coincidentally quit her job at the same time, and is taking over for the time being.

Now that I'm a semi-seasoned breastfeeding and working mom of a 7 1/2-month old, I thought it would be interesting to review some of my old posts and think back to what I thought, hoped, and feared in those early months.

Integrating the Pumping Me with the Working Me: My anxiety about pumping at work did ease over time. It's gotten very routine. Even though in the early days I felt like I had to stop working and relax while pumping, I now work straight through.

It's been a while since I last posted because things have been going just fine in the breastfeeding and working world. Breastfeeding with Aaron is a snap these days. He's pretty quick (typically less than 15 minutes) and flexible with places and positions. This period must be the reward for making it work early on. Sometimes I think I can feed Aaron faster than it would take to even prepare a bottle of formula.

My problem started about six or eight weeks after I went back to work, when Aaron was about four months old. The day care providers were using frozen milk to supplement what I brought. Whereas I had been pumping 10-12 ounces a day, now I only got 7-9 ounces. I don't think it was every day, and it took me a while to realize there was a definite trend. I was starting to wonder what to do about this when I opened the freezer and there was no stash--I hadn't even monitored how much we were going through.

I’ve been struggling for a few months with milk supply problems. For now, things are going well. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned about how to approach the problem and finding a solution.

I find it fascinating how different women fit breastfeeding into their work. Their personal stories inspire me and help me think creatively about my arrangements. Here’s the specs on a few women I know.

Isn’t it interesting how everything’s worse on Fridays? By Friday my defenses are all used up and the stress and raw emotion of everything hits me much harder. Last Friday I was so down about my pumping supply. It obsessed me all day long. Maybe I should just buy some formula and give myself a break. Is all the stress really worth it? How long could I keep up under constant worry?

I was talking with my brother-in-law the other day about why it's important to him that his babies are breastfed. (Did I mention I come from a well-informed family?) And I realized that although we all have the same set of macro reasons that drive us, we prioritize them differently. So, inspired by a similar list in The Milk Memos, here's a list of what I love about breastfeeding.