Wednesday, January 06, 2010, 05:37
Expressed BreastMilk & Regaining My Independance
When SS & I first decided that we would fully breastfeed Stevlynn, I was bent to do the minimum of 6 months (and more would be the added bonus), though of course the first 3 months at home was more of a breeze cuz i was always with her and basically needed just to focus on meeting her needs and demands throughout the day. Realistically this would not be possible once i go back to work, thus the planning for going back to work/regaining independence started at the same time we breastfed her.
We decided to hold off all formula milk and I'm PROUD to say till date, Stevlynn has not known what's formula milk.
After we got over this 'hurdle' we then decided to introduce the bottle no earlier than 5 weeks for her to establish good latching on and for my milk supply to be of a 'certain level'. This i'm also PROUD to say that we met this goal of ours. We introduced the bottle to her at 5 Weeks & 4 days with success! Since then she has been drinking her ungodly hours (between 2AM to 6AM) feeds with the bottle fed by SS, giving me my much needed sleep to 'recharge' But of course this means SS has to wake up to change her before feeding and putting her back to sleep. I then also got into the habit of waking up at the same time to express milk so as not to skip 1 latch on session - with the breast pump.
Next goal was to extend the bottle feed sessions to the day - which i started today, at 7 weeks old! Surprisingly she didn't refuse the bottle from me but i could sense that she was confused slightly as it was out of her routine and shortly after she asked for the breast which she latched for the next 5 minutes. (My mummy calls it latching on to the breast for 'satisfaction' & 'craving'). I on the other hand, continue to express out the 'feed' whilst she drank from the bottle :) Tiring and double work YES i agree, but much needed to get her adjusted well when i go back to work.
The next few goals are:
- Increasing the frequency of bottle feed sessions in the day
- Getting her new caregiver to give her the bottle (so that i can have my ME time without having to worry if she's fed)
- Introducing 1 feed of formula milk (FM) each day; preferably the last feed of the night. This is to aid weaning off the breast if i intend to so do prematurely before the timeline
- To continue to express milk each time she's fed with the bottle so that my body can continue to 'upkeep' the milk supply. (I am not trying to be lazy by bottle feeding her. In fact, i am doing double work, but all's worth it if it's for her well being)
