Operation Feed Maggie
I made the decision to breast feed my baby. I, also, made the decision to work outside of my home. These two decisions create a lot of work for Tony and I, but the benefits for Maggie are definitely worth the effort.
I leave Maggie at day care each morning after her breakfast at 6:45. I leave 3 bottles for her each day with about 4 ounces in each bottle. Since I went back to work when she was six weeks old the amount in each bottle has slowly increased from 2 to 4.
After I leave her, I drive to the park and ride and hop on my bus with my pumping supplies. At work I pump 3 to 5 times depending on how much free time I have. I pump in a storage closet near to my cubicle. I double pump which is supposed to help maintain my supply. This was a tricky skill to learn, but now I can accomplish the double pump with one hand. My other hand is then free to talk on the phone or work on paper work. Each pumping session yields between 2 and 3 ounces. By the end of the day I usually have between 8 and 10 ounces. I carry the milk home in a soft sided cooler with freezer packs.
While we're apart Maggie usually only drinks two bottles. The third bottle is back up in case something happens and I can't pick her up at the normal time (between 4 and 4:30). She consumes an average of 8 ounces each day from the bottle. That means the remaining ~20 ounces she eats comes direct from the source.
When I pick her up, we usually nurse at the day care before we leave. This gives us a chance to reconnect after our hours apart. She's not necessarily very hungry at this time, just happy to see Mama. I throw her empty bottles into the diaper bag, and we head home.
Once we reach home, preparations for the next day begin. The fresh milk from the day is removed from the cooler and put in the refrigerator. The freezer packs are put in the freezer. The used bottles for the day are rinsed and put in the dishwasher. Bottles for the next day are prepared. Usually just two 4 ounce bottles are made to replace the amount consumed. Any surplus is left in the storage bottle. When the surplus milk from the weekday pumping gets to be five ounces or more I freeze it. The now empty storage bottles are rinsed and put in the dishwasher. The flanges, diaphragms and gaskets (pieces of the pump that come into contact with the milk) are rinsed and put in the dishwasher or washed with really hot water. We try to only run the dishwasher when it's full, so sometimes the pump parts just get a sanitizing wash rather than the full dishwasher treatment. The bottle making and cleaning tasks are shared between Tony and me. He can't physically feed Maggie, but he's a major part of Operation Feed Maggie.
Maggie eats several times during the evening and night. She's generally a content baby, so most of the time when she gets fussy she is ready to eat. These evening and night feedings are a wonderful part of my home life. It makes me happy to be able to feed and comfort my baby. She wakes at least once in the night to nurse, but she immediately goes back to sleep.
Before leaving for work, the pumping bag is packed: three clean storage bottles, flanges, diaphragms and gaskets are thrown in with the other pump parts. The fresh bottles are put in the diaper bag and then moved to the day care refrigerator.
This cycle occurs every weekday. I rarely pump on the weekends. I could pump more then and build up a larger frozen stock pile, but I'd rather do other things and nurse Maggie. The Maggie milk cycle allows for some changes to the routine. Occasionally Maggie has a hungry day and eats all three bottles. A few times a month, I work at the hangars instead of downtown. I still pump on these days, but my yield is not as high. There may be times that I need to work at night (So far, it's only happened once). These nights Tony will have to use the days milk for night consumption. I can make up any disparities with fresh or frozen surplus.
Maggie has flourished with her diet. She weighed 9 pounds at birth and is now over 15 pounds at five months. Some opinions say that I could start feeding her solids now, but I'm planning on waiting for another month or two. Even when she starts solids, her milk consumption will stay about the same. So the Maggie milk cycle will continue until she's at least a year old. Maybe at one year, I'll start giving her cow's milk at day care and continue nursing at night.
I leave Maggie at day care each morning after her breakfast at 6:45. I leave 3 bottles for her each day with about 4 ounces in each bottle. Since I went back to work when she was six weeks old the amount in each bottle has slowly increased from 2 to 4.
After I leave her, I drive to the park and ride and hop on my bus with my pumping supplies. At work I pump 3 to 5 times depending on how much free time I have. I pump in a storage closet near to my cubicle. I double pump which is supposed to help maintain my supply. This was a tricky skill to learn, but now I can accomplish the double pump with one hand. My other hand is then free to talk on the phone or work on paper work. Each pumping session yields between 2 and 3 ounces. By the end of the day I usually have between 8 and 10 ounces. I carry the milk home in a soft sided cooler with freezer packs.
While we're apart Maggie usually only drinks two bottles. The third bottle is back up in case something happens and I can't pick her up at the normal time (between 4 and 4:30). She consumes an average of 8 ounces each day from the bottle. That means the remaining ~20 ounces she eats comes direct from the source.
When I pick her up, we usually nurse at the day care before we leave. This gives us a chance to reconnect after our hours apart. She's not necessarily very hungry at this time, just happy to see Mama. I throw her empty bottles into the diaper bag, and we head home.
Once we reach home, preparations for the next day begin. The fresh milk from the day is removed from the cooler and put in the refrigerator. The freezer packs are put in the freezer. The used bottles for the day are rinsed and put in the dishwasher. Bottles for the next day are prepared. Usually just two 4 ounce bottles are made to replace the amount consumed. Any surplus is left in the storage bottle. When the surplus milk from the weekday pumping gets to be five ounces or more I freeze it. The now empty storage bottles are rinsed and put in the dishwasher. The flanges, diaphragms and gaskets (pieces of the pump that come into contact with the milk) are rinsed and put in the dishwasher or washed with really hot water. We try to only run the dishwasher when it's full, so sometimes the pump parts just get a sanitizing wash rather than the full dishwasher treatment. The bottle making and cleaning tasks are shared between Tony and me. He can't physically feed Maggie, but he's a major part of Operation Feed Maggie.
Maggie eats several times during the evening and night. She's generally a content baby, so most of the time when she gets fussy she is ready to eat. These evening and night feedings are a wonderful part of my home life. It makes me happy to be able to feed and comfort my baby. She wakes at least once in the night to nurse, but she immediately goes back to sleep.
Before leaving for work, the pumping bag is packed: three clean storage bottles, flanges, diaphragms and gaskets are thrown in with the other pump parts. The fresh bottles are put in the diaper bag and then moved to the day care refrigerator.
This cycle occurs every weekday. I rarely pump on the weekends. I could pump more then and build up a larger frozen stock pile, but I'd rather do other things and nurse Maggie. The Maggie milk cycle allows for some changes to the routine. Occasionally Maggie has a hungry day and eats all three bottles. A few times a month, I work at the hangars instead of downtown. I still pump on these days, but my yield is not as high. There may be times that I need to work at night (So far, it's only happened once). These nights Tony will have to use the days milk for night consumption. I can make up any disparities with fresh or frozen surplus.
Maggie has flourished with her diet. She weighed 9 pounds at birth and is now over 15 pounds at five months. Some opinions say that I could start feeding her solids now, but I'm planning on waiting for another month or two. Even when she starts solids, her milk consumption will stay about the same. So the Maggie milk cycle will continue until she's at least a year old. Maybe at one year, I'll start giving her cow's milk at day care and continue nursing at night.
posted by ender at
9:11 AM
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