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My big boy

Well, it's been ten weeks and our breastfeeding sessions are no longer punctuated by my silent screams of anguish and trauma. I've ditched the breastfeeding pillows (he's big enough to hang out comfortably resting on my lap), and my issues with overactive letdown are basically resolved. JL still occasionally chokes and sputters, but he is much better able to handle the flow. The weird clicking noises he was making signfiying breaking of the air seal also resolved on its own.

We've come a long way. And, he's gaining beautifully. At the 2 month mark, he was 90th percentile for height and weight. A hefty 13 + pounds!

I'm pumping less, however (still pumping once a day and having someone besides me give him a bottle per day) and no longer have that enormous surplus of expressed milk everyday. It's making me a little antsy about starting work in a couple of weeks and having to provide enough milk for him during the day. For the bottle he takes, he's been draining the 6 or 6.5 ounces I've been putting in the bottle. If I pump in the morning, I can get a little more than that, but if I'm pumping in the afternoon, I might get a little less. He's feeding about 4-5 times a day now, which means I'll miss at least two feeds during the workday. (He eats four times during the day with possibly 0-2 additional times at night.)

I remember getting a little stressed about not pumping enough during the day with Jolie, yet I can't remember if I had to supplement with some of my frozen supply early on, or exactly how I handled it. I think I remember pumping 3 times at work to make up for not pumping enough to fill 2 bottles. Dude. Pumping three times a day while trying to work is NOT EASY.

At some point, I actually switched to waking up in the middle of the night (once Jolie was sleeping straight through without feeding regularly) to pump since at 1 am, I had enough breastmilk to spare. I did that for a long time, trekking to my pumping oasis in the study and surfing the internet while pumping. What a labor of love! Sacrificing sleep for milk!

It's definitely a commitment to continue breastfeeding while working. I'll have to squeeze in pumping sessions in an already packed day. I may have to miss part of conferences or meetings to do it. But, I want to keep this up for at least 6 months, if not longer. I want to do this for my son.

I breastfed exclusively and pumped at work with Jolie for 9 months. I finally stopped due to my own medical reasons (she was also losing interest in nursing all by herself by that time). With my frozen supply, she continued to only take breastmilk for almost another month before we had to introduce formula.

I'm sad my time with him during my maternity leave is coming to an end in a couple of weeks, but at least we can still continue breastfeeding. At least I will give it my best try.

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