Cubicle jockey
Well, here I am. Everyone was very excited to see me and raved about how adorable Bat Girl is. Not much work for me to do today, as my maternity leave replacement is still working today and tomorrow and lots of people are out of the office today. So far I have: checked my email, gone through files to reacquaint myself with where things are, pumped two times in our company's fantastic pump room, ate a huge lunch without having to gobble down for fear of baby waking up or carefully eat one-handed to avoid dropping food on baby or begin to eat only to have to abandon my plate to attend to screaming baby. So that last one was pretty satisfying, I have to say.
On the other hand, I totally cried last night and again this morning when saying goodbye to Bat Girl. My fancy shoes are giving me blisters. My husband (did I mention my husband decided to be a SAHD? yay me!) called about an hour ago while on a walk wth Bat Girl and I was soooo jealous. And because I don't have much work to do, I feel like I could just as well be at home. I guess it gets easier but today it is really, really hard.
***
Pumping is fine so far due to the aforementioned fancy pump room. It is a little weird to leave my bottles and horns just sitting there in a cabinet (I put a gallon ziploc bag over them to protect them), so I can just keep pumping into the same bottles as I do at home, but I suppose I'll get used to that too. The other women using the room probably think I'm weird but damned if I'm going to carry extra bottles back and forth (and wash extra bottles and horns) if I can avoid it. Output seems to be same as at home--I always laugh at the advice to look at a picture of your baby to help you let down, since due to my extensive pumping experience I could probably let down anywhere, anytime.
***
To answer May's question on my last post, I think the domperidone made a HUGE difference in my supply, at least percentage-wise. When I came home from the hospital, I was pumping 2-3 ounces a day. With the help of fenugreek, blessed thistle, diligent pumping, and supply-enhancing foods (I swear, after I wean I am never eating oatmeal ever again), I got up to 5-6 ounces a day, then leveled off there when Bat Girl was about a month old. When she was 5 1/2 weeks old I started the domperidone, and within a week was up to 7 ounces a day, and within another week 8 ounces a day. So that was a 33% increase in 2 weeks. I continued to gain about an ounce a week and then slowed down, and now am pumping about 10-11 ounces a day. So domperidone basically doubled my supply. And Dr. G. said the effects are exponential--the higher your supply is when you start, the more you'll increase. Again, I was really diligent about pumping--always pumping at least 8x/day, always getting up to pump in the middle of the night (prolactin levels are highest around 2-4 a.m., so pumping then stimulates your body to produce more the rest of the day), doing a "power pump" day once or twice a week, so that helped too, but I have no doubt that without domperidone, I would have quit long ago, and I definitely would not still be pumping now--it wouldn't be worth it.
Which reminds me, I forgot to take my lunchtime dose. Better do that now.
On the other hand, I totally cried last night and again this morning when saying goodbye to Bat Girl. My fancy shoes are giving me blisters. My husband (did I mention my husband decided to be a SAHD? yay me!) called about an hour ago while on a walk wth Bat Girl and I was soooo jealous. And because I don't have much work to do, I feel like I could just as well be at home. I guess it gets easier but today it is really, really hard.
***
Pumping is fine so far due to the aforementioned fancy pump room. It is a little weird to leave my bottles and horns just sitting there in a cabinet (I put a gallon ziploc bag over them to protect them), so I can just keep pumping into the same bottles as I do at home, but I suppose I'll get used to that too. The other women using the room probably think I'm weird but damned if I'm going to carry extra bottles back and forth (and wash extra bottles and horns) if I can avoid it. Output seems to be same as at home--I always laugh at the advice to look at a picture of your baby to help you let down, since due to my extensive pumping experience I could probably let down anywhere, anytime.
***
To answer May's question on my last post, I think the domperidone made a HUGE difference in my supply, at least percentage-wise. When I came home from the hospital, I was pumping 2-3 ounces a day. With the help of fenugreek, blessed thistle, diligent pumping, and supply-enhancing foods (I swear, after I wean I am never eating oatmeal ever again), I got up to 5-6 ounces a day, then leveled off there when Bat Girl was about a month old. When she was 5 1/2 weeks old I started the domperidone, and within a week was up to 7 ounces a day, and within another week 8 ounces a day. So that was a 33% increase in 2 weeks. I continued to gain about an ounce a week and then slowed down, and now am pumping about 10-11 ounces a day. So domperidone basically doubled my supply. And Dr. G. said the effects are exponential--the higher your supply is when you start, the more you'll increase. Again, I was really diligent about pumping--always pumping at least 8x/day, always getting up to pump in the middle of the night (prolactin levels are highest around 2-4 a.m., so pumping then stimulates your body to produce more the rest of the day), doing a "power pump" day once or twice a week, so that helped too, but I have no doubt that without domperidone, I would have quit long ago, and I definitely would not still be pumping now--it wouldn't be worth it.
Which reminds me, I forgot to take my lunchtime dose. Better do that now.
posted by electriclady at 2:52 PM
5 Comments:
Your pumping dedication is quite admirable! Fingers crossed some day I too will get to have that kind of determination. :-)
I don't think you ever mentioned hubby was going to be a sahd. That's wonderful!
Wow, that's some serious pumping. I am very impressed. And thanks for answering my question. I didn't learn about domperidone in time to help out with nursing my daughter, but if we ever manage to have another child, I'm definitely going to try it.
I had to return to work a little sooner than I wanted to, but today (over a year later) I find that I am a much happier person for having gone back. It's a highly personal decision for everyone, and there's a different best choice for every family, but I hope that things settle down for you soon. The first day is definitely the hardest.
I forgot to mention, have you seen this new blog?
http://breastfeedingpcos.blogspot.com/
I just discovered it through Jo at Leery Polyp. Looks quite promising.
Electriclady--it does get easier(sad to say). And you are soo lucky that DH is SAHD!! That rocks! You also a rock star for your dedication on your pumping--you make me want to keep pumping myself!
Congrats for continuing the pumping, well done!
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