5 Tips for Pumping & Freezing Extra Breastmilk Everyday

Last week, I wrote up Four Reasons why I Pump and Freeze Extra Breastmilk Everyday.  Today, I wanted to share a few tips on how I do this.

1. Rise early or sleep late.  I've found that the easiest way to pump extra milk is to either wake up earlier than my baby (even if just 30 min earlier) to pump or to go to bed a bit later than my baby and pump right before bed.  Some women do both.  If you have less milk than you'd like, I'd recommend doing both because more demand will produce more overall supply.  If you do it this way, your body will think your baby is actually nursing one or two extra times per day (which can also delay your ovulation cycle from starting up again).
2. Be consistent.  Help your body learn that you do want 4 or 5 extra ounces everyday by consistently pumping at roughly the same time everyday.  This sets the demand, and your body will regulate the supply.  
3. Growth spurts are your friend.  Babies have growth spurts fairly often, where all they want to do is eat, eat, eat.  So, in turn, your body meets that high demand with an abundance of milk.  Within a few days though, baby's appetite usually returns to a lower state, leaving your body with way too much milk.  This, my friends, is the perfect time to begin your pumping routine.  Since you already have too much milk, pumping can also help you avoid getting plugged ducts (or other not so fun issues) by emptying your breasts before bed. 
4. Get sleep.  Being rested does affect your milk production!  I honestly don't recommend beginning to stock your freezer (at least not by waking early or going to bed late) until you're getting plenty of rest.  The timing here will look different for every mama and baby.  What has worked best for me is to begin when my baby drops that last night time feeding (or after a growth spurt once baby is sleeping through the night).  
5. Get a good pump.   Otherwise you will hate every second of it.  I have a Medela double breast pump (pump in style), which I love.  It takes me 5-7 minutes to pump 4-5 oz every morning.  (I only use one pump and only express milk from one breast, since that's still how I'm feeding Karis - one side per feeding).   Getting a "hands-free" bustier can also make pumping more doable.  

*And just for a little laugh, I'll tell a quick funny..  There have been a few times where Enoch has seen my pump milk (like when we traveled to AR), but I was pretty sure that he didn't even really notice what was going on.. until last week.  The clever little fellow picked up one my pump shields (the part that goes over your breast) and swiftly brought it to his chest saying, "Enoch pump."  Haha!!  I wasn't sure whether to be proud, embarrassed, or horrified... so I settled on just laughing about it and telling him that pumping was only for mommies.  ;)

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Rolling to tummy

Guess who just rolled from her back to her tummy?



That's right, Karis did! And then she got a congratulatory hug from big brother. ;)



She's been trying to roll to her tummy for about one week now, but getting her head all the way up was just too challenging. I guess that today she decided to go for the gold. Happy Monday!

posted from Bloggeroid

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FFF: Our Fall Trip To Arkansas (& Oklahoma)

Here is a photo overview of our recent trip to Arkansas and Oklahoma.  It was quite the last minute trip, but I happen to thrive on a some rush-rush organization and planning, so I enjoyed every minute of it.  We also tried to keep the expectations low and the timing flexible with everyone, which also made it much more relaxing than having a strict schedule.  ;)

Granddad (my stepdad) drove to Memphis to meet us, where we parked my car and piled into his, literally.  This was such a huge help because everytime we needed to stop for Karis to eat, he took Enoch out and played to give him a break from the car.  Google says it should've taken 6-7 hours of driving, but I think it ended up taking us 11-13 both times because of needing to stop so much!  The pic below is of them at a rest stop checking out all the semi trucks.  :)

And then of course as soon as we arrived at Granddad's house, there was some wrestling and Otis playing.  You can imagine how excited Enoch was to have unlimited access to Otis.  :-)

Every morning at 6:30 am, this is the face that greeted me, calling "mama, mama, mama!?!?"

Enoch also got to help Granny Sandy (my mom) feed the chickens, turkeys, and ducks every morning.  

Karis did a lot of her normal routine (eating, tummy time, being sweet, sleeping, etc.), though I'm certain she loved all of the extra holding and attention.

This is typically how Enoch spent the first hour of his mornings since he woke up so early!  He got to play while Karis ate and I got dressed.

At Papa Steve and Granny Susie's house (my dad and stepmom), there were lots of helpers!  They (my niece & nephew) did a great job playing with the kids.  :)

Then we visited MaaMaa, PaaPaa, and Aunt Wanda.  Little Man really enjoyed their small dog, Sophie (look between the rockers, below) as well as MaaMaa's ice box pickles!

And sweet Karis was snuggled the entire time.  :)

As you may have gathered, Hugh wasn't able to come because he had to work, but it was still a good trip.  We were hoping to drive up to NWA and visit some friends who I haven't seen in over a year, but Little Man got sick the night before I was going to head up that way, so we decided to head home instead.  I definitely missed seeing those mountains and my alma mater along with some of our dear friends there, but Enoch fought the fever and cough/runny nose for over a week here, so I think it was good that we made it home quickly.

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4 Reasons I Pump & Freeze Extra Breastmilk Everyday

When Enoch was a baby, I began pumping extra breastmilk everyday and freezing it in 4-5 oz servings.  Now that I'm breastfeeding Karis, I have intentionally carried on this tradition since she was 1 month old (around the time she began sleeping through the night better).  Here are my top three reasons for using the ole pump everyday:

1. In case my baby ever experiences failure to thrive, I want to have breastmilk to supplement with, not formula.   {Enoch did experience this, and we used every single drop of frozen breast milk to help him get back on track with his weight gain.}
2. When my toddler gets sick, I can easily give him the extra breastmilk (rather than freezing it) to help build his immunity.  {This happened last week, and every morning Enoch got 6 ounces of breastmilk with his breaskfast, which he happily drank.}
3. Frozen breastmilk is great for sharing!  Though there isn't a milk bank near me, I am always open to sharing my stash with someone in need.  For instance, I received word last week about a mom with quadruplets wanting some extra breastmilk for her babies {see image below}.  There's another mom in our area who is also planning to share her stash of frozen liquid gold with this mom as well, meaning she'll have double the milk for her four babies.
4. Pumping once or twice a day helps keeps my supply up, which means that my baby is more likely to get enough milk.  This is especially important once baby begins sleeping through the night and once they drop down to 4-6 nursing sessions per day because your overall supply depends on the demand set by your baby (and your pump).  {I am convinced that Enoch experienced failure to thrive last year because I dropped down to 4 nursing sessions per day, which triggered an overall supply drop.}

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Karis' OT at 3.5 mos

Our Occupational Therapist was so helpful at our last appointment.  She worked with Karis for around 45 minutes, helping her strengthen her core, use her hands, and turn her head.  She also walked me through a list of 6 short term and 4 long term goals that she has for Karis (short term goals should be met in the next 3 mos, and long term in the next 6 mos).   

Enoch playing on the floor beside me during
Karis' OT appointment

Karis' short term goals:

1. Karis will track objects horizontally (with her eyes) left to right and right to left 180 degrees.
2. Karis will simultaneously hold rattle in both hands for greater than 10 seconds.
3. In supine position (laying down on her back), Karis will reach for overhead object/toy with right and left hands.
4. Karis will demonstrate finger play for greater than 5 seconds for improved midline orientation.
5. In supported sit (with bumbo, for instance), Karis will reach for desired object from tabletop surface with preferred hand.
6. Karis will tolerate greater than 5 minutes of core strengthening activity without signs of distress.

This is a list of some of the activities we are working with Karis on at home right now (many of these overlap with PT):

• supported sit (in bumbo seat with boppy pillow around her) with toys on her tray {see image above}.
• tummy time with elbows and forearms underneath her (as opposed to her arms being sprawled out).
• supine position laying on the boppy pillow with toys for reaching to center (midline) {see image below}.
• side-lying and touching her hands together to orient her toward midline.

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Cheap, Stackable Drinking Glasses

In our teensy kitchen space is a premium!  Our old drinking glasses just weren't cutting it because we could only fit 8-10 in our cupboard space, and we were always running out when the dishwasher was full.  :(  But, as you can probably tell from the title of my post, I've stumbled upon a solution!

Recently, I discovered that one of my girlfriends was using mason jars for drinking glasses.  I have to admit that the idea didn't just win me over instantly.  Eventually though, I realized the potential mason jars might have for our small space - because they stack!   And of course, it just so happened that earlier in the year I had bought some glass mason jars second hand, expecting to have so many tomatoes that I could can some salsa.  They had been sitting in our garage for months gathering dust though since apparently our little family devours fresh, homegrown tomatoes.  ;)  So you can only imagine how excited I was for all of these pieces to come together and build such a beautiful puzzle!

However, I was pretty sure that Hugh would shoot the idea down (don't ask me why I thought this..  I also thought he might not like the name "Karis", but he actually loved it... maybe I underestimate him??), but when I ran it by him, he was more than excited.  Something about efficient stacking and industrial engineers..  So we ran them through the dishwasher, gave the old glasses away, and happily stacked up our re-purposed mason jars.

And do you know how many we can fit in our cupboards now?  24!  Easily.  And I'm pretty sure I paid maybe $10 for all of them.

Talk about cheap, space-saving, and even kind of rustic/cute!

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FFF: Songs and Coos

Here are a few videos for your Friday!

First up, Enoch serenading his little sister before dinner.  {He's just started singing and clapping like this on his own, so I had to grab a short video of it.}

And, finally, a long overdue video of Karis cooing and sucking on her thumb.  Hugh and I are loving this newest stage where she just starts randomly cooing at us.  :)


Happy Friday and happy weekend!!

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Un-Swaddled!

the beloved swaddle

When we were traveling last week, the kids and I all slept in the same room wherever we stayed. This was a good practice run for Enoch learning how to sleep with other people in the room (we have been hoping to move Karis into his room at home soon). And, since Karis goes to bed later than him (it's an unfair world, I know...) it was also a helpful test run of him sleeping through Sweet Girl's many falling asleep noises (we lay her down for bedtime while she's awake and let her fall asleep on her own).

So, after I returned from traveling, Hugh and I decided that the only thing keeping us from moving Sweet Girl to Little Man's room was her swaddle.  We've been swaddling her for bedtime and for naps since she was teensy, so she sleeps best when her arms are tight by her side and she's cocooned in there like a little worm.  Unfortunately though, she's big enough (and strong enough) that she can break an arm or two out pretty easily.  She usually does this one or two times per night.  When she breaks out, a few things happen: her free arm gets chilly (we swaddle her in her birthday suit) and she has a hard time going back to sleep.  And thus, since she's about to be too big to swaddle at all anyway, we thought we'd start working on breaking her reliance on the swaddle for sleeping.

On this past Monday, we took the plunge for bedtime.  For the first two nights I dressed her in soft jammies, rocked her to sleep, and then laid her down, at which point her eyes shot open.  Thankfully though, she was content to hang out and put herself to sleep like normal (probably because she was soo sleepy to begin with).  Then last night I only rocked her just enough to get her calm before laying her down, and she did the same.

look at those free arms!

The nights have gone smoother than I expected, meaning that she has been able to self-soothe her way through the night with no tears and no help from us. This surprised me since she's had difficulty in the past going back to sleep when her hands are out and free.  I can definitely tell she's not fully converted yet though because she hasn't taken the transition as well for nap time.  I'm okay with being patient with that though and working on small changes slowly...

She loves being able to roll around freely as
soon as she wakes up instead of having to wait on me

And did I mention that I love this small change because she's just so cuddly and cute in her jammies??  ;)

posted from Bloggeroid

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A Little Piece of Otis in Wal-Mart

After grabbing our bananas today at the grocery store, Enoch started jabbering about Otis. Though this is not all that uncommon these days, he was also pointing behind me and saying a word I didn't recognize along with his beloved dog's name. Turning around, I was expecting to find someone who had brought their little purse puppy in, but instead, much to my surprise, I found Otis' tail, hanging on a column between the tomatoes and the bananas. ;) (He just learned about tails this past week, and I haven't completely gotten used to the way he says "tail" yet.)



Laughing to myself and astonished at his creativity, I congratulated Little Man on finding it and snapped a quick photo that I just had to share.

posted from Bloggeroid

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Enoch Swimming

We took a long trip up to Arkansas and Oklahoma last weekend to visit some of our family there.  We ended up having to return to Mississippi sooner than expected because Enoch got some type of cold, but we still really enjoyed our time we did have there!  I have more pictures coming soon as well as an update on Karis' therapy, but for today all I have time to post about is Enoch's newly acquired ability to splash big splashes.

Although he has shown quite a bit of resistance to getting in the pool this summer, he did get in at Granny and Granddad's house this weekend, twice.  The first time he was attached to my hip out of fear, but the second time he opened up a lot more and even learned how to splash!  Here's a short video I took in order to prove to Hugh that he was enjoying the water so much.

And a few photos:

even Otis likes the pool!  (see him on the deck to the left?)

Baby Karis' first time in the pool - she was a champ!

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