4 questions!

[pachita]

Im very new to breastfeeding, learning one day at a time. Been breastfeeding since march 25, 2008.

Ive been doing great, eaing well, excercising. I have a few qeustions....

When my daughter sleeps thru the night, wont my breast be really full in the morning, and will she be able to drink all of it at once?
(dont want my breast feeling sore)

how long should i be giving her vitamin D for?

and also do i have to sometime soon be bresatpumping myself for what ever reason?

and one more thing, i know they say theres no dieting when breastfeeding, but there are my days where i cant eat my three meals a day, is there something liquid i can take? (not talking about slim fast) anything that would help keep my milk coming and not feeling like i ate.

thank you's all so much , sorry for the 2 many questions

[hotlama]

My dd slept through the night once and I woke up feeling really full and had to go pump to relieve the pressure. She never really sleeps through the night so it hasn't been a big problem.


Vitamin D isn't needed unless your baby is never exposed to sunlight. My dd is 6 months old and has never had vitamin D supplements.

Lots of women don't pump but lot's of women do. Are you going back to work? Would you like a freezer stash for emergencies? Do you plan on introducing a bottle at all? These are good questions to ask yourself when deciding to pump.

Weight Watchers has a program for nursing mothers. When I don't have time to eat but know that I need to eat, I stop by a smoothie store and get a fruit smoothie. Make sure it's a natural smoothie store because a lot of the fast food chains sell fruit smoothies but they aren't natural and have tons of calories and other junk. You can also make your own smoothies at home using frozen fruit, juice, and yogurt.

[hotlama]

Oh and welcome to the site.

[RedheadbyChoice]

1----if babe is sleeping at night, and there's no weight concerns, I say enjoy the rest. :) As for your breasts feeling full in the morning, well, that happens. She needn't drink all of it, natch, just let her nurse as she's hungry and offer, often.

2---I don't give my babies vitamin D. Not sure of your location, though, but mine get plenty of sunlight

3---I'm not understanding what you mean about a liquid you can take, could you elaborate more on that?

4---personally, I don't pump at all, I only ever pumped when my son was in the NICU and wasn't able to nurse.

[Jacksmommy]

ITA with Red. As to the 3 meals a day, just eat when you're hungry. Eat healthy foods and keep yourself hydrated.

[nowinteknicolor]

1. if your daughter sleeps through the night suddenly (like she usually goes 2 hours between feedings and one night she decides to go 8) then yes, you'll probably get somewhat engorged (if she slowly builds up to sleeping through the night, you're boobs will be used to it and it most likely won't happen). She may be able to drain your breasts if she's really hungry but the problem I always have when I get engorged is that my breasts become rocks and they're so full my nipples are kind of flattened out and stretched so my daughter can't latch on, it's like trying to bite a beach ball (I'll wait here while you go try that out,) :)
So I either pump a little or just hand express right before I feed her to soften the breast/nipple, then let her eat her fill, and then pump whatevers left (if any). My daughter has a bad habit of only taking one breast at a time so I am forever lopsided.

2. You don't need to be giving any vitamin D, breastmilk is nutritionally complete. Your baby just needs to be getting sunshine (we all need more sunshine actually, it synthesizes proteins in our body that can't be made any other way, plus it makes you feel good)

3. I don't know about the diet stuff, I tried slimfast for awhile but breastfeeding makes me soooooo hungry it was pointless.

4. there's not really a need to pump, but there are lots of reasons you might want to at least have a pump on hand. Do you ALWAYS plan on being with your baby, no bottles ever? that's fine if that's the plan, but lots of moms like to have some milk saved up in the freezer so you can go out every once in awhile, or maybe have an extra drink one night, or if you get sick and need a little extra sleep at night. And obviously if you'll be going back to work/school you'll need one.

[RedheadbyChoice]

So I either pump a little or just hand express right before I feed her to soften the breast/nipple, then let her eat her fill, and then pump whatevers left (if any). My daughter has a bad habit of only taking one breast at a time so I am forever lopsided.

I snorted at your beach ball comment. 'Tis true! My kids have all taken just one breast at a time, but there's really no need to pump, unless you're incredibly uncomfortable or in need of extra milk for your freezer. Not saying you shouldn't do it, because it's obviously working for you, but that it's not universally needed. ;)


4. there's not really a need to pump, but there are lots of reasons you might want to at least have a pump on hand. Do you ALWAYS plan on being with your baby, no bottles ever? that's fine if that's the plan, but lots of moms like to have some milk saved up in the freezer so you can go out every once in awhile, or maybe have an extra drink one night, or if you get sick and need a little extra sleep at night. And obviously if you'll be going back to work/school you'll need one.

I know you're not snarking at me and I'm not snarking at you. Honestly. But, there are many of us who absolutely don't use bottles at all. And I'm not always with my baby (as she gets older) and still get out of the house just fine. Like, nursing up baby, giving her to MIL, and jogging to the store by myself for 30 minutes. No bottles needed. :D I go out, I can have an extra drink (after babe is nursed and in bed), and if I'm sick, babe needs to nurse to help protect her from what I've got anyway! LOL

Heck, I don't even own a pump.

And again, I'm not snarking at you. Breast pumps are faboo inventions, allowing the breastfeeding mom more options. I just don't find that it's VITAL for every mom to have one.

*makes note to self to use beach ball analogy again in the future*

[dodoe80]

I really don't have much to add, but was wondering if for the meal supplement if your were talking about something like Ensure? I don't know very much about that though.

[nowinteknicolor]

no, redheadbychoice you are totally right, so don't worry about offending me or anything.
There really is no actual need for a pump, my daughter has actually only had 2 bottles (of expressed milk) ever, and we're currently struggling to get her to take one at all now. I go back to work at the end of the month and have to do 2 weeks of fulltime for orientation, so I am stockpiling milk, which is why I pump at all. If I wasn't going back to work I probably wouldn't even own a pump (and if she doesn't take a bottle soon, that just might be what happens). But I do still feel it's a very handy thing to have on hand..
:)