I made the choice to go back to work 2 weeks after having Theo. I decided this for a number of reasons and so far, all in all, it has worked out. I'm greatly looking forward to my delayed maternity come June & July. While I hate to miss out on these beginning months, I luckily have a job that has afforded me (or I've created) some balance. I work from home Mondays & Fridays, allowing me to be there to nurse Theo, and on Wednesdays he comes with me to work. I'm thankful for those Tuesdays & Thursdays where Lidiana takes care of both kids. There is much comfort in knowing someone who has gotten a full night's sleep and doesn't have baby brain is caring for my child. I can muscle my way through meetings and presentations (no lives are a stake there) but I do miss the naps. :)
One small hurdle I've encountered is creating enough milk supply for Theo. It's been hard to pump and keep up with the supply & demand, but I think I'm making some headway. I actually don't mind the pumping that much and my goal is to not let my head get the best of me. The more stressed I get about not producing enough, the more my supply goes down. I've also come to grips that if I'm not producing enough one week or another, than the occasional supplement of formula isn't going to hurt anyone. And in fact, it'll help.
It amazes me the stigma placed on formula in certain social circles. With Sophia, I completely abhorred the idea of supplementing. It was like you had suggested I feed her razor blades. This is extremely humorous in retrospect, being that I was a completely formula fed baby and I turned out just fine. I was rarely sick, I knew my mother loved me and I didn't grow any additional appendages. My best friend supplemented her daughter because of low supply (and god knows she tried each and everything to increase it under the sun!) and clearly I respect her, her parenting choices and her daughter turned out just fine.
My hope is that I can give Theo as much of my milk as humanly possible. I enjoy it for so many reasons - bonding, health, all the good antibodies that he gets as a result. But stressing over it isn't going to be healthy for either of us. I have my pumping schedule (don't mind if you see me in the car on the way to work, draped & taking advantage of the 40 minute commute). Sophia has also joined in the encouragement during the morning session as she shouts "Mama's Pumping!" (From what I've heard, most kids imitate their moms breastfeeding...well, we're almost there :) )
I'm drinking my tea and eating my oatmeal. The rest is up to my body. In the end I know it'll all work out for what is best for Theo, for me and for us as a family.
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Great attitude, Michele. As moms, we do what we can and the rest usually finds a way of working out just fine.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I often enjoyed a beer during an evening pumping session. It was just enough to relax me and help with production. The professionals I spoke to weren't concerned about alcohol in the breast milk. Any that got through was negligible and probably just helped the girls sleep, too. ;-)
I feel your pain, as I've had much more trouble with my supply this time as well. You might find this tumblr interesting (it was sent to me by another nursing friend) http://feedingthebaby.tumblr.com/
ReplyDeleteAlso, try Fenugreek. I've had a great response to it. Take 3 capsules, 3 times a day. You can get it at most health food stores (like Whole Foods).
wow thats great to have worked all of this out so well. Ditto on everything, pumped exclusively for a while after breastfeeding didnt work, eventually some formula too. Its what works best for mom and baby and not what everyone else insists ( coming from the nurse who works at a very baby friendly hospital where formula is a bad word) :)
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