Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Weekly Goal

This week i decided i would start making weekly goals to get Samantha back to the breast. Last week she did 15mins at the breast all week. well this weeks goal i would like her to nurse 15mins a day. she will never get to the breast unless i offer it so i have to offer it to get her back to it right. i think 15mins a day is a good start.

Re-Lactation Day 42

Day 42 (oct 26 2010)

last week alone we have 5 whole days without formula WOOOHOO im so proud of myself. also i have only been giving Samantha fresh pumped milk instead of pumping and freezing so im pretty happy that i got a good amount in the freezer in case i have a low pump day. this week i dont feel as full all though i know it might because my period is coming. i know my period had no effect on my breastmilk output last month but this month i think it is. also i guess my supply is almost regulating to what Samantha needs. she seems to be eating about 21oz aday (hope this is a healthy amount, her weight was alright at her appointment yesterday). 

My husband and i both came to the conclusion that it would be SOOOO much easier if Sam latched so we are going to work on this more and more. and hopefully she will just get it one day. but either way im just glad shes getting as much breastmilk as she is getting.

we have also noticed that 1 formula bottle a day seems to help Samantha sleep, it could be flook but i noticed it the last couple nights she has gotten one before bed. so guess we will keep giving her one.

The Number Crunch Week #3

so this week we were doing so well with no formula, but then we hit the brick wall of formula does make her sleep longer so we will continue to give her a formula bottle before bed because it seems to help (i dont know why but it does).


so here is are our numbers for this week

Total Breastmilk given:   128 ounces
Total Formula given:       10 ounces
Total pumped:           172.5 ounces
Total take in:            138 ounces
Total Time Nursing         15 Minutes
im still able to pump more then Samantha is taking in WOOOHOO im still up 34.5 ounces on Samantha's intake. we are also down on our formula because we went 5 days without any formula at all and just breastmilk. so we are down 16 ounces from last week on formula.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 37

 Day 37 (Oct 21st 2010)

okay so today marks DAY 37. things have gone pretty good. i have been slacking on my day to day updates but i dont want to sound like a complete repeat.
we are down to two 30mg doses of domperidone now and still going strong. on day 33 i was able to pump 31.5ounces woohooo (highest amount yet), and it keeps looking up from there. 

Day 35 -> 29.5 ounces
Day 36-> 30 ounces

so we are doing okay, i am now able to pump what she eats and have her have fresh milk instead of just frozen (so i could stay ahead of her) i now have a freezer full of milk lmao go figure.
this week is a big marker for us because so far this week we have had NO FORMULA wooohooo,

you can see the breakdown in our numbers from last week on here my blog and see how far we came from week to week. 

i like being able to see how much Samantha takes in and i pump, so the supplement weaning page i got on kelly mom is totally working for us.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Number Crunch Week #2

So this week we continued to mark what we are giving Samantha. this is what our numbers are this week

Total Breastmilk given: 116.5 ounces
Total Formula given:       26 ounces
Total pumped:           176.5 ounces
Total take in:          142.5 ounces
 
 
so with that im UP 34 ounces from Samantha's intake WOOOHOO so essentially we didnt have to supplement at all this week. however we are DOWN 61 ounces of formula from last week (even though i know last weeks formula count was high because of our one day of complete formula)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 28-32

Day 28 (oct 12 2010)

This is the second week i have been tracking Samantha's intake of formula and breastmilk, as well as my pumping. so far this week im pumping 20-26 ounces a day. i have been trying to fit in some more pumping sessions to increase my pumping to about 30-35 ounces, but with a 41/2 month old thats hard, so i figure that as long as i pump at least what she takes in after she eats everytime  then im doing  good. and so far that has been working. today Samantha only had 3oz of formula WOOOHOOO makes me feel so good to write that.

Day 29 (oct 13 2010)

Today i pumped one less Samantha's feedings and i feel bad for that but i was still up on how much she took in as far as breastmilk today 16oz however she did have 6oz of formula, so that brings my pump up to 20oz and her whole intake for the day 22oz

Day 30(oct 14th 2010)

ONE MONTH TODAY!!!! wow we have had great success so far, if you asked me a month ago i would be giving Samantha more then half her feedings breasmilk i would have told you that you where crazy. but here i am supplementing about one 6oz bottle a day, and it looks almost like we can drop that.  we will still have formula here incase we have one of those nights. Samantha seems to still be getting up at 3am most nights, except im not convinced its not because shes hungry.and i know its not because of the breastmilk.

Day 31 (oct 15th 2010)

Today went well. i was a little behind on pumping what Samantha took in and she had two 4oz bottles of formula. she did clusterfeed last night, which made it harder to know how much milk i needed defrosted from the freezer. i however have been giving her fresh breastmilk instead of freezing it all, that way i rotate some of the freezer stash.. oh yes i said stash! i have some pictures i just have to figure out how to post, im pretty proud of the accomplishment i have started. and my husband has been so understanding even though he had his doubts. 

So the stats so far this week

Breastmilk: 73.5 ounces
Formula:      17   ounces
Pumped :     98    ounces


So right now im up 24.5 ounces of pumped milk so i know that 17 ounces of formula Samantha didnt HAVE to have.

Day 32 (oct 16 2010)

Today we are off to a great day. i managed to pump two 4oz bottles from my 10pm pump session and my 3am session. and another 6.5 ounces after i woke up YAY. Samantha is however going to the babysitters so we are going to try sending breastmilk with her, i will send formula just incase she goes through all that we send. its hard to say how much shes going to take in. better to be safe then sorry. ill update tomorrow to see how it went.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Number Crunch

As we all know i have been writing down all my numbers breastmilk given,formula given, and amount of pumped breastmilk.

so i crunched the numbers and here are our numbers for the week

Total Breastmilk given:  71 ounces
Total Formula given:     87 ounces
Total pumped:           151 ounces
Total take in:          158 ounces

so when its all said and done she took in 158 ounces all week, and im 7 ounces short for her total intake. meaning she can take all breastmilk for the week and i would only have to supplement 7 ounces!

This weeks goal is to cut down our formula intake (its a little higher this week because we did one full day of formula thinking it was the switch that was effecting Samantha's sleeping)

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 26

Day 26 (oct 10 2010)

 today has been a very good day, i woke up engorged this morning and pumped 10oz like it was nothing guess i should have woke up and pumped sooner then 8am however with Samantha waking up and staying up for two hours at a time sleep was more important at that moment.Not to mention the 2.5 hour battle to get her to sleep tonight as it is today i have pumped 20oz so far and she took in 25.5 oz but i havent pumped yet before bed since im not in bed yet. i have been using my Mipump since it isnt as violent on my nipples. yes it takes longer to pump since its only a single (now i really wish i gotten the double.) however its either the loud  nipple eating Evenflo double pump or the quiet Mipump.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 24 and 25

Day 24 (oct 8th 2010)

Today Samantha didnt have more breastmilk then formula but it was close. 12oz of breastmilk to her 15oz of formula. i was able to get her to latch without a nipple shield and nurse for a while, but then ended up having a bottle but im okay with that we had the breakthrough with the nursing. she isnt nursing for long periods yet but im just happy shes latching without a shield. i didnt pump as much as i would like yesterday i only yielded 23 ounces and she took in 27ounces all day. cant always have good days i guess.

Day 25 (oct 9th 2010)

Samantha was up VERY early this morning 4am early (yawns) she was all happy and such so i pumped since i was leaking everywhere before i tried to feed her, so i pumped and i easily got a 4oz output. and then we nursed, she did very well, however is was more concerned about talking and babbling then nursing. but she did nurse about 10minutes. today my output has been just as much as shes taken in. my husband was worried that the breastmilk was making her not sleep anymore so he asked if we could try and give her just formula for a day. so i agreed, since im still pumping this will allow me to be more ahead on my stash then i was already. so i thinking we are doing very well. 
I have been using this weaning of supplements (http://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/wean-supplements-log-sample.pdf ) page from kellymom that i mentioned before and its really helping me figure out how much Samantha takes in,  doesnt matter if its the breast or just formula or breastmilk bottles.

today i have been able to pump just as much as shes been taking in thank goodness.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 23

Day 23 (Oct7 2010)

Today i thought was a down day but the Hubby pointed out not really, i was able to pump 7oz this morning at 5am and then my next pump i only got about 3.5 and then a 2oz i thought i was low, but when i look at the bigger picture im right about on track, after my 2oz pump i was getting nervous, so i downed a bunch of water and about 2.5-3 hours later i pumped again and got 4oz so i guess i wasnt drinking enough. im hoping i get close to what i pumped yesterday, i try and pump every feeding that Samantha has, because if i get 4oz at my pump session then i know i just replaced the bottle she just took. we are still supplementing 2 bottles a day (first thing in the morning and at bedtime) im okay with this. we are drinking milk from Oct 1st so i have plenty in the freezer for me to do all feedings but i dont want to start giving her full days and then have her skip a day i rather her have two bottles of formula and get breastmilk EVERYDAY then skip a day im sure it would mess her system up. i really hope to get back to my every 2 hour pumping but its hard sometimes with the baby, and me being home, and then when my husband gets home i want to spend time with my family not with the pump, so we have to work that back in. at least pumping every two hours through the day.

hope i can catch up today (im sure ill be close to it)

Re-Lactation Day 22

Day 22 (Oct 6 2010)

Its been a couple days, since i have updated we celebrated 3 weeks of re-lactation on October 5th which is a great thing knowing im able to give Samantha as much breastmilk as i am just 3 weeks into this journey. i expected to be able to only give about an ounce or two by this time, but today i gave her 16oz of breastmilk, she only had 11oz of formula (two bottles one in the morning and one before bed) i was able to pump 26oz today so im one ounce shy from being able to feed her all day according to yesterdays readings. i started recording my pumping amounts, formula and breastmilk amounts. i got the template from kellymom.com its the weaning from supplements weekly log. its truly helping seeing how much of each shes getting and how much output im giving out.
we did have a slow day, i noticed i wasnt drinking enough water (more water the more milk hehe go figure) so i think im going to start having water goals as well, that way i can keep my water intake up, now sure where to start on that though. i think someone had mentioned you need 32oz of water a day i could be wrong on that one, not sure if i could drink a gallon of water a day i go to the bathroom enough with the water i do drink i would live in the bathroom. so ladies on average how much water are you drinking.

oh i never thought i would talk or be proud of this but Samantha had her first official Breastmilk poop, since we started breastfeeding her more milk.


going to make some more lactation cookies this weekend, but maybe ill get the stuff to make the lactation banana bread (anyone know if it works like the cookies?) instead.

all and all im very happy where we are in our journey im also glad my husband is on board now and i love hearing how proud he is for me trying this again. and how much he makes sure i eat right and drink lots. 

heres to another great day of pumping *cheers*

Monday, October 4, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 20

Day 20 (Oct 4 2010)

Today i woke up leaking, so right now leaking and i have a love hate relationship. i love that im leaking cuz that tells me my supply is becoming plentiful yet i hate leaking because all the precious breast milk is going on the bedsheets and on my shirt rather then in a bottle. this morning i was able to pump 6oz in one sitting WOOOHOOO one whole bottle without blinking. today Samantha has had 2 breastmilk bottles and 1 formula bottle. she is now only taking in the milk that i pumped on Oct 1st. i started putting the milk into freezer bags and freezing it and this way its easier to keep track on which day shes drinking milk from that and i was running outta bottles. i have also spread out my pumping closer to the 3-4 hours mark, and i also pump after every time Samantha eats (which is normally 3-4 hours anyways) sometimes in the morning i do every 2 hours still. its easier to pump when Samantha is sleeping rather then when shes awake. i got in a bad habit of propping her formula bottles up and im now trying to get her right close into me to simulate the nursing position while shes bottle feeding .

Today Samantha fought be to nap she had just eaten and was tired, and oh boy did my breast ache while she was having her little screaming fit. i wish she would be more inclined to comfort suck on the breast then the paci or Nuker as we call it.

tomorrow marks our 3 week milestone. YAY its been alot of hard work to get to this point but im so glad im doing this even for a the little benefit Samantha would get from even an ounce of breastmilk.

i am also reaching my goal this week to pump as close to or even 2oz of breast milk every pumping session. its great when i can have two sessions and i have 8oz, thats one full 6oz bottle PLUS 2oz for the next its awesome.

Any ladies that are following make sure you try and click the follow button, and dont be afraid to comment. im looking for any encouragement or pointers anyone has to give.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 19

Day 19 (Oct 3rd 2010)

Today went well, i didn't take any domperidone yesterday, but it doesn't seem like it effected me too much, today i was able to pump a 4.5 bottle in on session which is awesome. i have also the great joys of leaking again i have done it several times. Samantha did so well, she nursed today for a good 10mins (i wasn't really looking at the time, i was just happy she nursed) i will however be making an appointment to the Lactation Consultant (LC) about her latch, she would rather nurse on my nipple (even with the shield on) but i think that's from the bottles because she doesn't have to open wide to take a bottle so we are going to have to work on that. but i want to get her more comfortable coming to the breast before i annoy her with latch (since nursing is still few and far between) so maybe next week we will make an appointment. and i will continue working with Samantha on this and you never know she just might get it. (i know she got something too because she left 2 ounces in her bottle afterwords) i wish my double electric pump wasn't so CRAPPY and hurt me, heck it hurts my nipples more then Samantha's no existent latch. its got like one level of suction and that is it. my MiPump is awesome however i WISH i got the double rather then the single. boo on me for that one, looks like ill just put my little glad cup under my other breast and keep catching it. if all goes well i wont need to pump for all bottles and only for when she goes to the sitters. we are never out in public for very long so i will probably never have to Nurse in Public (NIP)  and if i have to then that's what i have to do. when a baby is hungry you feed her right. i am SOOOO disappointed that my cookies are almost gone, guess ill have to make more next week give me something to do (lmao like i don't have enough right). today was a great day none the less.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Re-Lactation Day 16,17,18

Day 16 (sept 30 2010)

I am starting to see quite an increase of my output, im now able to pump just over 12oz a day which is totally awesome. my breast feel fuller and i even got Samantha to nurse for 5 mins. 


Day 17 (oct 1 2010)


Today i have been very relaxed on pumping, i was still able to get the normal 12oz a some but i just wasnt feeling up to it. i have noticed that my period did no effect my milk production. i just pumped about every 3-4 hours vs the normal 2 hours i have been pumping. we started mixing half and half bottles because we thought the new waking up at 3am was because of the full breastmilk bottles, but she has slept all night on a 6oz breastmilk bottle before so i dont know whats going on there but i dont like it one bit. i have had to star pumping at night because im just too full, and the only way to keep supply is to make sure you get the milk out. 

Day 18 (oct 2, 2010)

Last night i woke up LEAKING so that tells me im doing well. also this morning i woke up pretty engorged despite pumping right before bed and in the middle of the night. today i didn't take any domperidone, and so far it hasn't had an effect on my milk. i have 6 bags frozen in the freezer YAY. we continued with the half and half bottles today. sleeping was not happening in my house today, i got to sleep in until 9:45 and that was horrible because of the engorgement but felt good, however woke up to a baby that wont sleep for the rest of the day. hope this stops soon.