>But in 20 minutes [if
>they're trying to breastfeed every 2 hrs.] it's time to feed the baby again."
>These poor moms never get a break from *thinking* about feeding issues.
Right or wrong, my solution has been to tell mothers of poorly-nursing
babies and low supplies to "nurse recreationally" at the start. Enjoy
nursing as much and as often as they choose, *but don't think of it as
either baby-feeding or breast-emptying*. It's recreation, nothing more, and
the pump is where the milk is going to come from. I figure an underweight
and proven-ineffective baby is the wrong person to try to pull a milk supply
up, or even to tap into a supply reliably.
Once mom's milk supply matches the baby's needs, we begin "switching
engines," moving the baby in to maintain the supply and dropping pumpings
only as the mother feels comfortable doing so, starting with her least
favorite one and going from there.
When and how often to pump? For me, it depends on how badly baby and supply
are doing. It's pretty easy when things are terrible: pump as if the baby
isn't pulling any of the load. Or when things are almost okay: pump often
enough to keep two bottles in the refrigerator, so that you're never without
a backup supply (that may mean pumping more on some days than on others).
In that fuzzy middle ground, I mostly have her aim for a certain number of
pumpings a day, and figure out the times according to what's easiest for
her.
My, we do have an assortment of approaches, don't we?
--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com
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