In the population I serve I (unfortunately) see women returning to school or
employment before the baby is six weeks old; not uncommonly, the mother is
heading back to classes (especially lab work) as early as 2 weeks
post-partum. They come to me wanting to rent a pump. My first direction is to
explore ways for baby to stay with mom. Regrettably, for many this is not an
option :-(

Meeting the nursing needs of a very young baby makes it difficult for a woman
to find the time to pump. However, when a woman is *highly motivated* I have
found that pumping one breast while feeding the baby from the other builds a
storage supply quickly. Moms who have used this technique have reported to me
that it helped them stock the "milk bank" in a short time--and was worth the
effort because it got them past the anxiety of "not having enough" on the day
they are away.

This is not a plan for everyone. It is definitely an over-achiever's
solution. And its not a suitable program for the long haul. However, I've
seen women use this program for two or three days with good results. Baby
needs to nurse frequently on these "stock up" days, so its not a good plan
for women who do lots of "running around."

Yes, at two weeks...do you see this, too? Does it break your heart?

Margery Wilson, IBCLC
Cambridge, MA
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