week 6 (last week of maternity leave) 36-42 days

week 6 was, in short, exhausting. boo developed a few new habits. she now poops in the middle of what seems like every feeding and then stops eating until 10-15 minutes after her diaper change. possibly a new pacifying trick, boo would suck out milk only to let it drip down her cheek. unfortunately, if i was distracted during that feeding, i wouldn't notice this until after my bra was soaked with milk. on a side note: out of the 4 nursing bras i own, the original bravado is my current fave.

i successfully challenged myself to keep up with pumping in the morning and am now expressing approximately 6 ounces total each morning. out of the 6 ounces, i put 4 ounces in the freezer. i've been using mother's milk freezer bags (helpful hint: write the date on the bag BEFORE filling with milk). i lay each bag flat on a plate in the freezer so that it will freeze flat, then i put the frozen milk bags into a large ziploc. to practice my return to work, i've been leaving boo and daddy for a few hours each morning, so the remaining 2 ounces i pumped went straight in a bottle for daddy to give to boo. with me out of the house (and out of his ear), daddy felt more comfortable and confident in his abilities and was able to get boo to accept a bottle a lot easier. since boo is a slow eater when bottle-fed, we began researching the shelf life of non-refrigerated/frozen milk and if reheating a warmed bottle was acceptable. i was surprised to find that in addition to the storage guidelines i quoted from the nursing mother's companion in the week 4 posting, la leche league cites that milk can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 8 days! Here is info taken directly from their website:

Your milk is a living substance so precious some call it "white blood". It is essential to store your expressed (pumped) milk properly to maximize its nutritional and anti-infective qualities. Human milk actually has anti-bacterial properties that help it to stay fresh. Giving your baby the freshest milk you have pumped ensures its high quality.

This information is based on current research and applies to mothers who:

• have healthy, full-term babies;
• are storing their milk for home use (as opposed to hospital use);
• wash their hands before expressing;
• use containers that have been washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed.

Storage Guidelines

All milk should be dated before storing. Storing milk in 2-4 ounce amounts may reduce waste. Refrigerated milk has more anti-infective properties than frozen milk. Cool fresh milk in the refrigerator before adding it to previously frozen milk.

Preferably, human milk should be refrigerated or chilled right after it is expressed. Acceptable guidelines for storing human milk are as follows. Store milk:

• at room temperature (66-78°F, 19-26°C) for 4 hours (ideal), up to 6 hours (acceptable) (Some sources use 8 hours)
• in a refrigerator (<39°f,>
• in a freezer (-0.4 to -4°F, -18 to -20°C) for 6 months (ideal) up to 12 months (acceptable)

-http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html (Page last edited Sat Feb 21 14:09:52 UTC 2009.)

if milk can be stored at room temperature for 4 hours (ideally), and my practice outings were less than 3 hours, the 2 ounce bottles i made in the morning were left out instead of refrigerated. according to kellymom.com it should be safe to save the left-over milk and use it at the next feeding.

i found myself on kellymom.com and workandpump.com a lot this week reading up on back to work basics. workandpump has a great page with 7 steps to boosting your milk supply. one step notes that breastmilk is primarily made up of water, protein and fat and you need a pretty high daily intake of protein and water to keep milk production up. must drink more water!

my nursing in public skills have improved. i've gotten in the habit of wearing a long, stretchy cami under my shirts so that when i lift my shirt up to nurse, i pull the cami down to expose my bra. the shirt covers my cleavage while the cami covers my belly.

my anxiety and disappointment levels are boxing it out over which is greater in regards to my returning to work. maybe thats the real cause for my exhaustion this week. i wish i could stay home with boo.