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From: mcs@we53.UUCP ( M. C. Stillman )
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: Breastfeeding and Work
Message-ID: <237@we53.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Sep-84 11:33:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: we53.237
Posted: Tue Sep 11 11:33:53 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Sep-84 01:12:54 EDT
Organization: AT&T Technologies - St. Louis Missouri
Lines: 50


Susan,

I tried to mail this reply, but couldn't get it through to you,
so here's some information for you.

I breastfed my baby till he was nine months old (he quit on his own--
decided that the bottle was easier--also, by then he had several teeth
and had a tendency to chew--didn't like it when i pulled him off).
I went back to work (full-time) when he was six weeks old.  Since I
would be pumping milk often (twice a day--after a lot of practice,
i'd get 8 or so ounces in the morning and around 6 in the afternoon),
the La Leche League member I talked with recommended the LAPUCO pump.

I was very satisfied with the results.  I think I could get more milk 
with it, and it was reasonably simple to use (once I got used to it).
It was a little more expensive (around $30, as i remember) but well
worth the price to me and my little one.

Pumping twice a day was easier since I had a reasonable supervisor
and a very supportive medical department (they let me use a vacant
examining room for pumping and let me store the milk in their
refrigerator until the end of the day).

DON'T BE DISCOURAGED.
When I first started pumping, I could only get a few drops.
My husband couldn't believe that breastfeeding would ever work.
It really does take practice and patience.

Adam was a little hog and the two bottles I pumped during the
day were not enough for him (he didn't start solids till he was
six months old).  So we did supplement with an 4oz bottle of formula 
during the day (at the sitter's).  That worked out nicely because we
could hide his vitamins in that bottle (since he gagged, coughed,
and choked like crazy whenever we tried to give them to him--
credit my husband for that suggestion).  

One other thing--one of the nurses in medical (a strong La Leche
League-er) said that adding an ounce (or so) of water to the
pumped milk (occasionally) wouldn't hurt.  So I always rinsed out
the container with a little water to get as much as I could.
And I drank lots of liquids during the day (I found that drinking
two cups of milk a day drastically increased my production, and I
normally don't drink milk).

Good luck!

Mary Stillman  (we53!mcs)
AT&T Technologies, Inc.  St. Louis, MO.