I have a 12day old DS2, who was born at 35weeks and hasn’t managed to latch yet (have had lots of help - seems a combination of poor sucking, sleepy baby, plus small mouth and large nipples). I’m trying him on the breast using nipple shields at most feeds, with little joy. Hoping as he gets bigger he may get the hang of it.
We also have a DS1, age 4, and my husband works away for 2-3 days of the week. I had PND after DS1, who was prem and tiny and had feeding problems.
At the moment I’m expressing about 4 - 5 times in 24 hours. Not getting enough to exclusively feed DS2 EBM. The MW suggested increasing night time pumping.
Getting enough pumping in is really hard when I’m flying solo with both kids and trying to get some sleep. I’d be grateful for advice/suggestions on how to make pumping Work when there are older children to take care of etc.
Pumping in the night is pretty soul destroying and I think contributed to my PND last time, but I appreciate I probably need to do this to increase supply? I’m also unsure about what I do about pumping when I’m away from home. I can do it at friends houses, but what if I’m out in town etc? Can I just miss a pump?
And how can I plan the mornings? At the moment I’m trying to pump around 6am before DS1 wakes up, but sometimes he wakes early and sometimes DS2 is unsettled/hungry and I’m trying to also get him on the breast. I need about 5 hands!
I’m sure it’s all relatively simple, I’m just feeling very overwhelmed and would be grateful to hear others’ experiences.