4
hours a day on one aspect of mothering?
Sounds about right to me.
Just wait until the little sucker is talking and talking back.
Discipline can take 4 hours of each day, easily.
The big problem is that many women I know think that life after baby
will look something like life before baby except smelling like powder
and with lots of giggles. Not so. Welcome to motherhood, where the
babies never match the pastel-colored illustrations in the nursery
rhyme books.
If more women surrounded themselves with a community of women, then
more women wouldn't feel so all alone in caring for their children.
Those four hours mom is pumping are four hours when another adult can
be bonding with the baby and mom can be watching a movie .
By
Teddy A.,
I am not sure if you're referring to breastmilk or formula... but
either way, didn't other things contribute to "who you are today," such
as your education, your upbringing, other things you have been eating
for the majority of your life, your exercise habits, your inborn
personality? Neither breastmilk or formula is the be-all-end-all of
making you who you are as an adult. There are contributing factors, but
it is not the only issue involved. And when you, as a man (I assume by
your name and how you addressed us as "you ladies"), speak to women as
needing to "chill out" and stop "having spasms," then you just make
yourself look like you have little respect for us in general and think
of us all as a bunch of emotional basketcases. If you want to
contribute something factual or informative, please do.
By Erin
You ladies need to chill the freak out... stop all the spasms.
It's good stuff
It made me who I am today
By Teddy A.
A
pump will never be as effective as a suckling little one. I can pump
between 1-2 oz in a pumping session but my DS definatley gets more than
that each time according to his diapers...and weight gain...
By Honumomma
Erin,
it is not explicitely mentioned on this site, but they say that this
Barb is the person behind Blue Orchid Press, and the Blue Orchid
website at http://www.blueorchidpress.com/about_barb.html confirms that
she works for that practice. That link also provides a complete list of
her credentials. The most interesting part (extracted from her bio):
"Barbara currently works as a nurse practitioner at Women Physicians
OB/GYN Medical Group in Mountain View where her patients rely on her to
listen to their concerns and provide them with the most current
information on a variety of topics including pregnancy, postpartum,
breastfeeding, menopause, and fertility. She also serves on advisory
boards for several multi-national companies that provide services and
pharmaceutical products for women's health." Most current information
indeed... :(
By Agnes
Jen,
I agree with you that sometimes a mother follows all the
recommendations yet doesn't get the results she wants. So you and I
agree on that point -- we don't disagree. However, my comment below was
not about what this mother or any other mother did or chose. My comment
was aimed at the apparently inadequate information that Barb provided
this mother, and at the misinformation about breastfeeding that is
contained in Barb's blog entry (and indeed throughout this
formula-funded website.) When a mother is well-supported with reliable,
evidence-based information, her chances of breastfeeding success go up.
When she is sabotaged with misinformation or a lack of information, her
chances go down. Of course the mother is the one who sets the goals and
defines "success" in her breastfeeding relationship. That is her right
and must remain so. The job of her healthcare providers and other
"support staff" is to give her the most reliable information available
so that she can make informed decisions for herself and her baby. A
healthcare provider who does otherwise is unethical, incompetent, or
both.
By songbh
This
is what happened to a friend of mine. She was sick of pumping and not
getting much. She tried almost everything mentioned above and it didn't
work. She went to 3 different lactation consultants! Sometimes things
are just out of our control. BTW, she is still nursing her baby (7
months old) a few times a day. I disagree with songbh, sometimes you
can do everything suggested and you don't get the results you want. my
friend wanted to build up a supply in the freezer so she would be ready
to return to work, but unfortunately there were diminishing results as
time went on. I don't see any problem with deciding not to pump.
By jen
This
is crazy! I am a mom who had a "huge stash" before she went back to
work, and here's the secret...Pump WITH your baby. Pump on one side and
feed your baby with the other. You get more milk anyway from a stronger
letdown nursing baby. Then you aren't married to the pump. I don't
judge moms for their choices, but this info is just wrong. 8 times a
day??!!!PLEASE! When your milk comes in and you are nursing a baby, you
can get a good 16 ounces from two pumping sessions. That's all you
need! I'm really incredulous! All the nursing working moms I know like
pumping during work because its a time to reflect and think about their
baby, and do the BEST thing for her. Moms have a choice, but it's
amazing this misinformation (like this) out there that undermines a
moms choice to breastfeed! My resolve to avoid supplementation and
encourage all moms to breastfeed is that much stronger because of
crafty tactics like this "blog." Not one dollar from my hard-earned
paycheck goes in Ross' pocket, or Nestle. Go to kellymom.com for the
real scoop on pumping. Not this paid for rhetoric!!!!
By Kelly
You
really know this is the same Barb? If I might ask, what is she,
exactly? You say she works for an OB/GYN practice... I assume she is an
OB/GYN, then, or at least a nurse (RN) with the practice. And Barb,
feel free to answer this yourself... and my apologies if somewhere on
this site it does have your credentials... I just haven't seen it if
it's on here somewhere.
By Erin
Barb
works for a OB/GYN practice located in the hospital where I delivered
my two sons (heard about them, never used them, but they have a good
rep).
The hospital has an extremely good lactation center two floors below,
whose front door you walk by when coming to see the OBs in the
maternity building. That center has excellent LCs available for
consults 6 days a week along with twice weekly support groups hosted by
very knowledgeable people.
Why wasn't that mom sent there on her way out instead being fed
incorrect information??? (I mean, beyond the obvious which is that Barb
is paid by formula companies to make sure mothers are kept uninformed
about their choices)
By Agnes
Yeah
that (comment below). I was wondering why Barb didn't at least refer
this mother to a lactation consultant - somebody who would have known
all the info? I am also confused as to why she would begin feeding the
baby formual mixed with EBM before returning to work... this will lower
her supply and cause her to rely on formula even when she is with her
baby... and if she is trying to build up a freezer stash, then why is
she feeding it to the baby, mixed with formula, while still on
maternity leave? Also, the type of pump being used was never mentioned,
or whether the mother had received instruction on how to best use it
(another thing an LC could have offered guidance on). I would have felt
so angry if I had been asking Barb for advice, not knowing she was
running this site paid for by formula companies, and then realized that
maybe - just maybe - she hadn't referred me to somebody more
knowledgeable on breastfeeding so that I would be validated in using
formula, which she benefits from monetarily (they paid for her
website!). Clearly a conflict of interest.
By Erin
Wow,
a lot of misinformation and confusion in this story! Let me start by
suggesting that if any readers here want reliable information about
combining breastfeeding and paid employment, don't listen to Barb. Come
over to the forum (icon in the right-hand menu) and ask your questions.
There are people on the forums who both know what they're talking about
and aren't being paid to confuse you into choosing formula; they will
help you find more accurate and helpful information. 1) I never judge
women for the choices they make about their lives, families, or
breastfeeding relationships. Whoever this mother is (if in fact she
exists), I hope she and her baby are well and happy, that she feels
comfortable with her feeding choices and is enjoying motherhood. 2) But
I don't hesitate to judge so-called healthcare providers when they
offer inaccurate breastfeeding information -- especially when they are
being paid to do so by the formula industry (as Barb is). 3) There is
no need for a breastfeeding mother to build up a large freezer stash
before she returns to work. When she is back at work, what she pumps on
Monday will be fed to the baby on Tuesday. At any given time, she needs
at most enough EBM in the freezer to feed the baby for a couple days --
and that stash should be treated as an emergency resource, not a
routine necessity. If she finds she can't pump enough at work to keep
up with her baby's daily intake during their separations, then we could
talk about strategies to increase her pumping output. There is no valid
reason for her to be pumping 8 times a day to build a huge stash while
she is on maternity leave and exclusively breastfeeding. It's not
necessary for her goal of continuing to provide her baby with
breastmilk after her maternity leave ends. Did you explain this process
to her, Barb? 4) From Barb's description of this mother's situation, it
is not at all clear why she ended up supplementing with formula while
she is still on maternity leave. If recently she was nursing
exclusively AND pumping 8 times a day to obtain about 10 extra ounces
of EBM per day, it is confusing why she would find it either necessary
or helpful to continue pumping even twice a day, then mixing her EBM
with formula and giving it to her baby. Barb, did you let her know that
one of her options was to stop pumping altogether and breastfeed
exclusively during her remaining maternity leave? (I would have offered
this information along with information about gradual weaning of
pumping sessions to avoid engorgement and the risk of plugged ducts or
mastitis.) Did you inform her of the risks of introducing foods
(including formula) other than breastmilk before the age of six months?
Did you discuss the risk of the baby developing nipple preference and
the impact that might have on their breastfeeding relationship as she
returns to work? 5) I think breastfeeding advocacy is most effective
when the goal is to answer mothers' questions with reliable information
and to make sure they know what all their choices are, including the
risks and benefits of each possible choice. There is little evidence in
this story that this mother received accurate information about any of
her choices. This story is just another attempt by a formula-industry
shill to circulate the kind of misinformation that sabotages successful
breastfeeding and makes formula use sound normal and preferred in
situations that could just as easily be resolved with better
breastfeeding management.
By songbh
