Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Feeding Issues

D-6 before I go back to work. The first week is going to be awesome for Léo as he will be with the nanny and me on Monday, with Joe and his mom from Tuesday to Thursday, then with Joe's mom and me on Friday. That's a good way for me to ease back into work and a great way for Léo to spend time with his dad.

Today Léo is going to spend half a day at day care to meet people and see how it goes. I am dreading it, not because I don't trust the day care staff, but because I really dislike leaving him with other people. I'm sure it'll be fine... if he accepts to eat from a bottle. Last week Joe and I went to dinner and left Léo to Joe's parents. Léo refused to take a bottle and cried non stop. I had to go back and feed him. I didn't mind -I had to do that once when Joe was keeping Léo so that I could attend a church meeting- but that means we need to be more intentional about giving him a bottle every day. And we only have 6 more days.

I also need to pump so that day care has enough food for the first day. That might be a challenge, as I barely produce enough milk for Léo to eat. Yesterday he woke up at 1030 PM, 3 hours after his last meal, and I couldn't produce milk. I'm sure milk would have come had he kept on sucking, but he cried in frustration after a few minutes and we had to make a bottle, which he happily gulped down this time. It was only 3 oz because that's all I can pump these days. I wonder whether my body is reacting to the weather and to people. I am not kidding. I am happier when it's sunny outside and when I see people during the day. On days when both factors are met, my milk production is perfect. In Orange County, I had to pump because I produced too much between feedings! On days where it's rainy and I don't see people like yesterday I barely produce enough for him to eat. That means on good days he sleeps long stretches at night (he slept from 8 PM to 445 AM on Sunday. He was tired from his trip to OC but he also had enough to eat during the day) and on bad days he eats every 3 hours around the clock.

This week should be interesting. The weather won't be good until this weekend -what's up with that!- but I will see friends throughout the week. Hopefully my milk production won't fail me and Léo. And hopefully he'll have a blast at day care today and in 2 weeks!

1 comment:

Jen said...

Oh, interesting about your mood & how it affects milk production. Bring on the sun and friends! ;) I have heard that until you have long(er) stretches away from your baby, like work, it's normal to only be able to pump 2-3 ounces. I only get about 3 ounces when I pump. Babies get the milk out much more efficiently than those stupid pumps.