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Expert: - 10/31/2010


Question
My husband is having ACL surgery in 2 weeks and won't be able to put weight on his leg, hence no carrying the baby.  I have two older children also.  Not sure I can continue breastfeeding and pumping.  I go back to work in 2 weeks also.  (Taking a breath!)

Baby was a premie, 7 weeks early, but 6 lbs 8 oz.  We have him on Neosure, 3 bottles a day, so he is very used to formula.  Doesn't mind breastmilk in a bottle or formula.  I have lots of frozen milk due to the neosure suplimenting.  How should I transistion?  Continue only 3 bottles of formula until breastmilk runs out or switch to three bottles of breastmilk to make it stretch out further?

Thanks!

Answer
Dear Angela,

First, congratulations for giving your son the best start in life by feeding him your good breast milk!

There is no right or wrong way to handle your situation. I don't know how many ounces or bottles of breastmilk your baby is having in a day,  but from the way you phrased your question it sounds as if he is taking more than three.  You can do any combination of numbers of breast milk and Neosure bottles in a day if your baby is tolerating both.  You can even mix breast milk and Neosure in the same bottle.  If you like and if you feel as if you're stretching the milk out farther, you can give your baby three bottles of breast milk a day and be able to continue to give the baby some breast milk for a longer time.

If you feel that it's too hard to continue breastfeeding and pumping in view of your having to go back to work soon, your husband's surgery, and the need to take care of your older children, you should cut down your pumping sessions gradually so that your breasts will not become uncomfortably full of milk. First eliminate the one that seems to produce the least amount of milk, then the next one, and so forth until you stop pumping completely.

Good luck to all of you!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Olds & Marks, 4th edition, September 2010, published by Workman Publishing, and soon available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.  

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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