1 Week Down!

Today was the last day of my first week back at work. Luckily, it was a four day week because of the Columbus Day holiday so it was a nice, short week. Tuesday was really hard. I got up, got myself and Tommy ready, and brought Tommy to daycare. I'm so glad that we decided on this center. I really trust them and know that Tommy will be in good hands while he's there which makes leaving him a lot easier. My cousin's two kids go there and I was very fortunate that his wife was dropping their kids off at the same time as I was on Tuesday. She waited for me and walked me out. I was crying of course and she gave me a hug and told me that he would be great and that it would get easier. She was right.

Wednesday, Bill dropped Tommy off and it was a lot easier leaving Tommy with Bill than at daycare but I was still leaving him for the day. Thursday and today were each easier than the previous time I left him. I only teared up for a quick minute today, no actual crying!

Tommy only ate 2 oz at a time on Tuesday so only 6 oz total for the whole day. He cluster fed like crazy that night but I didn't mind. By today, he was eating 3, 4oz bottles. I'm glad that he is taking to them. He has only been cat napping for the most part but today he did take one, hour and a half long nap! I think they'll get him on an eating and napping schedule before we know it!
For now though, they are feeding on demand.

That brings me to pumping. I have a small freezer stash but can't use any of it since it all was pumped before I found out that Tommy is sensitive to dairy, which I'll add another post about later. We can't use any of that milk. Pumping at school has been interesting. Technically, my employer is required to provide a place to pump and a time other than my lunch or planning period but that really isn't practical. If I pump outside of those two times, I have to leave my class with someone which means writing sub plans everyday. It just won't really work. So I've been feeding Tommy around 5:30 then putting him back to bed while I get ready for work. I pump at 10:00 during my planning period and at 12:00 during my lunch. I pick up Tommy by 4:00 and feed him when we get home if he's hungry, if not, I pump then too.

This has worked alright so far but I don't pump enough. My first pumping session usually gives me a good amount, about 7oz. However, I get 5oz from the right side and only 2 on the left. During my lunch I've been getting about 3-4oz, 2-3 on my right and only 1 on the left. I've only had to pump once when I get home and I got 3oz on the right and 1oz on the left. My left boob is a dud. I bought some fenugreek and planned on starting to take it this weekend in hopes of boosting my supply but now I'm not sure if I should or not. I get a good amount on the right side, I just want to boost my supply on the left. I leave the pump going on the left the whole time I'm getting milk from the right. It takes about 10 minutes to get the right completely "emptied" and only about 3 on the left. I think I'm going to try to call the lactation consultants on Monday and see what they suggest. I have noticed that Tommy definitely eats on the right side much longer than the left irregardless of which side I start him on. I've tried offering him the left side again after be pulls off and he just gets frustrated.

Tommy has also started to get a hang of our bedtime routine! He even moved his bedtime up for me! He was going to bed around 10:00 but decided on Monday night that he was tired around 8:00 so I started our routine then and he was asleep by 8:00 and slept until I woke him up at 7:00am just waking up long enough to eat twice! He kept his early bedtime all week and went to bed about an hour ago tonight!

Overall, my first week back went pretty well. Things are a bit crazy at school and I have to put in some hard work to get my class the way I would like them but it will be fine. My sub did a great job, there are just some things that I do differently! I'm glad to be back at work and even though I miss Tommy terribly, I think it's good for both of us!